Y11 2025-26 - Trying not to melt and pushing through the final weeks

[Stowickthevast]

I finished the thread so started a new one. Welcome all Y11 parents, support and solidarity for the next big push here!

We are off on holiday on Friday 19 June. We booked for then as originally DS was having surgery in July. Now we are booking other holidays in July and August. We only have one child and I haven’t had a holiday since August

This summer my daughter is trying to fit in somewhere:

• a short horsey camping trip to Norfolk with her friend and our horses for some beach riding and hacking;
• Centre Parcs for a few days with same friend;
• A trip to France to visit another friend who moved there;
• a part-time job (🤞🏻 );
• a weeks' holiday with me somewhere;
• a trip to Germany to visit family.

It doesn't help that I'm absolutely flat out broke 😬😬😬

Unfortunately, the cheapest week to go on holiday would be the week they finish in June and we can't go because of prom and a school-organised day trip to a theme park for the Year 11s. So we can't really take advantage of the cheap holiday prices, as they creep up soon after. It's actually cheaper to go away in August.

Oh I hear you!

After our trip to Italy, DD is going away for a week to France with friends, then on our family holiday for 2 weeks (1 of her friends is flying out to join us for the 2nd week) then 2 festivals (including Reading). All fully paid for by me!

She does earn a lot doing regular babysitting but all that money appears to go on clothes and beauty!

We’ve not actually planned anything but I was inspired and said to him I’d pay for him and a couple of friends to go to a theme park for the day!

DD is trying to sort friendship group so staying home. She has had a few invites to party's and another year group meeting before prom in July. Taking her and a friend to a festival her brother is taking her to a theme park. She also wants to go couple of shopping trips as apparently needs whole new wardrobe for 6th form 🙄

I'm taking DS for a week abroad on the 17th. Very much looking forward to that, although I had no idea when I booked it that he was actually supposed to be on VIth Form transition days 😳He's got prom at the beginning of July and then our family holiday at the beginning of August. In between, he wants to take himself on a coast-to-coast hike and write a book(!). He wants to camp on his hike as the YHA has stopped allowing unaccompanied under-18s to stay. I'm not having kittens about it at all, of course...

Youth hostel doesn’t let youth stay!!! Unbelievable

What a shame! I went youth hostelling around Wales with my German penpal in the summer between lower and upper sixth. We had a great time.

Wow your son sounds so adventurous 🤩

DD and her friends aren't at the partying and festival stage yet so I think the main celebration will be prom which is only a few days after last exam. We already took DD on a theatre trip in half term to celebrate the work she's done. She'll be doing lots of sailing over the summer and has a week camping and a trip abroad with Scouts. We're going to have a few days away in the UK after results to do some fun activities.

I'm a bit behind, but DD enjoyed the music in the WJEC exam. Dolly Parton 9-5, Madonna Vogue, Toto Africa and others. Took lots of effort to concentrate and answer the questions (and not dance through the exam!)

Twinkle Twinkle sounds a bit..... bonkers!

Yep also need a whole new wardrobe for sixth form. She’s staying at her school so although no uniform they have to wear “business wear” so it’ll be lots of blouses, pencil skirts and jackets

Same here. But def no skirts, the girls all want to wear trousers..

Good for them. Short short skirts here! (With black tights)

I'm always intrigued by the business wear for 6th form thing. My 6th form we still had uniform and neither of my sons went/are going to 6th form. However I do work in an accountancy office and regularly visit solicitors, so very 'business' and it's mostly dresses with pockets or trousers with some sort of jumper/top that's not a blouse. Also dress down Fridays and "actually it's really hot today just wear what you want" days. I can't remember the last pencil skirt and blouse/jacket combo I saw. Obviously your children will want to wear what's normal for their 6th form but it does always make me wonder what they think when they join actual businesses.

https://open.substack.com/pub/dominicsalles/p/why-english-examiners-struggle?r=3qh9my&utm_medium=ios

this is a bit depressing especially if you have a boy or tomboy who likes football!!

The odd thing is that he really isn't! He's quite happy to stay in his room most of the time, emerging only for brief forays to the fridge. The last time he went camping was for DofE in year 9, where he survived mainly on Doritos. I'm quite interested to see how he gets on with this hike.

Talking of business wear, it always amuses me that I have to dress up more for governors meetings at school than I do to go to work. I have a senior corporate office job so wear business casual. Most of my colleagues wear jeans and band t-shirts. I have a suit jacket for some of my stuffier external meetings but haven't worn one in the office since about 2009.

@makemineadecaf @EducaatingRita DD can wear what she likes 95% of the time so going shopping just for jeans new tops etc the other 5% they get notice to wear business style.
@Littletreefrog when I worked in accountancy over 2 decades ago it was business attire every day I had a few suits trousers and 1/2 skirts.

Funny isn't it looking back. We need to be smart in the office - but the best change is that it seems ok now to wear smart trainers.. so I'm a trousers / smart jeans jacket smart t / top and trainers person when I go in.

I'm struggling to get my son to revise for the biology exam taking place tomorrow😕

Any tips to motivate him? The sciences are his least favourite subject.

This perplexed me as well, either have uniform....or don't.
So many workplaces dont insist men wear suits and ties, and women in formal wear. GPS, solicitors, teachers dont necessarily dress like that and anyone doing anything practical definitely won't be wearing a suit.
Wearing a suit or formal wear to do woodwork, art, cookery etc is completely ridiculous, imo

Same. Dd hates stem - though biology is the “best” of the bad bunch. She found aqa triple paper 1 “shit” so needs to pull her finger out for tomorrow but is focusing on history paper 3.

I subscribe to Mr Salles and he really knows his stuff. He’s a thorn in the side of AQA English! His advice here for what students should be taught is helpful. I’ll be using it to help my younger DD with her GCSE’s in a couple of years. Shame there is so much jumping through hoops tho.

However, I have also marked for AQA English Language and I made a very conscious effort to not make assumptions about a candidate based on their handwriting or what they chose to write about for q. 5.

I went as far as to write out answers on paper in front of me if handwriting was particularly difficult to read. For example one students writing at first glance looked v nice but was so loopy and florid I kept losing the thread so I wrote it out. Turns out it wasn’t actually a great answer.

My DD’s writing isn’t great so I’m hoping an examiner takes some time and care when they see her script.

I think I was a pretty slow marker and I never made as much money as some did I’m sure, I’m glad I took care tho. I no longer do it because I work in a junior school now.

Really interesting article @ShesRunningOutTheDoor , thank you.

I'm a governor too @NotDarkGothicMama . If I've been working at home on the day of a governor's meeting, I will generally change into something a bit smart (e.g. skirt and blouse rather than jeans and teeshirt) before I go to the meeting. Is there a governor's thread on here somewhere?

I have a lots of friends and acquaintences in all sorts of careers at all levels and virtually no one wears formal business any more. Unless eg going to a court. All smart casual or casual. Certainly formal jackets would be rare