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Further education

You'll find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further Education forum.

Original poster

Year 12 - first half term DONE.

999 replies

OhYouBadBadKitten · 19/10/2016 13:25

new thread so we don't get lost. Well done to all our dc whether doing btech (or breach as autocorrect prefers to call it) or a levels. 1/6 of the way through this year. (blimey)

OP posts:
Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 04/01/2017 11:09

I think its good that they are being tested to help consolidate work learned so far and to get the most out of the tests they need to be treated seriously. Maybe thats why they call them mocks?

3 maths lessons a week for AS level certainly would be a squeeze!

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TheDrsDocMartens · 04/01/2017 11:54

It gives them an idea what to work on.
I've dd2 in year 10 so first year to do full 9-1 GCSEs , predicted grades appear to be really hard to do as they've nothing to compare to, 9 = top 5-10% (depending on what you read!) but all teachers are admitting to not being confident in them.

ShanghaiDiva · 04/01/2017 13:22

Kitten - yes it was a squeeze as the AS classes replaced their iGCSE classes, but should have 6 lessons per week, not 3.
Ds moved schools and is now taking the IB diploma and higher level maths. The pace of the class is very fast (ds and one other student are the only non Asians) but in order to cover all the material they will have compulsory extra lesson later this year. Ds is not too enthusiastic as they are going to be on Saturday afternoons!

FantasyAndHope · 04/01/2017 16:30

Dd doesn't have any mocks till June. Thankfully
However she did have mocks this time last year and it was dreadful she didn't prepare at all

TheSecondOfHerName · 04/01/2017 22:39

Thankfully DS1's mocks aren't until March. He is only doing AS exams in one subject this summer; but there will be internal exams in the other two subjects which will help to decide A-level predictions.

Several of his friends are at college doing the Level 3 course he nearly did, and they aren't enjoying it any more than he is enjoying A-levels, so at least he knows that the grass is no greener on the other side.

We have a parents' evening at the end of January. I expect to hear something along the lines of "There has been some recent effort. If he keeps it up then he might get through to Y13."

MsAwesomeDragon · 05/01/2017 00:01

Dd seems vague about when she has mocks, maybe February? The y12s at my school have their mocks next week, so while they're on study leave I'll get extra free periods :) but extra marking :(

I went back to work today, kids are back tomorrow. I've got a terrible headache, probably due to tiredness (getting up late while on holiday isn't such a great idea as it sounds), and boredom (the inset was useful, but bloody boring!). And smt are starting to gear up for an Ofsted visit, they think we may get one soonish but obviously don't know when, so that'll be fun. I almost hope they just turn up next week so we don't have months of having to be Ofsted ready at all times (obviously I do my job well all the time, but Ofsted just puts added pressure on for everything to be perfect)

Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 05/01/2017 09:12

dds mocks are april (had to look it up) but as I've wobbled on about before, they do regular testing which is reported on. I guess after the mocks there will be intense teaching at where they struggled.

TheSecond, let's hope so :) he sounds like he is starting to walk the right path now.

Shanghai - saturday afternoons! that's harsh! What will he do next year for his maths?

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FantasyAndHope · 05/01/2017 10:08

OYBK
Dds school is the same regular testing etc... for some of her friends that's good but for some it's bad. For dd it's mixture of good and bad.
Work has taken a back since she's had a boyfriend however he's gone back to work so I'm hoping she'll pick it up again, but I'm taking a back seat on this one.

FantasyAndHope · 05/01/2017 10:10

OYBK
Dds school is the same regular testing etc... for some of her friends that's good but for some it's bad. For dd it's mixture of good and bad.
Work has taken a back since she's had a boyfriend however he's gone back to work so I'm hoping she'll pick it up again, but I'm taking a back seat on this one.

ShanghaiDiva · 05/01/2017 10:13

Kitten - he took AS last year, but as he has moved to the IB programme he still has 2 years of maths left. He thought higher level maths would be pretty straightforward for the first year as he got an A in AS - how wrong he was! There is some overlap with his AS course, but it is a lot harder and he does about 30-45 minutes of maths every day (in addition to the homework) to keep on track. There are 9 students in his class - 2 Europeans and the others are Koreans and Chinese so the pace is pretty fast. The Koreans have generally already covered the material as they attend Korean maths academy after school. Ds has an A* in iGCSE and an A in AS but says he sometimes feels like the class dunce!

Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 05/01/2017 10:32

oh goodness Shanghai, I'll have a look at that. It sounds interesting.

F&H one of the important things to learn is to how to juggle boyfriends and work.
I fear I didnt always find that one easy Wink

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FantasyAndHope · 05/01/2017 11:41

OYBK
I'm leaving her to it, she'll learn how to juggle friends work and a boyfriend...
it'll be hard as there not at school together he dropped out of alevels and works for his dad so weekends she's always with him

HesMyLobster · 05/01/2017 16:16

DD had her English Lit mock yesterday - apparently it was "a disaster" as it was on the one poem she hadn't revised properly.

