Thread 38 Covid Cohort, After Results Day

[CinnamonOrangeCremeBrulee]

ALL our children are heroes of their own stories, they have thrived through a once in a century catastrophe and they will succeed

This is a support thread for our young adults post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting, and their results (life updates for those who went into work or have had results earlier). 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. It's all relative!

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 continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will find a thread within the Further Ed board.Possibly a move to Parent of Adult Children Board in future? Post Sept?

Previous thread

www.mumsnet.com/talk/further_education/4613457-thread-37-covid-cohort-2020-results-thread-heroes-of-their-own-stories

Feeling a bit concerned this morning. DD collected her GCSEs yesterday after having informed her (small, private) school that she would not be staying for 6th form but going to college - we are in an area with no state 6th forms so colleges are where most go and are good. Two teachers (whose judgements I trust and who have older DC) voiced concerns to me about the wisdom of this. Now obviously they would. But having bought the local paper yesterday too and scrutinised the A level press releases of both places, clearly the college does not achieve the super high grades the school does. Although I know a recent Cambridge graduate who went there. But DD desperately needs to spread her wings socially, the school is tiny (<10 staying). I think she is doing the right thing, if she doesn't like college she can go back to school far more easily than the other way round. But I went to college, had the time of my life socially and got pretty poor A levels. However some of my lecturers were shockingly bad. So much to think about.

That’s a difficult decision @EquallyDivided . You’re right that easier to go to college then back to school. Bit of a long shot but is it south Coast and has free roaming animals nearby? If so DD went a few years ago and more DS’s friend has just left. He didn’t get an offer for medicine and his Mum said she was a bit disappointed with the support college provided. Apologies, I may be way off target.

Same county, opposite end, in fact the college is in the next county. Most of her year group are off to various colleges but nome to this particular one. DD has picked this one because the others are much much bigger and feel overwhelming to her, also it has a good reputation for supporting SPLDs (she's dyslexic) and we got a good feel at open days, lecturers really engaged etc. Also easy on public transport and small class sizes (15 or so). So its not just a case of following her friends or similar. But she is looking at degrees where grades will matter (biological sciences).

I think that sounds like a very good fit for her and a good place to spread her wings. Could the compromise be tutoring if needs be to fill any gaps if it turns out there are any ?

Tricky one, @EquallyDivided. Really tiny schools can struggle to provide a good range of subjects, and exam results can fluctuate wildly depending on the individuals involved!

Well done on the GCSEs everyone!

That's a tough one @EquallyDivided. As you say probably easier to start at the college and move if necessary but if you had a good feel about it when you looked that means a lot. The school version does sound a very small cohort.

D S French appeal was the bizarre amount of £44.40. He has gone for Nationwide student account which was easy to open

I guess the comparison of A level stats should be looked at in the context of who studies at each setting, the college must have a bigger and more diverse cohort? (Which is all to the good imo.) The fact that their average grades are lower doesn't necessarily mean that people aren't fulfilling their potential. Apologies if you are looking at stats that already take this into account.

I think the opportunities offered by the college to develop in other ways are really important and would probably go for that. But keeping a close eye on the academics, definitely. DD chose a college which on paper looks much worse than school sixth form. She is fed up with being with people that she's known since primary, "they're all the same". She was thrilled to meet someone from Swansea on the open day, very exotic! But the college is so big and diverse that there's a spot for everyone and actually I think that the diversity does force them to be more flexible and accepting. Plus she really wants to be more independent, not just in life but also as a learner.

Just seen your next post, it sounds lovely ED! If there is good support, engaged staff and the class sizes are small, plus it will give her the chance to spread her wings a bit without being overwhelmingly huge, and it's easy to get to, and it's the one she chose, it sounds perfect.

Follow your instincts. The college sounds a good fit socially, can cope with her LDs, small class sizes, and you both were positive about the place and the lecturers. It will never get as good results as the small private because it certainly takes from a wider range of abilities. Perhaps look at the value added tables for a more realistic comparison of what the teaching is like. Your DD has a good grounding, knows her study skills already, and is doing sciences where there are masses of online revision and tutorial materials.
It sounds to me like she will come out of there with enhanced independence and confidence and, probsbly, the same grades.
just my 2p worth

It's a small college (around 200 students) but much bigger than her school. It will be more diverse but not greatly so as we are in a wealthy and non-racially diverse area. I think while she might gain a grade or two by staying at school it won't prepare her socially for university life and right now she needs that step up. In that respect its a great step for her between tiny school and uni. We picked tiny school for secondary as we felt she'd get lost in the big state secondaries, it has worked for her academically but not been great socially. She's been happy there, the pastoral care has been great, but not made many friends and still lacking in social confidence.

@singingstones its hard to compare properly because the GCSE grade entry requirements are different, very different cohort sizes etc so I am probably panicking unnecessarily.

Cross posted all over the place there. Thank you all for your thoughts, it really helps to be able to talk the decision through - my real life mum friends DCs are either staying in their larger private schools or going to our local massive college but don't have the LDs or shyness to contend with.

I teach in a mid-size selective secondary, but a tiny subject. My results are all over the place because it depends on the students who decide to study it! Stats are more meaningful the bigger the cohort. (In maths, I think that's actually called "the law of large numbers"!)

