GCSE '18s (20) - half term beckons!

Kingscote, what was the 1996 'no football fan would ever appreciate E M Forster incident'? I'm probably being dense but it doesn't ring any bells

Kingscote . I would very much beg to differ on football/Forster!

I was the same Kingscote and couldn’t envisage it myself - but coming round to thinking if DS doesn’t take the apprenticeship route a course near home may suit. He just doesn’t seem interested in the ‘uni experience’ and whereas the local places are not top tier he’s not ambitious and interested in a more practical style of learning so may be an option. Recognise this may all change in the next six months though

From what I hear it’s quite common for London students to commute so wouldn’t be unusual there - and thinking about Australian and Canadian friends, going to the local uni was the norm for them too (perhaps due to the major cities being so far apart ! )

bpisok that is a rather...thorough approach by the school! I’m gob-smacked (and a bit sceptical) at their claim that they have a 100% success rate.

For balance, and in case any Oxbridge hopefuls are reading and worrying that it’s a common approach, DD’s school (12-20ish to Oxbridge per year but from a year group of c120) did nothing like that. There were never any ‘Oxbridge groups’ and no mention of it until Spring of Y12 (and that was only because DD had forgotten to put her name down for a conference and the HoY suggested she might want to attend!) No extra Oxbridge classes either and the PS advice was the same for everyone, regardless of where they were applying. The school said they wouldn’t stop anyone who wanted to apply, but did advise that the chances were slim below a certain number of A*s at gcse (but this was a selective independent, so results were generally very high). And I never heard of any direct communication beyond the standard academic reference.

Wow, I have just realised that I am completely and unreasoningly prejudiced against staying at home for university. Possibly because none of my friends did? I have always presumed that the DC will go away. Note to self - watch out for subconscious bias and fight against it!

We don’t want a recurrence of the 1996 ‘no football fan could ever appreciate E.M. Forster’ incident...

Oratory1 - I agree. It was just that it was being discussed on here and lots are already doing open days. The situation in our house is
School: she has a very good chance at Oxbridge and should be actively building her PS
Me: it's all pie in the sky
Her: I can't imagine leaving London and I am not sure I want to live in dodgy accommodation and be poor for 3 years. I think I want to commute and stay at home

We are a 25 min commute into Victoria and London Bridge, 35 mins to City, Farringdon and Blackfriars so it is very viable

.....anyone else's DC thinking of staying local??
It's less than a year to applications and I have only just recovered from GCSEs 😩

Don't worry, I'm happy to talk Oxbridge despite no chance of it for DS3! Hopefully others won't be put off.

There was an Oxbridge hopefuls thread for DS2's peers a couple of years ago, which might be the way to go for Oxbridge related talk, but most of the posters stayed on the 'normal' thread for everything else, I believe.

On another note ds agreed to work in the second week of half term - do you think I can claim that starts on Saturday (or Friday) 😂😂

There are differences in the selection criteria (for eg Cambridge interview a much higher percentage so ‘easier’ to get a Cambridge interview but if you get an oxford interview you’ve got a good chance if a place) but the biggest and most important difference is in course content and style so dc should really pick on that basis.

A lot of Oxbridge talk at the moment but we have to remember a tiny percentage of a level students are aiming that way, and not all for uni at all

I am finding all the Oxbridge talk quite fascinating.....
DDs school year has less than 30 students in Yr12. The top 3 potential candidates have been put into a Oxbridge prep class and DD is one of them despite half her GCSEs being Astar and half A (combination of igcse and GCSEs).
School has a pretty good record of success - historically everyone identified has been offered a place but DD is bound to destroy that stat 😁
They give these girls positions of responsibility (Head Girl/Head of House/Head of History Society/Young Medic Society etc). They claim that in addition to the UCAS reference schools have the opportunity to write recommendations direct to the college applied to reinforcing that the student is Oxbridge material (whatever that may be). A large proportion of their 6th form teachers seem to be alumni so I assumed they knew what they were talking about.

They also say to apply to one (think it's Oxford?) if you haven't got straight A star GCSES (but have got Good grades in academic subjects), are very good at one subject but not an all-rounder because the HAT/ELAT etc make up a large part of the section criteria. If you ace the test, and have a great reference then you are likely to get an interview. I think they said something like a 30% GCSE weighting vs 70% Aptitude combined with references for the first cut. Second cut was submitted essays then third was the personal statement. Finally the interview???

..does this sound right?
Mind you DD doesn't seem fussed about Oxbridge other than the possibility of fully catered accommodation for 3 years and the tutorial style of teaching.

whistl I don’t think a 6 would rule him out of either Oxford or Cambridge for any subject, but definitely not for maths where all they’re really interested in is...maths!

That said, Oxbridge isn’t for everyone or the be all and end all. I highly doubt that DS will even apply. He doesn’t fancy it at the moment and having DD at Oxford I can see that it possibly wouldn’t be right for him.

But as I said, it’s very early days and your DS’s position in the year now (and his approach) may very well alter over time. I can see why some on the thread are going to open days already, but it’s worth bearing in mind that we’re only a few weeks in to a 2-year course. Lots of time yet for things (and the DC) to change.

Whistl I don't think one poor mark makes a difference, people often say the 'best eight' are considered or some schools say that you should have around 6 A*s but I don't think even that is a must have so a few lower grades isn't a restriction.

