Y11 2025-26 Results Day and Next Steps

[UncomfortableSilence]

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

DD isn’t doing ALevels but shes doing an extended diploma worth three Alevels and has 16 hours teaching time. 4.5 hours per subject is what the other college said they would get per ALevel but I’m sure it must vary a bit.

DS is doing a T level and has 20.5 hours teaching and it's meant to be equivalent 3 A levels so if you go on that basis it's 6hr something if divided by 3. No idea yet how placement fits into that but I guess they don't start that straight away.

A Levels require 360 guided learning hours across the 2 years, so it should be the same amount per week on average across settings (some may have a fortnightly timetable).

typo! Dd has 5.5 hours a week

4-5 hours teaching is normsl
per A level plus they are expected to do same themselves independently

My yr13 had an hour per subject per day - so sounds about the same

Don’t have DS1’s timetable yet but we have been told 8 hours a fortnight here - doesn’t seem like much tbh! Anyone know where the “as much out of school too” guideline comes from? We have heard this too but wondering if 4 hours will be enough (since he has less lessons?) don’t want to overload him but he works best with clear guidelines/ expectations rather than trying to work out if he’s done enough himself ifyswim. More may be too ambitious though to start with as his school promotes starting with four courses and then dropping one option. Plus they do a skills challenge certificate too. I just don’t want him to fall behind though :(.
Can’t believe the summer off nagging will be over in 3 days! And yes I know in theory I should be able to leave him to it by now but he’s autistic so that will not happen yet. His brother’s starting GCSES this year too…I may need lots of chocolate!

Same here (autistic son, needs clear guidance). If he's set specific tasks he will do them. 'Go and find out about ...' is very challenging.

Just checked DD’s timetable and she has 8 periods per subject per week. Each period is 35mins long so 280mins per subject per week.

No free periods at all which I’m quite surprised about. Free periods were the best thing about 6th form for me!

@Franpie so that’s 4x 1 hour 10 min per subject? What else fills her timetable?

She’s doing 4 A levels. There’s also Games afternoon for 2 periods and Life Education for 2 periods. Assembly and registration every day too.

Oh, I’m being stupid!! I read it wrong. Not all periods are on her timetable, only periods where she has a lesson. So on some days she jumps from period 2 to period 5. So she does have free periods!

Dd also has to start with four alevels, plus epq time, sport afternoon, pshe/careers. There’s currently 4 x 45mins of free periods but it’s a packed week!

DD will not get her time table till Wednesday first day back. All we know is she has an hr of PE a week.

Hope all kids who went to festivals are having a great time despite the weather.

I find it really odd they are timetabling PE/games for A level students. I think by that age they should be free to choose to participate in sports/exercise or not as the case may be. The time spent doing that could be spent studying for their A levels or working etc how do your young people feel about it?

Actually I think it's good that they put PE or games in but I don't think they do at Dd's school. Young women particularly stop doing exercise at this age so I'd like them to have a bit of an incentive to keep going.Dd has said she'll miss core PE so is looking to take up something else. It's important to have a break from work.

Oh I definitely don't think all they should do is work and of course exercise is something everyone should be doing it just seems to me a bit infantilizing to be putting it in the timetable. But if the young people like the idea then that's great.

Maybe I just don't really get school 6th form though because I also think it's odd when some schools make them wear uniform.

DD is happy to do PE as enjoys it.
I also think its good for DD she is doing Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Psychology so good to have a break.

@Littletreefrog I'm totally with you. My daughter loves sports and is taking PE as one of her A-levels, but it would have been my worst nightmare as a 16-year-old to still be forced to do school PE. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough and I'm sure many teens feel like that.

DD loves that she still has games at 6th form. But she’s sporty and so chose a sporty school so knew this was the deal. I think most if not all independent schools are the same? Games on a Wednesday afternoon? When I went to uni it was the same, games on a Wednesday afternoon.

My DD will be super glad she’s at a college not a school and doesn’t have PE timetabled! She hated it. I do agree that it’s good to encourage exercise, but unfortunately PE lessons often do the opposite for non-sporty kids!

I remember games avoidance in sixth form . DS1 follows in my footsteps - he goes to his gym if he can get out

So here it is first day of college! He has decided on a ridiculously early time to get the train on the basis he can gradually move to a later train when he is comfortable that it will get him there on time.

It all feels very grown up but as a reminder that he isn't a grown up DS bought his laptop down at 11pm last night along with a list of software he needs to download and instructions how to access his college email (not as easy as it should be). So we had to sort that out. Baring in mind he received this list on results day and has done the sum total of bog all about it between then and last night!

I'm nervous for him given his mental health issues earlier this year. He seems to have turned a corner over summer and I really hope this new environment doesn't send him backwards.

Wishing him all the best for college and well done you for the last min IT support! Hope college has a positive effect on his mental health. Keep talking, I find dog walks are useful or mundane driving for them opening up. Sometimes I think everything is ok and it’s not. Other times that I think will flaw them and they handle it. xx

Good luck @Littletreefrog

DD starts on Thursday, and has chosen to go to a new school for sixth form, and is now in a mad panic to do all the transition work before then. Off to the British Library this morning to "lock in".