Year 12 #3: Open Days and Predicted Grades beckon

[whistl]

Yikes! The title has just hit me! It's too soon! I'm not ready!!

Thread number 2 link: https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/further_education/3443840-Year-12-2-Carols-commutes-a-few-stocking-fillers

That's great Whistl! I know grade boundaries at A level can be very narrow but I'm sure he'll be well clear!

@EllenJanesthickerknickers - share away! You know how much we love hearing about the success of our collective DC!

Great result @whistl - huge confidence boost to get those results.

Don't worry about the unsporty DC @LooseAtTheSeams . Mine are enthusiastic amateurs. DS1 is a solid rugby and cricket player but loves both. Not a star (except to me!) but doesn't matter!

That's incredible Whistl at this stage in the process. Especially as some find transition to new school and A level hard at first and it only comes good later on. You must be really pleased. It means he has no limits on where he might want to look at for next stage too.

DS is slipping back a bit with some decidedly average marks. He thinks it s just because he hasn't been putting the work in (too many other things on the go and no urgency yet) and he can pull it up like he did spectacularly for GCSE s. I worry a bit he'll leave himself too much of a mountain to climb and predicted grades will be low. But at the same time he's doing ok and loving life and school so no determined not to stress too much.

I'll join you on the non sporty Loose - I think DS is aiming for the record of the first boy to go through the school without ever having set foot on a rugby pitch. He also probably couldn't name a premier league team if you asked him. Odd thing is DH and I have spent our whole life playing or watching sport

Great results, whistl! DS3’s mocks have all been marked apparently but results day is next Friday. I’ll be sure to share, now you’ve given me permission. I have to say, I’m always impressed with sporting, musical and artistic achievements, possibly more so because they’re things I’m really not good at!

Dropped DS3 at school for his trip today. It’s an inset day at my school and I don’t do insets so a bonus day off in the sunshine. Took a few photos of my blossoming plum tree.

Hi all.

Although there have been end of topic tests DS doesn't do actual mocks until either side of May half term and then these feed actual predicted grades although there is, as I have mentioned before, a chance to retake to up these if need be the day before yr 13 starts.

Masterclass email has arrived. I am reading Parents Guide whilst invigilating A level mocks. We can do that in mocks but not in public exams.

All good on my other life issues currently!

whistl Amazing results! Must be reassuring to know that he is on the right track and keeping on top of his learning. I am being thick but are these real AS-levels or pretend ones? I thought AS-levels were a thing of the past and it was all straight through to A-levels now. Or is it just the exam boards at DS1's school?

DS1 completely non-sporty although has strangely taken to badminton (!) He is musical which is traditionally not well-regarded at his school. Headteacher's weekly newsletter is filled with sporting fixtures and successes and nothing about music achievement. Now that DS1 has got his Music Captain badge (yesterday), he's broached the subject with the Head to encourage greater recognition, including award of full colours for music achievement. DC with sports colours get to wear badges and different school ties and he'd like the same for music. I've suggested a piano tie which didn't go down well.

EllenJane Beautiful tree! Nothing on my cherry tree yet - another couple of months! It's been lovely and warm here too. DS2 goes camping with the Scouts next weekend - hope the weather holds for them.

EllenJane how lovely and what a boost for your ds! Of course we are all Honorary Aunties on this thread - it's nice to have a safe space to celebrate sucesses and not always possible irl.

In other news, ds has been made Head Boy . To say I'm beyond proud is probably underestimating how I feel! He has always been appreciated at school for his academic ability and for being a pleasure to teach but he has equally been very quite, shy, a bit geeky and quirky and until recently could not look an adult in the eye when having a conversation. Since GCSE's and 6th form he seems to have really blossomed and matured. He will take up his duties in the Summer Term to give the current Y13 head boy study time for A levels.

OKBobble how much in advance did you get notification of the Masterclass?

Welcome back okbobble 😀

I agree 100% about feeling a great sense of joy when I hear that the DC are doing well - be that winning a match, getting a B when they were expecting a C, making friends or getting A stars. I certainly don't feel like there's any 'showing off' on here just celebrating the positives and sharing the traumas!!

Let's be honest, none of them are perfect (I just need to look in DDs bedroom!!!)

Keep the good news rolling in!!!!!!

