Year 13 2023/2024 - General support thread

[Rollergirl11]

It’s now the time for our young adults to sit their final year at sixth form/college. Everyone is welcome!

Half term very nice here. Took myself away to Cornwall with some friends for a couple of days last week and now we've just been mooching about, playing cards every night which has been lovely. Off to Hastings with DS3 tomorrow to look around the inspiration for a book series we are reading, then Edinburgh Friday with DS1, the last visit - have booked a semi-swanky Italian for dinner as we come to the end of our 1:1 time. He is apparently now in full PS writing mode as he 'hasn't had time' - tbf he was on a school trip to Spain for a week of the last half term but he could have been doing something over the summer.

He is also off to Athens, later in Nov though with his Classics class, apparently it is an important trip because she will be teaching the content from the Parthenon or something 😂

DS2 stressing about not being able to revise, even though he is trying. It has been so busy, but will have to carve some time to support him a bit more, I can see he is getting stressed.

Joining! Recognise some names and of course @Rollergirl11 from Oxbridge thread.
My DD left school last year so has her grades. Until she got them she was going for a creative degree, and is currently on an Art Foundation course (she applied to each one individually @Aaarghthepancakes - is your DC's part of a degree course)? So went on a few open days for that (Falmouth, UCA, UAL). But worry about career prospects and getting straight A stars for A level/EPQ convinced her to switch direction. So now Sociology. So far she has applied to:
Cambridge (HSPS): A star AA (though really majority have at least A star A star A)
Durham: AAB
Bath: ABB (she's opted for Social Sciences which has lower requirements but more options)
And....? Didn't like Bristol, didn't get a good 'vibe' from Exeter, doesn't like the look of Loughborough or Warwick (last two only online). If she got an offer from Bath she probably wouldn't add any other place, but isn't taking it for granted even with her grades. Cambridge is her top choice and I think the supervision method would really suit her. All forms returned for there and written assessment is towards the end of November.
She was diagnosed with MS just before her A level exams so has been though the mill, but is enjoying her Art course so far, which is a nice break from academic work (though has a project requiring research of several artist and a power point presentation due tomorrow) and happy to live at home this year but definitely wants to go away next. She is happy she's not studying for A levels at the same time as apply to Cambridge as it's so intense! She is sympathetic to those that are.

Hello @mondaytosunday welcome to the thread, lots of good advice & empathy here...

@Silkierabbit hope your DD enjoyed her 18th. The cakes must be good!

A pretty quiet half term here, I've taken a few days off work but DS has been busy with his NEA again plus the endless refining of the personal statement. I hope he will get the PS into school soon so that he can submit his applications.

Poor DS slipped on the leaves on Friday evening in torrential rain & we ended up in A & E for 6 hours for his eyebrow to be glued, he was mainly aggrieved that this happened on the way to a party so he missed the party.

Work were very impressed that he still went to work on Saturday & Sunday despite the injury & today he was awarded Employee of the Month so was very pleased, particularly as there is a cash incentive.

He's going out for a meal with friends tomorrow for yet another 18th...happy days.

There are no mocks for DS this term, they will be in January. I guess the NEAs etc will be out of the way by then.

@lifeturnsonadime oooh a week in Athens sounds lovely! Hope you have a fab time.

Good luck to your DD@LouisCatorze for her mocks next week.

And welcome to the thread @mondaytosunday, good to see you here! 👋

Oh and sorry to hear about your DS’s injury @legosunqueen but he may well end up with a cool scar! DS cut his eyebrow years ago when he was about 6 and he now has a little break in his eyebrow which we always say gives his face a bit of edge! 😂

Quiet half term here. DS does seem to have been studying for long periods of time. Or at least he says he has! PS is finally finished and school are happy with it but I am still failing to persuade him to choose where to apply to other than his first choice. It doesn't really seem to have occured to him that he might not get an offer 🙄 or that he might not get the grades if he does. We were at one of his sports things at the weekend and one of the other teams was from the city he wants to study in and he'd more or less signed up to join them before we left! Strange, as he is not normally over confident.
Parents evening next week so I am hoping at least one of his teachers will be able to talk some sense into him. I was disappointed to find out it's back to face to face though, especially as I am currently on crutches and naturally his teachers are spread all over the place and on different floors. I loved online parents evenings - so much more efficient. It's a bit weird to think this will be the last ever parents evening I will attend though, I'm suddenly feeling old.

