Year 13 -2025/26 - Support, discussion and looking after each other (new thread from y12)

Those are great mock results @Ventress - well done to your DS!

Hope all our Y13s are hanging in there. DD had her French uni interview today and felt it was on the tough side, with one interviewer in particular giving her a bit of a grilling. We all know that you just can’t tell, so we shall see (outcomes due in early Feb). Otherwise it will be time to book offer-holder days and focus on a decision between Manchester and Edinburgh. Whilst not forgetting February mocks, of course!

My DS is also at an ss grammar @KellySeverideand, you’re correct, I think Oxbridge is something that they are encouraged to apply for whether it’s right for them or not.

DS got his mock results back Saturday evening (weird school!) and got 2 A stars and an A/B borderline in economics. He is very happy with this but wants to get the economics up to a solid A, possibly even an A Star.

Mocks after February half term make sense to me. My DS hasn’t really got back into the studying groove either. He is back at his part time job and everything has normalised after Christmas and mocks so hopefully he will get back into it soon.

Good luck with the application for apprenticeships @KellySeverideand @AuntyBulgaria. I know getting those is like jumping through fiery hoops backwards on a unicycle whilst playing the violin so I don’t envy your sons doing these!

@KellySeveride my DS also tried a couple of degree apprenticeships but soon got bored of all the extra work/prep. He is in theory still in the running for KPMG having passed some tests but they have just gone quiet now.

Also his mocks aren't until after Feb half term. He did some in November so I think it's great that the next set is later as he can hopefully use it as a launch pad to properly get into a studying groove. He certainly isn't in one now!

H @Ventress what a shame about Oxford. My DS didn’t bother to apply even though he wanted to - because (and I’m quoting him here) “I’m only on track for 4 A’s”. DH and I were like son, you are on track for 4 A’s there should be no “only” in that sentence. But he goes to a super selective grammar so it’s pushed down their throats a bit.

Im not sure if I’ve mentioned here, but DS is also applying for several degree apprenticeships too. He’s had a few positive emails, 4 rejections and some that have gone scarily quiet. So on top of all the exam prep and mocks which aren’t until the end of Feb here (seems really late to me), he may also have to battle with assessment centres for apprenticeships too. It’s not for the feint hearted this lot!

I agree @ComingInByAnsible😂 ds wouldn’t even go to visit York (where I went) although we nearly got him to Birmingham (where dh went).

I am sure that if the Warwick PPE is the best option for him, your son will take it. He is clearly very bright and wouldn’t cut off his nose to spite his face (as my mother would say). Actually all of those choices seem very strong. Exeter might make a very strong insurance choice, although the grade requirement is high. I’m guessing it wasn’t in clearing last summer. The Bath politics and economic with a year in industry sounds very good too. Bath is certainly very strong in this segment at the moment. Will your son go to the offer holder days at those he has offers for so far? That may help him consolidate his thoughts and ideas.

I hope that Warwick offer comes through soon 🤞

@ComingInByAnsible do you think the employers target all students at Warwick for finance/consultancy jobs e.g. who don't do maths/business/econ? My DC wants to do a law conversation after Uni but good to keep an open mind given how challenging it can be getting into law. Best of luck to your DC on getting a Warwick offer! May sounds like an awful long time to wait so let's hope you hear soon. We are also still waiting for one more offer. Would be nice to know either way.

@Fabfabfab yes, very typical teen reaction (we have friends with similar stories too)! Re Warwick/Exeter it might be subject and career specific, and you are right they are both good options anyway! DS doesn’t yet know what he wants to do after uni so is trying to keep as many doors open as possible. Warwick I believe is an employer ‘target’ for things like finance and consultancy at least whereas Exeter and Bath are ‘semi-targets’. Not sure how much difference it makes in practice! (We did all end up with good careers after our Warwick degrees but obviously that was back in the Stone Age so may not be that relevant now.) I hear you regarding accommodation, it seems like there are problems in lots of places, including Warwick and Exeter. Although having lived in Coventry in my second year, it wasn’t bad to be honest, it was safe and the commute was quick and convenient with an easy bus ride. DH lived in Leamington which was of course much nicer but a longer commute.

@ComingInByAnsible sounds like you know lots about Warwick having been there yourself. How funny that your DC was put off by this, but it's such a teenage reaction wanting to do things differently to your parents! We have the offer holder day booked so will see what DC thinks. Having read a few nightmare accommodation scenarios about Bristol recently I'm less sure it's such a good choice after all as it sounds a bit stressful and thinking maybe we should look more seriously at Warwick after all. Although last year apparently a lot of students didn't get accommodation at the campus in Warwick either (nor Exeter) so not sure it's any better. What makes you think employability is worse at Exeter? It does seem to be a slight step below Warwick/Bristol/London courses (but still a good University and one which DC may put as insurance)

Well done to all DC who have finished their mocks, hope they have been useful for giving them what they need the most ahead of the real thing. Whether it be a confidence boost and/or learning where to concentrate revision going forward. DS doesn’t have his mocks until after the Feb half term, which from this thread looks later than most.

