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!

Congratulations @QueenMabby

DD's school has not caught up with modern times and they have to go in and collect results or wait to have them posted(!)

School opens at 9, but a lot of the Year 12s have agreed they won't go in until 9.30 to let the A Level results people get theirs first. Which I thought was rather nice of them.

My 4th consecutive year of DC collecting results Agree a year off would be nice!

DD2 has her first choice! Not sure if grades yet, just sat outside school.

Phew! DD got the grade she had hoped for in her EPQ. Best friend also got the grade she wanted in Core Maths, so I have two happy girls in the house now :)

Next year will be rather more stressful ...

AS results are in, DD did great so uni plans are still on track 😅

Well done to all on the AS results.

I've just been having a peak at the grade boundaries for DS's subjects. Chem (OCR) pretty much the same as 2019. Maths (AQA) much higher than 2019 but Physics (also AQA) much much lower. All very strange.

DS's gf got into the same university as him. She is a bit disappointed in one of her grades (which is very near the boundary for the next grade up) so is thinking of applying to have it remarked. DS has gone over to see her to be a good boyfriend.

DD is off to Oxford this afternoon to stay with grandparents for a few days and do some more looking around Oxford in a university type way

DS's girlfriend's feelings are probably a bit similar to DD with her GCSE results last year - really good but not quite what she wanted. Have warned DS not to feel bad if she snaps at him etc and as he is a chilled person I think it will be fine.

Am also wondering when they'll find out about which accommodation both of them will have (have applied for different ones deliberately).

Relief at this end as dd pleased with AAA. One of these is Welsh bacc as a full A level which she wasn't sure had been submitted this year but it takes some of the pressure off for y13.
One happy girl in the house.
Well done all those happy with results and strength to those that need it.💪

So dd at least passed her as levels and after a bit of discussion with the head of year 13 she's being allowed to continue.

I did have to pull the extenuating circumstances card and remind them that she had missed a lot of school through severe concussion which led to her being diagnosed with a benign brain tumour- so all in all she had a shit 12 months and I'm rather proud that she managed to pass them at all!!

Oh and she tested negative for Covid this morning so she's gone out for the day with her mates to celebrate!

Now to get through next Thursday when DS gets his GCSEs 🫣

Great to see everyone's results. DS got a D in his Maths AS, he is happy to have passed & this reinforces that his decision to drop Maths was the right decision. Scary to think it'll be A level results this time next year!

DS got his EPQ and apparently was one mark from an A. He seems a bit disappointed as it is his passion topic. That said, he is a straight A student who thinks everything will be ok because it always has so this could be a small wake up call but in a gentle way for him.

The annoying thing is that they don't appear to have given any feedback so it is literally just a grade on a piece of paper apparently.

Happy for everyone’s results and must be a weight off to see evidence that your DC’s are on the right track.

I had a peek at the A-levels results thread and it definitely seems there’s been some harsh marking this year with lots of students getting less than predicted and less than their offers. But fortunately it seems that many unis have still offered them their places. This cohort is the last year of examinations impacted by Covid. Hopefully things will be more plain sailing for our DC’s next year. 🤞

Great to hear about everyone's results and commiserations to those who didn't get quite what they wanted.

@StColumbofNavron Can your DS ask his teacher for feedback?

DD now on a train to London and will then get one to Oxford. Will be quite nice that she isn't taking up what feels like the whole living room for the next few days!

Congratulations to everyone with results today - it's still tough out there for our dc so they've done well.

Ds got his AS result online as we're in Europe. He did really well but is dropping this subject although he did have a bit of a wobble and wondered whether he should keep it and drop Physics where it might be harder to get a top grade. However he's decided to stick with his original plan as he doesn't like Biology as much and there's masses of content.

Congratulations to all those getting results today.

Logging back in. Isn't it weird to think this will be us next year? Ds has been grumpy most of the summer, I think fretting about work and results. Claims to be doing work- just hope he's picking up on the teacher feedback. Doesn't fancy most of the unis he saw and loves the one that's probably out of reach. Still, ambition is good!

AS results here, an A and a B. Disappointed with the B, esp as only one mark off the A. We’ll have a look at the paper then decide whether to have a review.

I thought most schools had given up doing AS Levels? I wonder if doing them facilitates more accurate A Level predictions, ultimately?

Well done to all young people with their EPQ/AS Level results.

@Silkierabbit have a fantastic holiday with your DD.

@Rollergirl11 sorry to hear about your holiday. Hope both your DC are now fully recovered?

@StColumbofNavron sorry to hear you've had such a stressful few weeks.

I assumed the folk doing AS Levels were in Wales, but maybe that's not the case?

@LouisCatorze AS levels are still the norm in Wales I believe (not sure about NI) so ther posters getting AS results may not be English. In England it's not so much that schools have given up doing AS levels, more that they no longer exist in the same form. AS levels were decoupled from A levels in England in (I think) 2018. So an AS level is a standalone qualification in England, it doesn't count towards A level like it used to and the syllabi are different so you can't do an AS level then continue straight through to A level like you used to.
Personally I think it's a good thing. My now adult DD messed around in year 12 and did badly in her AS levels and despite absolutely working her socks off in year 13 the damage was done and she ended up with fairly mediocre A levels. Her own fault of course and she acknowledges it now but like many 16/17 year olds she was impossible to reason with then!
Obviously some people will fare better with a 2 stage exam system but I think that on the whole it is better to have year 12 free of public exams. At least my DS sees his somewhat inconsistent year 12 exam results (range A star to D!!) as a wake up call after being somewhat complacent after very good GCSEs, and they hopefully won't have a lasting negative impact.

@nicky2512 DD and I both liked Belfast. Think it’s quite high on her list now 😊 What subject is your DD doing? Mine is going to be applying for History and Spanish.

DD was one of the AS takers this year and yes we are in Wales.

Pros: almost half of the A level done and dusted in Y12, more accurate / realistic uni predictions and applications, tested on one year's work at a time so revision and exam period less stressful and tiring, eggs in two baskets instead of one

Cons: relentless exams every year (from Y10 in DD's case) and no time to grow into A level studies or recover from fuck ups

DS had a terrible Y12 during covid and was very lucky to be able to choose whether or not his teacher-awarded AS grades would count towards his A level grades. He chose not and went from BCD to AAB which would have been difficult / impossible in a normal year. But then again in a normal year he probably would have done better in Y12.

@MirandaWest dd does French and Spanish. Has had a great time so far. Can’t really fault anything. Feel free to pm anytime if you have any questions about Queens or about Belfast and I’ll help if I can.

AS here in NI too. Count for 40% of overall A level. Ds got A A B and C. Was delighted, especially with A in maths. He hadn’t a great year. He was very ill with covid in November and missed a lot of school with problems it left him with so was a great achievement. Hoping for a better, healthier year for him at A2.