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😉

"Results" also a banned word in this household 😬 Daughter clearly thinks she did badly as talking about what to do if she doesn't get into her choice of college. 🤦‍♀️

On the bright side she's going on a few holidays in August (just before results day and straight after) so hopefully that will take her mind off it and soften the blow.

DS had had his invite to enroll at college at 2pm on results day. It specifically says no parents to come but doesn't specify why to do if he doesn't get the grades which is a distinct possibility. Does he still go and see what they offer?

Impressed you're thinking about uni open days already @makemineadecaf

DD needs to decide what A levels she's doing and what 6th form she's going to before she'll have a clue what course to do or what uni to apply to!

I think we have more or less finalised a level choices but it will slightly depend on results day. We've had family holiday and she's off with friends for a few days this week so will see when she comes back. Expect there'll be a bit of nervousness leading up to the 20th.

Having a v difficult time with eldest (ASD) DS here and I haven't really had much time to worry about results day. And then feel guilty that all the focus has been on DS1 and this should be DS2's time really. Story of my parenting life with trying (and often failing) to juggle needs of neurodiverse and neurotypical DC unfortunately.

However, have checked in with DS2 today and he says he 'is looking forward to results day' and seems quite chilled. So that's good. Although I suspect nerves will creep in as the 20th approaches.

We are away for 10 days from this weekend which will hopefully be a good distraction from everything.

Not mentioning results day here - but I’m already internally freaking out, who knows what I will be like by the 20th! Both DS’s are away next week so hopefully that will be nice and distracting for them but suspect I will get nerves after they get back.

Also agree unclear plan not helpful- haven’t heard from any of his choices re enrolling yet. I presume it will be sometime Thurs or Friday but who knows.

I'm going on a short-notice work trip the week of results day. I'm packing everything into Monday-Wednesday, flying home in the very early hours of Thursday morning. It's long-haul but the time difference means I should land at 0630. Only taking hand luggage so I don't need to wait around, then straight on a train from Gatwick that stops just over the road from the school, so I should arrive just as they open for DS to collect his results. I have my fingers and toes crossed the flight's on time and there are no issues with the trains.

@NotDarkGothicMama DH is also on a flight landing early on results day but at LHR … so you are not alone

Hi all, hope all your DC are enjoying their summer and sorry to read of those struggling with difficulties.

DD went to all the taster days and loved them all so that didn’t end up being helpful! She seemed fairly set on her actual subject courses, however, she started questioning Computer Science which I was so surprised at as she’s always loved it and is so good at it. We’ve just got back from holiday and we spent many hours floating round the pool discussing what to do as it has been really playing on her mind. She seems to have come to a final decision now.

I can tell she is starting to get a bit jittery about results day although she only really mentioned it for the first time when we were away. She’s been really busy with seeing friends, going out, voluntarily sorting through her bedroom! I’ve taken the first few weeks of summer off and it’s just been so lovely being with her and seeing her back to her old self after all that work.

Well dd is pretty set on what she wants to do and that she wants to go to a Russell group so we’ve just booked onto 3 over September / October and will do another group in May / June. I’m looking forward to the little mini breaks!

I would advise not excluding all non RG unis. It’s great to aim high but while a lot of the best unis in the UK are in the RG, it is to some extent self selecting and not in any way a guarantee of excellence nor an exclusive one.

A lot of excellent unis are not in it but should also be considered by an able student (depending to some extent on subject). These include St Andrews, Bath, Lancaster, Loughborough, Swansea, UEA, Surrey, which I would rank alongside with RG unis like Liverpool, Cardiff and Newcastle.

You may of course be using RG as a catch all term that includes a wider listing which case pls ignore me.

Some courses very much lean towards non Russell Group too . DS1 wants aerospace engineering - of the 5 he is considering 3 are not Russell Group ( and are on @clary‘s list )

Absolutely agree on not excluding non RG. Many of the top unis are non RG as @clary says. And essentially the RG unis are a research group-their primary focus being research, and not necessarily teaching quality or undergrad experience. They have been very clever though as so many students (and tbf some teachers in my experience - the head of our local sixth form has a real 'Russell Group or go home' mentality) get caught up in the RG hype.

I would also add that some of the post 92 universities still offer great teaching and can be better in terms of pastoral support as well (eldest DS went to a post 92 which was amazing).

That said, DS2 is dreaming of Cambridge (!) so we will also be booking open days this autumn/next spring @makemineadecaf as he will need to be getting his UCAS application in in October 27. Scary thought.

Definitely go because some colleges offer BTECs as well as A levels and could offer this as an alternative. Also depending on how many people have taken up the offer from the college they may allow people in with a slightly lower grade than previously required

Thank you. He is looking to do a T level which is a level 3 course so I guess he could maybe get on a level 2 or maybe they will allow him on with November resits. It's English Language where I think the problem will be but then again given his mental state at the time of exams the whole thing could be a wash out. I wish parents could go to enrollment but I know even if we were allowed he wouldn't want me there anyway.

Yes absolutely all of that @FlyingPandas .

Be wary of the “it must be RG” notion; it’s a starting point but yes, RG is not related to student experience or quality of teaching so those should be looked at too IMHO.

Yes ofc Oxford and Cambridge and Birmingham and Warwick and Bristol and Leeds are all great unis. But an RG uni does not automatically guarantee the best uni experience, nor are they the only places worth attending.

I definitely agree that a lot of the post-92 unis offer an excellent experience – I know a number of YP who have attended (for example) NTU, UWE, Leeds Beckett and others, and it has gone really well. Another one I meant to mention is Uni of Leicester which really flies under the radar; my DD had a great experience there.

All in all the best advice re unis is to look at what grades you might get and where that will take you; then research online and go and visit. Oxford is great but it is not for everyone; and Newcastle may not be better than Bath just bc of its place in a research group. My DS2 had offers from Leeds and Newcastle and Nottingham but rejected all in favour of Loughborough, where he had a truly fantastic time as a student. He liked it so much he stretched it out to five years (integrated masters) as did a number of other YP I know who are or were there.

Defo also looking at Bath!
Dd seems mega keen on Durham and Exeter which we’ll look at next summer. Loads of pupils from her school traditionally go there so I’m sure that’s sparked her interest.

We’ve been looking at more vocational degrees recently as the job market is so dog eat dog