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

Tomorrow for us too, but just back to school, so no real surprises. Although his form group has changed and he's not pleased. 10 am start tomorrow and then back to 8:50 as normal. They have to be in school until morning break and then can come and go as they please.

DS starts tomorrow. He's been really pooly for the last few days so a bit upset he's missed out on the last few days of holiday. We have the timetable through, Mondays and Friday are full on!

Tomorrow for us. Shorter days with a later start on both Wed and Thurs but a long day on Friday.

I feel really worried as my son's closest friend has moved to another school and although he does still have some friends from their group, it's mostly girls and I am worried they will drift off. He's autistic so everything is just harder.

He thought someone he met on NCS may be joining but turns out they are not.

He doesn't seem concerned but I am and just want him to enjoy this time. Always something to feel worried over.

He has some very long days and then some where he only has two lessons ..I think they have to be on site for their study periods in Y12 so will be interesting to see if he manages to get work done!

Great news about the drama A level, fingers crossed it works out ok.

@Pharos We did.

So it seems Drama might be back on 🙄😁

The lovely deputy head who knows ds v well called yesterday morning to confirm the other student had pulled out and to talk through the options, Economics and English Lit both had spaces.

Ds mentioned that his friend who just missed the grade to take Drama was still really interested, she suggested friend email her asap stating this and she'd see what she could do. Friend was having to take German instead so jumped at the chance to change back. It should be confirmed later today so they're both very happy. Think school were also reluctant to not run one of the creative A-Levels - in a heavily STEM-based sixth form, they need to keep the other subjects going.

@JessyCarr I take your point about group work being a problem with only 2 but ds and his friend mesh together really well on stage, certainly better than the original student. Friend is a really good actor but not as strong at the written aspect so working closely will benefit both. They do have to do a trio as part of their final practical but they'll find a way round it.

@bluefineliner hope dd had a good time!

Who else started today?

Hope you got sorted @Pharos ?

Well today is the first day of sixth form at DD's new school. She is very excited but also nervous as to what to expect too. I feel she will love it and I will be interested to see how it goes as she moves from a selective all girls school to a mixed non selective school which is 3 times the size.

Of course DD is more interested in what she is wearing and how lunch time will go than anything else 😂.

Good luck to any new starters today and hope those that started yesterday had a good first day.

Sorry to hear that, @Pharos - how disappointing. I can’t help wondering whether Drama would have been a bit rubbish with just 2 of them (does the A Level include group work like the GCSE does?). Anyway I know that’s not the point, and I hope a good alternative turns up for your DS tomorrow.

Thought it was all going a bit too well… 🙄

Ds knew there were only likely to be a v small number doing drama, two of the others didn’t get the 6 needed so there would be just 2 taking it. He was actually ok with that but the other student has pulled out this weekend ☹️

It’s the one A Level he was absolutely set on from the start and there’s no way of moving anywhere else. While he has the grades to do several other subjects, chances are they’ll be full - the sixth form is extremely oversubscribed. The only one he’s remotely interested in is Economics but he has precious little chance of it.

We’re waiting to hear what school say tomorrow, he says he’s not fussed but I know he’s really disappointed ☹️

DD is exactly the same. Her maths teacher commented on it. She loves the harder stuff but is less confident on the basics. She was expecting an 8 but ended up with a 7.

When at the college last week discussing ds's choices, the teacher asked him if he just got maths, that is partly the reason she was happy to try him with FM.

The college accepts a much broader range of students though.

Its probably a B in maths vs an Aish in something like biology. Mind you, there was a lot of pushing by the parents

I would let a motivated person with a grade 8 do maths. Typically a motivated person able to get an 8 will survive A-level maths if they continue to put the work in and they actually enjoy it. Hopefully they are the kind of person who will ask their teacher if they get stuck, get to lessons on time and ready to learn (you can tell I am getting ready to meet my new year 12s next week!). They just need to go in with their eyes open!

The only discussion is the opportunity cost. What are they not doing instead of maths? What would that outcome look like? A grade B at maths (for example) might be better than any of those outcomes.

Dd always gets the labelling questions wrong! Think there was one with a circle in paper 3 this year?

@Pythag that's so interesting! Yes, DS actually happier with abstract maths whereas 'easier' maths is where he has tended to lose marks, often due to silly mistakes and simple calculation errors.

I agree with the ceiling in maths. A family friend has a dilemma- DC got an 8 in maths however it was a low 8 and took lots and lots of work and tutoring. They're worried that maths a level is just too hard for them but the DC is adamant they want to take it. Should they discourage it?

I come across this kind of student in my teaching. Some pupils do relatively better at maths as they get older, often because the bits of maths that they enjoy (abstract, algebraic maths) become more and more important relative to the easier bits of maths (maths involving words and numbers).