@MrsAvocetI hear you re parents evenings! Will be our last one too. Always loved DDs ones as she’s a trier so teachers like her - the ones that know who she is, that is, as she’s also a melter into the background rather than a pick me person. Loved chilling at home with a glass of wine and time for a decompress and natter between each appointment rather than the mad dash around school worrying when appointments were running over. One of the few things that really was much better done online.

@legosunqueen brilliant news re Employee of the Month - well deserved and timely for him to add to his PS.

Athens trips sound wonderful!

Our parents' evenings are back to face to face this year for the first time too. Ours isn't until March though which I think is quite late. Our mocks aren't until January either!

Ds has two tests the first week back so next week will need to see some revision time.

We don't get parent's evenings at DS 6th form. THEY get reviews which we can attend with them (online) but my DS doesn't want me there!

The report is due in today though. I guess if I had any concerns I could just contact them & I'm sure if there were major issues they would tell me.

It's all very hands -off which I suppose is good training for what comes next.

@legosunqueen hope your DS is OK, shame he missed the party.

Welcome @mondaytosunday Enjoy Athens @lifeturnsonadime sounds amazing. Well done to your DS on the EotM award @legosunqueen hope his eyebrow heals easily. Great to hear updates from everyone else as well, can't keep all the names in my head at the same time!

We have online parents eve for DS in early Nov (I'm so glad it's online, all done in half an hour from the comfort of our sofa!) but I think no more exams until Jan. He did some in early Oct which seemed strange timing but their reasoning is that some people might want to improve their predicted grades. They don't change predicted grades after October reasoning that it would be unfair to early entry candidates.

He has done some of his work but also a lot of procrastinating. Sigh.

Email this morning for ds with an offer from Sheffield. It's probably fifth of five on his choices list but feels good to have one in the bag!

still plodding on here. DD breaks up for half term tomorrow. DS still in hospital although he seems to be responding well to new medication, I’m not sure that it’s best for all aspects of his health to be there as there are some very ill people on the same ward as him. Am hoping he can leave soon.

DSS's wedding next weekend. Am currently in at least minor denial about this as DS rather taking up most of the space in my mind.

DD doesn’t have mocks until January although I suspect this means during the Christmas holidays she will be a bundle of joy 😂

Oh totally agree @MrsAvocet! Parents evenings in person were a scrum, lots of waiting around and also overhearing other children's teachers! Sone seemed to go in forever. Online so efficient and private! Plus the last school managed to do it so even if a parent was at work they could join in from a different location.
My daughter banned us from going on holiday at Christmas and Easter on the run up to A levels and we didn't go away at the October one so this Christmas first proper trip since before covid!

DS says he's heard teachers saying they preferred online too, so I'm not sure why they've reverted to face to face. Online was so much better all round. We're half an hour from school so that's an hour extra before you add in all the delays and hassle.What can be achieved in under an hour at home now becimes a whole evening virtually. Must make a very long day for the staff too.
I know a few parents complained because they didn't get enough time online, but it was exactly the same time as you are supposed to get face to face, it was just effectively enforced online! And if you have something major to discuss you should be making a separate appointment, not taking half an hour at parents evening and throwing everyone's appointments into disarray - that's always been made clear by the school but people ignore it and I suppose it is hard for a teacher to move people on without seeming rude. Grrr. Still, at least it's not going to be quite as manic as when they were younger and there were a dozen subjects to fit in.

Our school did a survey to ask parents whether they wanted to go back to face to face or remain online. It was almost a 50/50 split, but it’s back to face to face, which I far, far prefer (but wouldn’t if I had to factor in a commute). Ours is always quite social, with tea and biscuits and the chance to catch up with parents you haven’t seen for ages. Not that everyone enjoys that, but I do.

