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!

We’ve just booked Liverpool for the autumn. All the dates seem to be pinging through.

I’ve had a terrible couple of weeks with work, hours and bereavements and am knackered this weekend. I fell asleep for 45 mins sitting at the kitchen table whilst the food was cooking.

Shanghaidiva, that's so strange about NS at York. We have looked at it several times and that didn't come up before that it wasn't running in 2024. DC couldn't do the course anyways she hasn't got the required physics for the option she was interested in.

Sorry its been a difficult couple of weeks StColombo and hope things get better.

Hope people are enjoying the summer.

Sorry to hear about your terrible time @StColumbofNavron and for your loss

Ds is off for a few days with his dad today - weather forecast isn't great but they've packed lots of wet weather gear. He's done a short course which he can add to his personal statement. Only really 4 weeks left of the holiday as his school return at the end of August.

Sorry to hear you're going through a tough time @StColumbofNavron sending some unmumsnetty hugs.

I'm not sure if DS will want to visit any more universities in the autumn, he doesn't seem keen and has already visited his top two choices. I guess there will be offer holder days if he needs more information. I certainly don't remember visiting many before I applied, think I just picked some randomly based on distance from home (I seem to recall we had 8 choices which is a bit crazy!)

We've mainly been chilling at home, we're going away in August. Thought we would have an August holiday this year as next year it won't be so good to be away then! My nephew is waiting for his A level results this year, less than three weeks to go - that will be us next year!

Hi can I join in? Dd going into year 13 in September dependant in her doing well enough in her as levels!

Not really jumped in the open day rounds yet apart from one visit to Aberystwyth which she liked apart from the schlep of a hill up to the uni!

Her only criteria for uni is it has to be on the coast - she wants to do a sport related degree and is determined to be somewhere she can surf 🤦‍♀️

She's managed to land herself a waitressing job and has just been taken on as a coach within her sport so I'm back to driving her 6 days a week - was so looking forward to having the summer off playing taxi. She does sit her driving test in September so fingers crossed she passes and she can get herself around.

What is a PS? Hasn't been mentioned by dd but assume it's something to do with applying to uni? Is it something she should be looking at while she's off for the summer?

Welcome @whojamaflip - a PS is a personal statement, something the dc write for the UCAS form to support their application.

Welcome @whojamaflip
Are you in Wales and waiting for AS results in a couple of weeks? Us too if so 🤞

@singingstones unfortunately no we are in England but have family in Wales which is why dd wants to head that direction. Think she's also considering Bangor Uni as well

Her school does as levels as a matter of course and acceptance into year 13 is dependant on the results of those.m

Good luck to your dc with their results 🤞

Hope you are all having good summers. DD has been working a lot of the summer and earning well in a job she loves and still targeting Oxford and LSE. DD and I are going on holiday soon to Mauritius and staying in a couple of lovely hotels with all food, drink and watersports included. Both very excited. Her brother was too anxious to come and DH wanted us to have a lovely holiday together.

Hello all, would quite like to join you all on this thread if that's ok, have a dd18 about to start y13 in sept too!
Also waiting for AS results on the 17th. Dd not too sure where she wants to go yet but a few ideas. Haven't been to any open days though!
Think I might recognise Rollergirl11 from an oxbridge thread a few years ago when my eldest was applying?
Anyway, big wave to everyone!👋

Hello to the new people!

Pretty quiet here. We were away for a week, which is (sadly) already forgotten. Our house seems to have become the "hang out" place (I suspect because there tends to be no parents in during the day) for DD and her friends who have been spending time watching netflix and eating junk food on repeat.

I'm not sure if I should remind her that she wanted to get on with her NEA.s Maybe not yet :)

DD gets her EPQ results next week. She keeps going from not caring to really wanting a good result.

Hello to new people.

All quiet here. DD is currently on holiday in Spain, hopefully chilling and recharging after a pretty full-on last seven weeks before the end of the academic year. She's some some of her set work but I suspect she'll be doing the usual last-minute scramble to get it done. Working a couple of shifts a week doing her job, when she's not busy socialising or studying.

No further on with doing her personal statement, given that she doesn't know which of her preferred subjects she's going to apply for. I suspect that her school will try to pressure her to apply to universities this year, rather than postponing doing so until after she's got her A Level results in hand (given that she's taking a gap year).

Isn't the summer flying by...DS busy socialising, working & learning to drive but has made very little progress with updating his personal statement (to be fair, the promised feedback from school on the first draft that was submitted in late June hasn't materialised) or with starting his History NEA so it will be a last minute push.

He's now looking forward to Leeds Fest...me & DH less so...

@Silkierabbit hope you have a wonderful holiday, sounds amazing. Hope your DS is doing okay.

Hi @Silkierabbit <waves>. Your holiday sounds fabulous. I hope you have a lovely time.