Such an interesting maths discussion - especially about the ceiling. Dd is doing maths a level. She got a high 8 and missed the 9 due to silly mistakes so we are feeling confident that she has the ability. But I hope she doesn’t reach her ceiling like I did! I turned up at my first A Level maths class and was told that no one would get above a B as we weren’t going to be taught the whole curriculum. I ended up with a C. Maths GCSE was easy for me, but A Level was much more difficult

For dd she’s always enjoyed maths and got an 8, there’s still a fear that she’ll find A-level too difficult, and she toyed with the idea of statistics instead, but has decided to take the plunge. She had planned Spanish, but in the taster lessons decided she didn’t love it enough for the level of work she felt she’d have to put in.

This year generally feels like a step into the unknown, it’s a big step up and the choices are so narrow. I know I found studying at a-level a real challenge (although I got gcse grades that only just got me on the course after coasting at school).

Interesting discussion about maths. DS started year 7 weak in maths but his trajectory throughout secondary has been steadily upwards and he ended up with a strong 8 at GCSE. I think it's been a matter of maturity for him (he is young in the year).
He doesn't love maths but is taking it at A level to keep some doors open (he doesn't know what he wants to do at uni yet). They start with four and drop one though so maths might well be the one he ends up dropping if he finds it too hard.

Yes, this. I definitely also think that there is a maths ceiling. I want DD2 to enjoy her A level subjects. DD1 took a subject at A level that she did not then enjoy as it had a different focus to GCSE and it was a very stressful two years. I was prouder of her C in that subject than I was of the A* she got in a subject that came easily to her. DD2 is lucky enough to have a choice between subjects, I want her to study something she loves.

I agree with @Pythag re maths ceiling. I found A level maths and FM pretty much a walk in the park back in the 80s.

I hit my ceiling at degree level only just scraping through the second year and managed the 3rd year by picking units not based on years 1 & 2. (Should have switched to CompSci. I wish someone had suggested it.)

I agree with @TeenToTwenties and @Pythag - maths is cumulative in a way essay based subjects are not. We had a lot of debate about maths in our household. DS is very capable (solid 8 at GCSE) but he is not a maths brain and finds maths hard compared to other subjects.

We spoke to his maths teacher at year 11 parent's evening and he said that DS could get a good A level result in maths if he worked very hard, but he probably wouldn't enjoy it. I agree with this and, more importantly, so did DS.

I firmly believe that A Levels should be taken in subjects the child really enjoys and will be engaged with. Obviously they need to be good at them too, but if the child is lucky enough to have the grades to be selective then chose those subjects they enjoy most.

DS had his enrolement yesterday and all signed up to do IB (standard English, History and Spanish and Higher Chemistry, Physics and Maths). I am hoping he enjoys it but I think the work load may come as a bit of a shock!!

We're still debating whether to get his English Lit reviewed - I don't really think we need to as he's got where he wanted to be and majority of his class are below where they were predicted and got in mocks.....

Maths A-level is deliberately difficult. It isn’t meant to be for everyone. If you don’t get a grade 8 or 9 at GCSE, you are not in the top 12 percent of the cohort.

Compared to other subjects, maths is entirely cumulative. Every concept at A-level builds upon concepts learnt earlier. If you have gaps in your knowledge (which you will have if you got a grade 7 or below) you will find A-level concepts very difficult or impossible to grasp making lessons inaccessible. You will not be able to progress until you fill those gaps and unless you are very dedicated you will not have time to both fill gaps and stay on top of new content. This can lead to gaps compounding over time, leading to grades E and U at A-level.

Some other subjects are partially cumulative, but none to the same extent as maths.

It is also true that maths can only partially be taught. We all have a ceiling in maths: the level beyond which we cannot progress even with the best teaching. For some people, maths A-level is beyond their ceiling.

I really don’t understand your third paragraph. More people get high grades at maths A-level than any other subject. It is the most popular A-level by far. A higher proportion of the country gets good maths A-level results than any other subject.

However, because maths is prestigious, most people who are able at maths take it. So someone who is not very able (eg a 6 at GCSE) is going to be competing against the tens of thousands of much more able students at Alevel for the top grades. Other subjects don’t have quite the same profile.

I disagree that everyone should do maths until they leave school. And I am a maths teacher and a Tory voter.

@Messen ,Maths is incredibly cumulative as a subject. If you 'only get a 6' (a fantastic result for many) then there are vast chunks of the GCSE you haven't mastered. If you attempt A levels without the foundations you are in for a rough time.

Whereas History for example is skills based. The GCSE may have been on 3 topics, you have the skills but didn't revise 1 or 2 topics very well so you couldn't show them off in the exam. It won't matter as different topics may be done at A level.

Furthermore I moot it can be easier to at least write something for a history essay if you have been paying attention. It is possible with maths to just not know how to start a question at all.