GCSE '18s (19) - New Beginnings?

[whistl]

Following on from the GCSE 2018 threads as our DC enter year 12.
This the first thread in our new home in further education

And on a completely different topic, I helped invigilate the 11+ this morning at my school. So glad that's all in the past!

Thanks Sandybayley I think we may be booking for that!

Can vouch for the taster days - they are university of London so not just kcl. DD went to a few. Decided against kcl in the end but enjoyed the taster days and open days - just look in the website. Cambridge run subject tasters too for those thinking of Oxbridge

Prodigal returned - didn’t get my coffe though as he needed a bath ! Had a good week thankfully and I think the lack of communication is just that it wouldn’t occur to him to get in touch unless for a specific reason !!

And I thought of Loose when I had a long explanation of quarks and protons and neutrons all the way home. Hopefully I nodded in the right places !! Philosophy may have been more interesting - but it’s good to see their enthusiasm for a subject.

@AChickenCalledKorma - you're welcome! The opportunities available to our DC are amazing - particularly if you they get into London. A little googling reveals all sorts of interesting stuff. I'm quite looking forward to being retired and going to all sorts of interesting talks and events.

Growing up in the Midlands without the internet and not much public transport was a very different experience...

@Sandybayley They are indeed! Thanks for the heads up, though. Although we are within an easy journey of central London, I had somehow failed to grasp that we could be looking in that direction for taster events etc. The concept of going to university in London has always seemed a bit overwhelming to me (and I'd probably steer DD towards being a bit further from home). But that doesn't mean we can't make use of the outreach stuff to help her explore what she wants to do. Anyway, we're booked!

@AChickenCalledKorma - I agree. As a Londoner I'm not that keen on the DC going to university here. I think it would be quite an odd experience if you've grown up here and it would be so expensive to live 'out' - and a bit strange if your parents live on a tube line.

But the London universities are great. I was supposed to do a post grad at LSE but got a job instead, still regret it TBH.

korma and sandy agree about not studying in your home town! We're an hour by train from London and DS already goes in for a day now and then (and my mum lives there a few months of the year), he lives exploring and hiring bikes and trying out the cycle networks through the parks etc. I grew up in a tiny place and my mind was blown when I moved to London at 20, and that was before internet and coffee shops and 24 hour everything! Might have a look at taster days too for him so thanks for that info.

Oratory I hope your DS thinks to have a chat about how his week has been Mine are similar in that they just seem to forget that there's still someone at home who might be interested! But when they return I do usually eventually get an hour or so of info.

Hi Terf yes I did get a good catch up thanks - just different to his sister who used to give me a run down of each day in great detail 😂. I was tempted to go a long way home as the car is a good place to catch up and when he gets back it usually dries up - and most of the journey today was physics !! His mind was a bit blown as they’ve been told half of what they learnt at gcse was wrong (or I’m guessing simplified) so they have to relearn some concepts. He s loving it though.

Lots of switching subjects among his peers too (FM down from 8 to 6)

ThirdofHerName re your dd.and ds - are they at single sex achools. Its not them stereotyping girls into double science and boys into triple.

Glad we didn't have to make a decision. Everyone takes triple as a compulsory and bottom set DS got 998

I’m a bit quiet to be honest as I have heard from Dd since Wednesday evening!

Not just me then !!

Will she be home some weekends Alex or does she have Saturday teaching commitments. I can see ds not wanting to come back some weekends tho we do have the advantage that it’s just 15 minutes away

She’s got a job assisting at the school’s Saturday morning Youth Theatre.

It is Open Day next week & A’s well as prospective students parents of current ones are invited to attend as it’s a chance to see them perform so we will see her then.

That sounds nice.

DS1 didn't apply to any universities in London. Having grown up on the edge of London, he is all too aware of how expensive everything is. There was one course he quite liked, but it would have cost £8000 a year for him to live in accommodation that's closer to our house than it is to the university campus.

DS2 initially liked the idea of applying to Imperial (and possibly commuting from home for the first year) but now would quite like to apply for universities where he can live within walking distance of lectures.

@ShalomJackie
Yes, they're at single sex schools. Both schools are quite strong on STEM subjects. The proportion doing triple science compared to combined science is roughly the same in both schools.

I live in London and went to Uni in London and commuted. Is that unusual since it's what DD is also saying is a possibility for her?

Dd is currently thinking of going to our local university but not living at home. Not London but a big northern city.

It is a good uni and a great city for students but I think she'd be better to explore other options too. The uni is right next door to her sixth form so won't feel like much of a move.

Funnily enough DD went to another London open day yesterday. Really liked it. I know she and we want her to have the full uni experience of living away. But she really did love this uni and she loves the city.

I did my postgrad in a London uni and DB stayed the whole time in London for 6 years of studying. Going away from home for undergrad was a great experience for me.

Personally, the experience of living with my peers away from home was more important to me than the actual degree as far as university goes. My DS2 is staying at home for his HE course, but that's only due to his SN.

We won't be looking at London universities, mainly due to the cost of living there but also because of the long commutes between accommodation and uni, and between accm and accm would make for the social life difficult after the first year.

I guess it’s down to weighing up pros and cons and what’s important to individual DC. Remember though you can get the living away from home with peers experience after uni. I think you can also get the social life at the London uni s you just have to look for it and make more effort to make it happen as you haven’t got everyone living in the same space. Having said that the availability of things to do and cultural/educational experiences on tap may outway that a little. DD2 was torn between kings and two other unis all very different and all had different plus points and minuses.

Terrible grammar! But you get my drift.

I do think that London is a great place to live as a young person, but maybe after uni? First job territory perhaps? Once you have a graduate paying job.