Continuing Year 13: January 2016

I took an enforced gap 6 months, eatyourveg, due to being ill during A levels and taking the resits in January (30 odd years ago.) I took a temporary low level admin job in the civil service and saved most of the money. For me, the monotony of the job made me more determined to go to university but I had a brilliant social life! Better than once I got to uni!

I did struggle a bit with getting back to high level thinking etc, but I did physics rather than maths. The 'maths for scientists' course was the hardest to get back into as maths is a lot about keeping up with the practice, I think.

When I got my second job at 25 it was in manufacturing engineering. The ex-apprentices who were a bit younger than me were on the same money but much better at their jobs! It gave me first hand knowledge that there is more than one way to skin a cat!

ds3 has said he would either spend the year doing his coaching full-time which he currently does part time or he would get an apprenticeship which is much less money but could potentially be with a company who would take him as a summer intern once at uni. its the being away from the books which I worry about most -and the fact that its one more year of a full house as ds1 will be living at home while doing his masters-

On the subject of gap years, my thinking is that they are fine and great to earn a bit of a cushion of cash and to grow up a bit before university.

The problems might be for some, that once you have a taste of a pay packet and an easier life you might not see the point of getting into lots of debt and having to study and revise etc. Not such of a problem if you have a real desire to continue with your subject or a true vocation.

I think for maths in particular, taking a year out of the habit of practising the higher level stuff can make it difficult to get your brain back into the swing of things.

When I was tutoring I got a lot of work through First Tutors - as a tutor you have to pay to put your profile up (and jump through some other hoops too), but it was a more reliable source of customers than sites where the client had to pay to access my details.

Word of mouth - just let it be known that she's available (I was often surprised by the extended links through which people had got my contact details), make a FB profile as a tutor and befriend people.

Other than that, I'm sure there are local agencies - ask around if any of her peers had tutoring?

Just back from a week up north in the uni city where ds is going (or so I thought) he has started talking about possibly taking a gap year and if the uni would let him defer at such a late stage. I think the reality of having to be independent and so far away from home has kicked in, he is summer born so still 17 - says he wants to work for a year to get some money behind him.

Not a bad idea though I worry how much being away from the books for a year may disadvantage him but being one year older would allow him as he says "time to become more of a man" which is no bad thing at all I suppose

Still not booked accommodation at Leeds - DD won't discuss it!
I have just woke her up to revise. But we are going to a family BBQ this afternoon so not much revision will get done okay.

We are also in it for the long haul til the 28th.

DS will actually be in school all week that week helping with the Primary schools music week. He will be back in uniform for the final concert! He went to the music week from Primary in Y5 and Y6, nice to go full circle.

He booked accommodation at his firm last week so all set.

Thanks for the heads up on Warwick accommodation Bethan DS changes his mind everyday now on which order to put those halls he's interested in. Displacement activity I think, instead of those Maths papers! I keep hoping it will work to motivate him more - you know, all that stuff about visualising success and how it will look!

DD also not finishing until 28th! They are already planning the night out but I think she will be exhausted by then....and the Leavers Ball is only 3 days later.

Eight to go here. Can't wait to finish but the last one (physics) isn't until 28th June!

Warwick now saying accommodation application will open next week & they'll email applicants when forms are available.

Yes Cambridge was part of the plan originally. They ask them to do STEP 1 & 2 if they're just doing Maths but if they're doing FM as well they have to do STEP 2 & 3. He had already applied to do 2 & 3 before the Cambridge hopes died. 3 isn't actually any harder than 2 it just covers the FM syllabus but 2 & 3 are harder than 1. I did actually suggest he could see if he could switch to 1 instead but he said 'It'll be fine Mum'.

Ellen we all really liked Bristol both as a uni & as a city. He felt Warwick had a slight edge but I'm sure he'll be absolutely fine if he ends up at Bristol.

I know what you mean about being a big fish, I think DS might get a bit of a shock at uni.

your DD has a good offer!
She does indeed! MFL so nowhere (apart from Cambridge) ask for particularly high offers. She's very hard on herself anyway, so it's nice to have the external pressure removed.

Atia - forget to say 2 of DD's papers are retakes hence the high number of exams.

Atia - your DD has a good offer! Hopefully she is not too stressed as it is unconditional
DD has had 3 practical (Empa) exams and 4 written ones so far. No coursework or speaking exams for her subjects.

I did S level maths - don't remember a thing about it, apart from getting a 1! It was, I think, generally the Oxford applicants doing S levels - the Cambridge applicants did STEP.

still to go - how many has she already done? That's a lot of exams anyway.

Dd only has 5 papers to sit - has done coursework and speaking exams already though. She has an unconditional with the promise of £2K if she gets AAA, which will hopefully happen.

10 papers still to go for DD. Her offer is AAA but if she gets AA*A gets an incentive from her firm choice of £4000 (-£1,000 per year) ......but not looking likely.......she has just got in from yet another night out! She has just asked me to wake her up early as she has an extra piano lesson first thing as she has a music grade in the week after her exams finish

Ha ha! I remember S Levels, Cherry. I got a grade 1, and a C in the actual A Level. Was always told I was unique, because I think in later years you had to have an A or B for your S Level to be marked!

Thank you for the explanation re STEP papers. They have otherwise completely escaped my radar!

I did an S Level in English back in the mid-80's (eek) which I assume was equivalent to the STEP papers in Maths nowadays? It was bloody hard!

Two papers down here and 5 to go. Still feeling very grateful that DD doesn't need any As to meet her offer (though I know she'll be v disappointed if she doesn't get at least one). She has had a prime example of how an A or equivalent offer can be hard to meet through no fault of the student though. Don't want to be too specific as it could out me/her but it revolves around the wrong edition of a text having been studied...