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!

Snap! DS is a July baby.

Both DCs also got their passports for my home country this week (they are dual citizens). I felt a real wobble when i saw their faces and they both look like young men. Their UK passports are about to expire so they were pre-teens when they got those!

My DS also said it was hard and he is a good chemist.

You should have an email from the college letting you know the date for enrolment think my DS had till couple of days after results, staff where at college on results day so you could enrol then or discuss next options if results where better or worse than expected , he was asked to bring his results with him. This was 2 yrs ago so could have changed.

Thank you.
I just did this via gov gateway as I have not received any letter about it.

@LattePatty same! My dd turns 16 in the last week of August so it all feels very soon!

Do they automatically get sent their NI number? Have I missed a letter somewhere??

It should automatically be sent the only time I've known people not get it is if they weren't born in the UK and/or the parents never applied for child benefit.

Ah, we don’t claim child benefit. Maybe that’s why we didn’t get sent one.

@Beachforever do your kids have a government child trust account whichbtgey can't touch till 18.. If so the NI number is on that.

Oh yes, they do! I’ll check that. Thank you!

Mr Salles in his substack (which was linked to a few pages back) wrote a very scathing article about AQA. They are basically a monopoly for English at least which is never a good thing. They charged schools exactly the same as usual in 2020 and 2021 despite no one actually sitting any exams!

It's interesting about combined Vs triple, there's such variance across schools and what they do. Dd1 had to do triple but will do 10 GCSEs, Dd2 who is at a different school can only do triple if she uses one of her options and her school only lets them do 9. Two other local schools let them do 10 if they do triple or 9 without. Another school only tells them if they're doing triple at end the end of year 10 - basically the most able do triple.

Dd2 would have liked to do it and could probably cope but not at the expense of one of her other options.

Wimbledon High (independent school) allows students to choose 2 or more sciences out of Chem, Physics, Bio and CompSci.

I wish more schools did that. DD would have dropped Bio like a hot potato!

@Beachforever We don’t claim child benefit and DD automatically got sent her NI letter just before her 16th birthday. Might be worth a call to HMRC.

My DS would rather do triple science and then aim high in chem / phy and low in biology. But he’ll have to do combined as in set 2 not 1. That’s rubbish

We don’t claim either but still got sent one. I chatGPT’ d it and it said everyone still gets one as it’s to confirm eligibility rather than actually based on whether people claim it or not.

As long as a person filled in the forms at birth it doesn't matter if they actually claim the child benefit or not the child will be sent their NI number. If no child benefit eligibility forms are completed at anytime then an NI number might not be issued automatically. Just means contacting them to get it issued and it doesn't delay getting a job etc at all as if necessary they allocate a temporary NI number while things are being sorted.

I don’t remember filling in any forms at birth. We were both earning over the amount to claim at the time (I think it was over £50k back then).

But we’ve moved several times since then anyway so how would they know where to send it?

I’m going to have to call HMRC I think.

We don't claim CB and still got sent the confirmation letter. DD also got sent her NI number a few weeks before her 16th birthday.

For DD’s school anyone who wants can choose to do triple science but it uses one of your options. Her triple science class is basically 18 super enthusiastic strong scientists and 2 who struggle with science but like biology so want a separate biology grade.

I wonder if combined science should tell people what their mark split actually is. (So 66 is your actual grade but you are told that it was actually Physics 9, Chemistry 6 and Biology 4.)

@Mumoftwoteenagers i believe you can ask the school for the breakdown - they receive that info

With all the talk about NI numbers, admin etc, I was wondering how (on earth) are people planning to start handing adult responsibilities over to their DC? I think I’m going to give mine responsibility for sorting her travel pass for college (they get free public transport in our LA), and managing taster day/enrolment stuff. She has ADHD and I am nervous for her organisational/admin skills as she gets older - but at the same time, am aware I need to give her agency in order for her to learn these skills…

Ps is anyone else’s dc suddenly allergic to revision this weekend? So much wailing and dragging of feet, toilet breaks after 5 minutes of revision, despairing cries after completing 20 mins etc. Even though there’s only 2 subjects to revise 😆 She is so over it!

DD is very independent. She doesn’t need us to sort anything out for her. She organised her own fake ID for example 😂. But seriously, she manages her own money, her own travel, has planned her entire summer, is already researching and planning her gap year after A Levels etc.

The NI number has just passed us all by and I hadn’t even thought about it until I saw a post on this thread and realised that she didn’t receive hers or if she did, the letter was never opened and is stuffed in a drawer somewhere.

Blimey, she sounds impressive!