A Journey Through Year 11: Navigating a Year of Growth and Challenges

Year 11 is undoubtedly a focus group for any school; they are in a pivotal stage in their academic careers, and schools will often concentrate their efforts on this cohort not only for their academic success but also to ensure their readiness for their future educational journeys.

In my role as the Head of Year for Years 10 and 11 at Arcadia School, the well-being and academic success of our Year 11 students is a priority for me. The added significance arises from the unique circumstance that this marks the inaugural cohort of Year 11 students at our school, intensifying the expectations on both teachers and students to achieve notable results.

As we embark on the journey with our school's first-ever GCSE cohort, we face a distinct challenge. Unlike schools with seasoned sixth-form students who can share valuable advice like 'hold onto your notes from Year 10' or 'take your mock exams seriously,' we find ourselves without this advantage. As educators, we are compelled to rely on our own stories and strategies, adding a layer to the challenge.

I've put together a timeline with all the important dates for the year: including Mock exams, coursework deadlines, and a countdown to the GCSE exams. I show this timeline in every assembly and have plastered it all around the school. For students, there is no running away from seeing that their GCSE exams are X amount of days away.

Parents have been a fantastic asset to rely on, and constant streams of communication have helped to ensure that the message that is conveyed at school is also consistently echoed at home.

The EEF mentions that metacognition is a ‘high impact, low cost’ way to support students’ progress, and one way to do this is by explicitly teaching pupils how to organise and manage their learning independently - this is particularly important during the initial stages.

Assemblies have served as a valuable platform for me to convey information to students, with a particular emphasis on the crucial practice of spaced learning and delving into the scientific principles behind it.

Form tutors have delivered sessions on revision timetabling, emphasising the significance highlighted by Zimmerman in aiding students to learn how to manage their time effectively.

Students often say they are revising. But what should revision look like? To revise effectively, pupils need revision approaches modelled for them.

I have used assemblies to model how ‘Brain Dumping’ can look, an idea I took from Kate Jones’ Retrieval Practice, which Agarwal initially coined. As a Maths teacher, we explored quadratics and simultaneous equations, but I also modelled how the strategy could be used for analysing a poem for English literature, as research cautions that metacognitive strategies should be taught alongside subject-specific content as students often struggle to transfer generic tips to specific tasks.

Form tutors have modelled vital cognitive strategies such as self-testing using flashcards before students gain independent expertise. We have even tried to show students how to use AI to support this.

There’s no doubt that Year 11 students are under a significant amount of pressure, and considering these challenges, it is crucial to provide endless streams of well-being support. This support could include regular one-on-one well-being check-ins, the incorporation of mindfulness techniques, and the creation of a safe environment where students feel comfortable sharing their feelings and concerns - the latter arguably will not happen overnight.

Heaps of studies have shown that students value messages that convey emotional support and instill belief in the potential for success. This is something I have observed firsthand in my role as Head of Year - students need praise. Not only is this praise needed from teachers, but also parents.

Given the opportunity, I would also advise schools to begin teaching and enabling metacognitive strategies from as young as year 7. Undoubtedly, initiating this process earlier will empower students with increased autonomy and ownership in their studies, thereby naturally fostering their overall well-being.

It is well known that the GCSE model is a very rigid one, and it poses the question of whether greater well-being would be served if students were given different models of assessment. While teachers may have limited influence over the GCSE model, I am curious to know whether exam boards will consider changing their assessment formats, and if so, how and if this will take into consideration students’ well-being.

I am writing this article with less than 100 days until the GCSE Exams. Once the Year 11’s are done with their exams, our energy will instantaneously shift towards the Year 10 cohort, ready to kick things into high gear once more.

Metacognition & Retrieval Practice

Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) Metacognition and self-regulation. Retrieved from https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/metacognition-and-self-regulation

Jones, K. (2020). Retrieval Practice: Resources and Research for Every Classroom. Publisher.

Zimmerman, B. J. (2010) ‘Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview’, Theory into Practice, 41 (2).

Student Wellbeing

Flintcroft, D., Woods, K., & Putwain, D. W. (2017). Developing school practice in preparing students for high-stake examinations in English and Mathematics. Educational and Child Psychology, 34(3), 7-19. https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/8957/

Wentzel, K. R. (1997). Student motivation in middle school: The role of perceived pedagogical caring. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(3), 411–419. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.89.3.411

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