The Student Room Group

The Current Year 11 Thread Mark I (2016-2017)






:banana::bl:Welcome to the Official Year 11 Thread (2016-2017):bl: :banana:


As you're aware, we're the first cohort to sit the new GCSE Exams in English Language & Literature and Mathematics in 2017, so we should all help each other out as it will be very bumpy on the road ahead.






Things YOU can do ...
- Introduce yourself
- What are your hobbies and interests?
- How many GCSEs are you taking?
- What subjects are you taking and with what exam board?
- Do you think you're ready for Year 11 and the new GCSEs?
- What's your favourite subject(s)?
- What's your dream career? (If you don't know that's completely fine, we're only in Year 11 so you still have time to think.)

Changes made to GCSE's for current Year 11's (2016-2017), if you want to see A-Levels please scroll down. All of this information is from the government site.

September 2015:
Students currently will start learning new GCSEs, graded 9 - 1, in:
- English Language
- English Literature
- Mathematics
Summer 2017:
Students will take exams for new GCSEs, graded 9 - 1, in:
- English Literature
- English Language
- Mathematics
November 2017:
Students get the chance to take resit exams for new GCSE's in:
- English Language
- English Literature
- Mathematics

If you want to see changes made to A-Levels for current Year 11's (2016-2017), visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/timeline-of-changes-to-gcses-as-and-a-levels/changes-to-gcses-as-and-a-levels-that-will-affect-each-current-school-year-group#year-10

Study/Revision Tips
Credit @CoffeeGeek
Study tips to get the grade you want

Be persistent.

Use the Pomodoro Technique (google it if you don't know), it is a really effective way of getting a lot of work done in a short amount of time.

Listen to some Focus music on Spotify or something to help you concentrate!

Be organised and neat with work so you can easily review it later when you need it.

If your struggling, ask the teacher (or friends) or do some research by yourself on the internet to help you understand. Things like YouTube, BBC Bitesize et cetera...

Be creative with notes, don't just write them out, highlight important things to remember and keywords.

Don't just copy from a textbook, you won't understand (well I don't). Instead read the textbook then when you're making the notes try to put it into your own words, simplify it so it can be easier to comprehend.

I drank lots of caffeine (especially coffee because it is slow-release) during exam season to make me more alert and do stuff... quickly It actually helps most people but I wouldn't recommend drinking any quick-release caffeine or drinking it after noon because it is going to be hard to go to sleep.

On that note, get LOTS of sleep.

Also on that note, read your notes/textbook/work before you go to bed because it will be easier to remember.

Find out your learning style. You could be an audio learner, visual, kinesthetic... I am mostly a visual learner. Click here to do a small test to find out what kind of learner you are

BIG tip. Plan ahead, if your going to do 2 hours of studying tomorrow make sure you do that, if you only manage to do 1 hour don't let that discourage you. You can always make up for it the next day, maybe the next day your planning to do 2 hours but since you missed out on 1 hour that day you add it on to make 3 hours. Just have that mindset and it will get you through it.

Don't stress, more you do the more likely you are going to freak out mid-test and possibly fail.

@Joshiee 's guide to GCSE success
This is a very useful thread with contains very useful, detailed points on how you should study for your GCSEs and it's very motivating. Worth reading. :biggrin:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4298480


Resources
- Useful Threads
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4390120 (GCSE English Info)

- Exam Boards
http://www.aqa.org.uk/
http://www.ocr.org.uk/
http://www.eduqas.co.uk/
https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/home.html
http://www.wjec.co.uk/
http://ccea.org.uk/

- Useful links for subjects
https://hegartymaths.com/
http://onmaths.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/
http://www.my-gcsescience.com/
https://www.mathswatchvle.com/
http://freesciencelessons.co.uk/
https://projecteuler.net/archives
http://www.physicsandmathstutor.com/
http://www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse
http://www.mathsgenie.co.uk/gcse.html
studywise.co.uk/gcse-revision

Others:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B8zpk-kgEsGRU095MGJiMy1JUFE?usp=sharing
^ English Resources
(edited 7 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

First post :smile:
My introduction...
Hi, I'm @Lemur14 :smile:
I'm interested in maths and I like to play games.
I'm taking 14 full GCSEs and 2 half GCSEs iirc (only 11 in 2017 though)

