Continuing Year 13: January 2016

Sorry about rejection Needmoresleep, hope something good works out for your DD.

DS said today was mocks results day. Said he'd text me. Waited all day for text. Just came home & said 'Oh I got it wrong, results are next Friday.'

Glad to hear someone has managed to book at reasonable prices Gloria Ds tells me he doesn't need to see Exeter again, thankfully, even though they're 50/50 with Warwick for his firm choice ATM. Hope you enjoy the day.

Mocks still to come for ds. Good luck for your dcs in the middle of them or waiting results like SecretSquirrels ds. Sorry to hear of the first rejection NMS. Could be the only one - fingers crossed!

Ds is finally telling me which offer holder days he wants to go to and I am at the prices of hotels nearby. It's like doing the Open Days all over again but with a lot less notice to plan and get cheaper deals. Hopefully it's just 2 to see....

In the middle of mocks still here. Accommodation applied for at Manchester and Liverpool universities. Still not made the final decision of where to firm and insure. I think we will go back to look at both Leeds and Sheffield again maybe over half-term.

Mocks done last week and results to be given out on friday I think.

NMS UCAS extra is a second dib for those who get no offers. There is also clearing, a decent choice for those holding A grades. I wouldn't blame her for not wanting to go through all that stress again but fingers crossed, three interviews is excellent.

DS was late putting his UCAS in but now has offers coming through and is considering Offer Holder visits to a couple of places.

DS isn't revisiting Warwick as it's definitely his favourite, but he's going back to Southampton and Exeter to decide between them as (highly likely) insurance.

Mocks finished yesterday, found some a bit tough but think teachers made them difficult to encourage them to work which has to be good. Having results day on Fri when go in & collect envelopes just like it's the real thing, followed by special assembly (in which they'll probably tell them to work harder).

DS's school was on Bristol contextual list so managed to get AAB from them for Maths so they have to be insurance. Others were all AAA (apart from Cambridge which never got off the ground). There were some good Maths places in clearing last year we noticed - even some Russell Group.

When is your DS going to Warwick open day EllenJane? DS is there Feb 17th. Also going to Imperial & Bristol.

Know what you mean by Sept/Oct will be weird. Get these odd moments when it hits me that my (6ft 4in) baby is going to leave home.

All the top 30 or so universities ask for AAA+ for maths, and even lower tier universities ask for AAB or ABB.

However, since maths is not over-subscribed, many RG maths courses will be accepting AAB (and occasionally ABB) in August, provided that the student has at least an A in A level maths. I wouldn't advise a student predicted AAA+ to hold an insurance at less than AAA for maths, because there is a high chance of being accepted on an AAA course even with one dropped grade. I would advise holding an insurance which is likely to take a dropped grade: Birmingham, Exeter, Nottingham, Southampton etc rather than e.g. Durham.

DS accepted insurance offer is AAA, firm is A*AA. So not much wiggle room.

Mocks this week. He had them muddled and had prepared for the wrong Maths today. Mistake better made now, I suppose!

DD, in Y11, is just about to choose A level options, and we've been looking at course requirements for her. It seems never ending!

DS's offers are A*AA, and three lots of AAAs (still waiting on one) so I know how you feel. Not exactly a lot of room to manoeuvre.

The amount of work at the moment seems massive. DS was on a three day physics trip abroad last week and as a result has a mountain of catching up to do as well from missed lessons. Thank goodness he is between girlfriends because God knows when he would find time to see one!

Thanks, hellsbells. Yeah, a lowest offer of AAA is not good, is it? I think DS was too concerned with looking at Russell Group unis, and not from my instigation, rather from his peers. He's at a grammar school 6th form after a normal comprehensive and the standard and competition is higher than we're used to.

Well done on getting his final offer EllenJane.
DD2 has 4 offers and withdraw from the 5th choice. Lowest offer is AAA . Mocks start today and DD is still asleep as her first one is this afternoon. DD1 also has exams today ....but in her first year at university.

DS1 has finally had his last offer from Birmingham. Unfortunately it's another AAA offer, so that's four now. Brum have also allowed AAB if he gets an A in his EPQ, but we really have no idea how likely that is. I was hoping Brum would be a lower offer.

So he has AAA with grade 2 STEP (like your DS BethanKate) or A*AA with grade 1 STEP from Warwick which will probably be his first choice. Then he has to decide between the other 4 for his insurance, which TBH will probably be where he ends up. He's going on two offer holder days at his favourites to see if he can make up his mind.

I hope you are all hanging on in there. My DS1 is my PFB so it's going to be weird in Sept/Oct when he goes.

dd2's mocks are towards the end of February I think. She has a history trip to Germany first, I know that. She did her EPQ presentation last week, apparently it was 'fine'. And she got an A* for her history coursework, so that's ok. Her main focus though seems to be learning two concerti off by heart for a concert in March. She has declined the opportunity to go to walker stalker in February because of mocks so she is obviously putting some emphasis on them (but on the other hand she hasn't declined going to London to see some other things - she has 3 shows before the end of Feb) so... She has been working so hard for so long though that she's in a pretty good groove. She doesn't need to cram (is the theory, anyway).

dd2's mocks are towards the end of February I think. She has a history trip to Germany first, I know that. She did her EPQ presentation last week, apparently it was 'fine'. And she got an A* for her history coursework, so that's ok. Her main focus though seems to be learning two concerti off by heart for a concert in March. She has declined the opportunity to go to walker stalker in February because of mocks so she is obviously putting some emphasis on them (but on the other hand she hasn't declined going to London to see some other things - she has 3 shows before the end of Feb) so... She has been working so hard for so long though that she's in a pretty good groove. She doesn't need to cram (is the theory, anyway).

Not sure when DD's mocks are, but certainly not this week. I believe I have heard March mentioned.

Sausages and lego is a great idea, raspberry!

Ideally, my DD would like to do posh afternoon tea with her friends in London. But one of her friends has just invited her to afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason just a couple of weeks before her birthday, so she doesn't want to do the same thing. Which is a pity, as she is the afternoon tea queen!

DS is part of a very sedate home partying group. Wii tournaments, pizza, a small amount of alcohol, usually earlier evening finishing about 11.

I suggested sausages and bringing down our boxes of Lego which DS thinks is a great idea.

Last summer they camped for the first 18th in a relative's garden.

here, DDs friendship group are keen on offbeat things - so far we've had a trip to Harry Potter Studios and a London theatre. There is a "traditional" party at home with alcohol coming up, but generally they're not a partying crowd. DD (although she doesn't know it yet) is getting afternoon tea somewhere posh in London. She can't drink alcohol due to a medical condition/medications so quite lucky really that none of her friends are anything more than social drinkers.

What is he, and his friends, doing for his 18th, raspberry?

Am desperate for ideas.....

Congratulations to those with Oxford offers, other Uni offers and interviews.

Mocks week after next here, with no study leave. I think DS1 is working, but there seems to be slightly more chat about his 18th birthday the week after! I think also having accepted his firm and insurance offers, he needs to refocus and concentrate on exams.