Also great to read of more offers coming in and OHDs booked. Sorry to those with bad news about Oxford, I know it stings and feels like a future collapsing, even when a positive outcome was statistically unlikely in the first place. Hope they all recover and start to look forward to alternative paths soon.

@GirlsInGreenso sorry to hear about your DM, congratulations to your DD on her Oxford offer, and so lovely that thinking of what Granny would say got her to laugh! @Ventressthat’s great news about the Durham offer! Hope you all enjoy the trip and fingers crossed for UCL. @bluefinelinerI hope your MIL is recovering well and that DD hears back with some offers soon. @pinkdelightfingers crossed for the 28th! @JustHereWithMyPopcorn so glad the Bath offer came through for your DS, we have booked the end of Feb half term OHD too!

@Ventress you asked what other offers DS has and whether he knows what he wants to firm (sorry only replying now). It’s complicated! He has Exeter econ & politics, Bristol politics & IR, and Bath politics with econ and year in industry. Last one waiting for is Warwick PPE. Since applying, he decided that he definitely wants econ to be part of his degree so he has ruled out Bristol. He loved Exeter when we visited but on paper it looks not as strong academically or in terms of employability (despite being the highest offer so far - A star AA) as the other options. Bath is the only option with the year in industry, and their placement scheme is really strong, which is a major attraction. He wasn’t that keen on the campus though and there is potentially less econ in the degree than he would like. The flexibility of the offer though (either AAA or A star AB) might make it a great insurance. Warwick PPE on paper is by far the strongest option, it’s also very competitive and last year some people were waiting until May for offers. DS has been a bit put off by the fact that both DH and I went to Warwick and we also made the mistake of dragging him down our memory lane on the open day (may it be a cautionary tale to anyone in a similar position in the future 🤦‍♀️). Since the Oxford rejection he has slowly warmed up to it though, and would probably firm it if offered.

I feel the same @wonderstuff. I got an email from university saying the student had been told about offer holder day booking. Thank goodness otherwise I would have carried on in happy oblivion and we probably would have missed it.

I hope you get a chance to rest today @GirlsInGreen. There is always so much to do when family descends. Please take care of yourself and your nearest and dearest.

Fingers crossed for your son on 28th @pinkdelight. Good that he is chilled out. He sounds a lot like DS in that regard. The school always said either apply for Oxbridge or apply for the course. If you just want to get into Oxbridge go for an undersubscribed course. I completely agree with you regarding applications and I don’t want DS to waste a year applying again just to be refused again when he could go to another really excellent university.

Thank you @JustHereWithMyPopcornthat’s good to hear 😊 Certainly interesting that your son’s other choices have the same requirements. Must make it hard to choose . Is there a campus, or course, he particularly likes for the insurance choice?

i absolutely agree about fees @Muchtoomuchtodoand @JustHereWithMyPopcorn it does seem unfair that they have different prices for the same accommodation. Good luck to your son for the mocks results @Muchtoomuchtodo

Thank goodness for this thread, said to DD other people are booking offer holder days, have you heard anything? Oh yeah, did get an email, not sure if it’s worth going.. so anyway she’s now booked ‘applicant discovery day’ at Liverpool (who seem to like to go with their own names for everything), but Reading haven’t released dates for economics.

Thank you all for your very kind messages, finally herded the last of family to the airport last night. "Bullied" DD into school this morning - I said last night "the Christmas tree is still up, all the beds need changed, we've been eaten out of house & home & need to do a decent shop & you haven't been back in school - what would your Granny say?" and she let out such a big deep laugh my heart nearly burst.

DS is doing okay, thanks for asking @Ventress - still in limbo till 28th, but he's being pretty chill as knows the odds are against him and thankfully he's happy with his other options. It's more the unknown that is bothersome, but we've booked the offers holder day for Warwick as that'll probably be his insurance whether he gets a Cams offer or firms Mancs instead.

Durham and (hopefully) UCL are great choices for your DS and I think you're right about the reapplying going down in the mix as things progress. I know people do it but I think they have to be so into Oxbridge at all costs and want the year out anyway for other reasons. No way would my DS want to jump through all those hoops again when he could go to another good uni and get on with it. Lots of different paths though and hard to know until the possibilities are clear.