Spoiler


I'm definitely not currently ready for year 11 (haven't done all my homework yet for one!) but if I stop procrastinating then I'm good to go. The new GCSEs for me are more annoying than anything else tbh as it jeopardises my chances of a top grade (should be 8/9 borderline in maths and 7/8 borderline for English) whereas I'm confident I could have got an A* certainly in maths before.
My favourite subjects are maths and chemistry. Partly due to my teacher though...(never liked chemistry before but have always liked maths)
I'm not exactly sure what my dream career is...I loved my work experience in finance though I'd also like to consider working with children (younger children though so not a secondary school teacher!)
My favourite smiley is :qed: or :ymca:
For A levels, I'm definitely taking maths, further maths, chemistry. I don't really want to do physics and my preferred school doesn't teach a programming language I'm comfortable with so I'm not sure about computing. Other than that I'm not sure, hopefully something will shine out to me before I apply (deadline for preferred school is 6th November!)
My Year 11 GYG thread is here.
(edited 7 years ago)
Good luck new Year 11s! One piece of advice: Start revising after Christmas

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 4
Introduce Yourself
Hi, I'm umar39 and I'm going into Year 11 this September. I set really high aims for myself and really enjoy a challenge:biggrin:

I enjoy reading, sports, chess, debating, politics, board games, motor vehicles, technology, coding/designing although it's pretty hard trying to complete all these hobbies/interests regularly.

I take the following GCSE subjects

Spoiler

I think I'm ready for all subjects apart from English, Maths and German. Although I don't struggle with English and Maths the new specifications/grading system is proving hard to get used to. :s-smilie:

My favourite subjects are:

Biology

Business and Economics

Geography

Physics

Chemistry

Maths

I am considering the following subjects to take for A-Level:

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

Maths (possibly)

Business and Economics (possibly)

I would, idealistically, like a career in Medicine :colondollar: so I've realised how important my GCSE's are. I aim to achieve the best grades that I am capable of so that I can pursue this dream.Yet, I'm still quite young so I am still very open to any other careers that involve STEM as these are the subjects/areas that I enjoy the most.

I would like to attend a prestigious Russell Group University (ideally Imperial College London :awesome:).

Spoiler

(edited 7 years ago)
Hola, I'm @danielwinstanley

I'm taking 10 GCSEs
English Language (Eduqas)
English Literature (Eduqas)
Maths (Edexcel)
Biology, Chemistry and Physics (OCR 21st C)
RE (Edexcel)
Spanish (AQA)
Resistant Materials (AQA)
ICT (Edexcel)

I think I'm like partly prepared for next year, although I'm dreading all the quotes to learn for English 😂 and unseen poetry wil actually kill me. I feel I'm most prepared for Spanish because thankfully coursework is so easy (likewise ICT)

I'm hoping to take Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Spanish and possibly dropping Spanish if I find it too difficult at AS.

My aspiration is to become a primary school teacher (it'll never happen because I'm like 110% too shy to talk to people) but we can all dream 😂
Reply 6
Hi, I'm a3poify.I'm taking:colone:nglish LanguageEnglish LitMathsTriple ScienceFrenchITMedia StudiesI'm the sort of person who revises enough and then feels sick with worry the day before the first exam.At A Levels, I'm thinking about taking Government and Politics, Media Studies, Computing, and English Literature.Music-wise, I've learned recently to never refuse to listen to something based off of genre. However, my absolute, without a doubt, 100% favourite genre of music is Progressive Rock. My favourite bands/artists are (in no particular order): Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Genesis (1970-1983), Yes (1971-1979), Aphex Twin, Kendrick Lamar, Prince, Pulp, Peter Gabriel, The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Modest Mouse, The Smiths, Joy Division, Flying Lotus, Elbow, David Bowie, Boards Of Canada, The Beach Boys, Tom Waits, Talking Heads, Talk Talk, Stevie Wonder, Sufjan Stevens, and REM. Message me if you want to chat about any of these artists or anything else you think i'd like, or if you want to talk about GCSE IT (Edexcel) or Media Studies (AQA).
Hello everyone my name is CoffeeGeek!
- I like gaming and I am also a political enthusiast, I love politics and having debates, it is a really interesting subject and it's very wide too!
- I am taking 11 GCSEs. That is:

Maths (Edexcel)

Physics (AQA)

Chemistry (AQA)

Biology (AQA)

English Language (AQA)

English Literature (AQA)

