Post GCSE’s 2022 - Year 12 2022/23 General support thread

[Rollergirl11]

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs 2022, regardless of their educational setting.
Our DC’s may continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed)
Everyone is welcome!

@sheepdogdelight - my DS's EPQ presentation is the end of next week. I think that's quite common. He's finished the essay part at least although it needs some tweaks to the structure/headings etc.

EPQ : no real engagement here! DS changed his mind about his topic just before half term so anything he had done (which I suspect was bugger all) will need to be restarted (and I suspect hasn't started yet). Noone enjoys them. At his college they submit in September which means it's too late to get a grade for the UCAS process I think. The college he turned down STARTS their EPQs in year 13 which just makes no sense to me. And they are compulsory in both.

Looking for a uni I'd add campus or town based? Or a mix of the two? Some universities are just on their own in a little bubble, Keele is like that you could spend three years there and never leave the campus.

Universities in London are spread out and you are living in a city.

Then you get universities that teach in multiple locations, sometimes in different towns Eg UCLAN has lectures and accommodation in Burnley, 40 miles away from the main campus in Preston.

@NameInUseAlreadyAgain DS looks like he has found his happy.

Is he entering any competitions? He's too young for the Roux scholarship but it is something to aim for.

www.rouxscholarship.co.uk/

craftguildofchefs.org/competitions

Just seen this thread on the Higher Ed board that might be useful to some of us.

How to choose a university? www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4752068-how-to-choose-a-university

Thanks @Lightsabre that thread is really useful. Hoping I might get a chance to chat to DS about unis tomorrow as he will be home because of the teacher strikes. I think you are right about maths subjects not liking people to take a gap year (unlike engineering!) He has been given some UCAS info in his tutor group but I think he is still not completely certain what he wants to study.

Good luck to those doing EPQ presentations, so glad DS is not doing one! Four A levels is enough work for him.

I've started a new thread in Higher Ed if anyone wants to join in re; Oxbridge entry 2024.

Oxbridge 2024 Entry www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4753014-oxbridge-2024-entry

Good luck to all those with EPQ stuff. My DS decided not to do one and then changed his mind but School said he was past the deadline. I was secretly delighted as didn't want him to do it in the first place as knew he would do nothing for ages and then a ridiculous amount of work on it, whilst neglecting his actual A levels.

He has just had his second lot of assessments at school and not done particularly well so I'm hoping that will be a kick up the backside that he does have to do more than GCSE level of studying to get good grades. He is also able to drop his fourth A level now so that will free up some time to prioritise his maths which he is finding tricky.

Still no further on in the university process but we have a UCAS evening at school in a few weeks so I guess that will help focus the mind somewhat.

Might join the Oxbridge thread @Lightsabre as DS still considering applying to Oxford although not as keen as he was a few months ago.

Thanks @Lightsabre i’ve just posted on the new Oxbridge 2024 thread.

At his college they submit in September which means it's too late to get a grade for the UCAS process I think.

@TwinkleToesStrikesAgain do you mean they don’t get the UCAS points added? How do you know this? DD’s deadline for submitting her EPQ is also September of Year 13. A quick google shows that this is pretty standard with students starting the process in Year 12, submitting for marking by the teachers in the summer term with final tweaks made over the summer holidays. What would be the point if they don’t get the points? I can’t see anywhere that says what the EPQ deadline is.

I'd assumed the EPQ would count like anything else for UCAS points (regardless of when you sit it). And for universities where they drop a grade if you get an A or higher you'd get an offer like "AAA or AAB with A at EPQ". But I'm applying what seems like common sense rather than actually knowing facts!

Have also posted on the Oxbridge thread although DD is currently ambivalent. Useful perspectives about how all consuming the process can get.

Dc1 did not complete his EPQ till year 13. I suspect he got his first choice uni thanks to his EPQ as he didn't quite get his required grades.
He felt it to best preparation for his uni humanity course. But he was quite passionate about the topic.

@Rollergirl11 I'm quite possibly confused but there are (private) schools in our city whose students finish their EPQ in June of year 12, so their scores are known and can form part of the UCAS process. DS's college finishes theirs in September of year 13 - when are the grades available - maybe it is in time? And the other college finishes theirs in May of year 13 (so can't be available). I've never really understood how the difference dates allows them to be considered in the UCAS process, but clearly it does in some way. The fact they are compulsory is part of the challenge here....

I think you are thinking of two different aspects. If they don't submit until September, they won't have an official grade until much later, meaning that the school will only submit a predicted grade for their EPQ, just as they do for the rest of their A levels. But those schools where the students submit eg in May/June get their official mark, at least by August, meaning that they have an official grade to go into UCAS, not just a predicted grade.
It shouldn't make a difference to UCAS points etc, but in some ways it is nice to know that you have (as my DS did) and A* in the bag, when filling in your UCAS form, rather than it just being predicted, that is all.

DD flat out refused to do an EPQ, and luckily it was not compulsory for her (but then, she wouldn't have wanted to be at the kind of school where it would be compulsory).

@Naem yes that makes sense. However i would say still sounds achievable to have your official EPQ grade back if submitted in September before the UCAS application deadline which is end of Jan. Maybe more of a squeeze if applying for Oxbridge.

@TwinkleToesStrikesAgain they are compulsory at DD’s sixth form too. Not really sure what I think about it to be honest.

