Y11 2025-26 Final exams are here. Now we wait….

[UncomfortableSilence]

New thread for all things Y11, did they cook or are they cooked. We will find out in 10 weeks😉

DD's chemistry teacher was rubbish. Not engaging in lessons and pretty demolarising - They told DD and me at parents' evening (after being just 1 mark off a 6 in her mock) that she would not improve her grade. DD took it personally, ask her biology tutor to switch to chemistry and worked her socks off - to show her teacher how wrong they were. Fingers crossed, paper 1 went incredibly well, paper 2 was ok.
DD has still not relaxed from the exams. She is feeling down by how behind she is in dance (She more or less stopped in January), she feels she hasn't done anything constructive with her time... We are going away soon, at least she's looking forward to that.

Six weeks today we’ll have the brown envelope!!

@Caddycat I think when they're going through the stress of revision and exams they have so many plans in their heads for their summer of freedom, but actually most of the days are wasted on just hanging around and doing not very much.

I can't say my daughter has done any of the amazing things she had planned yet. She did go to Wimbledon and that took a few days with camping ⛺️ and we had a few spontaneous little outings to the beach and the Alton Towers waterpark, but other than that - just random sporadic meet-ups with friends and doing her usual sports/gym. Nothing particularly exciting. We're only going away on our proper holidays the very end of August/beginning of September, so a lot of time to fill before that with no firm plans for anything. Next week she's going to visit my parents (they live abroad but not in a touristy place so it doesn't have a holiday feel to it - more of doing the same thing in a different location).

DD is living her best life, and costing me a fortune in the process!!

She has already been on 2 holidays abroad since exams finished. Is out with her friends most evenings, off to visit a friend in the countryside next week, then we have our family holiday for 2 weeks (one of her friends is joining us for the 2nd week), then she is off on another holiday that another friend has invited her on and then it’s results followed by Reading festival.

She has said that she doesn’t have time to get a job which whilst disappointing, she does have a point I guess.

I’ve been surprised by just how much time my DS2 has spent lurking about at home - the excuse seems to be that his friends think it’s too hot to do anything . He’s up today and has asked for a lift to the gym which is progress .

My dd is also not doing much, in contrast to many here. Comparison was the thief of joy the during lead up to exams, when it seemed like everyone else’s dc was fully switched on and wouldn’t settle for anything less than top grades, and it turns out the same applies now! I’m trying to focus on the fact she seems relaxed and content.

@Beachforever I can’t even imagine how much that’s all costing! Most I know aren’t doing much as no funds to pay for it all. Maybe a festival and a few day trips on the bus / train.

Mine isn’t either, she’s doing some drama stuff and reading, chilling out etc. But that reflects her as a person to be honest!

I think they’re also decompressing and people do that in different ways. Doing ‘nothing’ is very restorative too - especially for introverts!

I should have added my DD is happy as a pig on shit doing virtually nothing!

Prom was earlier this week and DS really enjoyed himself.
The bridging tasks arrived and he has started to look at them too.
Was getting stressed at not having seen any of his friends since the exams, but then he saw them at prom and they all met up the following day too.

No bridging tasks here as final A choices won’t be made until results are in and with 3 choices of college to choose from. Once results are in, non do any. Choice 4 is if don’t get enough for As

Well 2 of her 4 abroad holidays were the cost of flights only as she is a guest of 2 other families. 1 was a post GCSE treat trip away with me. And then it’s our normal 2 week family holiday.

Trip to stay in the countryside for a week is only costing the price of the train fare as again, she is a guest of a friend.

Reading festival ticket wasn’t cheap but I paid for that last year.

She’s out most evenings socialising but she’s a cheap date as she doesn’t drink!

So it’s not that much really. But definitely more expensive than her being in school!

Dd is having an amazing time. Pretty much out every day with friends: theme parks, lunches, London, sleepovers etc. Shes still got two abroad holidays and Reading.

