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!

DS1 (state) had a selection of sessions last year that could be paid for at Easter , nothing in DS2s private school apart from f this 1 teacher . I presume he thinks his class need it so very grateful to him

we are at a low performing rural comp in poor area and they have put on revision sessions through the Easter holidays and half term and every night after school for past 4 weeks in various subjects. It’s amazing and I’m so in awe of the teachers. They have managed to finally have a year of just above average results last year because of this kind of intervention so I don’t think it’s going to stop. The sessions tend to be aimed at kids who need to pass the exams rather than the higher achievers, so my dd hasn’t been to them apart from the maths ones which were set in ability.

Limited revision happening here. DS is trying to get a couple of hours done each morning before the sun gets too strong but it’s just so hot.

No extra half term revision sessions in DS’s v high performing indie. And none in the state comp I work in (which generally gets excellent results). A few miles down the road though a friend’s DC goes to a comp with much poorer results and they are offering extra revision sessions during half term and ‘pre exam booster breakfasts’ every single exam day. I suspect school exam performance is the key - those trying to improve results across a cohort will offer more, those that don’t need to probably won’t.

I've been away but DD seems to have been working well. She had the weekend off and said she only did 2 hours on Monday as it was too hot but we have a garden office with aircon so I reminded DH on Monday night that she could use that and apparently she was able to do a good amount of revision since she moved to doing it there.

No lessons or extra revision sessions since they broke for study leave 1st May - it's a grammar which gets good results.

It's half term, no revision for the first half of the week, its time for a break! Ds doing gcses will revise tomorrow and Friday and a bit at the weekend. Dd doing a levels had last weekend and the beginning of this week off but she's been locking in today. She'll study tomorrow and the weekend.
Im not forcing either to study, they should know it by now, mostly just need reminders, and at the end of the day they're just exams, no one will die if he gets a 6 instead of a 7.

DD had a beach day with friends yesterday which was very much needed, was lovely to see her relaxing and laughing. Back to it today, school offered a full morning of Spanish (with ice lollies) so she went to that and has been doing Geography this afternoon and some timed English Language questions tonight.

The school has been great, revision sessions every after school since January, topics published in advance so they knew if they needed to go to them or not. The Geog teacher did a couple of Teams calls a couple of evenings too. Average state school in deprived area.

Thanks for sharing what your schools are doing in terms of extra sessions.

Our son is at a well regarded comprehensive in London. He is predicted 7 plus grades and doesn’t have any but maybe some of the pupils / sets do.

Having said that work has been very sparse this half term so who knows how he’ll do. He was working when I left home this morning so maybe he’s found his revision mojo 🤞

DD’s school have done booster sessions after school for most of this school year - some kids were specifically invited and expected to go, others could go if they wanted to. She had a day in school for Drama revision in the Easter holidays, nothing happening in half term that I know about but others may have been invited to things. Shes predicted mostly 5/6 grades so probably isn’t a target student for them. This is a comp that gets mostly good results. What some schools are doing sounds amazing.

No revision sessions at Dd's school either but she's at a grammar, so they're expected to do well regardless.

Hot here again today but then it looks a bit better, and seems to be breaking next week which will be good for exams.

She went to the British Library for the day yesterday with a friend and then was going to the lido for a break in the early evening. Sleepover with friend last night then planning on going back to the BL this morning. Not sure when she'll be back but assume she's getting some work done. It's slightly complicated by the fact that we're going to the theatre this evening so she either needs to come home first or we meet her in Chinatown for an early dinner.

Thinking of all the DC struggling with physical or mentally health issues - it's hard enough without further pressure!

DS has been plugging away doing about 3 hours a day at home. Easier now it’s a bit cooler. No revision sessions in school which is a very high performing but local comprehensive.

Nothing extra here (Indy). Dd has had the equivalent of 2.5 days off spread out through this half term but she’s back to it from today.

Everyone else next up physics on Tuesday? Dd has four next week.

