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😉

I think the same about blazer-and-tie school uniforms. No one wears that any more, except teachers!

We have heard absolutely nothing from the school about resuts day, or the process, or what they are meant to be wearing if they stay on. We did get the invoice for next term's fees though!

Our sixth formers also wear 'business attire'. TBF though our teachers have a very strict dress code also with suits/ties or dresses/skirts/trousers and jackets. The school says if it is expected of the students it is expected of the teachers which I think is fair enough (although usually the female teachers need a wider variety than two suits and a bunch of shirts... one of the few times male attire has the advantage IMO!).

I visited a school 6th form with school uniform. It was so wierd as they all looked like adults in kids clothes.
I would get smart casual but ‘business attire’ in reality in workplaces now is vvvv casual

Gosh it's going quite quickly isn't it? DD has to get results and enrol in her school 6th form between 9.30-11. Luckily the other 6th form she's interested in enrolment is from 1-3. I think she'll probably enrol in both then decide later unless she can't do her subjects - which she's deciding after she gets her results (!) - at either of them.

She doesn't have to wear business clothes but is a bit annoyed she's not allowed to wear the ubiquitous Iets Frans tracksuit bottoms to school!

Reiss is good for petite business wear but £££. May be worth looking on Vinted. Though I think Next/M&S will have a better selection once the autumn wear is in. Zara/Mango also well worth a look.

We were in this situation 2 years ago and ended up buying a slim fit school blazer in black - age 13-14 and separate trousers from I think, Stradivarius. It looked really good and fitted very well.

Son has a 15 minute slot for M to P surnames to collect results! (It’s a big school - over 300 in his year) And then they can wait in the playground for friends.

i have taken the day off work but I don’t know what he’ll want to do that day.

he can wear own clothes in 6th form but he’ll need more because up until now he’s been wearing uniform 5 days a week.

DD2 is going to attend the same 6th form college that DD1has just left. They can wear anythinh they like, and the teachers (lecturers?) are much more casual too. Doesn't affect the teaching though, it's been great! I've been pleasantly surprised at her style - no more rolled up (unflattering) skirts! She is allowed joggers etc but always looks very good.

Just remembered my old suits going to see what I have dd is same size as me when I was 21. The kids did look very smart on open day. Think its only about 4 to 5 days that dd needs to dress smartly.

Dd will wear business wear four days and sports kit one day a week. Independent school where the whole sixth form do an afternoon of a sport of their choice purely for headspace which I think is great.

For those with boys needing suits - M&S Ultimate suit seems to be the one most recommended by experienced sixth form parents at DS’s school. Reasonably priced and most importantly washable 😂 They’ve got a 20% off deal atm so only £96 for jacket and trousers which I didn’t think was too bad.

The school I work in has a no uniform rule in sixth form. @postitnot it always amuses me that the girls go from ‘must roll up skirt as high as it will go’ to ‘shall now only wear comfy joggers and loose jeans and never wear a skirt again’ once they get to sixth form! I guess it’s part of the rite of passage.

DS doesn’t have a formal slot for results collection, he’s keen to go in but most boys stay on and they’ve been told their subject tutors and tutor groups already, so there won’t be the sixth form enrolment rush that others will have. He’s hoping that Nando’s will still offer the traditional results day freebie though 😁

Our closest 6th form has 'business attire' and the very short skirts are still a thing!

I have had (teaching) jobs where I had to wear a ‘suit’ - I - and lots of much trendier, younger and tinier colleagues - swore by Zara high waisted trousers with a matching Zara jacket. Loads available on vinted. Zara tends to fit very small, so would be good for a petite gal.

My DS’ school has uniform for sixth form. He just has a different tie and a different colour shirt to what he was wearing in year 11. It’s far easier. In fact, leaving school after GCSEs is not really a thing at his school (highly selective state grammar). Almost everyone stays on so he wasn’t fussed about the last day of year 11. Didn’t want to do the shirt signing thing. As far as he’s concerned, it will be business as usual in September…providing he gets the grades!

We were reasonably successful with “business wear” yesterday with a mix of blouses/ trousers and skirts from Zara/ New Look / Hollister.

Anyone else already on a results day countdown? 23 days!

Older DS has done very well with a washable Next suit - £85 . Comes in a variety of sizings .
I had kind of forgotten about results day . Filed it away under things I can not change . DS2 has had me pretty worried lately for other mental health reasons - so eternally grateful though that we are close and he talks to me . Hopefully by results day I will somehow have the right answers

Sorry to hear that . I really hope he is ok. Have you got camhs on side?

@makemineadecaf thank you . Despite years on Mumsnet I’ve just had to look up CAMHS - seen it mentioned many times . So thank you for mentioning it . We may well end up needing support , to date though he’s only ever been willing to rely on me

Isorry to hear about your son, if your considering Camhs i would get in touch asap as they have a long wait. Heard mixed about them. Hope he gets the help he needs.
Cant beluve 3 wks today and we will know..
DD is not too worried about grades like she was during exams just wants what she needs to keep options open

@waitingquietly if you have even the slightest thought that CAMHS may be useful either now or in the future talk to your GP about a referral now because the waiting list can be years and that is not an exaggeration.

@Littletreefrog thank you , how is your own DS getting along ?

DS2 seems quite well balanced at the moment , a week in the sun seems to have acted as a bit of a circuit breaker which I hoped it would .

It’s anxiety related and he’s got very heightened senses which was impacting his appetite. Now I know what’s going on though I can adapt . He gets that it’s about finding coping strategies . I am massively relieved in some ways as I have been worried for months that he was developing an eating disorder . DH has been recently told he’s probably autistic . DS2 ( and DS1) fit in our family .. so I’ve never done anything about it if that makes sense .

@waitingquietly My DS had terrible trouble with anxiety a couple of years ago that seemed to centre around his stomach. It got to the point of him not wanting to go to school as when he got anxious his stomach cramped up and he was positive he was going to throw up and he didn’t want that to happen in class.

His school was amazing. They had linked up with a service in our area that provided therapy at school. Possibly an offshoot of CAMHS? At first he refused to meet the therapist but we managed to convince him to meet her just once and see what he thinks. She was amazing and he ended up having about 8 sessions of light CBT and coping strategies work. It was all done in school time under the guise of “peripatetic guitar lessons”.

If your DS is still struggling come September and you haven’t got any traction from your GP or CAMHS by then, definitely mention to your school’s pastoral care team as they might have a similar programme.

Best of luck, it’s so awful having a child struggle with anxiety. You just want to click your fingers and make it go away for them but it takes so much time x

@waitingquietly thank you for asking. He is doing ok at the moment and seems to be able to think about a future, I worry results day may set that all back but we will just have to cross that bridge when we come to it

Hi all, results day looming now. My child not bothered at all - confident. I’m nervous

The word 'results' is band in this house. Dd doesnt want to talk or think about it...shes just been to her first festival and had the best time!!
This time has gone so quuckly. Do we think all the grade boundries etc have beem applied by now? I guess still lots of work behind the scenes.

Dd and I have had loads of chats about results. Eg discussing her alevel options, buying new guides for next subjects etc, sorting out old paperwork , booking uni open days, so it’s naturally come up in conversation a lot.

That said when we entered August she did suddenly have a bit of a panic and has decided no more chat!