I would say, though, you are right in that you have to really want it - it is a real slog to go through the application process itself and that's before you get in !! You have to really love your subject too to commit to the intense level of study expected. DS is just not that interested. DD2 got an offer (but decided not to take it up) but she is quite driven and loved the intellectual challenge and competition of the application process. I think she applied almost because she wanted to experience the interviews (strange child !). DD1 and DS although equally bright in their own way are very different characters and it didn't interest them at all.

But absolutely nothing wrong with being laid back and non competitive - I'm sure he will find his way and his health will probably be all the better for it.

whistl the odd 6 won't matter. For maths at Cambridge they want you to be really, really good at maths and don't care about extra curricular. Super curricular is more important and if the school he went to for GCSE wasn't stellar, that's also in his favour. All his UKMT stuff will help.

DS1 visited Cambridge on an open day and decided as a callow youth that 'all the old buildings were a bit old fashioned' and preferred the modern, buildings of other universities. Excellent criteria for choosing a uni!

DS goes to a school where approx 1/4 go to Oxbridge. Even if the quarter are drawn from the top half, DS would be lucky to scrape into the top half.

Also, he got a 6 for one of his GCSEs and don't Oxbridge look for straight 8s and 9s as a basic first screen on candidates?

Then there is the fact that DS is just not ambitious. He is easy going and tends to wait his turn for things ( ie wait to be offered rather than go out and get). He doesn't set himself goals and strive to reach them, but rather drifts along doing what other people (teachers, parents) tell him to do.

As a way of being, it has meant that he has done well academically until now because he's done what the teachers requested, but adult life isn't a well-laid path that you just have to amble along. Sometimes there isn't a place for everyone who wants it, but DS just has no idea how to compete, and if someone else gets what would have been DS's in a fair world, DS just looks upset and moves on, but he never asks himself how it happened and what he could have done to prevent it.

Do I sound frustrated with him??!

DS has had 5 days in Berlin/Krakow history trip, English essay, Philosophy essay and 2 Politics ‘9 markers’. Busy busy busy.

I remember Birmingham from when I used to travel for work in the 80 s and 90s and the centre was really dreadful but so different now - but to be fair you could say that about a lot if cities

Sticker it seems to be best of both worlds - a lovely uni campus but still close to the city (for clubbing etc) and surrounded by ‘normal’ houses/shops etc not in the middle on nowhere. Dept buildings and union etc are one end of the lake and most accommodation at the other side with 10 to 20 minute walk from one to the other

whistl what makes you think Oxbridge is unlikely for your DS? It’s still very early days.

Sost sounds like your DGD is coping well. DS hasn’t been set much homework as such but his class was given an extension on a History essay due to be handed in the day before half-term (which he’d done) so he’s decided to re-write it to try and improve it . He’s also going over all the maths they’ve done so far in preparation for the assessment when they go back. Also playing lots of FIFA, going out a lot and getting up late...so I know he hasn’t actually been taken over by an alien being...

Sostenueto your dgd should come and teach my DS! To be fair he has been working - last night he was adding to some stuff he'd done in an English class, but I fear this may have been a deliberate stalling tactic from writing his Shakespeare essay!
I stayed on the Birmingham campus for a conference a few years back and it really is lovely.
Alexander good luck to dd with her recovery.

Hi all! Workload for dgd over holiday ridiculous! She is working hard and I have asked her if she is struggling with anything. She says she's just trying to keep up but I notice she is organising herself quite nicely and notes etc all filed in order. She got to help a couple of year 10s with maths the other day and got complimented at the end by teacher who said shed make a fine teacher! So to add to confusion as to what to do she is considering that option too.
Hope all goes well for dd alexander

Oratory I would never have linked the city & your pic.

Marycontrary I would recommend the Collins's revision books for individual English Literature texts - the way they are laid out and the info map well to the style of questions exam papers. Have key, short quotations on flash cards.
I wish I'd got Tassomei for DS but didn't realise how much he was struggling to remember chemistry until too late! It would really have helped him. His predictions were mostly right but I think sciences ended up a grade lower than the predictions - on the other hand English and computing were a grade higher! Oh, and DS says take end of Y10 and mock exams seriously!
One other thing I noticed - at DS's school the geography and computer science departments were really hot on picking up on what they didn't get right in tests and making them redo them. It's a bit draconian but it really worked. So rather than put a test paper in the bin, if you can get them to have another go at it, I think it helps.

You never know, whistl. I constantly underestimated DS1, but have tended to overestimate DS3!

EllenJane I think DS will get good advice from the school. My question was just for me - he doesn't always pass key bits of info along.

After years of not knowing DS's level, I think we've found it (and its highly unlikely to be Oxbridge).

Just catching up on today's messages.
Cherry will take a look at the debate chambers masterclasses. DD did the medic summer school a few years ago. Was really good if a little pricey.

Bpisok funny you mention the thameslink to Cambridge. I too noticed that. I take the thameslink to commute to work regularly and today noticed that there was a route to Cambridge. Which is great for us too. Means we can hopefully pick the route up
Not far from home rather than traipsing all the way into London. Need to look at the stops though.

Marycontrary DDs advice is to make sure you understand the topic when it is taught. Once you can understand the concept it becomes easier to apply - this particularly for the sciences: it was the practise papers in the end that really helped. Just do as many as you can nearer the exams, mark and review. For languages it was all about the vocab. For maths it too was about practise papers. I am another who bought the CGP books but DD didn't use them. Oh and our predicted grades were very accurate. Although we didn't take it too seriously as last year it was such a finger in the air. Nobody knew how it was going to be.