GCSE '18s (20) - half term beckons!

[mmmz]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/further_education/3355907-gcse-18s-19-new-beginnings

I started whinging about calculator costs at the start of term. DD is in love with her Casio Fx9860GII which cost £65 through college.

Meanwhile I'm disappointed that AH isn't Darcy Bissell in real life!

Lovely photo Alexander - so graceful!
DS said he had a surprise psychology test today and no calculator (which they were supposed to have)but he managed without!

AH Here is the question i have been wanting to ask you for months: Were/Are you famous?!

Can someone who speaks maths explain the difference between the c£30 Classwizz that we were told to get by school and the £65+ wizzier ones that some of you have bought for your DC please? On the basis that DS could well need all the help he can get I would be very happy to shell out the extra if it would make a difference

Infamous maybe but not famous.

I studied music & drama & always wanted to teach but I ended up working for a concert hall/music venue.

After Dd was born we moved back home & dh (whose career as a classical early music singer was curtailed by a combination of stage fright & wanting to be with his new baby) re-trained as a music teacher.

For several years we ran kids performing arts classes together then dh started to become more interested in the technical side of vocal coaching including working with singers who had vocal injuries. He trained in a niche area then got a job with a Greater London based Dance college as a vocal coach. He worked for several institutions & in private practice & I sold our business as it wasn’t making enough to live on & I now work in an office.

Sticker - one of the teachers at Dds school went to school with & is very good friends with Darcy & she goes in to teach a masterclass once or twice a year.

Cherryburn I can't tell you the difference, but if it is any reassurance, I have calculators that I do not know how to use half the functions on (and i did maths - degree then job for 21 years after leaving school).

I bought the university ones but my employers used to buy the really expensive ones for me. It made them feel that they had the maths box ticked, and luckily no one ever asked me how to make the calculator perform the complicated stuff. Just some basic stats and trig was enough (plus 2 memories - very useful having two memories).

I think you can go quite a long way with a calculator that does some stats and some trig. TBH if the one you've got is A level compliant, then my bet is you'll be helping your DS by letting him have one that does what he needs and nothing more.

DD s had the £60 plus graphical ones but DS tells me the syllabus has changed and no longer required so his gcse one is fine - but have to take some of the things he says with a pinch of salt

AlexanderHamilton I'm beginning to realise how fundamentally your Dh's health issues are affecting your lives. If music has been central to his whole adult life, then its a huge upheaval to have to start a plan B.

I know its hard, and I am really sorry, but you come across as optimistic person, and although that seems trite, its really not. In fact, it can make the difference between making a successor failure of what you do next.

I know that sounds a bit vague and wishy-washy. i am trying not to say too much about how I come to know what it feels like for fear of outing myself, but i really know.

I wish you both all the best. I think if you can stay optimistic you've got a good chance of finding a new direction that might not be the one your DH planned, but will turn out well anyway.

That’s really touched me. Thank you. Got to go pick Ds up from his rehearsal but I honestly don’t know how I’d have coped without this thread.

Thanks whistl and Oratory. The one I bought him was what the school told us to get for A Level, so I guess it makes sense to stick with that as that’s what they’ll all be using in class.

I wish I had a better grasp of maths. The control freak in me hates the fact that I haven’t got a clue what he’s talking about when he tells me what they’re covering. (Runs away in case Ophelia comes and tells me off...)

My understanding is that the calculator needs to have the values for the cumulative binomial probability distribution. These used to be provided in the formula booklet for the old A-level but aren't for the new A-level.

The fx991-EX has this, as does the CG50 & other graphical calculators. The calculator DS2 used for GCSE doesn't.

Cross-posted with whistl and AH.

AH I wish you all the best too, and echo everything that whistl said. You’ve had such a rough time and you’ve coped so well.

Was thinking who s Ophelia, then I remembered.

Btw thanks for keeping me company while I watch bake off on my own tonight !!

Whether you like the accommodation you saw on an open day is not a useful factor in choosing a university.

Totally disagree with this.
I mean, it's obviously only one factor, but it is a factor.
I've got 2 older than my Yr12 dc, so we've looked round quite a few universities in recent years (as well as visiting various dns).
Some places have accommodation a long way from campus / lecture halls. Some have high rise blocks. Some have accom. with little communal living space. Some accom. is all shiney, new and very, very expensive, etc.,etc. Some is near /on campus but miles from the town. Some is part of the town. So it goes on. Obviously, it is likely that they will show you a 'nice' block, but that's where your talking to the students comes in - you find out how typical this is, how much of this type there is, what the advantages and disadvantages of the living spaces are, etc. You find out if you are guaranteed accom in first year. You find out how easy / difficult it is to get 2nd yr accom. and so forth. Where they live, and what they live in is pretty important for their social life / friendships / job opportunities / mental health / and, very importantly, costs.

Sorry, I should have said "Whether you like the student room or flat you were shown on an open day is not a useful factor in choosing a university."

It is definitely worth finding out how far the accommodation is from campus, is it all on one site or scattered etc.

But there's no point basing the decision on a particular building which you're unlikely to be living in if you go there.

Costs of accommodation was something I didn't really concentrate on with DS1. He was really lucky to make his grades for Warwick which has a great range of accommodation including really cheap halls. His insurance, Exeter, didn't guarantee accommodation to insurance students. Could have been a big problem.

AH I agree with whistl, you are coming across as really optimistic and positive, at least on this thread, with what sounds like a life changing DX for your DH. I'm sure you aren't always feeling so positive. Your DD looks amazing in your photo!

The concert was fun, some very talented musicians, especially the jazz trio.

Nicely put whistl. I am glad that this thread is a support to you Alexander as you navigate your way forwards through this

No predicted grades for dd, but now she is doing two arts subjects and one social science I'll do my own predictions, conservative: A, A, B, optimistic A*, A, A, pessimistic: A, B, C. My money is on the conservative option. Will be interesting to see what happens two years hence.

Dd, like Sost's dgd now has romantic intentions. She has spotted a fit boy in her tutor group. She is friendly with one boy in her tutor group (she knew him previously), so they have contrived a 'spontaneous' introduction whereby friend sits with object of affection and dd saunters over and say 'Jamie' - aren't you going to sit with me?, at which point Jamie will say 'Come and join us, this is fit boy'.

Alexander beautiful dance pic of your DD. i'm thinking this one of my DD in her natural habitat might be ok as she's upside down, and it's on the photographers website anyway; I bloody hate that knee brace it;s so ugly.

DD still loving Sixth Form and has her first trip booked to Bloomsbury Baptist Church for a 6 hour Philosophy lecture ! #numbbum

Funny how both the dancing daughter’s on the thread like Philosophy too!

Great pic.

Now I'm getting bendy-envy! Why can't my late 40s body do the sort of things Jufus & AH's DD's can!

Mine can barely get up off the sofa

Some impressively agile kids on this thread.
DS2 isn't intentionally bendy, just the type you get with hypermobile joints.

You ve reminded me I must get back to the exercise x a cold and uni deliveries put and end to my first efforts but need to get back to it - and as I think I hold the record (I’m a 1960 child !) I need it more than most !!

I hear what you say about uni accommodation but most will have a range. Admittedly at some it’s further away than others but i still think a bus journey to the dept (with other students) may be easier to adapt to and get used to than a course that doesn't suit. And the accommodation choices can be researched via the website. If there’s a risk of not making the grades at the first choice than guaranteed uni accommodation at the insurance may be good.