Year 13 2024 - General support thread part 2

[Rollergirl11]

All welcome as our young people head in to their last full term before the summer exams. Between UCAS applications, receiving offers/rejections, learning to drive and taking driving tests, revising for mocks and sitting them the pace hasn’t let up for our DC.

This thread has been a lovely supportive and immensely helpful place to talk as we guide our DC’s through this challenging time!

Old thread here https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/further_education/4851165-year-13-20232024-general-support-thread?page=40&reply=132323436

DS back from OCR maths and said it was "as expected" - he doesn't like stats. He said there was a mixed reaction amongst his friends with some saying they found it difficult and others that it was quite easy. Only time wil tell!

@MrsAvocet - not sure what board ours is but we still have stats and mechanics to come which is normally DS's best. DS spooked enough by the two pure papers to say he's actually going to have to do some extra revision for the last paper!!

I got the usual 'it was ok' (OCR B). Ds not keen on stats either. FM again on Friday then 4 exams next week. I think he'll be flagging by Monday.

I'm going to get a mini bottle of champagne to celebrate next Friday. I doubt ds will drink any though. I've asked him if he wants to go out for a special meal to celebrate but I think he'd prefer to go out with friends. Dh and I will still go out! These last few years have felt like a long old haul.

Maths was fine according to dd. Biology on Friday and then five more next week.

Just had message from DD to say at dinner with her boyfriend, back soon and maths exam went well which is a relief. Hers was pure and mechanics. One exam left which is the stats part of maths but think that's her best one as she did stats GCSE and also its the useful ones for economics. Good luck for those who have more exams this week.

I think DDs is aqa. And DD will be very happy to learn pizza hut gave me £23.50 back out of £37.99 deal for 1 missing pizza which means more pizza next week.

My DS had Edexcel maths paper 2 today which was Pure Maths and found it better than paper one but not much other info provided. Paper 3 is a mix of mechanics and stats as sadly stats only 1/6 of Edexcel maths. Wish he didn’t have to wait until the 20th to finish. Can’t see him remaining motivated any longer as lots of his friends have finished now.

Anyone else’s DC doing Edexcel English Lit and/or Politics on Friday?

I think the last OCR maths is pure and mechanics and mechanics is what my DS is best at. (He's a budding engineer so that makes sense.) He also has his strongest physics paper last of the 3. I think that's quite good as hopefully he'll finish the exams in a positive frame of mind and enjoy the time up to results day. He's going to do a bit of sport this week. He hasn't been to any training or matches since before the start of the exams but with not having any more this week I think it will be good for him to get some fresh air and catch up with non school friends. Just hope he doesn't get injured before the final 3 exams next week!
Hope those who have finished are able to relax now - hang on in there everyone else, not far to the finush line now!

My son found OCR (A) Pure and Stats today tough. One more paper to go, so hopefully he can make up any marks he needs. The workload is so much lighter now anyway and he will have 2 full days between his Latin Verse paper and the final maths one. Fingers crossed.

I got every detail of the exam as apparently did DDs boyfriend at dinner who sat the same exam and they went through every question and the percentage she estimated she will get in this and paper one and her boyfriends score. I got similar level of detail for her other two subjects plus she kept asking me what would your answer have been for that and I never studied any of her A levels. 😂 She said she is seeing him tomorrow all day but they aren't revising.

DD is done!!!! 🍾🥂🎉🎈🎊🥳

last exam was meh but tbh that’s what she’s said about them all, she’s a wee bit glass half empty!

Supper out last night was wonderful, that warm glowy feeling watching your grown DC take the piss out of you is hard to match 😂

So very proud. 😊

Of them both - DS just got his end of year results from uni and they were banging.

DD has quite a big friendship group and so she has a day holiday clothes shopping with one who has also finished today and larking around/sleepover tonight, before a bunch more finish at the end of this week, and then the remainder end of next week. A few delayed 18th birthday celebrations then, followed by our family holiday.

Let the good times begin! And the tidying - so nice to have all the papers and books gone.

Great stuff Sooper. Hope you can all relax and enjoy the rest of the Summer now. Fingers crossed for some better weather!

Fantastic feeling @SooperOuting and sounds like fun times ahead. Can't wait for next week!

Great news Sooper Enjoy the summer.

2nd last exam done here - just physics on Monday now - can't wait! German this morning was middling - says she could have done better answers to the other questions if she'd understood them properly but sounds fine.

Well done @SooperOuting for being done!

@SooperOuting that's excellent news. Now you can all enjoy the summer.
@Penguinsa gosh I can't believe your DD tells you everything about the exams DS tells me bits but I think I daren't ask or I'll overthink!
It seems very much the final furlong for them all. Fingers crossed for the final few exams left.

@SooperOuting - what a relief to be done! I can't wait to get into DS's room with him and have a good sort out! Roll on Friday 21st!

I never ask her chocolate she just sits down and starts going through the questions with me though I am always puzzled when she asks me how would you have answered that when its A level psychology which I have never studied and insists I give an answer. Then I am told that is not how it works in psychology which I am sure it not as I was just having to make something up but don't know why she asks me, maybe thinking out loud. 🤔Business I find much easier and maths she tends to do herself but talks it through.

Her boyfriend appears to have had a 2 hour dissection of every question on the maths paper 2 at dinner and she said he seemed quite depressed after that, hope he's OK now. She's off seeing him today but they are taking a break today.

Will be glad when 20th done but already very glad to have 8 out of 9 over. Good luck to those with exams left.

Just checking back in , well done to all who have finished and not long now for the rest. DS had a disastrous end to his sadly, I’ve put a separate thread up about it. Basically 27 mins of a one hr exam were disrupted by another candidate and an invigilator talking about faulty equipment. He may be eligible for special consideration but for the first time ever he failed to even start a 10 mark question and the question he attempted he was so distracted he said it was not coherent in the way he normally writes. He’s devastated as he needs an A for both firm and insurance and he thinks this might scupper his chances🥲. Really sad end for him.

Oh @lifeturnsonadime that's awful. Your poor ds. I hope you manage to get some consideration for him and I hope school are appropriately contrite although I know that won't help him right now.

Sorry to hear that @lifeturnsonadime that sounds really tough. Hopefully the school can ensure he gets fair consideration.

Feels like DS is flagging a bit with 9 down 6 to go but he has a small break now before Further Maths statistics on Friday afternoon. Hey ho lets hope he can keep going until his last one on Monday 24th.

Feeling so sorry for your ds @lifeturnsonadime (mine would be distracted by this too). It's a terrible system where everything hinges on a few exams at the end of year 13. I hope the school can sort this out and his confidence is back for the remaining exams.

@lifeturnsonadime I'm so sorry for your DS too. That sounds terrible.

DD has her own room and extra time as reasonable adjustments. For one exam the other week she was put in a small room that was attached to another room, so not stand alone. There was lots of noise coming from the adjoining room and someone opened the adjoining door to where DD was. The school did move her to a different room and gave her extra time for the inconvenience.

@lifeturnsonadime That sounds awful. I'm so sorry and hope there's some sort of resolution.

Just heard that it's compulsory for DC to attend on Results Day. Can't see how on earth they can enforce this. That'll be fun!