Year 12 #2: Carols, commutes & a few stocking fillers

[Stickerrocks]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/further_education/3410431-year-12-1-gcses-are-sooo-last-year

So 6th form College have expressed concerns about DDs lack of progress since she started in September. Still waiting to hear from College what they would be expecting to see at this stage but no reply I realise it it dependent on starting point and subjects taken (DD taking maths, Further Maths and physics), but anyone offer any advice??

What did your DD get at GCSE for maths and physics, Twin?

Congratulations Kilash -a real triumph that is only achievable with hard work...!

Oh dear, Twin. Were the concerns about all 3 subjects or just FM?

It is a big step up to A level and it can be a bit of a shock. I found it hard because I was a ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ type who hadn’t had to work very hard for O levels, then for A levels I had to put a lot of effort in and I wasn’t used to it! Or very good at it.

Twin it may not be as serious as it sounds - the problem is sometimes not doing quite as well in assessments compared with the target grade. It can be a matter of just being a few marks out and needing some help on how to answer questions. The other side is that it can be good because they offer extra help.
I got an automated letter a while back for psychology. DS got a B in his first assessment - not bad as they hadn't actually been taught how to answer the question. The letter was triggered by the target grade being an A. His teacher told him to ignore the letter.

whistl she got a 7 in maths. Seems concerns are with all 3 subjects

she has had a couple of results back from tests which were ungraded. She says her teacher says he isn’t concerned about ungraded, which on one hand I can understand as still early days but on the other College must be concerned enough to place an Amber flag against her name (with red flag being highest level of concern).

Hmm Ive often been told that a lot struggle with maths fm and sciences a levels at first but stick at it and there comes a time when it clicks. But I don’t know how you tell the difference between that and having a real issue. And without knowing more it’s hard to tell how much of a problem they think it is. No suggestions I’m afraid other than getting more info from college.

That is sort of what I’m thinking Loose - DD tells me she “just” needs to revise more and she is lazy. Apparently if I show concern this equals her having less motivation to do any revision so I pointed out that am I supposed to sit back and watch her fail??

Yes I’ve heard that too oratory, as you say hard to gauge without more info from College. It’s a battle though, DD refuses to tell me anything and I’ve had to contact College without her knowledge to find out how she is getting on.

It’s early days yet - hope it’s nothing too worrying

Twin to be honest given her response you do need to talk to the college. I'm sure maths and physics will be ok but I'll bet FM needs some intervention.

Thanks Loose hopefully College will reply soon. I’ve also asked them what extra support they give her, so waiting on that too. She hates the fact I’m inferring but hey just would like to know how far off the mark she is

Twinplusone at least they've raised this now and not in a year's time. It might be that she needs to spend a bit more time on these initial topics to consolidate her understanding, in which case the Christmas holidays would be a good opportunity (if you're not going away).

What does she want to do after A-levels? DS2 (doing the same subjects plus Chemistry) has found a couple of university courses he likes the look of, and that's what is motivating him to put the work in.

I am really pleased for Kilash 's DS but our hopes for DS2's exam are nowhere near that high. At this point I'll just be relieved if DS2 passes. I just want him to get through the damn thing and put it behind him so he can play for enjoyment and also have at least some free time left over when he isn't studying or practising.

First She is talking about doing engineering at university. She hasn’t looked at any courses with me, I’m kept firmly at arms length. we are at home over Christmas so maybe she will revise. Anything I say is thrown back at me. Happy days

Teen on the one hand those 3 A levels are a tough combination with a7 at GCSE, especially the further maths. (Unless there is some mitigating circumstance such as she was expected to do better but was ill on the day of the exam).

On the other hand, someone at the college signed off the A level choices, so they must have thought your DD is up to that combination.

The problem with those subjects is that the knowledge builds. The skills that have been taught in this first term will be required for the topics to come.

I think I'd be looking for a chat with the person who signed off your DDs A level choices ( her teachers or the head of year?) and ask what their grade expectations are and what they think your DD needs in order to achieve those grades as something is obviously not working and there needs to be a plan to get things back on track.

kilash big congratulations on that result!
loose best wishes for your MIL...bad timing!
And best wishes and tones of good health also for sostenuto
We got a nice report, DS beyond expected in the 3 subjects, so we celebrated with a movie and a pizza and an embarrassing kiss on the cheek from his mother He's on hols now. It was so good to see him rest, play music and see friends this weekend!

I'm cutting down on social media during this family time so I'll take the chance now to wish everyone a great holiday and a very happy new year, to all the hard working DCs too. May the new year bring some good news for this youth's future both in the UK and in this beautiful planet. Won't say more coz I'll start getting bloody political. Cheers. [santa]

twin if it's any help, DS friends who have gone the same route as your DD re subjects are all saying the shock is brutal. Apparently it takes a while...

Teen they can't just express concern unless they are prepared to follow it up - much as dd won't like it! Hopefully you'll get some more information soon but, even more importantly, some support.

Brainmelt would expect nothing less of DS! Have a great break. MiL is being pretty stoic!

Twin it may be worth looking at the GCSE level further maths revision guides which would cover some of the A level topics but at a lower level to check she has the foundations in place. However, it may be more challenging to get her to look at them!

Sost sending you a restorative .

Whistl thanks for the honesty, really appreciate it, no one will give me a straight answer as to whether she has set on the wrong path so to speak. Her only mitigating circumstances are she didn’t revise enough 🤦🏻‍♀️ (Will she ever learn) and she had a lot of friendship issues when she sat GCSEs and was very low. Her argument is she has moved to College to do A levels so longer has contact with girls giving her problems and therefore feels “in a better place” to revise (but she isn’t)

She had an ability test in first few weeks in College to gain entry for Further Maths a level. She just scrapped through

It’s so hard as obviously don’t want to knock her confidence especially she is happier in a fresh circle of friends

Stickerrocks certainly would be a challenge

Dgd was struggling with certain questions in biology. Its the way they are written so she emailed teacher who said these were the type of questions you can't actually revise for and that lots were finding them difficult and gave her some more of these type of questions and told her to look at past papers. But in maths her predicted was an A but in end of term report they put achieving A and 3 big assessments on trig etc gave her a total of 197/200 so at the moment acing the more algebra based part. So it seems finding biology harder than maths.psychology dept. Not giving out A s as they feel pupils will stop working hard apparently so she is an A at the moment. Teachers seem great at answering pupils emails and concerns very quickly. It is such a difference between GCSE and A level. Revision methods may have to change. But I'm sure all DC will find their way they have only been studying them 12 weeks!

Thank you a d hello stickerocks