DS hard at work on preparing for assessments in September. He wants to bring his predicteds up from AAB to A Star AA. Doable but will take work.

Maths is the one he wants the A star in. He got a high A in his end of year exam and he was solidly an A in all his L6 assessments so he was a bit miffed not to get the prediction. He spoke to the head of maths who said they'd assess him again in September and talk. His stats and mechanics are stellar, he just needs a bit more on the pure side of things.

Physics is the big one. Bobbing the end of year exam was a bit of a wake up call I think. He's spent lots of time re-learning content and intends to start past papers next week.

Hilariously after over 3 years of me banging on about active learning, spaced repetition and cue cards it took him watching ONE 12 minute video of some lad at the uni he wants to go to extolling the virtues of.... active learning, spaced repetition and cue cards for acing exams and voila! 2-3 hours a day, six days a week for the last fortnight!

Long may it continue!

He has also been socialising and having driving lessons and lots of quality time with his PlayStation so not all work.

Bombing. Not bobbing! Oh for an edit button!

Welcome all new people! @Eastisup oooh I don’t know about Oxbridge thread a few years ago as DD is my eldest. But she is looking at Cambridge so maybe I just popped in to ask a question or something.

We have had rather an eventful few weeks. We were supposed to be going to Rhodes on 25th July but holiday got cancelled by TUI 2 days before we flew because of the wild fires. DH and I worked really quickly to switch to another destination within the same dates because otherwise would have meant going without a summer holiday. We plumped for Cyprus going a few days later. Unfortunately both DC’s fell ill 4 days after we arrived. DD spent 3 days in bed and then ended up being admitted in to a Cypriot hospital for 2 nights on an IV drip. Salmonella poisoning found that gave her chronic gastroenteritis. Discharged the morning we flew home; travelling was traumatic to say the least with DD needing assistance at both airports. A holiday that was clearly not meant to be! 🥴😬

DD’s doing much better now and has just gone off to the south coast for a few days with friends. A holiday to get over the holiday. She has Reading festival in 2 weeks. She has been doing a bit of work on her PS and also her EPQ but not much else. She has also got back with her boyfriend. Would have preferred that she not enter in to a serious relationship for Year 13 but other than voice our concerns there’s very little we can do about it. Here’s hoping there are no difficult break-ups just before or during her exams! 🙏🙏

Oh @Rollergirl11 what a nightmare. Such a shame but glad dd is doing ok and has a couple of nice things to look forward to.

That all sounds awful @Rollergirl11 😞 Glad she’s feeling better now.

we’ve just come back from a week in North Wales with DS, his gf and DD. Was a good week with variable weather but everyone seemed to mostly get on together fine.

DD and I are off to Belfast for a couple of nights tomorrow (going around 6pm and then back on Tuesday evening) as she is considering it as one of her university choices and none of us has ever been there. We have a campus tour on Monday afternoon and I’m thinking of getting tickets for a sightseeing bus so we can get an idea of what’s where.

@QueenMabby I wonder if your ds would care to share that YouTube link with all our teens 🤣
Sorry you've had a hard time @Rollergirl11

No work has been done here so far this summer. We get back from holiday next Saturday so I will have to clamp down then.

Enrolment at college for year 2 here week after next. BTEC year 1 results this week but he already knows he got a D* for it

working hard. Did 35 hours this week ££££

plus loving driving everywhere. Very handy for me !

next spring will start going to job fairs to get his foot in the door for hospitality job.

Welcome Eastisup

Thanks QueenMabby and Lego DS now has a school offer from September at a lovely caring mainstream with asd base that does GCSEs and A levels. The Head is personally helping and handling everything and we have the home treatment team and the Maudsley but he is still too afraid from the hospital and police to leave home atm. He is eating and drinking well and just gaming and pets and building dens but he's starting to do things like Reddit for gaming clans. I really hope he will be up to doing the school. We have at least been granted PIP for him and now I've been able to renew his child benefit for a year. He can at least manage for a few hours on his own which means we can go to swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi, steam room at Holiday Inn 3 times a week and I can swim a mile each time and chat to DH so we get a break. I was worried about holidays but DH said for DD and I to go and so we are off to Mauritius to two lovely hotels AI with all watersports included. We are also getting kitchen redone when DD and I are in Mauritius and a meetup with some SN Mumsnet Mums weekend. DD is doing so well.

Sorry your holiday didn't go well Rollergirl

@QueenMabby please do share the 12 minute video!

@Rollergirl11 what a shocking holiday experience for you all, glad that your DD has recovered quickly now she's back home.

@Silkierabbit that's great news about the school, hope your DS's confidence & trust improves enough to go - the school sounds very supportive

Hello & welcome to the new joiners, it's if good advice & mutual hand-wringing here...

There were two we watched (same guy).

And

Second one is about cue cards. I actually found these videos - just to really rub it in!

Thanks @QueenMabby

I also need the edit button again!