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)

I have kept up with this thread just not a lot going on with DS until the last couple of weeks

He didn't have much of an idea until recently about which direction he wanted to take. The turning point I think was a geography lecture he went to at Manchester Uni. It gave him some inspiration. I feel like he sometimes needs a rocket up his rear as he is so laid back. I really don't think anything fazes him. I'm usually ranting about something and he just rolls his eyes and goes to look for ice cream in the freezer!

I think this year has been a lot less stressful than gcse year, even with as levels on the horizon. It's just been a case of getting on with the work.

Was it a school organised trip to Manchester Uni?

Exit - it was. The Geography department organise them. I think it may have been the fact that they go for pizza afterwards that swung it for him. There's another in a couple of weeks that he's also going to.

"I think this year has been a lot less stressful than gcse year"

Really? DD is currently studying 4 subjects at A level, and so are most of her friends. They are all exhausted, stressed and feeling hugely pressurised. They are not enjoying 6th form at all. Quite a few people she knows have already dropped one subject.

Sounds like the Geography dept is more switched on than some of the others.

They seem to enjoy teaching their subject! They also use social media quite a lot and try to engage the students. Maybe why DS has enthusiasm for it - he volunteers one lunchtime a week to help out with the drop in session for Yrs 7-11.

The Maths dept have organised a trip over to Leeds next month - DS wasn't totally enthused by the idea but has decided he'll go (under sufferance)

DD is also doing 4 (plus FM) and I'm finding it's less stressful too. Possibly it's fewer subjects plus subjects she likes (GCSE Photography accounted for huge amounts of the stress load last year).

I'm sure it will ramp up after Easter, but I'm enjoying it for now.

Iam - I'm really sorry to hear that your DD is struggling. Do you think she would want to drop one of her subjects to make life easier? In DD's friendship group they all seem to be doing 3 - even the one who got straight As and A*s decided to only do 3. It seems such a shame not to be enjoying 6th form at all. Does her next step require 4 A levels, or would it be better to aim for 3 high grades with less stress?

She is definitely going to drop psychology. She is struggling with constant exhaustion and the workload, but she is getting As and Bs, and her school report is excellent. The school piles on the pressure from day one of A levels, so it won't ramp up - it was ramped up in September.

She does enjoy the other subjects and will enjoy them more when she is less tired and has more free time. The problem just now is that she does 3-4 hours of homework a night and all day Sunday. She only gets 6 free periods a fortnight and doesn't get much work done at school during these free periods as one of her friends is always trying to talk to her and doesn't take any notice when DD says she needs to get some work done.

The work levels means that her social life is just about non existent.

Iam, sorry to hear your daughter is having a stressful time of it. My DD also found Y12 immensely difficult, much more so than GCSE year; she now says even 1st year of uni was easier! It did get better as she adjusted to the workload.

Hope your DD manages to get some R&R during the half-term break.

DS got his half-term report on Friday; slightly disappointing marks in PHysics, in that he's dropped a grade compared to his last report, but he says he knows what he needs to do. Half-term will be devoted to the first draft of his EPQ, and visits to Oxford and Cambridge (organised by the school).

Hope everyone has a lovely half-term break (inspite of the weather).

What is EPQ?

It's the Extended Project Qualification.

Apologies for the cut and paste bit below but a better explanation:-

Our EPQ allows each student to embark on a largely self-directed and self-motivated project. Students must choose a topic, plan, research and develop their idea and decide on their finished product.
We encourage creativity and curiosity. A project topic may be directly related to a student's main study programme, but should look beyond the specification. A finished product may take the form of a:
research based written report
production* (eg charity event, fashion show or sports event etc)
an artefact* (eg piece of art, a computer game or realised design).
*A written report must accompany these options.
Students must also record their project process in their Production Log. The process of recording and completing a project is as important as the finished product. Both the Production Log and Product will be assessed.
What your students need to do

•   <strong>*Choose</strong> an area of interest and draft their project title and aims. 
  

•   <strong>*Plan, research</strong> and carry out their project. 
  

•   <strong>*Keep a production log</strong> of all stages of the project production, reviewing and evaluating their progress. 
  

•   <strong>*Complete</strong> the project product. 
    Prepare and <strong>deliver a presentation</strong>. 
    Review the outcome of their project and presentation.
  