The session on over half-term in DS’s school was for Further Maths actually, which they don’t get a lot of teaching for anyway.

DS said it was pretty good, and he got to see some friends which he enjoyed as well.

Chatting with the lady behind the bar at my local last night and her twins' school (state) is running full revision classes 9-3 every day this week.

I admire the committment of the vast bulk of teachers! They will be exhausted when summer holidays finally roll around!

My DD’s school are doing a couple of revision sessions, but she’s gone to her Grandma’s to revise for a few days (and be treated 😊).

I did volunteer to do a revision session at my school, but you need a few teachers from each dept to do it, for health and safety etc. Quite understandably, most of my colleagues are going away or having a break, so we’re not running them. Tbh in Easter hols revision session, I asked a few kids to leave, as they had clearly come to appease their parents, and were doing sod all work!

Dd has physics on Tuesday. She starts on Monday with computer science, then maths & geography on Wednesday & English language on Friday. Definitely her hardest week, after that it is just the triple science paper twos which are actually nicely spread out.

it’s much cooler here today thankfully. Dd is managing to do some physics (finally!).

I’ve just seen this thread on active, and am marking my place.

my dd has done nothing so far this holiday 😢 literally not even cracked open a book. She had started to knuckle down a bit before the hols so hopefully she will start later today and at least do a few days.

For my dd it’s the difference between pass and fail, unfortunately 🤦🏻‍♀️ I would be delighted if it was 6 rather than 7.

That said, I can’t force her and wouldn’t want to try. I’ve just said that I want her to have no regrets, and to feel that she did her best.

Also nothing has been put on by her school, which is a state comp doing badly. It’s like they’ve given up on this cohort.

I’ve always told my two that if you put in the work then regardless what happens you have nothing to blame yourself for and it’s always easier to move on from that than with regrets . It seems to work on them on the whole .. one more than the other - less so with A levels than GcSe and 11+ .

I dont remember gcses being stressful when they were my own (the wheels totally came off at A level) but ive felt the pressure (and guilt) while DC have done them!!

I am working in London most of the time, (4 days/week) so its mainly down to DS to get on with it. I said I would try to arrange some days at home but he has said he wasnt bothered.

The school have run revision sessions on Saturday mornings for several months and DS has been to most. Im really impressed with school.- and with DS for going. And they have opened school this week so DS has got up and gone in for 9am. He knows he'll be distracted at home so has gone in for 3-4 hours revision each day.

I think hes half way, 11 more to go. We had a stressful weekend with suspected food poisoning the weekend before ht and I was googling what happened if you couldnt do an exam (school info was pretty vague) but in the end he managed to go in and do them.
Good luck to everyone - parents and students, at least its due to cool down slightly next week when they actually do the exams

DD has RE first Monday, then 2 double days, then 1 each Thurs/Fri.

Shes spent most of today doing Cold War revision, she doesn’t seem to have any more plans this week but I am glad she’s at least been out a bit with friends.

The humidity this afternoon is vile, she’s in her room with the fan on and I’m relieved to see next week is looking decidedly cooler.

DS has three next week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, then a nice four day break. He is definitely benefiting from having ‘broken the back’ of exams and done a lot of them prior to half term - his timetable is much lighter next week and the week after. Final exam is further maths on 15th June.

@UncomfortableSilence humidity is vile where we are too, can’t wait for it to cool down.

@Fizbosshoes agree re the pressure and guilt - I think to be honest that it’s just harder to watch your child go through any major life stress (whether that be exams, job applications, relationships, whatever) than to go through it yourself!

Lucky those who are over the halfway hump. Dd is only 10/22 down. 4 exams this week, 5 the following week and 3 the week after that.

@FlyingPandas

I think to be honest that it’s just harder to watch your child go through any major life stress (whether that be exams, job applications, relationships, whatever) than to go through it yourself!

This is so true!!

Exactly. I’ve just drawn her up a schedule (empty boxes for her to fill in) to try and organise the rest of her exam and revision time. Fingers crossed it works.