Year 12 - 2024/25 - Support, Discussion and Looking After Each Other

@Waspi congrats to you DS getting an English award. Good to hear his tests are going well. Oh dear about not saying bye or thank you hope he did when you picked him up.

Driving instructor got in touch taking DS on first lesson next week. Hopefully goes well he does not charge for 1st lesson just wants to check they get on OK.
DS has some more tests this week so been busy studying.

Stockbroker? @Newlittlerescue

Hope everyone's DC are doing well and settling into A Level life.

DS has finally had some tests and done well (which has bolstered his confidence a bit). He also won the English prize at his old school for 2023/24 and we went to the awards ceremony last week. The HoD said some very complimentary things about him. He is really chuffed about this and very nearly cracked his face and broke into a smile.

In all other ways his extraordinary laziness and self absorption is driving me and his dad insane. Common courtesy and thinking about anything other than himself are anathemas to him at the moment. I keep telling myself that he is 16 and all teenagers are like this to a greater or lesser extent but my patience is wearing thin. An example - I got up at 6.30am on Saturday to take him to a tennis coaching course about 100 miles away. He slept in the car and when we arrived he just got out of the car and walked off; no "thanks for the lift mum" or even "goodbye"😡 I was tempted not to bother going to pick him up again later!

When asked what he wants to do he says he wants to be a millionaire!

Same here 🤦‍♀️

DS has made the decision to drop Physics A level, bringing him down to 3. Which I think is a good move but it's pretty significant as engineering is now off the table. He is now doing maths, further maths and economics. When asked what he wants to do he says he wants to be a millionaire!

With those remaining subjects, biomedical engineering is still on the table at some universities (e.g. Reading, Sheffield) and is arguably the type of engineering most likely to make him a millionaire! (AI/medical devices). It's possible other types of engineering are still open to him (maths seems to be more sought after than physics) but I take your point that if you don't enjoy physics, you probably won't enjoy engineering!

DS has made the decision to drop Physics A level, bringing him down to 3. Which I think is a good move but it's pretty significant as engineering is now off the table. He is now doing maths, further maths and economics. When asked what he wants to do he says he wants to be a millionaire!

But I do think that if physics doesn't float your boat then it's unlikely you'll want to do engineering.

Hope everyone else is doing well and are happy in their subjects!

(No driving lessons here, not until the summer - even then I'm not sure he'll bother straight away, we don't have a car in any event!)

thank you thats helpful

@steppemum Look for courses accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry. It’s a subject which has suffered from declining applications over recent years, so you may find that even courses at highly-ranked universities don’t demand the grades you might expect. I looked randomly at Warwick’s accredited course - its standard offer is AAB. Grade requirements also get softer at Clearing time - see this old thread which says Bath’s course was in Clearing in 2022 at BBB:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/4778014-insurance-choice-imperial-vs-ucl-vs-bath

dd has started to panic that everyone else is going to uni open days.

She thinks she won't want ot go next year as too busy with exams, and wants to have some idea what she is heading towards and needs for grades.

She wants to read Chemistry, with the view to eventually teaching. (which I don't know if she will manage, certainly not full time, but she would be good at it)

Does anyone know anythign about chemistry courses?

Yikes that sounds cringeworthy. Please ignore the bit about me!

@Muchtoomuchtodo To be fair there has also been reform in England on both the exam content and the way it is assessed, which has had the effect of countering grade inflation. This graph is rather dated now but you will see what I mean.

NB It also shows I was wrong to say grade inflation was slower at A Level than GCSE - apologies for that.

Anyway I know what you mean - my AAAA at A Level in 1986 stood out even among my Oxford contemporaries, but that wouldn’t be the case in today’s context. Four of my seven godchildren have at least 3 A stars. I am not sure that matters too much though. The chances of me going up for a job against someone from the A* generation are pretty much non-existent!

@JessyCarr thanks for that.

Wouldn’t the answer to have been to address the grade inflation rather than introducing a new system that more and more grades can be added to?