During the EPQ, they will learn to:

•   <strong>*manage</strong> – identify, design, plan, and complete a project (or task within a group project), applying organisational skills and strategies to meet their stated objectives 
  

•   <strong>*use resources/research</strong> – obtain and select information from a range of sources, analyse data, apply it relevantly, and demonstrate understanding of any appropriate connections and complexities of their topic 
  

•   <strong>*develop and realise</strong> – use a range of skills, including using new technologies, to solve problems, to take decisions critically, creatively and flexibly, and to achieve their aims 
  

•   <strong>*review</strong> – evaluate the outcome, including their learning and performance.
  

Iam - I'm sorry that your dd is having a tough time. I suspect different subjects cause different kinds of workloads and stress. dds subjects all dovetail into each other really well so although she has plenty of work its just a case of head down and get on with it. She really loves what she is doing and has a good group of friends doing the same subjects all with a similar mindset. I think shes bloody fortunate to be honest.

It's a massive relief not to be having to listen to tales of woe of music coursework and how her dt project refuses to work and how much she hates writing umpteen pages of essays or learning paragraphs of French.

She is tired though, ready for half term for sure! She has a lot to do though! I'm astonished there hasn't been lots of moaning about it.

There is absolutely no way DD would do an EPQ. She would have zero motivation or energy to take something else on. They have to do "enrichment" as well, so DD is currently earning sign language - and seems to be enjoying it.

Sign language is an awesome enrichment!

Iam I'm sorry too your DD is finding it so hard. I think with DD the relief of no Photography, has been huge. And the stress of triple science, specially Physics.Other coursework just seemed to be endless too. And her friendship group has changed and is very supportive

That said, she's not getting the results your DD is, which are what she was expecting so maybe she's not quite got the right mix.

Agree, sign language is awesome and really useful.

Thank you for the messages of support. She has spent all day in her bedroom doing homework, with a break for lunch, and is feeling pretty miserable.

Her (much reduced) friendship group are all feeling the strain so they can't really support each other. They just have a mass whinge.

A lot of her friends left school to do A levels or other courses elsewhere and aren't under the same kind of pressure that she is. Another week of school to go before half term. I hope she doesn't get as much homework as she did in October half term (16 pieces).

At DS1's school, those students not doing four A-levels have to do an EPQ. Thankfully they made an exception for DS1.

The modified timetable seems to be working so far, in that he is attending over 90% of his lessons.

Sorry to hear that your DD is feeling stressed & overwhelmed Iamastonished
Hopefully the half term break will provide some respite.

TheSecond, I'm glad to hear that the modified timetable is working out, is he engaging better with the new subjects? They're not so new now I suppose, time is flying by.

According to the college prospectus the EPQ is offered to high attaining students later on this year. I doubt that DS will be offered it but if he does I have suggested to him that he decline politely. Motivation is not his strong point yet and I can see it being another thing where it's left until the last possible minute and then is done in a panic.

He had a prospectus come this week, he had to go out whilst part way through registering for interest in an open day so I finished it for him and ticked the box for the prospectus. It's sitting there on the dining table waiting to be opened. I'll give it a couple of weeks and then I might open it myself.

Iam is there an option to drop Psychology now? If so, would she want to, or is she determined to get an AS level out of it? It's fantastic that she's getting such good grades, but I'm sure you must worry about how much longer she can keep this up.

I have offered her the option of dropping it, but she is doing so well at it even though it is the least interesting subject. She got and A and a B in her mock papers and wants to drop it after the AS exams. She says she has done so much work so far and doesn't want to give in now.

I met one of her psychology teachers at parents evening last week and I can tell that she really likes DD as she is one of the students who is doing consistently well in year 12. I think she will be really disappointed when DD drops it.

is he engaging better with the new subjects?

Thank you for remembering

In English Literature they started new texts after Christmas in which everyone is on the same footing, rather than DS1 feeling that the rest of the class was half a term ahead of him. He is gaining confidence and has started to contribute to class discussions.

Government & Politics is still a race to catch up before this summer's AS but the marks are moving in the right direction.

Dd1 seems to be having an absolute ball at 6th form which is probably why she's predicted 3 x Cs!

Iam well it sounds like you are doing as much as you can do to be supportive. Hopefully she will be able to keep going until the AS exams (is it in May?) and then things will be easier.