Y13 Summer term: Finishing Lessons, Starting Exams and leaving Sixth Form

[catslife]

So our dcs are now on the last term of sixth form, finishing off lessons and starting their exams.
How did that happen - doesn't seem that long ago since they started Y12.
This is the thread where we support each other as our dcs revise and start their exams, finish off coursework, leave sixth form and make plans for what to do with the rest of their lives. This may involve going to uni or other alternatives.
Every Y13 parent is welcome to join in whether new to these threads or if you have been with us for a while - the more the merrier.

Lonicera DS was told that as per new guidelines the teachers couldn't comment or make suggestions, although they had a read through and then told him that if he wanted to make any changes he had one last chance to review himself before it was submitted but was offered no feedback. School were very specific about absolutely no input from teachers.

DD has finally confirmed her choices! 🎉

DD handed hers in and got no feedback, it was so hard as there was so little information really. She has a vague idea how she did as the students accessed a college system the teachers don't know they can or something. We'll see how it all goes in August.

That's good to know starfleet

I don't understand why the history students can just keep on rewriting their coursework until they get a high grade though. It doesn't seem fair. DD's boyfriend got a C in his first attempt, but improved it to get a high A.

I would class that as cheating.

people get in with at least one or two grades lower if they are firm applicants

That's what DS1 is hoping will happen with his firm choice. He is unlikely to get those grades however hard he works. Luckily his insurance choice is unconditional.

lonicera In ds's case he got a U for a first draft. Is it "teaching" if you don't then give guidance on how to improve, if there is a class of 30 and some people got the wrong end of the stick when first given the guidelines? Is that any less ethical than intensively explaining the purpose of coursework in a small group and then sending them off to do it, presumably with clearer guidelines than ds had. I think it is a very grey area. If you put the work in afterwards when the teacher has pointed out there are serious deficiencies, that is not really cheating. If the teacher rewrites it or you pay someone else to rewrite it that is cheating. Ds is still going to get a D or an E in his coursework, I think if they were really going to cheat they could have cheated a lot better!!!

Did had no feedback on her History NEA, it was handed in for the first and final time just before Feb half term and that was it.
She found out today she got 36/40 which she is happy with (although grade boundary for A is 38 so she was a tiny bit disappointed) I wonder if she could have increased her score had she received feedback and been able to improve it as you say they have at your DD's school Lonicera*?
It does seem unfair if that has been allowed in some schools but not others.

*DD not did!

Bold fail! I think my Friday wine is calling!!

Nettleskins they had very little in the way of guidelines for the geography NEA. Surely, if the history students are allowed to improve their coursework shouldn't the geography students be able to do the same?

Thankyou did that advice nettle she would study politics, economics, history something humanity base even philosophy at any London uni so don’t I’ll reassure her

To the mumsnetters who remember last year when dd had a cyst then abcesses on her eye? It’s returned she’s got an appointment Monday but this is so worrying close to exams

nettles
I’ve had a spy on the site how do you find out who got in with lower requirements?

Oh Fantasy that must be worrying for you both. Fingers crossed it doesn’t escalate like last time.

Fantasy that's not what she needs now, hopefully they can give her something for it on Monday.

Ds1 and 2 took time off last night and went to the cinema to watch the marvel film, it was really good to see them relaxed and enjoying themselves. Back to the revision tonight though.

I could be wrong but I think exams will flare it up
She’s so desperate to firm goldsmiths but it’s english that If anything will pull her down. So hard. I wish she’d have never chosen English as there’s being a lack of support

I'm surprised coursework is still included as there is so much room for 'cheating'. I have a friend whose DS is doing tutoring in London and is basically writing a Girl's coursework for her.

And DD is still not buckling down to revision as her two courseworks are still sloshing around. And one of her friends is struggling to do History as she has English as well plus has just done her final drama performance. And I am so proud of them. There are 4 doing drama and their play was about the Manchester Arena bombing. They interviewed lots of people including doctors who treated the victims. Several doctors went.to watch the performance last night and lots of people left in tears. Go girls.

most tutors are very reluctant to touch coursework. who wants to be associated with plagiarism.

Fantasy it is not as specific as individual grade offers, more it shows what tarriffs students get in with compared to another English course at another uni you tag. So for example I put in Hull Ox Brookes and Cardiff and I can see at a glance that most people get into Cardiff with higher grades than Hull for ds's specific courses. Of course his isn't that good an example because there are other factors affecting tariffs like music exam grades and auditions can alter the offers too, but that's a rough way of seeing what the entry requirements are. What the uni puts as its fixed tariff can be misleading.

I mean entry requirements in the sense of REAL entry requirements, ie what students actually got in with.

Coursework is affected by the extent to which the teaching staff are able to prepare the students before they write anything. Some schools will be able to prepare students better by teaching them to a high standard than other schools, not because teacher are worse but just because they have more resources available. A very obvious example is that ds's school did not take the students to see the plays they were doing for coursework, in fact they didn't take them to any plays studied in English. There wasn't a teacher free to organise it, and the students would not have necessarily been able to afford to attend several outings. There were also 30 people in his English A level class. When I talk about guidelines I mean the teachers preparing the students what the coursework involves so they can go and do their independent research properly and know what they are being asked to provide,, not a published specification from the exam board.

Tutors are surely a law unto themselves. He is a 23 year old Cambridge grad. He gets paid up to £85 an hour.

sorry, that was missing a few grammatical constructions!

x post Ursula.

re: tutor - I don't think tutors as clever as that help much with exam technique, perhaps they inspire but they aren't really going to help you succinctly put your ideas down over 2 pages. A 23 year thinks like a 23 year old who has done years of highbrow analysis, a 17/18 year old in an A level is not being asked to think like that.

ursula I will tell ds2 about your dd's drama, it is important to understand how Drama gets to the heart of things in the way that nothing else can

This is directly from the AQA NEA guidelines. Lonicera

*Teachers must not:

provide students with a choice of titles or tasks from which they then choose
mark work provisionally and share that mark so that the student may then improve it
give specific guidance on how to make improvements to a draft in order to meet the assessment criteria without recording it as additional assistance on the Candidate record form (CRF) and taking it into account when marking the work*

The wording is very similar in both the English Language and History NEA guidelines in that no markets can be given as they go through the work or specific comments given on how they can improve their work. Any teacher that has done this puts themselves open to malpractice.

We did give advice on health & safety, ethical issues, using equipment safely that sort of thing as well as referencing and using a bibliography. We also checked their titles to confirm that they directly linked to the spec and made them aware of the requirements of the markscheme. There was definitely no handing in work for marking in order to improve it.

HTH

Thank you @Lucycat
The history department have given their students a second/third crack at it by provisionally marking their NEAs, but the geography department haven't - they are absolutely playing it by the book. I don't know about English, but will find out when DD surfaces.

One student improved his from a C to an A (he has an Oxford offer), and another had hers improved from a U to a C. DD says that this student had a lot of help from the teachers.

I am thinking of challenging the school over this. What do you think?

Similar thing with dds school
History lots of help even down to if she’s marking it in the class room if she’s not sure she’ll ask the student did you mean it AO1/2/3? As she wants them to get the best grades possible

English on the other hand, was coursework set do it, hand in, feedback, submit

Very difficult because it seems like poor coursework in English will drag them all down