Thread 22 Covid Cohort - Creeping towards the Future - Personal Statements and Interviews

[OrangeCinnamonCocktail]

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.

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/4370509-Thread-21-Corona-Cohort-Nervous-waiting-so-frustrating
Role Call below
@20newnames / DS / Engineering
@Alsoplayspiccolo / DD / English + Film
@AnneofCleavage / DD / gap year? Primary Education
@BlueMarigold / DD / Biology
@crazycrofter / DD / Child (?) + Mental Health Nursing
@Decorhate / DS / Economics + Politics
@Delphigirl / DS / Oceanography
@DoggerelBank / DS / tbc sciencey
@ealingwestmum / DD / Middle Eastern and European Studies
@EerilyDisembodied / DS / History or Environmental Management
@estherfrewen / DS / History
@EwwSprouts / DS / Biology
@Fiddlersgreen / DS / Journalism
@Fruitygal / DD / Biology
@Hattifatteners / DD / Vet Med
@Heifer / DD / Biology
@Hopeful201 / DS / Medicine
@Horace123 / DS / Classics
@icanbewhatiwant / DS / History + Philosophy
@Isthisjustnormal / DS / Comp Sci
@KingscoteStaff / DD / Medicine
@mummabear74 / DD / Environmental Science
@mummyinbeds / DS / Law + French Law
@Nard75 / DS / Maths
@NCTDN / DD / Liberal Arts
@Oblomov21 / DS / Accountancy
@OrangeCinnamonCocktail / DD / Music (uni)
@PaddingtonPaddington / DD / Music (cons)
@Piggywaspushed / DS / Social sciences combo
@ProggyMat / DD / Classics
@SandyBayley / DD / Medicine
@Seeline / DD / Liberal Arts
@singingstones / DS / Neuroscience
@Wheresthebeach / DD / gap year? Marine Biology
@whoamitojudge / DD / Cabin crew training
@Zebracat / DD / Liberal Arts or Anthropology
@ZittiEBuoni / DD / applying next year

@Monkey2001how have you worked out those stats, how can I do it for DS?? 😀 Are we still thinking that exams are going to happen?

@Monkey2001 - I understand it and even used some of your info when seeing if the school would upgrade DDs Biology prediction so it came in very handy thankyou :-)

Congrats on the driving test, attending mock exam (fingers crossed for the other days), more offers, ouch re broken jaw.

DD still not completed her PS as no time and is prioritising! Seems quite stressed as has mocks in 3 weeks, and still getting lots of homework which is stopping her revising and completing PS. She seems to think that any free lessons in the afternoon means she can come home and sleep as she says she is so exhausted. I tried to explain yesterday that the free lessons are to do work/revision but she often doesn't start until after diner. She has asked me to cook dinner earlier so she can start earlier which I am now doing.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn I have no info on whether exams will happen, in my head I have gone from around 95% confidence that they will to around 60%, so I am expecting them to go ahead, but won't be surprised if they don't.

To get my predicted grade boundaries I looked up grade statistics for the relevant boards for 2019 and 2021 and grade boundaries for 2019.

Thanks for the calculation @Monkey2001- they make interesting reading. I hope schools did predicted grades based on 2019 numbers, not last years to give the kids 'wiggle room'.

@Fruitygal - thank you. I'll take you up on that if I've any questions after open day!

Seems schools taking weeks to 'push the button' is pretty common, although irritating.

@Wheresthebeach 2-3 weeks is fairly common as the reference needs to be blended so even teachers have written something it needs to be tweaked and blended to ensure it helps with the course application. We chased after 3 weeks as there was no feedback since half term and the children had been put under a lot of pressure to get them in for mid October - it’s a Grammar so not surprised as they like to be ahead of the game - also teachers told them references were written in summer and just tweaked once form in. (DSs 6th form college when they did it a few years ago were fairly relaxed only chasing from mid November - references only written once form in) My DD got hers in 4 days early along with half a dozen others so we thought we would prompt at 3 weeks just to gauge progress as DD was struggling to get an answer. We had no response to first fairly charming email on Friday so DH sent a slightly firmer one yesterday afternoon as tomorrow is four weeks and DD needs some news to reduce her stress levels and as 80% of her her friends are Oxbridge and have had 1-2 offers from other unis. Suddenly Ho6th form phoned DH citing staffing issues etc etc. Clearly trying to check all refs and PS herself but struggling and DH said she’d clearly not read DDs. Anyway charm and firmness from DH seems to have won out as form was sent last night!!!

