Year 12 - 2024/25 - Support, Discussion and Looking After Each Other (Thread 2)

Congratulations to those with their AS and Btech grades!

Your daughter’s trip sounds amazing @JessyCarr, she will get so much from this summer I’m sure.

Thank you @TheLivelyViper, I’ll tell DS about Zero Gravity. @Newleasethere are also lots of exemplar personal statements online. They need to be taken with a pinch of salt of course but may be useful to get that first sentence down? Everything will run from that like a dam unplugging 😊 DS has written everything down in this first draft - it’s about 6000 characters, so well over the limit (but he is a gasbag!) he will refine and edit it through revisions. UCAS website, CUG and the individual universities all have guidance and help on writing PS too. It’s a different format this year, with three questions, but the principles are the same, and the same info needs to be shared.

Yes the Y12 summer is very busy especially compared to the Y11 one, but hopefully the Y13 makes up for it. Obviously my subject is quite different but I'm sure there's still a way for her in Engineering to show how her own understanding of different concepts through some of the projects she worked on, I wouldn't worry about work experience honestly unless it's something like law or medicine (and even then it's hard to get work experience and people get in without it) then I wouldn't worry because it's more about your own work on the subject, whether that be studying the work of other engineers or projects you've done as opposed to having work experience which can be very hard for many subjects. I think online courses are great because they do count as work experience and she can explain what she did on them and problems. So she's definitely got enough to talk about, so she just needs to start thinking about some of them, and write bits down (also since this year they have questions, try and think of one experience/thing she's read etc to guide an answer to each question and after that she can link elements between her answers).

But yes I'd definitely set up a Zero gravity account they have great forums (for school students, univeristy networks - both for when you're their and when looking for information when applying or even choosing accommodation, they also have masterclasses on interviews, personal statement, university finances and budgeting, revising for Y13, when you're at uni looking for internships and more. Plus because it's got everyone from mainly Y12 to university students doing placement years or years abroad, people doing masters and more so you can get a good wide range of advice.

Thank you @TheLivelyViper for taking time to talk me through this. I will ask her to check zero gravity forum. We are looking for Engg, and doing some courses in the field and she have few competitions that she participated. There is no work experience in related field. I am sure once she start forming the words, it will come through. Right now too busy finishing off EDT course mentioned here which would help as well. And another online project, along with ESAT prep. Keeping them busy.
They don’t have lot of extra curricular, one of them is CCF which actually influenced the subject choice a lot.

Zero gravity is a free platform for students from y12 upwards, they have old masterclass on the personal statement and they also give out free mentors who are univeristy students who are doing the course you are aiming for and help with personal statement, interview prep etc. So get her to sign up and make an account and listen to the lectures/workshops on that and also there's a forum so she can ask current y13s, y12s and univeristy students tips for a personal statement if she wants. What subject is she doing? I'm not sure if I've missed it.

My own advice is just start, try and go straight into the topics and discuss something you thought about from a book or lecture, or if it's politics or a subject that constantly evolving (which most are) a thinking points from new ideas in the sector which intellectually stimulates you and go from there. I begun talking about the removal of civil liberties which people thought would never be taken right now in America and other countries and how it made me reflect on how disengagement from politics from traditionally marginalised groups needs to be dealt with otherwise their rights will continue to be lost and how minority groups disengage from politics due to lack of representation and not being the focus on policies but that they won't get that till the become a strong voting block and about looking at the analysis of voting groups and why they vote particular ways and what political groups are good at engaging with them and why. Then I went into talking about history and linked it to that start around the same thing personally disengaging me from history and histograpgy and how we tell people the stories from the past informs the public and can impact institutions now and went into explaining that with gynaecology and the irony in praising the father of gynaecology and how that harms BAME women's health outcomes now but also how that histograpgy fails to recognise his horrible effects.

So make it personal to things you've studied and read and thoughts you've had from there, also how have you grown academically and intellectually through looking at such work not personal as in talking about extracurriculars - leave that for 1 or 2 sentences at the end. British unis don't care too much on extracurriculars but they want supercurriculars. So just start and you can figure out the final format later, you'll likely move sentences around etc and teachers can help with the start and finish (which I recommend as saying what you'll get out of the course and subject and why you want to do the subject at degree level.

Just back from holidays and catching up with the thread.
Congratulations on results today @AuntyBulgaria @gingercat02 @Muchtoomuchtodo. DD did AS chemistry and got an A( there is no A star for AS). She was worried about Chem so much in the past year since selecting this as an A level choice, but then did incredibly well in AS and Pgrades. I wish she could just go easy on herself and enjoy day by day than worrying so much! But when I went into her room in the morning to ask about the result, I had a “bruh”, give it another minute 🤦‍♀️, she was not anxious at all.
Saying that no draft PS yet, ESAT prep although going on, I guess time is running out, and I am worried that she is trying to do too many things and not getting deep down in anything! Despite having too many todo lists and journals there are always things left too late
None of the suggested UCAS help doesn’t seem to apply to us, Sutton trust and many more, I imagine many of us are in similar state. DD really has a mental block, on how to start. - I am equally bad at things like this- so any pointers would be very good. Especially the starting sentence, and things like that. Is there a better way? We have notes about connecting it to experience/readings/supra curriculum and all that. Next two weeks is going to be very busy.
Next year it would be our turn, but right now it looks like so many hurdles to overcome before that

Congratulations to your DCs @AuntyBulgaria, @gingercat02and @Muchtoomuchtodo great results.

