Y11 2025-26 Results Day and Next Steps

[UncomfortableSilence]

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

Yes totally agree, it’s also some schools paying for reviews and others not prepared too.

Or not having the budget to. Another discrepancy between state and private I fear? 😕

My dd is at private school and we pay the fees, the school don’t!!

Ah ok. I was just speculating tbh

My dd has refused to even look at her results!

She had a terrible time in school after being bullied in year 9 but her teachers have been so supportive and understanding of her anxiety.
Her predicted grades were all based on her taking higher papers, mostly 7’s and 8’s but she completely shut down and refused to revise until the week exams started.
Her attendance was down to 43% by year 11 and she requested that she move down to foundation to take away some of the pressure.

She finally let me look today on the condition I don’t tell her anything and she has received mostly 5’s and a 7 in English language. She got a 4 in art which is one of her strongest subjects but she had no plan at all for her exam or much coursework so just made up something in clay on the day. She took piano lessons for gcse music and with the help of her piano teacher got a 5. This was the only subject she worked on as she found practicing helped her brain switch off from the stress.

I’m so proud of what she’s achieved under the circumstances, I just hope she can be proud of herself too when she does finally look.

She's done amazingly well considering her challenges. I hope she will accept the grades and the congratulations given time. What are her plans now?

Aah, the terror of looking at your results is awful so I can understand how your daughter is avoiding it. @Mysonwontwash. I hope she looks soon and feels relieved and happy.

Morning all - anyone else's kids off to Reading? I dropped DD at the station in the pouring rain at 5.30 this morning. Apparently they need to get there by 8 to start queuing for a camp spot. The weather looks rough so I don't envy them at all! And obviously being a teen, how they look was more important than how dry they'll be!

She did make a decision yesterday though to leave her current school (grammar) and go to a different one for 6th form. There are pros and cons to both, grammar gets better results but new one is nearer home and in a nicer part of London. I feel like she's always had slight imposter syndrome at her grammar so may be good to be with a more mixed bunch.

Well done to your DD @Mysonwontwash. It's a tricky few years for them.

Thank you. She is enrolled to study fashion at college but lately has said she’s not interested in that now. She had a private tour yesterday so
more reluctant about going this week than outright refusing like she has been so there’s progress. We will just see how it goes and hopefully will find some inspiration along the way.
Hope everyone else’s teens are well rested and ready for their next step!

Has anyone had remarks back yet? The wait is awful!!

Yes I’m driving Dd today but her friends went yesterday to setup camp. It’s disgusting out there!!

Not heard anything yet. Refreshing email all the time. It’s been a week now!

Just dropped mine at the coach for Leeds with a back pack bigger than our house full of skimpy outfits and suede boots 😖. If there were GCSES for common sense we would be on a resit.

OMG Reading and Leeds? It's Biblical out there today – my drive into work (not especially near either R or L tbf) was awash. Don't envy them. (I mean I don't envy anyone at a festival anyway, even in bright sunshine hahaha)

DD got to Reading yesterday. I’m actually delighted by the rain as was very worried about fire risk at Reading what with tents being set alight in previous years. DD has her wellies to pair with her skimpy outfits and is channelling the “Kate at Glasto” look.

DS has been away with the Scouts since Monday, back tomorrow evening. I've not heard from him since Tuesday which I assume is a good sign.
Their weather looked better than ours this morning and for the rest of the day and tomorrow. Sleeping in a tent when the rain is hammering down is probably not much fun.

We are not far from Reading - it’s currently beautiful sunshine ( forecast was rain )

DS2 is meant to be going daily with friends but is having doubts ( not at all unexpected )

How urgently do you need to apply for a review of the grades?

DD was one mark away from the next grade in Engineering, she is not interested in pursuing it, but I think it is, as one mark 'may' be found, which will lift her grade.

The phonelines are unmanned at her school, due to the holiday, and I only realised she was one mark away the other day.

The deadline is mid September. There's no rush.

But she has to consent to the review.

I think the deadline is the 23 September so you have some time @Anonymousemouses.

Thank you both

When I get back to work next week, I’ll be asked to look through all my students’ grades (60 of them) and flag any that don’t look right or are close to the boundary. Then we’ll recall papers and begin the review process for quite a few of them.

I don’t/the department doesn’t have the capacity to do that during the summer hols in any kind of large scale or organised way. We’ve dealt with a few cases already on our own time where parents have been in touch, but it’s much better to do it when teachers have the headspace and can review papers together.

It’s agonising to have to wait, but as others have said, there is still time, and it’s much better to do it properly.

@Drivingselfmad when do you find the time once term starts? Is that fairly normal or not at all?

Not sure if it’s normal - I’ve only worked at my school! The first few days are quieter with inset and tiered return of students, so it’s ok. It takes around 1-2 hours to look through the grades, and most of them won’t ring any alarm bells. We’ll recall some with the students’ consent. Then with an experienced departmental team including several examiners, we can collaborate on looking through those papers together. So yes it’s another task to add to the many! But logistically it would be harder to do it in the holidays/from home. We’ve been told mid September is the deadline for recalling scripts.

Morning all…
For those who have had timetables already, how many hours per subject per week do they have? It seems Dd has 4.5 hours lesson time for academic subjects and 1.5hr per week for EPQ. School sixth form.

Interested to hear what the norm is.