Mine is also refusing to look at bridging work until after results day. She's also waiting to decide A levels and has 2 choices of s school, so doesn't think it's worth doing anything until she knows. To be fair she's had a busy week doing work experience, bit of a shock to the system doing a full day's work, but she has learned to use sketch up, which is the main architecture software. She thinks the office manager's job is the most appealing though so maybe a 5 year architect's degree is not for her!

Also having a great time with holidays and hanging out with friends. I feel like they deserve it.

Dd is 100% fixed on staying at her sixth form and I’ve paid so she’s definitely locked in!

Shes also selected her four alevels but is unsure which of the 4 to drop at half term. This is standard at her school. But the subjects she’s chosen keep doors open to two distinct - but very different - career paths.

Neither is my DD and neither are her friends and that IMO is exactly the way it should be after GCSE’s and A levels - they will never get this time again to have a carefree summer of chilling with no responsibilities. No way will she be doing bridging work or anything else and neither would I want her to. I think you’ll likely find most kids are the same, just as most kids are not of the not satisfied with anything but nine 9’s either.

I’m of a different mindset to be honest. Dd has been given bridging work as a means to support the launch into alevels so why wouldn’t she do that? It’s as it says on the tin “bridging”. They’ll have had a 10 week summer, more than enough time for a few days of work compared to all the leisure time.

lovely! That sounds great. Hope she has a fab summer - my point was that we all do stuff differently and no one should feel bad or under pressure for bridging work or anything else. You do what you child needs.

Re bridging work, my view is that DD has proven over the past year that she is more than capable of working hard with very little involvement from me.

All those years between year 7 and year 9 of me stressing that she wasn’t working hard enough for her end of year exams and nagging her to care more about school and less about socialising were a complete waste of time and energy.

It will be completely down to her whether she does any bridging work or not. I’m certainly not going to make her and she is mature enough now to manage it herself alongside all her fun plans.

DS has done about half the bridging work because he was bored and fell out with his friends. Had work experience with an MP, and got more work experience lined up admittedly via me and his father but the MP was him. Had an appointment to claim PIP, which was horrible-no he’s not going to get up and walk after 16 years of not doing-that ship has sailed but they do try to catch you out. He treated it as an exam but one where you just answer. The questions are very very badly phrased though. He was asked if he could walk around with his walking frame said yes but then asked where and was told in the village, to which he then said well of course not, I thought you meant inside.

Bridging work is certainly a good idea, especially for some subjects. IMO it’s more than possible to combine it with a relaxed summer.

If your DC is taking science (esp if they did double at GCSE) or maths or MFL then it’s a good idea for them to do some work to keep their eye in on what is needed. I've said this before but DD took French GCSE in early May, then switched to the A level about a week into term so had not even thought about French for about four months. She found it hard for sure. Make things easier for yourself if you can.

DS1 diligently did his bridging work - he is a mixed bag type kid - 11.5 GCSE everything from 8-4 . He has found the step up to A level a big jump and has been very tired this year . Maths ( FM till dropped in April ) ,Physics , Computer Science . I dread to think what a state he would be in without that bridging help . I did not know how hard he was going to find the step up . DS2 will not want to do the bridging work - but he will be so far as I can encourage him .

Great to know your kid and what you think suits them … but always good to weigh up the other path . Kids have a habit of throwing a curve ball every once in a while

Zero bridging here. I suggested doing some reading for English...he is manga obsessed so apparently that's enough!

DS is now redoing his bedroom which is very very much needed. I got rinsed at Ikea though this morning. He is also going to paint his room which could be interesting!!

DS is going on to do a T level at a not directly local college so has no bridging work to be doing. He is volunteering at a few sports events etc but no meet up with friends. He barely interacts with them when he sees them every day at school never mind when they are out of sight and out of mind. I have tried to discuss situational friendships with him and how the only way to turn it into a non situational friendships is to meet up outside of school but that seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

What exam board for alevel English? Dd will be doing OCR and the texts look fab!