Y11 2025-26 Results Day and Next Steps

[UncomfortableSilence]

We can use this thread to continue our discussions for now.

Ha yes that’s true! Tho at least your dd might now lock in for A Levels if she has it out of her system!

We’re also not looking at universities yet. Dd gets very stressed at the idea of thinking of the next step already - starting college is enough for her for the moment. I think for some kids, going to open days etc helps them to feel more in control of their lives (or if they want o apply to oxbridge or wherever, which I believe has a whole process that starts before regular UCAS applications) - but for my daughter, it gives her the heebie jeebies thinking about it

it would also be far too soon for DS… he needs to settle at sixth form first. It might be different if he’d stayed at his school but we are one step at a time.

Aargh! Put in the email request today for 2 papers - worrying now though!

Biology - teacher said they think there's one extra mark in one of the papers and she's only one off an 8 so thought it was worth it as a possible uni subject.

Chemistry - it's 3 marks off and teacher thought only 2 marks available in one paper but that's the one she got a 6 in and doing for A level so we've put it in to try. Looks like she'd need to drop another 18 marks to go down a grade and we've only put one paper in so I think low risk 🤞

Yes Dd has stayed at school (same school since year 2!) so that’s probably helped but we’ve got three universities (and hotels / train tickets as a result) booked for this term and we’ll do another set in the summer.

This is a useful reminder I forgot about earlier applications to Oxbridge.

Ha Ds is doing physics, chemistry, maths and further maths which we tend to call maths, maths and maths.

DD only went to look at Uni as school was pushing her to join an extra class for getting ready or something to apply to top unis !

Inspired by PPs, I got AI to mark DS's English papers. It couldn't read his handwriting so I've spent the evening typing them out 🙄 He went up 1-2 grades, depending on whether I told AI to be harsh or not, so we've decided to put in both Language papers for a re-mark and Literature paper 2. Fingers crossed. I'll kick myself if he goes down!

Is anyone else having to sort out Y12 work experience? DS already did WE in Y10 but his new school does it this year. They can either do it in the last week of Y12 or at any point over the year. I offered for DS, who wants to study economics, to come to China with me to compare the foreign investment incentives offered by different trade zones, but apparently he's "too busy". I've concluded that he's spoiled to death and I wash my hands of any responsibility for organising something worthwhile.

Wow that sounds amazing @NotDarkGothicMama, can't believe he's saying no. No work experience mentioned as yet here which is lucky as DD is clueless about what she wants to do. She did a stint in an architect's office in July and decided that the office manager had the most interesting job!

No but that sounds fantastic.

If it was allowed to take someone else's kid and we didn't have to share a hotel room, I'd offer it out to someone who'd actually be grateful for the opportunity.

How about a 46 year old woman who can pay for her own hotel room? Asking for a friend…..

Hahaha! Probably safer - apparently I snore.

@NotDarkGothicMama I gave DS work experience with opportunity to carry on doing some work to earn money as was in what he wanted to do. He managed the work experience but never did anything else.
DD needs to do work experience got to find something in engineering meant to be last week of the summer.

Dd has a work experience end of June. Need to get something in law.

My daughter is super stressed over arranging work experience for vet med, although she's been working on livery yards since she was 11 and has always had horses, dogs and many other animals. Apparently that's not nearly enough 😬

Haven't heard about WE yet but DD did it in Y11 and had no trouble getting offers for engineering@Tebheag- I guessed that as they also have a lot of apprenticeships as an industry they're set up for it. She also did it very early and made a good pitch but had multiple offers.

DS1 had no luck at all getting work experience for engineering - everything he looked at wanted only contextual applications - a parent having been to Uni was enough to discount him. Imagine these things vary area to area though

Sounds like we need to start soon looking into it soon.

We're in London so maybe more options? Possibly she had better luck because she's female as engineering is male-dominated, although the other student there at the same time was male. She wasn't contacting big companies with advertised "schemes" but smaller local ones that had previously taken students from her school. Although one was an international one based in central London, but they couldn't commit for definite until nearer the time so she didn't choose that one.

My DD has got herself a job on reception at her dancing school 3 nights a week greeting all the dancers and taking payment, answering general questions. She is also starting to do a little filming of the adult classes for social media which sits great with her media a level. So proud of her as she secured this herself.

Great news on the job fronts and work experience. We need to sort these out still.

But we’ve had the fourth subject back and now all four subjects that we had reviewed have been upgraded! Thrilled and relieved!

That's fantastic @Ursulla42, well done her.

I have my fingers crossed for DS's English re-marks. It's like being back to pre-results day all over again.