How motivated are your Year 11s?

[Carolcool]

Just come out of SLT meeting at school with final agenda item panic talks about our totally demotivated Y11s! They are fine in class and then do little homework, revision and don't attend revision sessions at lunchtime or after school. There are some quiet grafters but they aren't setting the tone.

What are yours like this year? I have a few theories about why Y11s nationally might be demotivated but wondering if it's most kids or just ours!

Far from motivated. Wasn't it ever so? While I've had some super-stressed-can't-do enough classes, they have been the exception.

“Don’t worry, Miss, I am going to start revising in the Easter holidays - but not at the weekends, I’m busy then. Do you think I will get a 5?”

Said one of my Year 11s, the others are of a similar ilk. Nothing I do seems to make a difference.

A lot of ours are so scared of failing that they've given up. Or gone into a total panic - which looks like they don't care but actually they do. We're avoiding saying things like "4 weeks left" etc etc

About as unmotivated as you can get!

I've been going through paper 2 mocks this week (which they didn't do great on!). Some were working-annotating/correcting/asking questions. Others simply sat there doing nothing!

At the moment, I am trying to focus on the ones that are actually wanting to learn instead of wasting my time cajoling kids into writing a title.

One parent a few weeks ago had the bloody nerve to say her son didn't learn anything in my lessons. Well no Mrs X, he won't because he does sod all work

I am lying awake worrying about them at night and they mostly don't give a damn!

Can you tell I'm ready for the Easter hols!

Mine are shockingly crap. It's like they haven't clicked that their exams are weeks away and need to be taken seriously. They're still acting like year 9s...

Speaking from a mums point of view (my own mum was a 6th form head and teacher of English ) I don’t think the “I’d rather under achieve having done no work than been seen to have failed having done loads” should be under estimated. An Ed psych once said to me that kids will do everything they need to to protect their self esteem.

I have a yr 13 Dd and a yr 12 ds. Dd is gifted talented and generally works very hard. Ds did absolutely no revision at home (bar night before for Maths) at all for his GCSEs last yr. He does/did work hard in school but just couldn’t get down to it at home. We took away his xbox entirely - so this wasn’t the problem. He didn’t go out very much and doesn’t have a job. He did teach himself to do speed rubix cube (best time 17 seconds). He achieved 3 sevens, 6 sixes and 2 fives in the end.

parent of y11 here

seems very focused
parents evening last week seemed very positive-on track for 7,8,9 in everything
was doing unseen poetry until 11pm the other day and i called a halt to it and sent him to bed

sounds like a wider thing with the school?

No motivation. But obviously to SLT it will be my fault!

also....

a quick thank you to you all. I can't imagine the amount of pressure you are all under. i work in primary and that's bad enough- the stress of getting them all through these exams and making sufficient progress must be horrendous.
Thank you all of you.

As a parent (who also works in a sch) I would say that asauvignonaday has described my DD. She is conscientious but so stressed about what is expected of her.

Mixed bag our lot. I have top set and so it’s a bit different. They work in class, do some extra work set and some come to revision sessions. The rest of the year seem like they’re not really in the zone on how close we are to exams.

Frankly, I think in part the stress of the exams freezes some and as a school (not sure if this is common or not). We’ve never taught them how to revise independently until Y11 and most of them don’t have the resilience to work alone. Hopefully they will pull themselves together after Easter and pull it out of the bag. There’s literally nothing more we can do as staff to encourage them!

I have long thought the issue lies with us in schools : so many revision sessions, which we then go into some kind of sulk or panic if they don't attend. The we nag, and they switch off. We are also forced to finish teaching in about January in order to facilitate in class revision . The kids get bored.It gives all the wrong messages : revision imo is chiefly a home activity. They spend hours at school doing stuff related to exams so feel no need to do any independent study. Certainly at my school , there is every sign that they are bored rigid. And my school is by no means the worst culprit for excessive provision of revision!

As a parent I would say my dd is working well and has attended after school and Saturday revision sessions. She is a competitive swimmer who trains up to seven times a week so time is precious but is doing her best. Her mocks were good and she managed to get through them without any tears (is well known in school for being a bit emotional at times) but she is now panicking as they have just lost their English teacher who has left for reasons unknown!!

Mine are a real mixed bag
Coursework grades are reassuring but I know they think it'll be fine and getting a 5 is ok to some of them.

Some are stressed and shouldn't be whilst some don't care.

Some are already working long weekend shifts in shops/ cafes/ as waiting in staff and that's a priority to them, which is short sighted but they don't see it.

I see where you are coming from

Agree with you @Piggywaspushed; we are doing too much of it for them so lots never feel the motivation to think about revising for themselves.

I've got a top set this year. They are quite motivated. I've got various kids coming to revision sessions after school, some are using the websites I've recommended, others have bought revision guides and are working through them.

This time last year I was tearing my hair out worrying about how to motivate my y11s. That was a lower set.

I do think the culture of the class makes a difference, and classes with a higher proportion of kids with ambition tend to be more motivated as a whole.

I wish you all luck in the motivation of your pupils. It's a difficult, difficult task.

Also, Easter is later this year, which the 'I'll start revising at Easter' brigade have rather overlooked!

I have to keep reminding myself that my subjects have both the last and the first exams : I nag my classes equally, yet one lot do, in truth have 2 full months to go until their exams so I can undersatnd they think I am getting a bit overwrought.

As a parent: mine works well in school, is attending the holiday revision sessions at school (thank you very much, to all those teachers who give up their holiday time) but revision at home is a conflict point - he only does about an hour a day in the subjects he's good at. He's got the fear in the other subjects and is not making the link between revision and getting better.

Y11 teachers: for you - being judged on the whims of hormonal 15 and 16 year olds sucks big time. Hope your senior leaders are all sane and sensible people.

We've a mixed bag this year. I have students who do little work in the lessons, come to after school sessions and do little work but think they will do Ok!

I was visioning a firework where the sun doesn’t shine.

I think the same every year.

I have 2 classes of girls. Both mixed ability.One class are mostly well motivated! They are working exceptionally hard and on track to get amazing grades this summer. I then have a handful who are not working, some because they are in panic mode, some because they can’t be bothered and some because they seem to genuinely believe that I will be able to swoop in at the last minute and do the revision for them.
In the other class the balance is the other way. Lots in panic mode or just not working with a handful who are doing really well. It’s odd because I don’t feel like I’ve done anything different with them. Although they were taught by someone else in year 10, so it’s possible that they aren’t as used to my way of teaching and doing things.

A lot of ours don't seem to appreciate how close they are to the exam period "I'll start revising at/after Easter" is the usual response