@Ventress several of DS's friends did the Durham open day and all loved it, I'm sure your DS will too. Taking the extra time seems very sensible to me, both to make the most of the visit and also to not over exert yourself. We have booked the Bath offer holders day so far which is at the end of the Feb. half term. I think he should go and have a look at Sheffield and Notts again (even though he knows Notts as a place due to big brother) just to see who he might want as insurance. Saying that, the offers from those three are the same (unless he firms Notts) so might be a case of trying to figure out which uni might be more lenient if he doesn't make his offer grades. 😬

@Muchtoomuchtodo good to hear about your DS's offers, fingers crossed for LSE although you're right about the costs being a deciding factor - I feel like university owned student accommodation should be equally priced across the country, DC shouldn't have to miss out on good universities because of rent. Good luck for the mock results.

There’s no rest in year 13 is there! It’s great to hear about offers coming in and plans coming together.

DS has got offers from Bath, Warwick and Manchester, waiting to hear from LSE and didn’t get an interview with Oxford.

He’s booked offer holder days at Warwick (he’s not been there at all yet) and Bath, but does need to hear when Manchester’s are as he didn’t get to their open days either. So far they’re both on a weekend or in the Easter holiday. The accommodation thing is a concern for us, it would be a shame for that to have too much influence over his final choices but there’s such a variation in costs at different places that it’s certainly something to consider carefully.

Mocks are done, awaiting results and before we know it it’ll be the real thing!

Yes, train travel seems to be super expensive.

The offer day is mid March @JustHereWithMyPopcorn. I was hoping it might be half term and we could go for the whole week but it was not to be. DS gets out of school at 2pm so we’ll head up straight from school and hopefully be there by late evening. I am feeling better but I still need regular rest so I’m using this as my excuse to tag on some additional time 😊 I do hope he likes Durham (fingers crossed). DS can try the train another time (apparently there is a rail replacement service for part of the offer holder weekend too which isn’t ideal).

When is the offer day @Ventress? I don’t blame you for driving, DS and DH took the train to Manchester open day and even with DS’s railcard the cost was eye watering.

I think it might be school/college giving these ideas about apply again with grades in hand if grades are maxed @JustHereWithMyPopcorn. I think perhaps it’s a platitude. I have brushed it off for DS. I think that they have given it their best shot . It’s not them , it’s the system. There are just more students than places and some are unfortunate. They will find their fit and their group and it’s not necessarily Oxbridge.

@pinkdelight- how is your dc doing?

well done to your son on his chemistry. That’s an excellent result @JustHereWithMyPopcorn
physics will be fine I’m sure 😊

I have booked three days for us at a hotel in Durham. DS can go to the holder day and DH and I can mooch about and maybe visit accommodation and things that he can’t fit it. It will be a long drive. About 6-7 hours I think but cheaper for three to drive in one car than get the train.

I think it’s wise to wait to hear and not firm yet. There’s no rush and feelings may change when all the offers come in. Better to wait and see, it’s only January and no benefit to firming early.

Oh no, not your DS too! I just worry about the disappointment if they don't get in the second time. 😔 GF didn't apply to Imperial, DS told me this afternoon he didn't want to there so I said well just ditch it and firm Bath but he said no, he'll wait to hear from them. Very odd.

DS got his Chemistry mock back, just missed an A* but he's still happy because he was top 5 in the year. Physics it'll probably be the other end of the scale!😂

Ooh thanks @MiniMidiMaxi😊 the offer holder days are available now too so I have booked us hotel rooms for this. I’m looking forward to it and DS is too. He doesn’t need to submit the college preferences until after offer holder day which is handy.

Hmm, DS muttered about reapplying with grades in hand @JustHereWithMyPopcornbut I suspect that (like DS) once your DS’s gf has decided on her firm university she will get behind it -I do hope so. Is his gf waiting for Imperial too? She’ll be swept up by her friends and bf going to uni and won’t want to wait I expect. Biting our tongues is our way forward 😊

@Ventress GF is doing OK now I think but has decided to try again next year. I'm not sure that's the wisest thing but it's not my business so I will keep that myself. DS is very happy with his Bath offer but weirdly he still wants to hear from Imperial! 🙄 I think if Imperial were interested they'd have asked for an interview by now but again, I shall say nothing!

Haha, that's fab @MiniMidiMaxi two fantastic offers!

I’m ex Durham, @Ventress, as a student then I went back there to work in the business school for a while - although not recent, happy to chip in as best I can!

Awful grammar sorry!

Thank you @JustHereWithMyPopcornI think ds only applied to Oxbridge because it was what friends were doing . He always said he hasn’t going to set his heart on it. Probably wise. How is your son’s gf doing? I hope your son is still excited about his Bath offer. Will he firm this?

Bristol and Bath offers already @MiniMidiMaxiand having that “wiggle room” with grades is helpful. I’m glad he is chuffed 😊

DS has heard from Durham asking for his college preferences. We had a look at them yesterday evening. I might hop over to the Durham freshers thread to try and find out more about how the college system works.

Last parents evening ! What an end of an era @AuntyBulgaria