@EquallyDivided if it helps my DD1 (who has awful processing-related LDs) left her Oxford academic day school to go to massive coed well known boarding school at 6th form. She wanted really to go for social reasons - she had outgrown her friendship group (sweet, nerdy), wanted coeducation, independence, etc.
She almost certainly got worse A levels than if she had stayed put, but the place was transformative for her. She blossomed, made a great set of close friends, and gained a huge amount of confidence. Really knew who she was at the end of sixth form. I have no doubt that she would not have had the guts to do an Erasmus exchange to Germany if she hadn’t done it, nor would she have presented so confidently to get a great graduate job. So I am hugely glad she did it, even though it made for a very anxious day at Clearing!

@EquallyDivided I wouldn’t pay too much attention to grades achieved across a cohort. My brother left his (comprehensive) school which got decent results for an FE college, where most of his classmates were very mature (50 plus!) or much lower achieving. My brother had got B/C grades at GCSE but was socially unhappy at school. My mum told him the college was for ‘losers’ 😩 He came out with 3 x B, by far the best results at the college, because he was happy.

We actually chose DD’s sixth form based on the amazing history results - generally nearly everyone was getting A plus. Dd achieved As throughout year 13 and then got a B in the real thing?!! Likewise I was concerned about ds doing Business GCSE because the Business results at his school were by far the worst of any department- and he said his teacher was rubbish! But it was his highest grade (8) because he just got and revised thoroughly.

Ironically, dd may well have done slightly better at her old private school but it would have been due to a very stressy/pressured environment (mainly caused by the girls!) where they work in every available moment. I think a better social life and experience of Co-Ed has been much more valuable to her and she’s so ready now to go to uni, she has no worries about meeting new people and making friends.

Sorry for the essay but I think you should choose the college!

Honestly I think the college sounds ideal and a cohort of 10 at school is definitely not. Plus you can always switch back to school if college turns out not to be right for her, so there would be no regrets in that case. Most likely there would be regrets if she stayed at school and spent two years wondering what college would have been like. And then had a huge step to take (socially) from that tiny cohort into whatever she does next.

Nottingham people - accommodation induction done, slot booked for Thursday 22nd. Bugger, I forgot to look and see the other days on offer but sure they must be 23-24 Sept to match what Oblomov found out. The slots are an hour long, it doesn't say anything about having to leave at the end of the hour etc. In fact it says to allow 15 mins to park at the university and walk over which seems a bit weird - why not drive straight there - but maybe they have to register or something first. But then why not register and then drive to BP? I guess all will be revealed in due course but I hope we're not lugging his stuff from a central uni car park to BP!

Any advice please? My daughter got a B in politics but was one mark off an A. It doesn't matter for her uni entry now but may come in to play for later plans. The college have told us she got 46, 51 and 54 in the respective papers. Should we just remark the lowest score or would you remark all?? We're aware the likelihood of gaining that mark is pretty slim. Thanks

I think if you are going to remark, you remark all. You don’t know where that elusive extra mark will come from, could be any paper.

@Knickerthief1 is that Edexcel? The teacher can download the scripts and look to see if the marking scheme might have not been applied correctly (or any marks not inputted) and then decide if any of the papers are worth going in for a review of marking. There is a tolerance level for markers - say someone gives 21 or 22 or 23/30: ok and reviews (no longer any remarks) won't change that. But errors can happen. My Ds in same position but with AQA politics! My old uni friend is a team leader for AQA History and Politics and within pay scales, markers get 5-10 mins to mark..so can be some small errors! We were not too fussed but school want teacher to look at the scripts because one is odd .Also DS was on the money with his evaluation of other exams: he knew maths one and two were way better than maths paper three, for example. Defo ask teh teacher for advice

Oops, so I booked DD an eye test for this morning so it was before 31st Aug and still in full time education, only day available was today at 10.20 so we had to leave around 9.45am (grumpy DD). Turns out free eye tests etc until she turns 19 so there wasn't any rush. And in fact if her eyes haven't changed from last test I will have to pay for the test £25 as it's only nhs free every 2 years unless a change. I am going to try to get her to the bank after to swap her NatWest current acct to student but feel she will be too grumpy. It's like having a 12 yr old sometimes, although I do understand now that some of it will be anxiety. She doesn't find it easy going to appts and still wants me to go with her although I don't go in etc. Baby steps.

Thanks all, you are all right, college is the way to go. Going from a cohort of <10 (actually about 5) to uni is only a good idea if you are the most super confident social butterfly with lots of friends outside school and that DD is not. I can also see that it would only take one cross word in the common room for the whole lot to fall out, they'd all be paranoid that the others were working harder than them etc. College it is . My friendships from college have sustained for nearly 40 years now and that more than makes up for my poor grades, and actually my career has been fine too.

@Heifer dd can be a bit like that with appointments although she’ll happily go to festivals/job interviews and all manner of other things with no fuss. Next week she has a long awaited gynae referral and I’ve said there’s no way I can go as we’ll be in the throes of moving house. I know she’ll be massively stressed about finding the right dept etc. Ds would be fine and gets annoyed that I still have to take him to things!

Nottingham folks - Have your DD/DS's received a strange 'gift' from the Uni in the post?

Yes @mummyinbeds 😂
We can't work out what to do with it!

Is it a doorstop? That was always a favourite.