Religious Studies (AQA)

ICT (Edexcel)

French (AQA)

History (AQA)

Geography (AQA)


(All of them except two are AQA lol)

- No, I am not ready for Year 11 nor am I ready for the new GCSE but hopefully I will be more prepared in the coming days, weeks and months and end up not doing to bad :smile:
- I have really lost my favourites, but I am really good at Maths and I like History, so if I had to choose it would be History because it's quite interesting.
- Don't really have a dream career but I hope it has something to do with Economics or Politics :biggrin:
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by danielwinstanley
Hola, I'm @danielwinstanley

I'm taking 10 GCSEs
English Language (Eduqas)
English Literature (Eduqas)
Maths (Edexcel)
Biology, Chemistry and Physics (OCR 21st C)
RE (Edexcel)
Spanish (AQA)
Resistant Materials (AQA)
ICT (Edexcel)

I think I'm like partly prepared for next year, although I'm dreading all the quotes to learn for English 😂 and unseen poetry wil actually kill me. I feel I'm most prepared for Spanish because thankfully coursework is so easy (likewise ICT)

I'm hoping to take Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Spanish and possibly dropping Spanish if I find it too difficult at AS.

My aspiration is to become a primary school teacher (it'll never happen because I'm like 110% too shy to talk to people) but we can all dream 😂


Original post by a3poify
Hi, I'm a3poify.I'm taking:colone:nglish LanguageEnglish LitMathsTriple ScienceFrenchITMedia StudiesI'm the sort of person who revises enough and then feels sick with worry the day before the first exam.At A Levels, I'm thinking about taking Government and Politics, Media Studies, Computing, and English Literature.Music-wise, I've learned recently to never refuse to listen to something based off of genre. However, my absolute, without a doubt, 100% favourite genre of music is Progressive Rock. My favourite bands/artists are (in no particular order): Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Genesis (1970-1983), Yes (1971-1979), Aphex Twin, Kendrick Lamar, Prince, Pulp, Peter Gabriel, The Beatles, Paul McCartney, Modest Mouse, The Smiths, Joy Division, Flying Lotus, Elbow, David Bowie, Boards Of Canada, The Beach Boys, Tom Waits, Talking Heads, Talk Talk, Stevie Wonder, Sufjan Stevens, and REM. Message me if you want to chat about any of these artists or anything else you think i'd like, or if you want to talk about GCSE IT (Edexcel) or Media Studies (AQA).


Yes! Two people who do Edexcel ICT. How are you lot finding the Animal Shelter CAB?
Reply 9
Original post by MrMackyTv
Yes! Two people who do Edexcel ICT. How are you lot finding the Animal Shelter CAB?


Not my favourite, but it's alright. I enjoyed the Music Festival practice thing that we did.
Original post by a3poify
Not my favourite, but it's alright. I enjoyed the Music Festival practice thing that we did.


I did Community Spirit for practice. Have you done your evaluation yet?
Original post by MrMackyTv
Yes! Two people who do Edexcel ICT. How are you lot finding the Animal Shelter CAB?


Omg Kill Me. It's actually one of the worst things I've done: so boring and so crap, and somehow I still get the marks. We've done activity 1,2 and 4 (4 will be finished after activity 3)
Reply 12
Original post by danielwinstanley
Hola, I'm @danielwinstanley

I'm taking 10 GCSEs
English Language (Eduqas)
English Literature (Eduqas)
Maths (Edexcel)
Biology, Chemistry and Physics (OCR 21st C)
RE (Edexcel)
Spanish (AQA)
Resistant Materials (AQA)
ICT (Edexcel)

I think I'm like partly prepared for next year, although I'm dreading all the quotes to learn for English 😂 and unseen poetry wil actually kill me. I feel I'm most prepared for Spanish because thankfully coursework is so easy (likewise ICT)

I'm hoping to take Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Spanish and possibly dropping Spanish if I find it too difficult at AS.

My aspiration is to become a primary school teacher (it'll never happen because I'm like 110% too shy to talk to people) but we can all dream 😂



We're the only people doing WJEC for English :five:
Although I don't know why we are celebrating we have the hardest specification :frown:
Reply 13
Welcome! :biggrin:
Why don't you introduce yourself? :smile:
Man, time goes so fast look at you year 10 now going into year 11 :bawling:
Original post by Lemur14
First post :smile:


Oh darn it, I wanted to be first.

