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

I have problems on the iPad but never on the laptop or my (android) phone.

Try using a browser (eg firefox, chrome, safari etc). It might just be the app.

PS The double posting is happening to me too, and I don't know why.

I use Safari. It’s been ok touch wood since I posted.

Same here - seemed to be a temporary glitch

Durham open day booking is live, I think (about to try it now)

Hello all!

Found you Had a quick whizz through previous tread and read about ghastly favouritist MIL and drinking for 17yr olds.
So...been busy...new job keeping me occupied. Also, DS (one of the 'Future PM' head boys!!) seems to be quite settled at sixth form and not needing much input. Learning to drive going ok, and he's working weekends as a lifeguard so we've now started his relationship with HMRC as well!

How is everyone? Sticker? Sost? ShalomJackie? et al..?

Hi Terf - loving the slight name change. DD hasn't bothered with driving lessons. She decided that she would rather buy a new phone, especially when she realised that she wouldn't be allowed near either of our cars and our friend who 8s a driving instructor said she would typically need 40-50 hours behind the wheel.

Exams start this week. She seems to have forgotten all the lessons learnt from last year and is concentrating on her favourite subject. Let's face it, a stunning result in one subject is fairlynpointless if the other two are decidedly average. I'm going to run away and hide at my own mum's for the next couple of days so that she can study without nagging.

What does Terf Minor fancy doing next?

Exams are the week after next - only three, and he's certainly not stressed! Progress reviews thus far have been positive but not sure if his grades will be enough for Oxford, Warwick or LSE....(he hopes to read economics)

Really interesting to read about flipped learning upthread. Asked DS about it. Seems that some of his teachers do subscribe to that method of teaching, and he rather favours it too, although "it is harder work than just listening for an hour"!

Meanwhile DS2 is steadfastly not revising for Y10 exams, and informed me on Friday that he has his first official GCSE paper on the 5th June it's Construction - 1 hour computer based exam about Health and Safety. If it's not FIFA or Fortnite he's not too bothered..

Good luck with all the exams Terf! Y9 DS just did his and I honestly don't know if he was really revising or just hiding in his room.
AS levels for DS1 start a week today. He seems ok about it and we'll just have to see how it goes. Couple of open days and a taster afternoon booked next month but all still very vague at this point!

DD is going into college today to revise. They've been given 2 weeks of study leave, whereas her school expected her to attend every lesson until after May half term last year. I don't think she quite knows what to do with the luxury of all this unstructured time.

DD gets her mock results on Monday, then we'll know for certain which unis are in reach. She does have the opportunity to resit once to improve but college are fairly rigid in not over predicting. Fingers crossed!

Greetings all - night before the GCSEs and I cannot help think back to last year when we were all feeling nervous alongside/instead of our DCs. DD booked and paid for her UCAT tonight - 1 year on and it is all so different. Mocks are three weeks away her but DD1 is feeling mostly in control. Year 10 DD2 is another kettle of fish entirely - how I have managed to raise two such different girls I do not know. Good luck to all your DCs in their endeavours.

Yes - good luck to all those about to start ASs and internal exams or those waiting on results/grades.

DS has his first FM AS exam today. Good luck everyone.

Good luck to all the AS candidates

It goes much quicker than GCSEs! Psychology and philosophy all done, just second English paper left. All done and dusted before half term!

Seems ages since GCSE's and DD has matured so much. Driving going really well and she has her own sporty yellow mini.

All dd's exams were straight after Easter and we had a very good parents evening last week, she's incredibly lucky to have the Head of English as her form tutor and despite HOE retiring in July, she is writing DD's UCAS school statement/reference.

Next exams beginning of September so it will mean some intense revising over the summer- the school base the predicted grades on the September exams.

DD looking to study Biochemistry at Edinburgh which we are more than happy about if she gets offered a place but know DD will have a long wait because offers come out late. We are visiting Bath, Warwick and York Uni's in June too.

