Year 12 - first half term DONE.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

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)

Hmmm. The school have agreed to a modified timetable (70%), so he attends nearly 100% of his lessons now, but is allowed to sign out and go home when there's a block of consecutive study periods. I will check out the school website. Ideally, he would sort himself out, catch up in the two new subjects and get reasonable grades in the end of year 12 exams (one AS, other two subjects linear).

This is from dd's school website (state academy)

I do remember at the 'Welcome' meeting back in September the head of 6th form warning several times that dc couldn't continue into y13 if Y12 results weren't good enough.

The info on the website makes it sound less harsh than she did though. (In my head I've cast her as a pantomime villain, all doom and gloom and thunder claps whenever she walks onto the stage!)

I don't know what the official policy is in our school, DS1 had friends either completely restarting with different A levels, or swapping some subjects, wch results in a P/t year 14

Good luck to your DD Mrs AD. When DD was searching before Christmas, she got phonecalls that didn't leave messages and had to be proactive in checking back and ringing. Also, I did ask DS about his work experience contact, but the Muppet forgot to get it off his school.emails before he left.

Just realised DDs school has not mentioned work experience.

DD had been kept on in her Christmas job, which she had mixed feelings about, but she seems to be spending quite happily at the moment.

Mocks now finished, she seems happy about some, not with others. However she is very happy new head has confirmed there will be study leave for Y12 for AS (all AS taken at her school).

ms
I'm encouraging keeping options open at this moment in time.
The official policy at Dds school is a minimum of 2E's if they don't meet that requirement it's retake the year or move elsewhere

Hi all. I haven't been on for a while, so I hope everyone and their DCs are doing well. I hadn't really thought about whether DD would be allowed to continue into Y13 - eek! Two of her subjects are BTEC, so we have a really clear view of how she is doing and she is passing everything. The only unknown is the A level as we are still awaiting the mock result. I assume the worst case scenario is that she sticks with the 2 BTECs even if they say she should drop the A level. Fingers crossed!

DS1's online report has been updated.
In his most recent assessments he got:
History: C
English literature: C
Government & Politics: D

This is better than I was expecting, considering that he didn't start two of those subjects until November, and then spent the second half of the autumn term doing very little.

He knows where he is losing marks in Government & Politics, and thinks that with improved exam technique he can pull that up to a C. His teachers feel that he is capable of bringing the History up to a B. If he can finish Year 12 with BCC, that would be good.

Considering he had such an unsettled start it looks like he's doing very well. He really must have put some work in over the last few weeks, so hopefully this will give him a boost to keep going in the right direction.
I'm so pleased for you second, we know how worried you were before Christmas

TheSecond those are not grades that you get thrown out for. I know Mumsnet kids only ever seem to get A*A in everything but that doesn't represent reality. I was looking at the league tables published this week and the average A level score for state schools in England is C. The average grade for a student's best three A levels equates to a C+

Thank you all for your support. He is at a sixth form where 50% of A2 grades are A* or A, so it's sometimes difficult to get perspective.

bcc is good! He has done really well in such a short space of time. If he can continue that there are loads of really good doors open to him.

I'll put it into perspective for you second. My year 12 class contains a range of grades from A-U. There are more Us than As at this stage :(

Well done to him second, he's really getting on with it.

OYBK, thanks for the link. I have to say that the desire for a gap year is coming more from me than from DS! Anyway, with all the talks etc. going on at school he has focused a bit more and says he would (a) ike to do Maths and (b) like to try for Oxbridge.

Thesecond, it sounds as if your DS has really pulled his socks up. When my DD was in Y12 I would have killed for those grades! She was all Ds and Es, but with a lot of hard work and a couple of resits managed CCC at A2 and even (admittedly through some kind of miracle that I still don't understand) got a place at her first choice uni.

Good for your ds :) If that's what he would like, then he absolutely should go for it.

DD got her your UNIQ application off last night, but with so much fuss about the statement, I'm not looking forward to the big Personal Statement in the summer!

I doubt she'll get into UNIQ, doesn't fit the main criteria, but it was worth a shot!

I'm into GCSE mode again, as DS2 begins his option process this week.

DD got hers sent off just in the nick of time too Raspberry.
The personal statement was hard! 1500 characters is not enough. Her first draft was 4000!
She's kept that to hopefully give her a head start on the big one though.

I don't think she'll be accepted based on the criteria either - she didn't for the Sutton Trust.

It's worth a try though, and just the experience of writing the application was very useful in figuring out exactly what she wants to study and why.

DD has to decide this week whether she wants to continue with 4 A levels in yr13, or to take the AS exam in one subject this summer and then just carry on with 3.

She thinks she could probably manage to continue all 4, but can't decide if it's worth the extra work and pressure when most universities only want 3 anyway.

HesMyLobster I've had the same discussion about 4/3 A levels this week triggered by the exams officer wanting to know whether DS intends dropping a linear course so he can enter him for the AS. It was always the intention that he dropped music technology after the first year but he likes it and he's good at it. We're in the same boat, he'd probably do well in four as he likes and is good at three subjects so only has to slog at one. I can't see any benefit to him in doing four, dropping one would free up a huge chunk of his timetable which he could (ha! as if) use for doing work on the remaining three.

Fortunately as the subject that he might drop is unreformed it doesn't matter for exam entry so he can make a decision later in the year. By then he'll have done some more tests mocks and have an idea of whether he can continue to coast through four aided by his fantastic memory. I don't have to do the work so it's not my choice.

DD is doing AS anyway in all hers, so she doesn't have to choose just yet, thankfully.

DS1 did do 4 A2s, but there was a fair bit of crossover, (Physics, Maths, FM, and even the Geology had a bit).

Good luck to the DC who do.

Erm. Can someone explain to me why this thread has dropped off my TIO list? I've been thinking no one was posting any more, and here you all are chatting away without me!

I think DS has made the decision to drop history ASAP. He's had 5 migraines this month, and whilst they may not be due to stress, it will make it much easier to catch up on missed work.
It is a shame as he really enjoys the course, but he doesn't need 4 and he needs good grades in the other 3.

I was wondering where you were Exit!

Hooray! There you are Spartacus!

Sorry to hear your ds still suffering Derek. It is a shame about History if he enjoys it, but health is more important, and I really don't think they need 4, particularly with the new courses.

Dd is planning on sticking with 4 Alevel. She's got plenty of crossover between subjects and tbh I know she spends about as much time on maths and further maths combined as the kids in my y12 class spend on single maths. That may change in y13 but I can't see it somehow as I know which modules they'll be doing and know they're suit her style of working.

Derek migraines are awful, so yes if he can drop a subject to make his life easier then that's what he needs to do. It is a dreadful shame though.

Good luck to those having to decide whether or not to drop a subject, and which one.

DS's school have taken a rathr bold approach in that they are not offering ASs at all - everyone does three full A-levels and an EPQ (Further Maths is a special case, as it's kind of bundled with Maths).

Not allowed to do 4 here unless it's further maths or creative writing which overlap with other subjects.

Dd1 is doing AS in all hers , maths is unreformed anyway. Starting to get mocks back. V pleased with A in maths , disappointed by low B in French, knows what went wrong though .