@Naem @Rollergirl11

Thank you. You've explained what I was failing to understand - if an EPQ is done in year 12 you could have an awarded score or a predicted score for your UCAS application, depending on when it's finished and then marked. I think maybe those who submit their EPQ later in year 13 could also have a predicted EPQ grade but it would be predicted off less of the work having been completed.

I understand that it's a nice additional thing and may help distinguish between candidates at college interviews but if you know it's going to be an additional load and potentially a low grade, it would be good to be able have it excluded from the UCAS application process and I'm not sure that's the case ..? (But I've been wrong about so much!)

Ds has had his pre predicted grades - I think the school do this to give them a kick up the bum to revise for the end of year tests where they'll receive their proper predictions. He's fairly happy as he was borderline A/ star for one subject and thinks he might be able to get to the top grade by then. Even if he doesn't, his other grades shouldn't rule him out of applying to the courses he's thinking of doing.

Pre-predicted @Lightsabre - that's serious! No clue when we get ours but we did have an utterly lovely parents' evening for ds last night.

He has this EPQ presentation tomorrow afternoon so please send positive vibes!

Good luck to your ds for tomorrow @QueenMabby and good to have a positive parent's evening experience. Ours is later this month so will be interesting to hear how things are going.

Thank you to everyone for the extra tips and links - they're very useful. Ds had a look at Materials Science tonight which also looked like an interesting course. However it sounds more maths/physics rather than chemistry based.

Best of luck to your DS tomorrow @QueenMabby

DS got really good tracking outcomes again this week, included a current A+ in Business which is great. However, it's been marred by a disappointing development, as I was called by school on Monday to ask to come in for a meeting because DS was one of a number of students who drunk alcohol on the half term ski trip. DH and I are really disappointed that this has happened, & I actually feel quite ashamed that he's made a poor choice...and that it reflects on our parenting.

He has received a lesser punishment than some of the other students, as they have taken into account that he was a consumer but not the purchaser or a supplier to others. It all feels pretty crap though. He is being punished with an internal suspension & will miss the school trip at the end of the summer term. He admitted it straight away when questioned which is good, but seems to regret being caught rather than regret doing it. Any words of wisdom about how to deal with this are welcome...

I’m not a ‘double punisher’ so he’s had a school punishment so that would be it for me

however I would have a chat about good and poor choices

at 16 I climbed out of boarding school window and went down the beach to drink cider so I’m probably the wrong person to be punishing anyway. I didn’t get punished oddly. Or maybe I did and I just ignored it ?! Was the only time anyone caught me though so I kind of learned a lesson ….! 😂

Oh dear @legofrostqueen, but this is such a familiar story- I know of several friends' kids in the same position. (Ds didn't do a trip or no doubt we would be in the same place) . I would probably rage (aka express disappointment at choices ) but try to focus on the good stuff. I don't know about you but ds appears to think he is entirely adult; it's a hard age to be under supervision.
I was freaked out by another thread with a poster doing a spreadsheet of ucas choices! No sign of any serious thinking here and we have heard nothing from school. Wonder if I should be trying to support a bit (but see above regarding independence)

Sorry to hear this @legofrostqueen. I think it is disappointing behaviour but pretty normal for this age and the school were right to punish but it's a shame the punishment is so far in advance. Something immediate might have been better. However he'll now have plenty of time to reflect on his choices. You've had the talk with him and hopefully he won't do that again. Give him a chance to show he has taken it on board.

I wish I was good at spreadsheets - it would make the whole ucas thing easier I think.

Oh no @legofrostqueen what a shame. I’m sure your DS has learnt his lesson and as others have said i don’t think it’s uncommon. In fact lots of DD’s friends were drinking with the teachers on their ski trip during half term. Not really sure how the college have got away with that to be honest.

DD has a History trip to Poland next week to visit Auschwitz. We have had to sign disclaimers to say that our DC’s will not drink alcohol while they are there. Apparently there is a square in Krakow they are spending one evening that has lots of bars with promotors stood outside with shots trying to entice people in so they will no doubt be offered it. I know DD will be tempted if she’s in a big group; just hoping her fear of getting in trouble with the school outweighs her desire to have fun!

@legofrostqueen - I'd be disappointed too if it was my ds but I suspect in the greater scheme of things it's not a terrible thing to do!

I'm sure he'll have learnt his lesson - even if that is only to not get caught in the future!

When I think of what I was up to at that age - helping the male boarders to sneak out of their dorms (I was a day pupil) to go clubbing and many other kinds of dubious behaviour! - I think your ds is positively angelic!

Thanks all, appreciate the support. School was closed today because of the snow so the first part of the punishment (internal suspension) will have to be rearranged which is annoying.

@NameInUseAlreadyAgain I don't subscribe to double punishment either but DH in particular is finding that principle very difficult at the moment.

@aramox1 you've perfectly described DS's mindset. Because DS won't be going on the summer school trip, DH & I will have to miss a planned trip to Berlin for the two of us, which would have been our first break as a couple for 17 years! DS said in all seriousness that we could still go & leave him at home alone....

@Rollergirl11 the summer school trip that he'll now miss is to Krakow!

We've all been there to some extent I know, & I just hope he does learn from this. We know that he drinks with his friends sometimes & are relatively relaxed/realistic about that as we thought that he understood there's a time & a place...but I guess we underestimated the impact of perceived peer pressure.

The skeleton exam timetable came through from school this week too (seems to include all exams & I can't make head or tail of it) so we need to get through the punishment & the angst & focus on the exams...