Year 12 #3: Open Days and Predicted Grades beckon

Statistics can be misleading in some cases.

A couple of weeks ago, DS1 showed me that his attendance this term was 100%. Great, but there had only been one lecture. 😆

I think you should pose that as a question on your thread. Personally, I insist on White Cornish on a census and Parliament was considering it as a distinct ethnic group.

I was particularly impressed that so many applied for Anglo Saxon, Norse & Celtic, even though it had the lowest number of applicants. Why am I not surprised that only 28% of places given to UK students went to those from a state school! DD only had the opportunity to take 1 MFL to GCSE, without a sniff at Greek or Latin.

What if you self identify as a traveller?

Sticker that sounds like the urban myth they were so sure about last year, that if someone had a screaming breakdown in the GCSE exam hall, all candidates were automatically put up a grade!

That's seriously impressive, Comefromaway's DD! Will you get a chance to witness the chairing?

Stickerrocks Keep the stats coming! Very interested.

Kingscote DD is studying the reports on Oxbridge stats. We have established that there is a 50% chance of being accepted if you apply to Cambridge and state that you have gypsy traveller ethnicity. I'm sure more interesting facts will follow.

www.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxford/Oxford%202018%20Annual%20Admissions%20Report.pdf

www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply/statistics

Are any DC who were considering Warwick as a possibility now not considering it?

Well done to her re the Model United Nations though - very impressive.

I think it was internal but she has no excuse. This is a piece of work she was working on last term!

Comefromaway very impressed about the Model UN conference and don't worry too much about the diploma deadline - I expect it's an internal deadline and she won't be the only one...

Hopefully it was just an internal deadline she missed rather than an exam board one. I am sure if so they will be lenient due to her conference

They are going to be discussing FGM, the rights of indiginous peoples and sexual abuse by UN workers.

heavy stuff

Feeling both proud and disapointed in dd today.

On the good side she is the subject of the school's twitter and Facebook this morning due to the hard work she has put in for the Model United Nations Conference where she's one of the only (maybe even the only) non Dutch delegate to Co-Chair a comittee.

On the bad side she has failed to hand in a piece of coursework for her diploma on time!

The Debate Chamber programme looks very good. The law and philosophy options would appeal to DS but he'll have to choose. I think we could only really stump up for one week!

DS2 attended a Debate Chamber summer school at the end of Y11 and enjoyed it. The lectures were pitched at the right level, the teachers were enthusiastic and the other delegates were friendly. It's not residential though, so you'd have to be near London (DS2 commuted on the tube each day).

I hear debate chamber are good. You have to pay but don’t think they’re ridiculously expensive.

Kingscote - London not really an option, but we have found a summer school at Bath which will cost £225 - not a problem with paying as she wont be eligible for free places at many places as I did a degree (well 2!) so not from a disadvantaged background. There is also one locally at Edge Hill University, which isn't where she would like to go, but may be interesting. I have encouraged her to apply for the UINQ one but again very unlikely to get a place.

Two weeks to half term and a weeks rest for them - yippee! We are away in April just before Easter, so heading for that as our next break.

androb not summer school, but DS is enjoying The Guardian lectures - although they may only be in London.
He is also looking at several of the Joint Honours Politics degrees at Warwick.

Evening!

bishop - yes the provisional licence can be used as ID. DD wants to learn to drive but wont be insured on my or DH car and as doesn't have a job, wont be able to get a car! But I learnt when 17 and didn't drive until 22, so just had a few lessons before driving again. Hopefully she will pass easily, but who knows - its harder now!

Does anyone know where to look for other summer schools and the like? She wants to do politics somewhere. We also need to consider where she may like to go - grades are BBB at the moment but I think AAB or ABB is more likely based on current predictions.

DD has told SIL she wants to do mechanical engineering... not sure she really knows what is involved....

That's good, DS gets frustrated that he's often not given extra time in class exams or tests. Another thing to watch for younger DC is homework taking much longer than for others and so teachers thinking they hadn't put in any effort. I just used to write on it 'DS has taken x minutes on this piece of work' where that was the case.

At our school they switch to green pen for internal exams. DS had his first internal in class test this week for which he had et. He has form which he fills in and the teacher initials and when it is full he returns to the LSA department. For end of year exams I know from my role as invigilator that as well as green pen they fill in an individual form for each exam stating whether they used it or not and what for eg. Finish exam, amend answers, proof reading etc. All to evidence use.

Thanks Somethingsmellsnice, biposok, oratory and 242 for the advice. The different colour pen thing for extra time in internal tests is a good way of building up evidence of need.

I will remember to take it a step at a time. After all he may be NT so I won't start worrying about potential obstacles now, but I am sure I will be ready to be politely persistent should the need arise

Yes, DD just applied for a driving licence, even though she won't be learning yet. She needs a dbs check for volunteering this summer, and needs to do the check and send duplicate documents at the post office (I don't want to send originals in case they get lost). She has birth cert., passport and bank statement for id, but you can't do a certified copy of birth cert as it is a crown document - so she is getting driving licence as third form, and will want it next year for id for pubs etc. Not sure when she will learn to drive. We have a co any car which she can't use, and no cash for a runaround, or to insure one. Busses are frequent and Dad's taxi used in the evenings particularly if no one else coming back near us.