Year 13 2024/2025 - support, discussion and looking after each other - continuation from year 12 thread

[elkiedee]

I've just realised that the year 12 2023/2024 thread is full - oops! - last message on 16 August - don't know if someone started another continuation thread but I can't see it. This coming year DS1 does A levels and university applications, DS2 will be in his GCSE year.

If there is a thread already started please let me know.

Congratulations @Thethingswedoforlove ! Super news, well done to your DD.

Thank you!

@Thethingswedoforlove amazing!

Congratulations to your DC @Thethingswedoforlove. Great to know already and for certain!

@Thethingswedoforlove fab news!!!! So exciting. Student finance done, the nagging paid off!!!

Congrats to those who've got their results already and have their Uni place, it must be a huge relief.

Has anyone looked at Clearing?

I'm slightly nervous because the course that DD wants at Lancaster is in Clearing for AAB and her offer is ABB so if her grades slip I can't imagine they'll let her in.

I find it a bit odd because last year it was in Clearing with BBB so was that an odd year or is it a more popular course this year? Or can Unis drop the grades required during the clearing process?

I know that the Lancaster course (Linguistics) has jumped above Oxford in the CUG ratings to no 2 so could that have influenced things?

Just a bit baffled really.

@Sweetpeasaremadeforbees don't panic yet, we are in the same boat with a similar offer for Lancaster. It only dropped on results day last year inhace on good authority, from a current student ,who got in via clearing. Currently it's still the standard offer

I should add that was maths and we are looking at biochemistry which had dropped 8 places in the new rankings, but im not overly concerned re that

DS2 went into school yesterday to be signed off and return his text books.
His Physics teacher told him that there were 5 mistakes in the OCR papers. 5?!?!?!

don't panic yet, we are in the same boat with a similar offer for Lancaster. It only dropped on results day last year inhace on good authority, from a current student ,who got in via clearing. Currently it's still the standard offer

Thank you. I guess that makes sense because there could be people applying through clearing already so no need to reduce yet.

@Thethingswedoforlove Well done!!

How did they find the IB? How does the grade system work? As Ive been seeing Tiktok videos with people getting there results.

Can someone tell me if they are able to revieve A level results online instead of going to collect usually? College hasnt said anything.

Thank you @Beabea8 . The IB is scored out of 45. They do 6 subjects (3 at higher level and 3 at standard levels) which carry a max score of 7 each and then they do some extra stuff like something akin to an EPQ and something else which carries a max of 3 points. Getting 36 points is something close to AAA at a level for context.

My dd found the IB v hard. 20% of each subject is coursework plus all the extra stuff. But she actually really enjoyed it (especially now we are this side of the results!).

Have any IB students heard from Univ of Leeds please?

DC's friend just missed their grades and is waiting to hear from them. It seems even those who met grades haven't had confirmation yet.

How are your young people doing ? DS is bored! He’s got a part time job and we’re going away in two weeks, but struggling to find things to do to fill his time I’ve no idea how he’ll manage life as a student.

@NCTDNmy DD is ok at the moment. She has done a couple of extra shifts at work. Seen her gf a lot. She is off staying at a friends this week end then we are on holiday after that for 2 weeks. She is away at the end of summer for a few days abroad as well.

plus some odd days out with me and her sister.

she had hoped for a few more shifts at work than she got but none came up until while we are away which is a pain. she did tell me it’s a good job she’s taking a year out as she would t have earnt much this summer.

DS is doing not very much, apart from seeing friends every now and then. He's coming on holiday with us next week for a couple of weeks and seems generally fairly happy.

DD is having the time of her life, quite frankly. She has been seeing her boyfriend a lot but now he's gone interrailing and she has gone to Scotland with a friend. She's had a ton of parties to go to and a pub quiz most weeks. Next week she is going to Croatia with a different friend and after that we have a family holiday planned. Plus she's been working two days a week and also hung out with some primary school friends. So I am not sure she has had time to get bored!

Tbh, I am thankful because otherwise she would be winding herself up about results. So party on, I say!

We left ds for a week and went away and he seems to have had a great time, working and sat at the beach. He forgot to water though so veggies look very sad! We keep coming back to him deferring but I think the reality of having to actually pay for everything if he does is a bit of a shock as we have said we will not charge him to live at home but he will have to pay his car insurance etc. his Nottingham course looks to be in clearing which is interesting. Only a month to go!!

DS took two Grade 8 music exams shortly after finishing his A-levels, and then spent a week in the Med with my DW, windsurfing (which is his big thing). Now he seems to spend his days playing his guitar or going out with mates or his gf! I do need to nag him this week about his plans for his gap year, because otherwise he really wouldn't do anything about it and it will all be too late to arrange travel.

Lovely to read what our young people are up to.

DS2 is making good use of his gym membership. It's in the same town as FIL lives and he gets the train and pops in on FIL when he finishes. MIL passed away in April, and though FIL is coping well, he's still grieving quite hard and DS2 calling in just because means the world to FIL. DS2 still has his struggles, but the comparison to Yr11 to where he is now is night and day.

He's got his DSA interview in a couple of weeks. I'm not sure what support he'll get, but hopefully he doesn't just tell them he doesn't need any.

He still seems incredibly relaxed about results day. I guess no point borrowing trouble

DD has been having a massive tidy and declutter of her room, and is going on an archways residential next week. She's been looking for a job but without much success yet - we live in a student city, so there's a lot of competition for jobs that can fit around study. She still has to decide between two different places to do her art foundation next year, and I might see if I can book her on a couple of open days far enough in advance to sort out travel and accommodation at a reasonable price - getting from Yorkshire to Bournemouth via public transport is proving difficult enough to make the course unappealing.

TBH DC1 is a bit flat. Nowt serious, but she's really sad about leaving junior conservatoire and our borough youth orchestra. She's been at both much longer than college (Youth Orchestra since she was 8!) and so leaving has had much more of an impact on her than finishing college. I think she's missing routine and a sense of belonging to somewhere. She's also not been able to pick up many shifts at work.

But we're on our family holiday next week, and then she's got a weekend away with some orchestra mates, so hopefully she'll pick up a bit.

Ds is living his best life - the odd work shift, holiday with friends, weekend away with friends, bit of footy, lots of lie ins - and he finally turns 18 next week so the partying will ramp up I’m sure - he’s helpful when asked so I’m happy to leave him to it! No mention of results (he’s very laid back) so I’m not mentioning it either!