Congratulations @AuntyBulgaria, @Muchtoomuchtodoand others picking up great results! Must be a relief to get them out of the way!

@gingercat02 and @Muchtoomuchtodo - congratulations to both your DS on such great results! What an amazing bunch of young people we have in the board.

Well done to everyone! An A in year 12 is great going @AuntyBulgaria, do they go on to do FM in year 13? Ours run them simultaneously as we still do AS levels at the end of year 12 in Wales.

DS is chuffed with his 3xA at AS levels.

He managed to get full UMS in Maths and Further Maths, and only 1 dropped mark in Physics. His teachers were thrilled (as are we!).

So far in his Welsh Bacc his got an A grade as well so his predicted grades on his UCAS form should be fine for his university choices.

Just the small matter of the TMUA and MAT now in October to keep the dream alive!

Well done to all today.
My Godson got his second choice so will be joining both his brothers at Newcastle.
My BFF eldest didn't get a place she is happy with for physio so will look into clearing, but she is very disappointed. I think everyone felt she was quids in for her first choice. They are on holiday so I imagine it's quite stressful!

DS got 2 distinctions and a merit in his applied business, He's quite pleased but can push on now for a merit overall at the end of Y13

That’s a fantastic achievement @AuntyBulgaria - congratulations to him!

Well done to your son @AuntyBulgaria, that’s fantastic!

A stars are going to get harder to achieve as the grade boundaries are moved back to pre pandemic levels. Looking at clearing grades and lots of “top” universities have lowered grade entry criteria so perhaps grade boundaries have increased across the board.

An A achieved in Maths. There is a bit of disappointment as he thought he was in with a chance of an A* but the grade boundaries rose again making that out of reach.

Huge luck to all those on this thread who have results today.

Good luck to your son tomorrow @AuntyBulgaria and to anyone else collecting results.

‘Just’ AS results tomorrow for DS but as they count 40% towards his A level results and will firmly steer his pg they’re carrying a certain amount of importance towards next year.

Hi all - just checking in. This time next year we will be on A level results watch! Solidarity to everyone on the Y13 threads waiting for news tomorrow.

DD is at her summer school in France, having a blast. She’s in Montpellier, a university city, and getting her first taste of something akin to student life. It seems to suit her! Hope everyone’s enjoying a good restorative summer.

I think schools and colleges often give their own internal deadlines for students to submit an Oxbridge PS - this allows them to look over, time for re/draft etc before the actual deadline.

Ah I’d misunderstood dd she’s working to her college’s deadline for them to have Oxford ucas forms in to check - so plenty of time for her teachers to read and improve. Perfect!

Reassured to hear she’s on track for history coursework - a friend said her son wrote it all over the summer but dd is following the college timetable for it which is, as pp mentions, gathering sources etc etc

DS still hasn't decided whether to apply for Oxford or Cambridge. I have suggested he write a list of pros and cons for each. Failing that he needs to toss a coin! After that he needs to decide on a college.

He has done the first draft of his PS. He will do at least one more revision before giving it to his school sponsor (it goes through three different people at school apparently). Final draft to be completed by the end of September.

Interesting about Durham @WombatChocolate , thank you. Durham wasn't one of the open days DS did but he does really like the look of the History course there so may apply.

DS is half way through two weeks of work so has just been doing his regular revision in the evenings. He'll pick up the NEA and PS stuff again next week when he's got more time free. He's also half way through his LTA coaching course and has started practicing driving again (test in early October). I don't remember being anywhere near this busy in the summer between year 12 and 13!

I admire the commitment of our YP though.

Good luck to your son for tomorrow @AuntyBulgaria

Yes there is a recommended one though so I'd use that as a gauge, it's often because of the variety in what they do, physical (showing data etc). Has he begun research for the topic of his history NEA yet? I'm guessing the summer work is more like that, research, planning out what you need to do, looking at the historians and the histograpgy you want to do, finding your 3 sources, reading the books you need to etc.

History (1st draft) and geography (final draft). Yes geography is the one without the word limit. As an academic I find not having a word limit very strange, especially as quantity not being equal to quality is an important but hard lesson to learn.

What NEAs is he doing? Doing the whole thing over the summer is slightly strange unless it's the 1st draft and they'll do the 2nd one in the autumn? I'm guessing geography is the one without a set word count, as I know people who've had to do that.

Good to catch up with what everyone is doing. Like many here DS is also having a very busy summer. No work experience but much reading to strengthen his Oxford application. It’s been a late decision for him to apply so he has a lot of catching up to do with his peers who had started planning and working towards it much earlier. He knows it’s a super long shot and says he won’t be disappointed if he doesn’t get in but will be disappointed if he doesn’t do his best to get in. I am rather proud of the young man he’s becoming.

He hasn’t started his TSA prep yet as he also has two NEAs to do over the summer. One apparently has no word limit and has become a massive beast. He also has a theory test coming up in August and not much time to prepare.

Good luck to all the DCs working hard towards their future and strength and 🍷 to all parents supporting!