My A’s achieved in 1995 now look like a far lesser achievement since A* and now 9 have been introduced and I don’t believe fir a minute that there has been a significant rise in the proportion of kids achieving very top marks in their exams.

Forgive me if I’ve missed something obvious, it just seems a really odd thing to do in the first place, and even more so for some key exams and not others (to keep things comparable).

@Tebheag That is annoying, especially that he is ghosting you. But (devil’s advocate!) it may be through circumstances such as current pupils unexpectedly failing or postponing tests and needing to continue with him. Instructors need people to pass (both theory and practical) tests in order to make space for a new pupil, and I guess with the best will in the world it won’t always happen.

DD’s instructor told us that the best time of year to get a lesson slot is September, when a lot of young people disappear off to university whether they’ve passed or not! I hope you find someone good very soon.

@Muchtoomuchtodo The number grades only apply to GCSEs, where grade inflation had been such that the alternative would have been to keep adding more stars to the A in order to separate out the top performers. With a number system starting at 1 for the lowest grade, you can if necessary just add further numbers in due course (grades 10, 11 etc) to distinguish at the top level.

A levels have also been subject to grade inflation but not so dramatically, with the A* being added later than it was for GCSE. I suppose there may be a move to change this system in the future, but with the most competitive university courses (Oxbridge, medicine etc) using interviews and/or aptitude tests to distinguish between the most able applicants, the issue may not be so urgent.

Obviously there’s a Curriculum and Assessment Review on foot now, so who know what will come out of that. It won’t affect our sixth-formers, but will no doubt have consequences for those of us with younger DC coming through.

@JessyCarr was a few months ago back in the summer that we got in touch and instructor said November was OK. Just annoyed as he has wasted our time!

This talk of predicted grades is confusing!

We’re in Wales where the number system hasn’t been introduced. I assumed that in England they used numbers for GCSEs and A levels but it seems I got that wrong! Anyone know why they’re different?

I took DD out in my car for her first practice driving session yesterday, after her instructor said she was ready to go out without dual-control. I may have a few new grey hairs as a result! But she did really well, and progressed loads in 2 hours.

@Tebheag that is tough if you have lost your instructor. There is such a backlog around us that finding an instructor is a major challenge. I asked around for recommendations and approached 3 - of whom one never replied, another said she’d get back to me in a few months and never did, and the only one who didn’t flake out on me put DD on a 9-month waiting list. Lucky we started looking early! But she is lovely and DD really enjoys her lessons, so she was worth the wait. I hope you find someone who’s a great fit too.

No joy with car shopping so still searching also started looking for new instructor as one I had been in touch with is now not replying guess he has more than enough students to teach to drive.

Thanks for all the good wishes.
birthday went well, a couple of friends, pizza and dvds followed by cinema Sat morning. Very quiet for 17th, but she was happy.

Dd will be on our car insurance soon, but we didn't get it in time for birthday. So first lesson on Thursday. 2 hour beginner lesson for price of one hour. I'm praying it goes well and she like the instructor, so that we can book a set of 10.

Morning all, nice to read what you have all been up to.

Great that your DD found the resit ok @steppemum , when do they get results?

@Teadrinker81 my DD had wobbles just after she started in Sept and we did have tears over whether she could do biology, she demanded I find a tutor, which i did make initial enquiries about but she has talked to her teachers and I think has accepted different teaching styles are normal and it is ok if she doesn't understand something first time. She hasn't mentioned tutoring since and got good grades in all her tests just prior to half term so I am keeping quiet on this for now. I think they need time to adjust to the challenge of A level, even those who were high achieving at GCSE. My DD was one of these and it was only when she could prove to herself (and her new teachers) that she is capable that she has settled more.

DD isn't 17 until April so no driving lessons to worry about yet. We were going to have to get her a car though as only got automatics atm. But we had a word about the cost of running it and asked her to contribute to the insurance. She has a job and lots of savings, but she is very tight fisted and doesn't want to spend her own money on a car!! 😂. So we are going to swap one of ours to a 1L manual and she can share ours until she goes to uni and see what she needs then.