Her teacher used one of their 8 possible poems to model an essay answer on before Christmas, so dd assumed that they would be tested on a different one and spent the holiday revising the other 7.
She was wrong.
Lesson learnt I think - assume nothing!

Maths today however was "good", although not as exciting as she'd hoped Hmm
She apparently really enjoyed the end of module tests they did for C1 and C2 so was disappointed that the mock wasn't as interesting.
I sometimes wonder if we're even related . . !

She has a day off tomorrow to revise for History and French next week.

Shanghai that sounds very hard going, especially the maths on Saturdays part!

Fantasy it's lovely to hear your dd sounding happy and settled.

FantasyAndHope · 06/01/2017 11:22

hes
It is nice to see her happy and settled. He seems wise still yet to meet him. I think she's most thankful for the fact he doesn't do alevels he does an apprenticeship so there not two stress heads

Workmovingdilemma · 07/01/2017 21:21

Semi regular on this thread but NC because we haven't told anyone in RL, and maybe never will!

DH has been offered a job starting in May but it would mean moving or him working away Mon-Fri. It's not feasible for him to work away long-term, wondering if we could manage it for just over a year. For lots of reasons I am not sure moving is the right thing to do anyway.

Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 07/01/2017 21:37

How far away will he be and what are the advantages of the job?

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Workmovingdilemma · 07/01/2017 22:10

About 3 hours on the train. A significantly higher salary and benefit package are the main advantages. He is also less likely to be called in when on call.

Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 07/01/2017 22:35

that's not too bad for coming home at the weekends. Have you factored in the cost of travel and staying away? Will it improve his job prospects in the future? And a question for you to consider personally rather than replying here, is your marriage really strong and do you trust him.

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Workmovingdilemma · 08/01/2017 00:00

Travel costs would be covered as part of the benefits package as would some food costs. Even considering accommodation costs we would still be left with more disposable income.

Depending on flexibility he may need to leave Sunday evening and would get back Friday night after younger DC were in bed. It is whether the impact on day to day life is worth it.

He would be on the top rung of the ladder with no where to go unless he first took a sideways step into an area he doesn't like with a pay cut first. But, if he turns this down he probably won't get another offer because he turned an offer down a couple of years ago when circumstances meant it was impossible to move or work away and the position doesn't become available often - it is rather surprising it has come up again so soon.

Thanks OYBBK

Icouldbeknitting · 08/01/2017 09:27

Workingmovingdilemma If It's for a year or two I'd stay put with the children and let DH spend the week away if everyone is happy with that because I wouldn't want to move DS during his A levels. In the Spring of 2018 you could review with a thought to moving (depending on the age of the younger children). The move/commute decision can be taken later, he can start off spending the week away and see how the family gets on with that.

There was once a point where it looked likely that DH would have a year in the US so we've faced the "do I take it?/do we all go?" decision.

Original poster
OhYouBadBadKitten · 08/01/2017 09:53

That's ok Dilemma :)
I think it just comes down to bearability then. Week days do go awfully quickly and if you can manage to get it so that weekends don't become full of jobs that need to be done, they could become rather special.

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FantasyAndHope · 08/01/2017 13:00

working
I think it that was me I would take the offer and commute, pretty hard to move in alevels given most schools teach differently some split the units between teachers etc your dc may be behind or ahead etc.. Moving Dc would be too risky. Although you know your child best so if he could cope then it's something that may be possible.

DD is back to school this week, 4 weeks seems to have flown by

Workmovingdilemma · 08/01/2017 13:09

knitting and fantasy no question of moving in the middle of A levels. It really is about whether we can manage with DH working away till they are finished so we can move, working away long-term isn't an option, and whether moving is the right thing for the DC.

We have DC with additional needs that require a hell of a lot of care day to day. At the moment the bulk of it falls to me anyway but just imagining how much harder it will be without help from DH during the week, week in, week out.

mintthins · 08/01/2017 17:52

DH worked away during the week a couple of years ago. It meant overnight travel Sunday and Friday, and nearly broke him. However it was a 12-15 hour working day during the week too. If your DH can switch off and give himself fully to the family when he is at home, perhaps you could manage?

MsAwesomeDragon · 08/01/2017 20:09

Dilemma personally I don't think we would go for the job, it wouldn't be right for our family. That's not to say it might not be right for yours though. My sister managed with a baby and a toddler while her dh worked away for a couple of weeks at a time, but he was home for a week in between so it wasn't so relentless. I don't know what additional needs your dcs have, or if you work outside the home as well, but I do think it would be too much for me to cope with personally. Having said that, I was a single parent for quite a long time when dd1 was small, which I thought was too much for me to handle, but I coped much better than I thought I would. I suppose it depends how much difference the money would make to you as a family?

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