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You'll find discussions about A Levels and universities on our Further Education forum.

Original poster

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

999 replies

Rollergirl11 · 02/09/2022 14:57

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!

OP posts:
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Marylebonerocker · 01/05/2023 11:40

We’re off to Leicester, Lancaster and Newcastle open days in June/July - costing a fortune in train fares and hotels! DS2 knows he wants to do modern languages though so that helps!

Lightsabre · 01/05/2023 13:25

We've booked the open days for Warwick and Bath and hotels the night before. Luckily both are on a Saturday so no time off work needed. Cambridge is on a Thurs and Fr and I think Oxford is mid week too so we'll need to plan a bit more for those. The Oxford dates clash with a residential ds is on too.

Ds a bit fed up - tons of Biology homework and not a lot of time to revise for his first AS exam in two weeks. He can't wait to drop it.

singingstones · 01/05/2023 13:39

We have biology misery here today too, and AS coming up, solidarity 💐

hopelessbuthopeful · 01/05/2023 14:58

I know of a lot of friends children who have waited until they got offers in which is obviously dependent on predicted grades and then went on offer holder days. I know some people like to look around but it seems a bit pointless to go and visit so many places when you may or may not get an offer.

NameInUseAlreadyAgain · 06/05/2023 06:27

No Uni applications here so we just parking it all for another year and then start asking DS what he actually wants to do after June 2024! Maybe an apprenticeship in front of house. Maybe just work for a year or two. He doesn’t know. I want him to do the former lol

Original poster
Rollergirl11 · 06/05/2023 09:28

DD got back the results from her mocks after Easter and she got A star, A, A. Her predicted is still 2 x A star and A so hopefully enough for her early application for Cambridge. She will also have her EPQ but that isn’t finished yet so bit of an unknown quantity. We booked her open day for C for 6th July.

I actually think though that she is less invested in Oxbridge the more this year progresses and she explores other uni options. She has concerns about the intensity of the heavy workload and short terms and the potential for it to impact on her mental health. She is doing really well at the moment but the ED/anxiety is always present even if it’s currently lurking under the surface. So I think she is right to consider this and put her health first.

OP posts:
zighead · 06/05/2023 09:53

Wow your DD did really well @Rollergirl11 Glad she is doing okay with her mental health at the moment, hope it continues.
My DS has exams starting in two weeks but sadly not much revision going on yet. He does have more free periods now as dropped his fourth A level so hopeful he’s making the most of them.
DS has also booked Cambridge open day for the 6th. I’m still not sure that he will suit the short term, high intensity work load either but he’s still keen regardless.
Have a good weekend all.

legospringqueen · 06/05/2023 12:55

Fantastic @Rollergirl11 - well done to your DD. I think we have to trust their instincts & a punishing workload isn't going to be right for everyone, no matter how prestigious. I'm sure she'll have plenty of options with those grades!

IThinkIMadeItWorse · 09/05/2023 20:03

Well done to your DD @Rollergirl11 Hope you and @zighead enjoy visiting our lovely city in July :)

Scary to think that A level exam timetables are out already, sixth form is going so quickly. I was chatting to a couple of friends whose children are a bit younger, one is about to start her GCSEs and I remember how stressful it was last year. 2017 when he was doing his year 6 SATs seems like a very distant memory!

DS has a session after college tomorrow about writing a personal statement so hopefully he will find that helpful. He did very well in his last set of assessments just before Easter and his teachers all seemed very pleased with him at parents evening.

DS has his next set of assessments the week after half term, these will be used to do his predicted grades so quite important. He said they were doing some revision in class today and doesn't seem at all worried (at the moment!) We also discovered he has a week for work experience in July so DH has asked a friend if DS might be able to go to his company, fingers crossed that will work out.

Clarencebridge · 10/05/2023 15:05

Hello all, I hope it's ok to join your thread. I have a DS in year 12 , he has just finished mocks and is awaiting results. He will then be given his predicted grades.DS is going to wait until his has his A levels to apply for university. He will be the first in our family to go and I hope it works out for him. He is working hard but you never know if it's enough. He wants to study Economics either alone or with another subject. Good luck to everyone waiting for mock results, the GCSES seem like only yesterday. His 4 A levels include maths and further maths, he is also doing an EPQ .

singingstones · 10/05/2023 15:14

Welcome Clarence!

I think DD is starting to lean towards a year out too. I hope so - it seems a lot more civilised to apply with grades in hand, gives her more time to figure out what she wants, she can focus on A levels during Y13 and have interesting experiences of work and travel around a (hopefully) relatively relaxed application next year.