DDs school are giving students minimum expected grades soon, then predicted grades later in y12. They had it drummed in that they are 'minimum' and they will be expected to try and exceed these. I think she will get 3 As which doesn't leave much room to exceed, so hoping it won't put too much pressure on her. She is loving her subjects still though and throwing herself into mentoring and helping with open evenings etc. She has also a week of work experience lined up at the hospital I work at next year which will be convenient for travelling. There is so much for them to do it is mind blowing how they keep on top of it all!

Happy 17th birthday to those celebrating this week!

@steppemum fingers crossed she gets what she needs in English.
@Techno56 hope your son had good results and is feeling more confident
Happy 17th birthday to any November kids.
@wonderstuff Good to hear your OK

Hubby and DS going car shopping for an old banger tomorrow thought I had a instructor lined up for this week but he went quiet after chasing got message to say he is busy with tests this week and last couple of weeks but will be in touch not impressed as wasted a few months when could have asked other instructors.

I hope you are okay @wonderstuff that must have been very scary.

We have problems with getting driving tests in my area. People are applying all over the country. The brother of one of DS' friends had his test in Leeds and another sibling in Devon (we are in Berkshire). I hope your DC find getting a local test easier.

DS is 17 next month but doesn't want to learn to drive until the Spring. That's fine by me. We'll have to get a car before he can start as ours are both automatics and he wants to pass in a manual.

I'm pleased that your DD found the English retake better than the summer @steppemum - that bodes well for a positive outcome.

Happy birthday to those with birthdays this week - enjoy being 17!

DS has a careers thing on Monday after school. A selection of "old boys" who are in the legal profession are coming in to talk to those interested about legal careers and pathways. Should be interesting for DS who still has no idea what he wants to do for a living.

Happy birthday to those turning 17 this week!

ds2’s birthday isn’t for another 7 months! The first of his friends has their driving test today, I have to say that I really dislike this stage of parenting - it’s a huge step them passing their driving tests but it feels even bigger letting your own dc out in a car with their friends.

i’ve only just got over it with ds1 and am not relishing having to go through it again.

Gosh @wonderstuff - you make light of it, but that must have been a scary moment on the motorway. I am glad you are unscathed, even if the car isn’t! Happy birthday to your DD 🎈

I wonder who will be the first DC on the thread to pass their driving test? DD had an early start on the lessons due to being one of the oldest in the cohort, but had had to pause her driving while we checked out some health concerns (unexplained fainting). Anyway she’s fine, but we will push her test date off for a bit and look forward to congratulating whoever is first to throw away the “L” plates!

In an unexpected development, I found today…a rough draft of some text for DD’s UCAS personal statement! She really is champing at the bit to go to uni. Eeek.

And happy Birthdays to kids turning 17 this week @wonderstuff and @steppemum . Good Luck with driving lessons. A year and half and they will be in uni, proud and sad at the same time 😞

I don’t think they do for A Levels, DD helps with maths and other subjects for Year 10 and 11 drop ins, but thanks for suggesting that, I will ask her.
There is talk that the Chem dept is very strict and the predicted grades are not very good, so I think all these emotions are stemming from worries about future. So many kids chose other subjects just because of that, according to DD.
Never had dislike on Chem while in GCSE, all writing subjects were the problem areas then. She can’t drop Chem with out dropping Further Maths, so there was not much choice either.
@JessyCarr I have never done that before, but probably worth emailing. I never know what to ask,especially since staring secondary. normally listen to everything they say. And we have report/parents meeting coming up, so would be the good time to talk about it.

BTW, DD joined Lamda, for public speaking and very happy with it. And CCF going well as well, now that they are talking responsibility and on learning towards officer post, gets more interesting.
@wonderstuff oh no!! That sounds like an eventful day, hope it was not very scary. And we were discussing seating plans over dinner. DD said she had not been able to sit next to her BFF since the start because of seating plan and today she was glad as together they work a lot faster!! I don’t know what basis they arrange seats. Not like primary with different sets of grades, for sure?