I prefer face to face parents evenings too, especially now its college and its the only opportunity to ever meet the teachers. Each is in their own classroom so its quiet and private and there are only three to get round. I agree about it being noisy at school (they were all in the hall) but also liked the opportunity to catch up with other parents while waiting. But online was a bit more efficient. When it worked, which wasn't always.

I much preferred online after initially thinking it would be hideous as never do FaceTime/zoom calls etc.
Had an in person parents evening a few weeks back and it was bedlam trying to see his economics teacher as it is the second most popular A-level at his school.
Thankfully only one more parents evening to endure, which will be beginning of February as he has his mocks in January. I always find them quite pointless tbh.
Almost miss the days of primary school, when invariably DS would misbehave on the day or the days leading up to it! 😳

I do prefer online for all of the reasons already stated. I would like some other opportunity to meet with a form tutor or similar though. That said, I do think year 7,11 and 13 in person can make more sense - our are in person, though I cannot recall when.

DS1 and I went on our final trip to Edinburgh, had a swanky meal and a good chat with Middle East Studies, History and Ancient History/Classics to see how he can get the most out of a degree there. We had to miss the history talk because I’m still slow walking and it was so hilly and raining and leaves - I’m so paranoid about falling again, but going and having a proper chat at drop ins was helpful.

It was all very organised with queues and for some talks parents in separate queues to ensure students got in first.

Turns out he has gone through all modules at all the unis and listed every module he would be interested in (obviously knowing some will change).

Long and short of it is he is applying to (his preference order)

St Andrews
Edinburgh
Liverpool
Leeds
Manchester

Sounds a lovely half term StColombo

Thanks Lego DD had a nice 18th. We got 2 more cakes as DS ate so much of DDs and he's demolished another one in 36 hours apart from a quarter the other 3 of us ate.
Fairly quiet half term here back tomorrow.

UCAS submitted to school at last!!! She’s picked 4, may add a final one in January. What a relief.

I prefer face to face parents' evenings as well (although that might be because I spend all day at work on virtual calls and I really don't want more of them). However, I agree online is more practical. My DH has impaired hearing, so they are much better for him - face to face parents evenings were all in the school sports hall and it was so noisy that it was hard to hear anyway but he struggled so much that I had to factor in giving summaries about what the teacher had said after every appointment.

DD has had her personal statement reviewed by her head of sixth form and just waiting for English teacher comments (she's applying for English). So feels like we are nearly at application point. Her top 5 are Warwick / York / Birmingham / Leeds/ Loughborough. I think she would be genuinely happy to go to any of them, so that's a win!

On balance, I think online parents’ eve is better. All things considered for everyone ….that includes what can be fairly lengthy and difficult journeys to the event (esp for those working) possible childcare arrangements, and quite simply the practical issues of appointments over-running etc. Thinking about it from the school view too, I imagine organising an in-person event involves a lot more work and means teachers have to stay late (some schools don’t finish until 9.30 or later) and then travel home.

I too like the social asoect seeing a few other parents and chatting. However, I don’t think it’s up to the school to facilitate this and if this is really the only benefit of in-person, it can’t be allowed to tip the balance towards in-person.

I don’t actually find those meetings that useful. If there’s ever actually been a proper issue, a 5 min slot doesn’t sort it and it’s required a proper phone-call or in-person meeting. The parents’ evening isn’t the time to raise a big on-going issue from either side, and to be honest, seeing the teacher in-person as opposed to on a screen doesn’t really seem to make any difference.

But I know schools seem to differ and some (most?) have stuck with online but some have gone back to in-person. I wonder if those who want in-person are more vocal and schools try to please them? I’d think most families with busy lives found the online parents evening one of the best things to come out of Covid, but perhaps I’m not the majority after all.

My son’s school have online for lower school, where pupils are taught by a higher number of teachers, but in person for sixth form. I personally prefer online, but see their logic. That said, I have decided not to go this year - I have no concerns and while it is always good to hear teachers say nice things about my son it is not worth a 40 minute journey each way.

DS is at a sixth form college which students travel to from a wide area so online makes a lot of sense for them. The novel thing for me last year was two parents evenings in a year, haven't had that since primary school!