Clarencebridge · 10/05/2023 15:40

Thank you @singingstones that's very kind of you . Does she have any idea about what she would like to do? I agree a year out could be a great benefit.

singingstones · 10/05/2023 15:44

At the moment she is talking about linguistics but I don't think she really knows much about what linguistics is 😬

Clarencebridge · 10/05/2023 15:59

Definitely a good idea to take a gap year then. 😄They charge their mind so often at this age.

Lightsabre · 10/05/2023 17:56

Ds has a gap year in the back of his mind too but he needs to find out if the universities he's interested in discourage it. We have been to a few talks where we heard for the more numerate subjects it can be a disadvantage applying after a gap year as they're looking for 'fresh' maths skills. However I guess if the dc were to get a job/experience in a related field it might not matter so much? Dh and i took gap years and both felt that we were ready and keen to go then as well as being more independent and mature.

MrsAvocet · 10/05/2023 18:10

My elder DS took a gap year though he had a place but deferred, rather than applying after A levels. It was definitely the right choice for him as he is Summer born and really benefited from the extra year before leaving home.He also needed some planned surgery which was much more easily sorted out here. Plus it meant he started once Covid restrictions were finished. DS2 is also talking about a gap year and i guess if he really wants one I should say yes as his brother had that option, though none of the reasons I encouraged DS1 to take a year out apply to DS2. We will see how he feels after a couple of open days. He is much more sociable than DS1 so I think he will be more bothered about the majority of his friends heading off, which I don't think he has really thought about. But for any young person who doesn't seem quite ready or who is unsure about what they want to do, I think it is a very good idea and definitely wiser than just going away to do something they are not really keen on.

singingstones · 10/05/2023 19:38

Yes I agree, there seem to be few downsides to a gap year, apart from in some STEM subjects as you say, and potentially feeling like you have been left behind at home. DD is summer born too, still 16 - she is super stressed at the moment with AS exams starting next week, and got in a real tizz about "having to" apply to uni next term. When I reminded her that she didn't have to, she could apply a year later, or after that, or indeed never, she was happy to cross it off her list of things to worry about. For now at least 🙂

LouisCatorze · 11/05/2023 10:01

Think it's good for young people to have a pause from education and really think about what they want to do, if they feel it would benefit them. It's easy to get swept along by the applying to university frenzy which already seems to be upon our Year 12s.

They can do a lot of growing up in a year out, combining work and travel.

Lightsabre · 15/05/2023 18:22

Ds had first AS exam today - he was really tired this morning so not sure how he has done but he's hoping enough to get the grade he would like. Next exam in a week or so then exams for predicted grades after half term.

spaceychimp80 · 15/05/2023 19:23

I honestly thought they only did AS exams in Wales but my DS's gf starts hers tomorrow. Wonder why some areas/colleges do them and others don't. Surely they are an unnecessary expense for cash strapped schools.
Hope your DS's first exam went well @Lightsabre . How many more exams does he have left?
My DS has school exams starting next week, which will be the main indicator for his predicted grades. He is thankfully doing some maths revision at the moment as that is his most worrying subject.

QueenMabby · 15/05/2023 19:52

We have exams next week too @spaceychimp80. Chemistry is DS's weak spot. He's a shocker for only revising his favourite things though - two full maths papers by way of revision yesterday!

Good luck to those taking AS levels.

Clarencebridge · 16/05/2023 13:01

DS got his first mock result back yesterday, he achieved one mark below an A*. Apparently they predict one or two grades higher in the actual A level.He’s very pleased, only 3 more subjects to go.🤞🏻 It seems like five minutes ago since we were going though the GCSES.

Good luck to everyone sitting AS levels, our school doesn’t sit them.

CornishGem1975 · 16/05/2023 13:50

How many universities are you all planning on visiting?

So far we've booked 5, but DD has 3 others on her list, we're waiting for Autumn dates.

singingstones · 16/05/2023 14:09

We have 5 planned - one fairly close that we can easily do in a day, and then two overnight trips taking in two unis each. I think DD may be about to switch subjects though, in which case she would probably like to see Edinburgh, York and Lancaster, not on our current itinerary and all a long way away. But she may also decide to apply in 2024, so we can do those in the autumn or next year. For now it's just about finding out what a uni looks like, going to a few subject talks and exploring some new cities. I'm going with her and really looking forward to it.

zighead · 16/05/2023 14:12

Well done to your DS @Clarencebridge thats an excellent start.
Good luck to your DS @QueenMabby it is definitely more fun revising your favourite subject so hope Chemistry is getting more of a look in this week.
DS has been to look round 4 universities so far @CornishGem1975 and has another 4 on the list. That’ll have to be it tbh as we don’t have the time to fit any more in than that.