Well at least I'm on the first page :smile:

Exam Boards:

Maths (Edexcel)
English Lang (AQA)
Lit (AQA)
Chemistry (AQA)
Physics (AQA)
Biology (AQA)
RE (WJEC)
History (WJEC)
IT (Edexcel)
French (AQA)

And yep, I'm ready for Year 11, bring the next academic year on!
(edited 7 years ago)
I hope I am not too late. I am ChallegeLover and my main hobbies are cricket (urgh), table tennis and reading.

Taken so far:Core science Edexcel (25th August) My hopes aren't too high here. Vomited on days of the chemistry and physics exams so I went in feeling a bit out of zone so i didn't think properly. Not sure how biology went though. Maybe the A*in the coursework can save me. Maybe a B if i am lucky but my teachers expected full marks. I don't think they will be happy but what can i do about it now?


I am taking/ what I am predicted by teacher/ what I want:
Edexcel:
Maths (Higher)/9/At least an 8
English Language/8-7/At least a 7
English Literature/8-7/At least a 7
Religious Studies/A*/ At least an A
Spanish (Higher)/A*/ At least an A (I have an A* so far in my coursework. total raw for courseowrk is 111/120)
IT/ A(lost my coursework :colondollar:)/ A/B
Drama/A*/ At least an A (Got A*s in units 1 and 2 so far but unit 3 is hell)
Additional science (Higher)/A*(doubt it)/At least an A
Further additional science (Don't think there are tiers for this but correct me if i am wrong)/A*(doubt it)/At least an A (same as add sci tbf)

WJEC:
Geography (Higher Spec A)/A*/ At least an A (Got A*s so far in my courseworks but they only make up 25% of the total grade)


Favourite subjects: Geography, MathsLeast favourite subjects: RS, IT (both boring) and English lang and lit.


Other subjects I can take in year 11 as well (dunno why I couldn't start them in year 10):
Stats
Further Maths
Latin (Spanish teacher(she teaches Latin as well) thinks I can do it but I think she overestimates me.)
Urdu (my mother tongue but I don't think I can take the workload)
French (French teacher is head of languages and wants me to do it but I know no French)
German (German teacher loves me for some reason and tried to enter me for next year without me knowing and i know no German.)
History (Urgh no chance here)
Arabic (Teacher wants me to do it because my cousin got an A*in it a few years ago but i have no shot of getting a good grade here)
Panjabi (my dad speaks it and so do I so the urdu teacher is urging me to choose urdu and or panjabi)
Italian/Portugese( Teachers urging me to do languages similar to Spanish)

Probably won't take any of them tbh except for Portuguese. It is Spanish with a few alterations.


I am not ready for the new 9-1 exams because I can achieve A*s in the old spec because that is the style I was taught to think and write but the new exams require a more logical/ problem solving aspect in Maths which I can do but don't enjoy and lose concentration in and there is a lot of memory for English. i already would've struggled with the old spec exams considering the amount of time the other subjects would take up but now I know that I will not make it through year 11.

I'm considering taking Maths, Physics, Geography and one from Further Maths, Spanish and Chemistry. Ideally I would like to go on to study an engineering degree and become a..... this is surprising..... an engineer. :eek: or do a maths/phys degree and go into teaching.
Original post by MrMackyTv
I did Community Spirit for practice. Have you done your evaluation yet?


I'm doing the evaluation for Animal Shelter. Still on it now, and its the longest, most boring of the tasks. My teacher says "it's super easy to get all the marks on it", though I think I'd rather do the actual activities -_-
Original post by umar39
We're the only people doing WJEC for English :five:
Although I don't know why we are celebrating we have the hardest specification :frown:


Ugh it's actually awful: so much work. 18 poems, 3 books/plays and ugh, plus whatever else they throw at us.

Did you do the PIXL mocks: in my opinion, they were so so hard
Reply 19
Original post by danielwinstanley
Ugh it's actually awful: so much work. 18 poems, 3 books/plays and ugh, plus whatever else they throw at us.

Did you do the PIXL mocks: in my opinion, they were so so hard


My mocks are in November so I'll find out how hard they are. I'm aiming for 8's really so I'm going to have to work hard!! :redface:

We got the most difficult board but at least the grade boundaries will be really low. You just gotta be the best of the worst :biggrin:

Spoiler