Half way through Year 13 and the last school year.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

eep.

Hope you don't mind my hijacking through thread. I'll be going through the same as you all next year and just wondered if there's anything you wished you'd known earlier.

DD doesn't live with us, and, although we have contact I don't want to overlook anything.

Last day of term 4 for dd as well. She has 2 weeks holiday ( in theory). dd received a letter yesterday stating that one department is running open classes next week and she is expected to attend for at least 2 days to complete coursework and prepare for the exam.
I am annoyed because I thought all the coursework for this subject was finished ages ago and we aren't in the area anyway as we booked a few days away in January. We don't know when the exam for this Arty subject is taking place as no-one has bothered to tell us!
My assumption was that holiday classes would be optional and I don't think we are being unreasonable booking a few days holiday in the school holidays (this is a state sixth form). I am afraid this conforms with my inner prejudices about art subjects (I am a scientist) and it isn't really motivating dd who loved this subject earlier in the course. There is part of me that wants to complain, but dd is 18 and the letter is addressed to dd rather than her parents i.e dh and I. As it is dd is already spending most of her free periods on this subject including staying late so I don't think there is much more she can do.
Am getting to the stage when I will be relieved Y13 is over (even if it's still unclear what is happening next).

Now that DS1's coursework is all done (yay!) I spent the day nagging supporting him with the admin tasks he had been putting off. He needs support with some organisational tasks and gets anxious about making phone calls and filling in forms, so we tackled it all together.

1. He phoned the accommodation office about his difficulties registering for the accommodation application system.

1. He & I applied for student finance.

1. I found out what vaccinations he needs for going away this July, checked to see which he's already had, and he phoned to make an appointment for the one he still needs. It might seem early to do this, but he is severely needle phobic, so it's best to get it out of the way before his exams.

1. He asked me (unprompted) for a blank calendar for the next 3 months so he can start creating a revision timetable.

1. We found a driving instructor who can fit in semi-intensive / daily lessons after his exams, and booked this. We can't book the test yet as they don't go that far ahead.

I'm feeling quite productive.

Wow that is a lot to get organised at once.

catslife that's really frustrating, and not good communication by the college.

Welcome ifonly4
It's not so much what I didn't know that has made this year challenging, but DS1's issues with organisation and time management and his inability to plan more than 5 minutes ahead.

TheSecondOfHerName, thanks for that. I think DD is fairly organised, but like I say, she doesn't live with us (she applied to a school out of country and got a music scholarship and bursary), so I don't want to miss anything as every day contact isn't that easy.

I'm going to follow this thread now, in the hope I might pick up something!

Ifonly if she knows roughly what she'd like to do next and it includes applying for university it's worth starting to think about what course and where as early as possible. Open days tend to be in June and September. Some will be Saturdays but most are week days, so to avoid missing too many school days in one term it's worth doing a couple in June and then a couple more in September if possible.

Happy birthday to your dd haudin
ifonly
Coursework is hard and takes a long time start it early and don’t leave it till last minute like my dd

Dd had various hospital appointments and has finally handed in coursework although teacher told them she’ll mark and they have a week to act on feedback and then it needs to be sent off so not the final handing in

Happy Birthday to your dd Haudin. She is a grownup!! very exciting moment.

ds is exhausted today. He has been in his dressing gown since he got home from school. More intervention lessons tomorrow morning first thing if only they would just start at 10 it would be perfect - he could get a good night's sleep but actually wake up at the weekends at a normal time (9am would do nicely) ...and intervention is only for 2 hours. On second thoughts he will probably only listen for two hours..

Spring is in the air, very cheering. So happy for clocks to go forward. Brilliant that the coursework is in Second well done him.

Catslife I find the sudden annexing of Sats very tiresome, although I know teachers are working incredibly hard to get my ungrateful child through his exams. I just wish there would be an opt out, I would rather have committed him to 10 Sat mornings of tuition at home, as it is I cannot plan anything for more than two weeks on the trot, then ping another change of schedule.

I know what you mean nettles. It's not that I don't appreciate the fact that the sixth form is putting on classes - I do (sort of) feel sorry for the teacher. It's just that there was no indication on the calendar / at the parent's evening etc that this was even a possibility.dds old school had guidelines on good times to book holidays for GCSE students but all their revision/support was after school or at lunchtime and parents were given lots of notice if their child needed this. So the communication hasn't been great at all and hasn't met my expectations.
At the parents evening I rated communication as very poor on their questionnaire, which I think is justified.
At the time I didn't think her old school was that great at communicating but the college is much worse.

Dd doesn't have any revision classes over the holidays. My school apparently have some, but only in certain subjects and I think they were all warned about the possibility months ago.

We've still got 4 days to go before the holidays, and then I get to take 40 year 9s on a trip to London for 4 days. The kids are all very excited, I'm sick of the bloody trip and the sheer volume of paperwork involved, I just want it to be over. I won't be running it next year, someone else can step up.

