Corona Cohort: Statements Scripted, Grades Predicted

[Monkey2001]

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting. It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, please don't within this thread. Please also be sensitive when responding to threads about grades.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue.

From OrangeCinnamonCocktail:

Our DS/DD may go down various paths (such as employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will most likely find us within the Further Ed board.

Previous thread - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/further_education/4339233-Thread-19-Corona-Cohort-Enrolling-on-Year-13-hopefully-NOT-unlucky-for-some?pg=1

Just submitted the application. Scary. We put 3 choices but are having jitters about how you actually add the other two? Is that done via track?

I am sure it will be Sheffield and Bath. Not entirely clear why we didn't just do it tbh! Lingering love for the courses at Glasgow and Edinburgh, I suppose.

Well done! It is really easy Piggy yes, you log into Track and select "add choices". Takes about a minute.

Jolly good. Thank you!

What's his love for Sussex based on? Personally, I think it sounds great too but he might be able to find somewhere similar with lower grades eg Brighton , Chichester if it's about location?

@Monkey2001 Shudders at the thought of having ds2 home for another year Though, as I have always said, he is probably the most able of my three but also most likely to mess up.

Is it only for early entry courses that you can add further unis later, or can it be done for all types of application?

@Piggywaspushed as dh farmed we rarely went on holiday when the dc's were younger. But we did visit DH's daughter who was at Sussex university when the older 2 were small (before ds3 was born) then 10 years later she got married down there so we stayed the weekend in Sussex. She's now living near Brighton, so we have stayed there a few times since. Ds likes it there and Sussex have his subject at ABB. I've looked at other universities entrance requirements, they are mostly AAA. But I think Bath is BBB. So I really think he needs a back up.

A few of my friends dc's have all gone to university without visiting any. Ds's friends aren't visiting any either. So he doesn't see the point. But I suggested to look at Sussex open day and he agreed.

All types. At any point you can have 5 active applications. If you make 1 selection and only pay for 1, you have to pay the extra bit, but if you have paid the 2-5 choices rate, anyone can fill up unused slots. If you don't do it by the end of Jan, you are not guaranteed "equal consideration". Extra opens a bit later, then if you are holding no offers, you can add one at a time of the courses showing in Extra, which is like early Clearing except that offers are conditional if you are waiting for results.

@icanbewhatiwant if they are not running a proper open day or the dates don't work out, there is usually an offer holders day, which can be better as it is by invitation and you can meet other offer holders for your course. If the offer is a bit aspirational that could work well for some as it gives focus and point to working.

Thanks monkey 🙂

@Monkey2001 we are going to Sussex open day next Saturday. Ds is doing an A level equivalent for business. He's almost completed it, his grade is on distinction star, so hopefully that will count as his A grade. So will just need 2 B's for Sussex which he should achieve. But as they've not taken official exams I feel we don't really know the grades they will get. I feel he should have a back up.

@Piggywaspushed she’s back on OT after deciding it’s her best route to doing psychotherapy of some sort later (which was what I originally said!). She really wants Southampton or Plymouth, we didn’t particularly like Liverpool but she thinks she should be considering it as lots of her friends are! I think she’ll just apply for those three. She has a week of work experience with an OT the week after next though so I hope that doesn’t totally put her off! Which 3 unis has your ds put down? Cambridge plus ?

@icanbewhatiwant I think it’s easier in some ways if they know what they want! As long as he gets the grades!

I think the Work Experience will be so helpful.

DS has put York and Birmingham as they are definite choices. Due to visit Bath and Sheffield at half term.

We've started a last run through the UCAS website to make sure we haven't missed any possibilities, it feels as though time is starting to run out, certainly if we want to do Open Days. This year is going to fly past.

DD just submitted her UCAS conservatoire application! We were getting annoyed with the ‘invalid character’ error on the PS but figured it out in the end. Deadline for conservatoires is 1 October so next is recording the auditions by 18 October. She’s going to record at school with her teacher being accompanist, practice run through this week and final version next week.

Thanks for the heads up Piggy that UCAS was actually working.

Changing the subject...I think this new thing of not needing to isolate is silly. I think being in close contact outside the home and not isolating isn't so bad. But ds2's best mate is at school, sister has tested positive, his mate took a pcr straight away, it was negative. So he's allowed in school. Surely he is very likely to catch it and pass it on. If it can take 10 days to catch it, then taking a test straight away may not be soon enough. Oh well...just seems silly to me. I think if someone in the house is positive then the whole household should be careful and minimise contact.

@PaddingtonPaddington is it too outing to ask instrument and where she wants to go? Have they brought the cost of auditions down now that all the have to do is watch a video? It was more reasonable when they had to provide an accompanist!

Agree that it is very odd that you don't isolate if you have had lots of indoor contact. There is a world of difference between isolating because you were 4 rows from somebody with a mask on in a bus and isolating because you have spent several hours a day a at home with someone.

I am currently teaching a year 12 who was off last week with a 'migraine'. His sister has now tested positive and he is back in. He is also still going to work and socialising .We have lots off with one day headaches and self declared tonsilitis. That said, whatever I have at the moment is not Covid but it might as well be since it involves non stop coughing.

It does seem odd and I was similarly sceptical, but DD has been isolating after a positive test, DS has managed to avoid it and would have missed a week and a half of school if he'd had to isolate too. Plus I guess he would have been more likely to catch it if he'd stayed home with DD!

Goodness knows where she got it from, we haven't heard of anyone else she knows testing positive.

@Monkey2001 DD is a violinist (also pianist and sings). Luckily her A level music teacher is also a professional pianist so will be her accompanist for free. Have only applied to 2: Leeds (free to audition) and RWCMD £63. It does seem a bit steep to still charge but after audition there will be a interview where she will do scales/aural etc so it’s part recorded and part online. Some are £100 to audition.

@PaddingtonPaddington nice! I wonder what Covid has done for musicians, I imagine the motivated ones played more because there were fewer distractions and the less motivated made less progress with on line lessons. I hope she is enjoying preparing for the auditions. The nice thing about a recorded audition is that you will get to keep a copy. I wish I had recordings of my DC's grade recordings for posterity.

Good luck to her, an audition is more work than a PS!

I just think if someone in the house has symptoms then gets a positive result a day later and the rest of the house take a test the day of results, which could only be day 3 for the first person then the rest of the family are unlikely to test positive so soon. Then they will go to work and school as normal when they could develop covid on day 5,6,7 etc. It would make sense to do a test a few days after the first positive test.

Yes, the advice is for close contacts to PCR on day 2 and day 8. We also did LFTs every day at the start and then every 2 or 3 days. I was convinced DS would test positive but he didn't thankfully. Or at least not so far!