Year 12 - 2024/25 - Support, Discussion and Looking After Each Other

[BlackBean2023]

A survival thread for Y12 parents (24/25) now that GCSEs are over and our young people move onto KS5

Sorry yes I should have made that clear. This is for A level maths.

Checking in - how is it nearly September already?

DD all set to start at her new 6th form. Three friends from her old school were also set to be going there, but one didn’t get the necessary grades and has had to find a Plan B.

Anyway. A Levels here we come. French, Psychology, Economics and Politics to start with (one to be dropped in due course). She adores languages, especially French, and seeks out every opportunity to speak it, watch French films, read French books etc. Politics I fear is a dry spec and may be the one that gets the chop. We shall see!

Hi all, DS is doing Maths, Chemistry and Physics A levels possibly with critical thinking as some kind of side thing.

I have been super organised - suits and shirts, new shoes, new laptop, new school bag which also holds laptop, new lab coat (couldn't even fit in is old one anymore!) all sorted. Just need to order the ridiculously expensive calculator he's been told he needs.

DS has been cracking on with the hours and hours of transition work and is almost done with it. He's also been doing revision for his driving theory test which is in a couple of weeks.

Pleased you are sorted.

We found ourselves in a similar situation, he got a 7 for maths, then 5x 5, a 4 (English language) and a 3. The first college would not entertain him at all, only offering Btec (and bizarrely alongside a GCSE resit)

Stressful weekend, but went elsewhere yesterday, they are less selective (headline results reflect this) but willing to try and find the best fit. He is now doing Maths, FM and sociology (he wanted geography but it was a timetable clash)

Induction day on Friday with start on Monday. Downside is that it is a pig to get to and no college bus like his previous choices. We will make it work though, it is kind of on my way to work at least.

Back to school for 6th Form here, thankfully, but by the skin of his teeth.
One more week off, then he really needs to knuckle down. Hopefully, this will shock him a bit.
History, Geography and Business.

Found you all!

That's a relief @Thisisreallyweird . Hope your son enjoys his courses.

DS is moving to a new sixth form at an all boys super selective which is an easy bus ride away. They have confirmed his original course offer but he's asked to change one subject for another which he feels would give greater scope for university course options. Just waiting on whether that gets accepted.

He is going to school sports teams trial early next week and then school proper starts on Thursday.

Think we are almost sorted - just need to get him a bus pass.

For anyone who would like to chat about vocational courses specifically, feel free to you me on https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/further_education/5149288-vocational-courses-2425

DD starts new school 6th form on Fri. Currently grappling with 'business dress' code.

I'm grateful that DD's sixth form has a uniform!

@BlackBean2023 i think a uniform would be preferable to trying to decipher the business dress code!

Checking in, thanks for starting

The difference in 6th form experience is fascinating. My eldest was at a large selective 6th form in the city with no uniform or dress code. My youngest is about to start at another large 6th form in the city, again with no uniform or dress code. Already I'm really noticing differences between the two colleges.

I love that some places expect suits. I'm not sure how either of mine would fit in with that.

DS' "uniform" is a dark coloured suit and the sixth form tie. I guess it saves on the worry about what to wear each morning. He quite likes the suits - not sure how long that will last.

Business dress code is difficult. DD1 pushed it somewhat - she's now doing an arts related degree and was never going to like it- but DD2 is unsure what to wear.

DS has just tried his new Sixth Form uniform on all together.

It’s a complete change from the rest of the school. He looks very smart and grown up!

Agree it's tricky. I'm hoping DD can just create her own 'uniform': a couple of pairs of smart trousers, a few shirts, a couple of blazers which all mix and match. I don’t want her to be stressing out about what to wear in the morning.

Timely thread! Dd2 and I have been to her 6th form college today for enrolment. Her school doesn't have a 6th form and this one was her only application, there's one alternative but this one suits her perfectly so she was determined to get in. Thankfully she got more than she needed at GCSE. She's chosen Drama, Sociology and Media A levels and also got into the college's Dance Academy - hard to get into and a HUGE commitment time-wise. We'll have to see how it goes but she's up for it.

It was incredibly well organised and we got her travel pass and ID card too.

Then obvs went to Primark and H&M and spent a fortune on clothes 🤑. Which she genuinely needed tbf, lives in dance clothes normally. No uniform which she's ecstatic about!

Will jump in here too (now that we seem to have settled on one thread!). DS will be taking maths, further maths, physics and economics, returning to his school sixth form. He needs to wear a suit and sixth form tie, just need new shirts to arrive, he’s switching to long sleeves for the first time! Bridging work underway but in a somewhat relaxed manner, I do worry he doesn’t quite realise what’s coming. He looked slightly horrified when I said the typical expectation was an hour of study outside the class for every hour in it.

The sixth form nearly doubles in size from y11, lots of externals join. I think they start on Tuesday, and after a day of admin stuff they spend a couple of days team building etc, to mix up the internals and externals.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn we’ve got driving starting here too - first lesson late September a few days after his birthday. Annoyingly we didn’t book the theory test until just recently so October half term is the earliest time slot that worked. Hoping there isn’t then too much delay in practical test availability.

A colleague's daughter was due to take her test yesterday (had to be cancelled by the instructor) the next available one is January next year. 😮

DD has her theory test coming up soon. We have a driving instructor ready to take her on (she joined her waiting list 9 months ago) and the instructor said that as soon as she has passed her theory she should book a practical test - any test, even at the opposite end of the country - so that she’s in the system for a more convenient slot. They’re currently booking around 6 months ahead, if you can get a test at all.

DD didn’t get the grades for biology (asked for a review) but she starts in her chosen 6th form doing A levels in English Literature, Geography, Psychology and Core Maths instead of EPQ. Bus pass arrived today- seems to be getting real now 🤞🤞

As far as I can gather, DD intends to spend most of sixth form in jeans and a hoodie! She spent ages yesterday doing textiles bridging work and really enjoyed herself. Still not finished the book for English though....

DS had two where he was on the grade boundary - one at the exact mark and the other one point below - but the school don't seem bothered about reviews. DS isn't bothered about reviews either, but I thought the school might want to look for their own stats.

DS heard yesterday that his subject change has been accepted, so A levels are confirmed as: English Lit, History and Economics. He may do EPQ, or just concentrate on the super-curricular essay competitions and similar. He will discuss with his new tutor.

Parents have also been told that we will have a 1-2-1 with their DS' new tutor during second week of term too. Didn't have that at year 7!

DS has just had his English Lit review back, and paper 2 has gone up by 10 marks, which does improve his grade. It's definitely worth doing. He was either 2 or 3 short of the grade boundary, but I can't remember which 😁😁😁

That's great news @gingercat02 How on earth did that come back so quickly, I read on the website it takes 4 weeks?