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

Going well for us so far. However he decided on Monday that he no longer wants to do Further Maths, this is absolutely fine as he can change it to Geography which he also wanted to do but couldn't be accommodated because of a timetable clash.

He just needs to let someone know.

I can report back that DS was indeed allowed to leave school to get his flu jab during his free period.

@YellowphantGrey I feel for the kids in your DS's school.

Finally found you all here!
@YellowphantGrey that sounds soo old school. Poor kids, I also can’t believe teenagers of this era is going to take it as learning responsibilities. IMHO it would only backfire 🤦‍♀️
I came looking for year 12 thread, but to be honest it was basically DS starting secondary vs DD going to the sixth form. (I struggle mostly with the secondary school start with all the unknowns.)
DD is doing Maths, FM, Phy and Chem. she is a bit worried about Chem but again don’t have anything else in mind, other than Econ( we discussed this prior to appln and she decided that she is not good at essay subjects ) but now worried again! I am happy if she wants to move to Econ, but she struggled with Geo content for GCSE, especially finishing answers in exams more than learning part. And now school has externals and Econ would be in waiting list. She hasn’t done anything about it yet though!
We don’t have any kind of enrichment/ other stuff ppl are talking about, tmrw is welcome evening, may be we will get to know more.
Only found this today and thanks again for amazing thread, we will need this to support each other!

Across the entire school, jumpers amd blazers are to be worn all year round unless permission is given to remove them, then they have to put them back on to move around the school

Quite! Especially as a lot of year 13s are 18 and being treated this way too

Oh, that's tough, @bluefineliner. Hope things settle quickly for her.

We had expectations of the 6th form last night. Really useful. Lots of let them be independent and make their own choices, but remember they are still only 16/17, and your children help us to help them.
Lots of EPQ and enrichment options, getting them to think of school as a working day and getting all their homework/study/etc done in that 9-5 day so weekends and evenings can br their time.
I was really pleased with how it all looks, so I just need to convince DS 😁

@bluefineliner your daughter sounds lovely. Sorry things have been tough for her, but great that her subject change decision is paying off. Hope those budding new friendships continue to grow and flourish 💐

@Teadrinker81 I like the calmness of your DD, very considered to wait and give it time.

My DD has had a few bumpy days, culminating in tears on Mon night after a day with more free periods than she wanted. She didn't have enough homework to keep her busy and they are only letting Y12 in a large hall in free periods until they have sorted things out. This meant her sitting near large groups of established friends, her own 'new' friends weren't there. She tried to chat to a few, some literally just turned their backs on her and ignored her. She sent me a message at work telling me she wanted to come home 😢.

She is very hormonal this week and dramatic so I had to talk it through with her and reassure her this is normal and will get better. She had also changed from maths to psychology so was waiting to start her new class.

Anyway yesterday was much better, she has lots of homework now to keep her busy and is loving psychology and the teacher. She does actually have a few budding friendships but I think she's been taken aback at the animosity of some girls (who are existing students). She does, and will, speak to anyone to try and make them comfortable so finds it strange others don't do the same. She even threatened to go back to her old school but agreed this is not the right option for her. Gosh I had hoped it would be easier than this.

@YellowphantGrey that's awful. That poor kid being penalised and shamed because of the book.

First proper day for Dd and she doesn’t want to discuss how it went. She says she doesn’t want to dwell on it and become negative so she’ll do the rest of the week and then talk when she’s got a better picture. Crikey!
She can be negative and struggles with new social situations and she’s not gone to college with her friends so I suppose we should expect a bumpy start.

My son's previous school would have given detentions for not wearing a jumper or not having the right equipment for a class. My son once got a 60 minute detention for "putting his blazer on too slowly". They were/are seriously anal about things like that. Each summer we would get a daily email to say whether it was warm enough for them to not have to wear their jumpers. I had to bite my tongue a lot over the years.

We shall see if DS' new school are as petty tomorrow when DS will be going to mandatory PE in non-school uniform sports kit. I have ordered the sports kit but it had to be in the correct house colours and he didn't find out which house he was in until last Friday.

@YellowphantGrey What pettifogging nonsense from the school! Even my 12 year old is trusted to know when in the autumn it’s cool enough for a jumper.

@YellowphantGrey Detention for nor having a jumper or a book they don't even need yet is NOT bringing the gap between school and uni! It is very much in the 'school' camp.

In fact, what we really want our students to be, is critical thinkers.

I am an academic. No one at uni expects students to have books in place months in advance of when they are needed. And no one cares what students wear either (within the limits of civil decency 😁).

They are insisting it's to promote independence and bridge the gap between sixth form and Uni.

They want all students to have all 3 books by yesterday, ready to start the first book after October. It seems ridiculous. Even when they started year 10, they were given the book last and said the first one is needed so make sure you have it by then.

Same with their uniform. A few detentions given out for no jumpers yet the only place you can get the uniform sold out of Xl and L jumpers by the first week of summer hols and aren't getting anymore till end of October so students without a jumper have detentions. DS said everyone is lending their jumpers to each other when they have free periods tk avoid it. 3 detentions in a half term means 2 days isolation the following term.

I think this is shocking. For equipment/ resources that need to be bought by parents, no school should be dishing out punishments to students.They don't know the parents financial circumstances and its beyond a 16 year olds control.

To answer your question, stepping back a bit here but only as far as wanted by DS and definitely not to the extent of expecting him to buy his own books. He's only just 16 though, maybe I'll feel different next year.

'individual circumstances' not 'consequences', but it does have individual consequences too.

@YellowphantGrey that's terrible, poor girl! I really hate such pettiness. It shows lack of care and consideration for individual consequences and fosters blind obedience to rules 😡

Another detention yesterday for someone in DS combined English class. They are doing 3 books over the 2 years. They sent the reading list out so I ordered them on Amazon before results came.

Other pupil didn't have the books and said their Mom hadn't ordered them till Friday and are due be delivered this week.

Teacher said they need to take responsibility and she should have got her own books and not relied on her parents to get them so she got the detention for lack of equipment. DS said she was really upset after class and had been crying because her Mom had to wait till she was paid to order them. To make it worse, the first book isn't started until after October half term.

How much are you all stepping in to help your children? Or are you all stepping completely back and leaving them to it?

@Gazelda I would transfer as much as possible to DD and give her an allowance to cover it. It's a good skill to learn to balance your own budget and doing it through 6th form will prepare her for uni if she goes.

Really positive start to college yesterday for my DTs! They both enjoyed it and are buzzing about the various opportunities.

That’s interesting, I don’t know anyone else doing that.

Yes. But it takes up two a level timetable slots as you are in theory only doing one other subject. I don't think it's that uncommon.