Email last night re Masterclass 9 March. So 12 days before. Can book place for parents info session on 6 March. Has booklet info on email which J have read but know ALL of it because "mumsnet"!

Will still go to session in case odd snippets and because we are local. DS wants to apply to the other place but all similar enough.

I've heard from Something and she has asked me to post this message on her behalf:

News from somethingsmellsnice:
Dad is now in residential rehab and hoping he will be well enough to go home in a couple of weeks.

Car has been recovered by police. Seemingly undamaged but will need locks/ignition changing.

They have arrested someone who used the credit cards using CCTV footage from the locations they used them.

A search has recovered a couple of items but only small ones. They can't link to burglary/car theft as such so he has been charged with 3 counts of fraud and receiving stolen goods so better than nothing!

Masterclass info came through a couple of weeks before the date. Definitely sign up for the parent session. Even if Hugh Bonneville isn't there again, you'll learn a lot.

Whistl great results. Kilash DD was HG last year and it gave her so much confidence. That's brilliant news. 242 Loving the tie idea. Sost (if you pop in) over-priced BTS tickets are on sale on Friday.

I do wonder how many DC don't receive appropriate help & support on producing their Personal Statement. In my day it was a list of extra-curricular things you had done, including music, sport, work experience and prefect badges. The worksheets on the UCAS website still point you in this direction, topped up with your reasons for picking your subject, but as we've found out, some universities expect far more emphasis to be placed on the super-curricular stuff. I can see why it is so hard for some DC to access some universities if their school isn't geared up for those applications.

Wow kilash that is complete confirmation for your ds and lovely when it goes to someone previously in the background. You must be so happy for him.

Agree sticker - just as on all other changes in education some schools seem late in picking up changing requirements for applications.

I think the collective harrumphing at the injustice Something faced must have spurred the local police into action. Either that, or she sent Horrible Grandma and her stinky dog around to deal with the culprit. Bursting into a chorus of "Things can only get better..."

DS is well down the list for head boy duties but even the vague thought comes with a moment of panic about potential head boys mum duties such as organising leaves ball - way out if my comfort zone 😂😂

Leavers ball - leaves ball would be more fun

The Oxford UNIQ twitter feed is actually signposting teachers to their own 2 day Teacher Summer School which covers interview techniques and supporting students through the application process with this retweet:

Teachers in UK State Schools, please please please consider this. Especially if you are mega sceptical of Oxbridge or aren't sure how to best advise your kids!!

But not until after our kids have applied

DS is due to do a Cambridge masterclass on 13th March. The reminder email came through yesterday, but I think we already knew he had a place... either that or DH's natural optimism was showing again when he put the calendar entry up!

He always assumes good things will happen whereas I never believe in anything until I've got the proof in my hands ,and even then i'm wondering what's the catch. We're well-matched in that respect !

correction.. its Oxford, not Cambridge. Maybe it is best that DH is in charge of organising all this!

Nice to hear the various pieces of good news and successes of various DC's, but for something with so much going on.

Also enjoyed reading thefirsts DS's reports from his uni visits. I read the to DS in the hope it will give him the idea that sharing his feelings with me about these things is a good idea!

DS had good news -he is through to round 2 of the linguistics Olympiad. On a more worrying note ( from my point of view) he announced that on Thursday they are having an inspection of their physics notes and he doesn't have any!! He has got his textbook he says, so needs no notes He is horrified at the girls beautifully written notes as it "wastes time and doesn't seem to help them!" I am intrigued in a slightly worried way about how tomorrow goes!

Gosh, is he annotating his text books? That would send me into a flap as well. Brilliant news on the Linguistics, especially after all the stuff in the news today about languages in schools. Which is he specialising in?

abitofastate that would unnerve me.

Both my DSes get ideas like this and stick rigidly to them. I think in your shoes, i'd be glad that its likely to stop tomorrow.

whistl I'm hoping it will stop tomorrow, but to be honest I don't have much hope. The trouble is is that he has done well on all the tests so far and will argue that he doesn't need notes and they don't help. Hoping that something that the teacher says to him makes him think!

Sticker he's doing French A level, but the linguistics Olympiad is more kind of logic/patterns etc than being good at any languages. He probably won't study linguistics at university, he's thinking of maths.