Thread 28 - Corona Cohort Awaiting Offers, Advance Notice, Gap Years and New Jobs

[OrangeCinnamonCroissant]

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 27 Here

I think maybe some schools want to get rid of the rebellious types so they’re happy to keep the uniform/formal wear?!

Well done to your dd @ExtremelyDelighted, she’s shown a lot of character. Its so frustrating when teachers don’t understand. Ds was saying yesterday that his English teacher just doesn’t believe him when he doesn’t seem to know what he’s got to do! He said she wastes time protesting that he must know really, so he takes even longer to finish his work!

@ExtremelyDelighted We got dismissed too at primary. Told everyone can't be top of the class by the Head, even though her year 1 teacher called us in to say there was a problem, and two other teachers after that did too.

We ignored the Head and got her tested and all sorted out. It was infuriating because the school report was so dismissive and rude about my (pushy mum just can't accept her DD is average).

Reading DD's Ed Phych is hard, but then it shows us how determined they are too. I'm very dyslexic too so I do get what she's going through.

Fferny1 That doesn't inspire confidence!

@Fruitygal - Interesting about near misses. I guess we'll ask Southampton about this, but I suspect they are pretty ridged...sigh...Hoping their might be wiggle room if DD does well in Bio and Geography but misses Chem by a grade.

@Fferny1 I can't remember what your query for Aberystwyth is, but if it's at all relevant, I have a friend whose DC is there and they can't praise it enough. The DC has Autism and other severe issues and the uni have been brilliant. We're based in South London, so they needed to be really sure that they would be looked after as not an easy place to get to quickly.

@Wheresthebeach definitely worth asking - some great courses at strong unis are secretly undersubscribed and would prefer to take near misses than rock up on clearing lists

@wheresthebeach I've been talked down to too. I especially remember one parents evening in juniors when this teacher sitting in this big High chair deliberately sat all parents in this tiny kids chair so she could look down on us all. She was also totally disinterested in my child. I was absolutely furious & complained to the headmaster. I'm another pushy complaining parent I'm afraid.

I've also been there with the dyslexia report. I must admit i found DS's spiky profile rather reassuring as his potential was there. Little did I realise he had pretty bad ADHD as well 🤦🏼‍♀️

Nope, not reassuring at all sadly.

Hmmm....logged onto the Student Room...and read up a bit on Marine Biology Courses. They said Southampton was heavy on maths and Oceanography. I've just reviewed the course...and they're right!

Yikes. Off to reread Liverpool.

Sorry, coming in late on the Wordle thing - I do Wordle, Le Mot (French) and Italian and German Wordles (languages geek), plus Byrdle.

I daren't add any more to my roster! But I had a day of TRIUMPH after the contentious US-spelled Wordle the other day - I went on to get all my euro-language Wordles in two goes. Nobody is remotely interested in real life, so I thought I'd come here to brag .

Incidentally, do you all have half term next week? We don't, and we seem to be outliers in this.

ExtremelyDelighted With good luck like that I'd buy a Euromillions ticket pronto if I were you

Uniform is one reason DD is contemplating sixth form college instead of staying on at school, where they enforce the uniform very enthusiastically. Currently not allowed to wear their coats in class even though it's freezing and there are so many rules about what kind of coat you can wear that they are basically uniform anyway. She's not rebellious, just fed up with what she sees as pointless rules which make her less comfortable and able to concentrate. As an almost 16 yr old she also doesn't appreciate being lined up for a uniform inspection "like children"
I think there are lots of positives about uniform but it just needs to be handled sensibly. It must be so tedious for the teachers to police it too.

Our half term is the week after next, Zitti.

@ZittiEBuoni our half term is the week after next.

Got a prediction report back today and DS is predicted the same as his offers. Although his organisation is 'inconsistent' in maths. Sigh

@ExtremelyDelighted

Wow, I just got today's Globle in 1 go!

🌎 Feb 11, 2022 🌍
Today's guesses: 1
Current streak: 2
Average guesses: 4

globle-game.com

I thought I did well to get it in 3! Very impressive.

Our 6th form is attached to the school, they just wear casual clothes. Ds1 wore jeans. Ds2 prefers joggers. They've never been told to dress smarter. They didn't have blazers when it was uniform. They do have a blazer and a lot of year 7's start off wearing them. But soon stop. I'd like them to be compulsory as they look great. I don't know how short the skirts can be as I don't have girls. We have 2 secondaries in the area. The other one, just over the border in Norfolk, banned skirts for all year groups a few years ago. It was in all the papers at the time. Parents and girls were furious. But they've stuck to their policy.

@ZittiEBuoni our half term week after next too.

I enjoy wordle. I had a go at the Harry Potter one today. I did it in 3. But my HP knowledge isn't good. It was an easy word. The globle one is too much for my little brain. I have no idea where countries are! So I won't attempt any of the others.

Our sixth form (attached to school) is non uniform too: there are a few rules (I think bright hair, crop tops, and any offence tshirts are frowned on) but not loads. Our new head is trying to get business wear to fly but I think he’ll have some challenges on his hands if he does! Esp after two years of many people business clothing being pj bottoms and a zoom worthy top ;-) dd (y11) reports that by y11 the teachers don’t really challenge them on uniform unless it’s truely outrageous - which seems sensible to me. She can’t wait to ditch uniform!

Half term next week here too :-)

One on half term next week, one the week after here (DCs schools are in different counties). I only realised last week, would have been a childcare nightmare when they were younger.

Globle appeals to me, one of DS's early autistic obsessions was countries and maps so we spent many, many hours poring over maps, doing jigsaw maps, playing map based games when he was younger.

@ChristopherTracy that is annoying but at least his predictions are at the same level so the results are plausible. DS is currently predicted AAAA but I think that may go down in reality after the mocks in a couple of weeks. If he gets offers from his top choices they will be AAA so very similar too (the 4th A Level only matters to Bath).

Is your DS's Nottingham offer contextual? DS has an offer of AAB from Nottingham for the BEng (has applied for MEng everywhere else).

Sadly we won't see you on Feb19th as it was fully booked but we have booked for April 6th as it's in school holidays and hopefully he will have heard from some others by then so have a better idea of where it is in his preference order.

Half term next week here too. DS is off to Nandos tonight then having about 15 people back here, DH and I are off to the cinema to escape for a while!

Isthisjust Your mention of offensive shirts reminded me that last week DC's school had a charity non-uniform day and a Y11 boy wore a Mason Greenwood Man United shirt. He thought he was hilarious until one of the girls poured her chocolate milk all over him 😱

@singingstones I mean she shouldn't have tipped her milkshake on him but why on earth would he wear that in to school??

I don't get what you have to do with Globle...

My thoughts exactly Just, he knew what he was doing - deliberately offending half of the school community - and got what he deserved! DD said the girl is in isolation as a punishment "but she is our queen"

Type in the name of a country, Piggy, and on the globe below that country will turn a shade of orange / red. There are four shades, the darker it is, the closer your choice is to the answer. It's basically one of those "am I hot or cold" games.

Have been AWOL for a while. Hope everyone & their dc are doing ok.

Has anyone else had a rejection from Manchester? Ds heard today. Seems rather bizarre. His predictions are higher than their standard offer & they are not that high up the league table for his subject. He’s not too bothered luckily but 🤷🏻‍♀️

@singingstones Go that girl! I have to say, if my DS had that shirt I'd have shredded it not let him wear it to school.