Ifonly The thing I would change is to not book driving lessons until he'd passed his theory test. I think it would have been far cheaper to have had an intensive course of lessons rather than plodding along for what feels like forever. I would also have bought a student railcard earlier than I did.

If she's a musician and thinking of applying to conservatoire then the timescales are very very different and she needs to start with open days far earlier than university applicants.

Thanks for the birthday wishes.
No out of hours revision here, I am glad to say. Dd needs weekends and holidays to rest enough to cope.
MsDragon that trip sounds like extremely hard work - good luck with it.

cat'slife it does sound like very poor communication. I think colleges buy into the 'they are adults and responsible for themselves' stuff without considering the actual realities.

DD seems to be having a slight wobble about both subject and location for next year. She completely discounted a London uni because of the lack of (to her anyway) obvious campuses, and shared halls, so she thought there would be no community. Now that a couple of her (not close) school friends are talking about places at Imperial or UCL, she is no longer so sure. She also seems to be doing better or at least enjoying more another subject.

So, does anyone have any idea if it possible to change direction this late in the day? Do you have to reject all your first choices, and take your chances in clearing? I'm sure that Imperial won't have any clearing places, but how about other unis? Not necessarily London, but other high ranking courses closer than the other end of the country that is/was her first choice?

I suppose we need to figure out the size of her wobble really.

Hardwick, I don't know for sure but I think I've heard of dc applying at late as June and still getting offers.

Has she pushed "the button" to confirm her firm and insurance choice yet?
If not I guess she can just reject all current offers?

Perhaps worth contacting the admissions person for the uni/course she's interested in and asking if they'd consider a late application?

This is what I found with a (very) quick google - there must be more info out there.

Thanks Lobster. She has offers, but hasn't firmed yet.

To be honest, I suspect it is just panic. She's been unwell, and we're not even sure she's going to be well enough to go away this year. I'm probably reading more in to her wobble than I should, because I'd rather she was going to be closer to home if she does start.

One of her friends has had a complete change of heart about which course she wants to do, but still wants to go to the same uni. School advice to her is to stick with her offers, and talk directly to the uni about switching course (it is a relatively small change to my mind). Changing uni completely I think means rejecting all offers, and applying one at a time for others (I can't remember if it has a name).

I suppose we have to hope it is a minor wobble, and worry about it when she actually gets her results. Or maybe just see who is in clearing for her subject this year. Last year a couple of good universities were.

Hardwick a friend's son dropped out of UCL after a year; although he found London thrilling (he was out of towner) the lack of any formal campus was quite alienating (his words) He was a v high achiever/perfectionist but quite highly strung/shy in some ways. A nephew (another out of towner, but from a city) went to Imperial and although it suited his ambitions (engineer) I think the course was v intensive and very little "fun" in halls - commuting was tiring too. He made friends eventually (mostly doing sporty things) and is sharing student house near Imperial but with mostly friends he knew before uni, which is possibly an indication of the social scene being less cohesive. Just because it is on paper "the best" doesn't mean either unis are such a great atmosphere when you are actually students there. I think this was a big thread going about a wobbly student who wanted to leave a v prestigious London uni doing Stem subject and go back to Leeds or North (can't remember)

Personally, with my daughter I am finding peer pressure immense at every stage, and I have to keep talking her out of doing things her friends are doing, and do things which are right for HER.

Ds is meant to be handing in his English coursework today. I pray to God that they take it, whatever the grade and do not ask him to redo it...And he can concentrate now on the other subjects/topics. He seems in a good mood again, and says he wants to make a film and dye his hair green when the exams are over! I wanted to say, why not socialise with your old hair first and see what people think..

Nettleskins I think this that you said "He was a v high achiever/perfectionist but quite highly strung/shy in some ways." describes her to a T. She is extremely shy (having CBT for it at the moment). What neither myself or DH can figure out though is how much of it is a perfectly natural wobble, and if we actually need to act on anything.

Time will tell I suppose, and I hope not just with hindsight.

why not socialise with your old hair first

I agree. Maybe take it out for a drink or something...

nettle
It’s surprising the difference in different London unis
Dd didn’t like UCL
But loved goldsmiths
Peer pressure is hard but they must choose where they will be happiest they will be the one in the debt

After 8 weeks of waiting for a dbs check I can finally start my new job, dd has being struck down by period so no revision here today

Welcome ifonly
I sort of agree about the driving theory - although DD found some of it easier to learn in context (i.e. whilst driving). So my advice would be definitely do lots of theory learning before starting lessons, but then do the theory test after a few driving lessons. Having said that DD is severely dyslexic, so her learning style is quite different. DD is doing all BTECs - so different to most DCs on here. Doing all coursework subjects has its challenges (sometimes deadlines come all at once because clearly the teachers don't coordinate deadlines) but it's way better than doing exams for DD because she just cannot handle exams due to her MH problems.

So many different challenges.