DD normally does not like fuss so we take a backseat but was happy this time. If we had not said anything I think she would have waited until end of month.

DS wants to do exams in the summer. As he says, when they cancelled exams we still had to do tests so it's fairer if everyone sits the same national tests. He would also like second jabs offered now for all year 13s.

Do I think he is going to get either wish? No.

@fruitygal Glad it's gone in, and that your DH's email worked. Goes back to the previous part of the thread talking about parenting and how still being involved is so important.

Getting the UCAS form in to reduce stress is important as the kids are under such pressure. At DD's school the teachers were pretty good with the references, it was delayed by the Head who reads all PS and edits. Even head of Sixth was expressing frustration to DD at the end, in a 'I hear you and I feel the same' sort of way. Which made DD feel better because at least he understood.

Fingers crossed for early offers!

@Monkey2001 I feel DDs school are getting ready for exams and no exams hence lots of extra tests and another set of mocks.

DD’s school told them yesterday that the next mocks won’t be until late Feb/early Mar as by that time they will have the topic info from the exam boards.

@crazycrofter That sounds a sensible plan. DD's are January.

We have mocks happening this week. No mention so far of more next year. Just pleased that our girl has kept dead calm, she said they crept up on her because she was focussed on university stuff. I’m a great believer that calm is the best prep for exams, but she’s worried that she’s off the boil and will get Cs so we want to get the form off before the results are in. Still trying to work out her student finance situation, whether she will be classed as an independent student, and whether she’s care experienced or a qualifying care leaver. It’s really hard to find the correct info. I’ve had to go back to the legislation to make sense of it. And she hates it all, makes her feel less than, I think., so I have to do it on her behalf, rather than her doing it, which the people I have to talk to would prefer, as she is 18.
@JustHereWithMyPopcorn oh dear. Bad timing. Can he eat?

@Zebracat Have you tried ringing Student Finance for advice? They are usually very helpful. They also respond quickly on social media, but guessing your query would involve too much personal info for that.

@Zebracat I can totally understand why she wouldn’t want to be doing all the ringing up/research herself. Those sort of things are stressful anyway, without the personal aspect too.

Dd is desperate for a job, she’s just applied to M&S and Frankie and Benny’s. There’s a lot of seasonal recruitment going on by the looks of it. In some ways it seems like a bad time to add work into the mix with all the other things going on. But she really does need money and I want her to appreciate the value of money. And I think a job would boost her confidence too. Do any of your kids have jobs?

www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6904136

Not sure if this is helpful but Ghostlady (Mum on TSR) has collated lots of info for Lancaster Uni where her DD is a student. If you scroll down through many pages on this link towards the bottom she made a list of courses in clearing in 2021. She mentions elsewhere that Zoology normally AAB was BBB in clearing.

It's useful to know when a course is in clearing previously as it may indicate that if put as insurance and everything goes a little pear-shaped they are unlikely to reject. So if you DC was a AAB predicted so puts an AAA uni as first choice and AAB as insurance if the AAB choice has been in clearing previously they may take him or her on results day with ABB or even BBB.

We found Ghostlady on an Oxford chat on TSR when DD was considering applying to Human Sciences and she got me thinking about Lancaster uni which I have to admit I had not heard of the uni. DD has it on her UCAS now so it was a hit for her.

She has decided on Exeter penryn as one of the 5 choices because she absolutely loved it but also as the pear-shaped option as I saw it was in clearing last year as BBC (normally AAB-ABB) so things go wrong she may still get somewhere she likes and knows over a clearing punt.