Hello, Teenmum! It is lovely to hear from you but I thought you had deserted us! It does indeed seem like a long time ago since the GCSEs. They've all grown up so much in the last year. Its nice to read that your Dd is doing well and looking at Edinburgh. Ds1 has I've been contemplating edinburgh too, but the increased cost is putting us off.

I started round 2 of GCSE this morning though - I made up the revision timetable spreadsheet for Year 10 DS2 to fill in.

Not sure I would want round 2 of GCSE's Whistl round 1 was quite enough! Good luck to DS2.

I'm a pretty redundant parent - DD was determined to do her own research into Uni's etc and whilst we talk quite a bit about the options she's making her own mind up. It's just nice to go with the flow and know she is getting great advice from school too. Accommodation is quite expensive at Edinburgh - DD wants an ensuite room so we are gearing up to £6000-£7000 for self-catering and more if she goes catered...BUT this is a lot less than the school fees we currently pay!
We are going to spend a few weeks in Scotland during the summer and stay in the Uni Campus for a few days which will give DD a good idea of what the accommodation is like.

Hope your DS is enjoying his Sixth form too...time is just flying and I'm preparing for an empty nest .

oneteen we're taking DS2 to Warwick in June and maybe Bath in September. I would have liked to have gone to Bath earlier but it clashes with one of the others (possibly Nottingham?)

Have just checked and it's Warwick and Bath which clash on 22 June. DS2 is already missing four days of school for a university outreach summer school and doesn't want to miss any more, so weekdays are out.

Ouch, that is very expensive oneteen. A friend of mine is cutting her costs in year 2 & 3 at Bath by renting a room in a house with a "grown up". There are 3 or 4 students living in the house, none of them knew each other before they moved in. The owner is at work all day, but enjoys their company during term time. They also share a proper kitchen & living room with her, rather than the cobbled together arrangements in many student houses.

It is Bath/Warwick the same w/end first, we just intend to make a weekend of it by going to Warwick on the Friday which is just a short blast up the motorway and then have a nice ride down through the Cotswolds down to Bath for the Saturday.

Yes - it is ouch to the cost - I think it's £7800 - £9000 for catered... DD will start a paid tutoring job in August which she should be able to transfer to Edinburgh (if she gets offered a place), so at least she can earn a few pennies. In fairness, I think York was around £7600 for an ensuite room and Bath £6300 - £7000 - all catered...so Edinburgh is pricey but it's an amazing city. It's also a 4-year course at Edinburgh.

I suppose the most important thing is that they are happy with the course and where they are going to live - even though it comes at a cost.

We have the added complication of Saturday school !? And a lot of big things on next half term that DS doesn’t want to miss. We will try to get to either Warwick or Manchester in June and then another in September. He s also got a week at Southampton in the summer. But I think a couple of visits will firm up the key questions and the type of course/uni he wants and confirm the things that are important to him. Then I’m hoping he’ll be able to do on line research to pick his five (across a range of grade requirements) and then go to applicant visits to pick his two. I don’t think we need to go to all the contender now

oratory I think we're taking a similar approach. We're visiting Warwick and Birmingham in June and DS will go to a taster day on world philosophies at SOAS. we'll do a couple more in September. At this stage he hasn't made his mind about degree subject but I though visiting a couple of campus unis might help him to start to think about where and what type of uni he might like.
I'm gcse free apart from teaching it! I'm not even marking exams this year! DS2 starts Y10 in September, though.

We are just doing the four visits but DD's mind is set on Edinburgh, she will take just the one day off school for Warwick...York we are doing on the last Sunday in June and will make a weekend of it again - its an easy train journey.

Quite a lot of DC I know are going - or hoping to go the degree apprenticeship route - one lucky girl managed to secure a place with JLR/Warwick and had also had a very good offer from Santander (tech based). I would have liked DD to maybe consider this route because we have Unilever R & D on our doorstep and have excellent links in with the school (they do a level 6 program) but DD wants the Uni experience which I fully understrand.