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

Sounds like he’s doing great, @Tebheag!

For anyone interested, the University of Manchester has just announced its 2025 open day dates, as attached.

That sounds like a really good parent's evening @Tebheag

We had ours last night too. DS' teachers seem happy with his progress but would like him to contribute more in classes. I think this is something he has to get used to doing as his old school didn't really encourage debate in class whereas the new one are very keen on discussion led lessons. There will be another round of assessments in February, then full mocks in May.

He has his first driving lesson booked for next Saturday. Exciting times!

I am panicking a bit here. DS has applied and been rejected for lots of Y12 work experience. He needs to have something by the end of the month, and we have all totally run out of ideas.
What things are other teens doing?

Is this a vocational course?

DD (animal care) applied for around 15 places and ended with 2 offers, so she is going local for 1 week and then about 45mins away for the other which is a real pain but DH does go there twice a week anyway and it's a nice area so we may do some days out dropping and collecting her.

What kind of field?

DS has to arrange work experience for June. We only got the letter from school yesterday so we're going to come up with a list of places to email at the weekend. He wants to do it in a legal environment of some description. If all of the places he contacts fail I'm hoping my employer will take him. I don't work in legal but am sort of "legal adjacent" so I know the legal team pretty well. Only issue is that the legal team are based in an office nearly 200 miles away, so we'll have to find an Air B&B for the week.

What type of work experience is your son applying for @gingercat02?

If it is 'just because' work experience rather than 'course required' I wouldn't bother panicking. Nice to do but not essential I would have thought. DD's is 'course required'.

@Waspie @TeenToTwenties
It's School 6th form, he's doing History, Geography and Business. He has applied to local museums, the local archives, the council, the university, and many others! All said no, oversubscribed, etc 😔
I work in the NHS, and DH is an IT contractor.

@gingercat02 Sometimes schools offer back-up work experience for those who don’t find anything external. Supervising younger year groups, photocopying in the school office, etc. Is that a possibility?

@JessyCarr I doubt it about half the year group have nothing yet. I have sent him some local charities to contact that have vague connections to his subjects.
I was hoping for some outside the box ideas, but it must not be a common problem

Oh, I think it’s a hugely common problem. Has he considered online work experience? E.g.:

barclayslifeskills.com/i-want-virtual-work-experience/school/online-work-experience/

Oh, thanks, that might be a useful place to start

https://www.ucas.com/careers-advice/virtual-work-experiences

https://stem.caa.co.uk/work-experience-at-caa/

Virtual work experience is interesting, thanks @JessyCarr

I have no idea why a business/company would want to take on some sixth former for a week or two for work experience. I can't see what benefits they could get out of it (apart from someone to make the tea perhaps).

@Waspie I agree. And you’ve got hordes of undergraduates and even postgrads also looking for work experience in June and July, which makes it even harder for sixth formers to get a look-in. Not to mention the Y10s who are often told to find something as well!

We do take work experience kids in the NHS as for most AHP and nursing degrees, they expect some on your application. We would never get degree students or new staff otherwise.
Sadly, he has no interest in anything science or health related
Yhanks, JessyCarr. I have sent them on.

I did my work experience in the NHS (radiography) @gingercat02. In my day it was either NHS or Barclays who took most of my year group, but that was because they were trying to recruit school leavers, which they simply wouldn't do now. Plus the school organised it.

I've sent on some links to virtual work experience to DS. It's a great option if he doesn't manage to get anything locally.

Agree @JessyCarr

Parents evening is invite only at dd college and we weren’t invited, which means she’s doing well. No compulsory work experience either, sounds stressful to arrange!

DD seems to have inherited my poor coordination, she stalled on a roundabout during her last driving lesson, her instructor said no one has ever done that in a lesson before! Think learning may take a while.

She ran out of time in her latest economics test, even with extra time so thank goodness college have assessed her for this (school refused to). She’s sad to have finished mechanics in maths a she preferred it to pure, but generally she’s bumping along well. Not home yet this evening as she went out for dinner with friends. Off to stalk her in Find My.

I definitely think virtual work experience is the future. 7 hours and then the rest of the week to dig into the epq. I’ve suggested dd doesn’t even worry about looking for things in person, it doesn’t really exist anymore.

DD was told she had to sort work experience. She did. Then school said they had no insurance, so no-one is doing it.

Thank you for sharing this @JessyCarr

Quite a few unis seem to have posted dates, which I've pencilled in our home calendar, and DS has signed up to "register interest". We've got potential clashes already - Birmingham, Nottingham and KCL seem to be the same weekend!

That's lousy @hels71 I hope they fix the insurance issue. Was your daughter very keen to do it?

I agree @Countrylife2002. DS (lazy as he is) is saying he might not even apply for work experience and just do some of the virtual offerings. To be fair to him, they do look good, give certificates for completion and some offer entry to summer schools as well.

Driving requires a huge amount of co-ordination @wonderstuff it's so easy to stall the car. It's how well (and calmly) they deal with it afterwards and get the car moving again that matters. I hope your daughter is enjoying learning to drive. Sounds as though she has settled well at college. Great that they have given her the extra time for exams - even if she still ran over this time!

@Waspie and anyone else with DC interested in legal careers - keep an eye on the Bar Placement Scheme which is still being finalised for 2025. The holding page is a bit of a mess, but as I understand it the intention is that this year sixth formers will remain eligible as well as first-year undergraduates. NB Widening-participation criteria apply:

www.barcouncil.org.uk/becoming-a-barrister/school-students/bar-placement-scheme.html

Thank you @JessyCarr - you are a wealth of helpful information

She was very keen. Apparently school says insurance is impossible to get...

Anyone here know about writing assesment? DS has one next week was only referred last week by his teacher. Seems to be in college and that's all the info we have or that's all DS has told me.