@crazycrofter DS2 had a job during 6th form 10-15 hrs per week as had short days due to being at a sixth form college. DS1 had one until 6th form and he found it too hard as dyslexic. With DD's school hours (expected to stay at school for frees to work and long days with 5pm until she's home) and clubs/hobbies etc she's not really got time for a job but does babysit 1-2 per month on a Friday/Saturday.

DS is also feeling very examined! On Monday had 2 Physics and a PE end of unit test. He said that by the third one he was so frazzled that he could barely think! He is going to let the Physics teacher know the reason his mark is likely to look low. Their proper mocks are end of January and we have agreed that he should approach them as if they are the real exams.

I have been wondering recently whether he might have a bit of ADHD. He has always been bad at concentrating - he was the one in swimming lessons who was always dreamily looking at the ceiling instead of listening, he is hopeless at organising himself, always late. Is there a quick diagnosis thing which might help us to work out whether it might be a problem he has?

@Wheresthebeach All my DCs were taught cooking, ironing, washing etc from primary (yes I'm weird but it came in useful when my DS2 had to teach his 1st halls townhouse how to cook Spaghetti Bolognese and curry and DS1 showed his friends how buy stamps to send cards to their mum's for mothers day :)) . I try and start to get to them to take some responsibility for medical appointments and speaking up for themselves in formal settings like the doctors etc from 12-14 - 1 was painfully shy but we got there. Now DD has the emails from the dentist going directly to her and access to her medical records online since 16 and I have taught her to read the blood test results and navigate the notes. I get her to speak initially to the GP/consultant and then give permission for me to speak if needed. BUT some things like Student Finance which is super complex (I feel your pain @zebraacat) or perhaps when her efforts with school aren't working I step in with her permission and everything for uni gets forwarded to me because they can and will miss uni accommodation deadlines etc when they are deep in the land of A levels without a second pair of eyes on the case.

@crazycrofter our school advised in newsletter that people should not work more than 8 hours/week. I guess it really depends on what other commitments they have. I agree that work is really good for them, gives them skills as well as money. I had Saturday jobs from the age of 14 until I went to university.

@Zebracat yes he can eat - nothing stops a hungry teenage boy!

@Monkey2001 I have just wasted the past hour working out statistics. I quite enjoyed it but I really should have been working. I am stunned by the the increased grades, History for instance had three times as many A*s as in 2019, Biology and Eng Lit were more than doubled. Did you go with an assumption of reducing the grade boundaries 5%? Or did you look at the overall pass rates at each grade and think they would come down a certain level? Obviously this is just your own maths but I find it quite interesting as a tool.

DS has a job, it's 13 hours a week - 7 hours on Sunday and then two lots of 3 hours in the week.

DD has worked since Y11 Crazy. As pool desk admin for a local swim school who operate from her school site, to now, lifeguarding as well. She’s also L1 swim assistant trained. I wanted to give her skills that she could use, wherever she studied, and it’s paid well, and is more flexible than some other PT jobs, tends to do 8 to 12 hours, more in holidays.

How much they juggle is such a personal judgment call, I genuinely balk if I itemise what she does in a week (and I know others do) but, she’s always been full on so I am less defensive these days.

That’s really helpful information on Lancaster @Fruitygal Thank you!

Monkey I think there on are online screening tests to give you an idea if there might be an issue, I don’t know which ones they are unfortunately but DD found some and it was enough to give her confidence and go ahead with a proper assessment . What you are saying does ring bells if that helps to know.

DS has tests all week so with that and with MAT/TMUA last week I think he is going to be really tired come Friday. He’s been quiet since Monday when he said the FM paper was ‘pretty evil ‘. As time goes on I am losing confidence that exams next happen next summer. Am currently feeling they are more likely to than not but who knows.

@Fruitygal We ditched ironing following...several...unfortunate burn incidents!

She still has the scars...

May try again before she leaves home, or live with the fact that she'll always look a bit wrinkled....

@Wheresthebeach 😂😂😂 DS2 rarely irons clothes similar issues