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

DD off to a new sixth form as current school don't offer A level she really wants. Is so sad, as all her friends are staying at current school. Also was uprooted after primary. Feel sorry for her. But they quickly adapt....think it's harder because she is the only one if a tight group of 5 leaving.

I did a-level geography without having done the gcse, no problem at all, ended up doing it for degree.

Statistics a-level could be an option instead of maths? Dd debated it but has decided on maths, economics and psychology. She’s been stationery shopping today, wants girly notebooks and pencil case to counter the boy-heavy bias in maths and economics, think she’s channeling a legally blonde vibe 😂
Has done induction and confirmed choices, sixth form college here is the only option, which I glad about, some of the school selection seems very stressful. She’s opted for the college slightly further away and so getting there maybe a bit of a challenge, essentially there’s two buses in and two out so if she’s likely to be spending quite a bit of time in the library until she passes her driving test.

@optimisticvibes
Everything I have read about core maths leads me to think it is a very useful qualification to go alongside Geography (and economics, sociology, or history). I think noble touches on it in her recent thread.

Please don't let your DH push his interests onto your DS's A levels when they have different skillsets.

DD is taking A level maths with an 8 at GCSE. She loves maths and was predicted a 9 but had a blip with one paper. She is doing bridging work (of which there are 7 chapters!) and is finding some challenging, some good but said it is like further maths GCSE work so far.

DD is a self motivated high achiever so far (all 9s for other GCSEs) but I am still unsure if she will be able to stick at A level maths. Time will tell, she won't be swayed to anything else.

With regards stationery, this is a major part of each back to school shop, every year, whether she needs it or not 😂DD loves pretty pens and folders.

I am surprised at the amount of bridging work she has to do. DD did choose to leave it until after results though, so is now spending all day every day completing it 🙄.

Good advice, thank you. I will have a look at the geography spec with him today.

DS changed his subjects, so he is a bit behind on transition work. He was very surprised school starts next week. 🤦‍♀️ Why has noone ever mentioned it to him?! I despair. (He has been in school for 2 weeks for preseason training.)

I am ashamed to say I am another maths-pusher here. I told he can do any A-levels, as long as one is maths.

Mine has started today! It’s an induction day, with the timetable kicking in on Monday. Obviously the main thing has been to get her first-day outfit right (no dress code). She has done zero transition work, on the basis they never sent her any (hope she didn’t miss an email). Looking forward to hearing all about it later.

Actually not quite zero transition work, as I made her sit down with me and go through the very basics of what Economics is!

Hasn’t the Summer flown by 😱

Ds was not amused when I reminded him he starts next Wednesday, a day before the rest of school for ‘team building’.

He’s staying on as planned to
do Drama, Politics, PRE and an EPQ - it’s compulsory unless taking 4 A Levels. They also do a sports leader qualification, voluntary work and choose a couple of MOOCs although I suspect he’ll try to swerve the voluntary by running the drama Tech Club for the lower years. There was a bit of general reading around the subjects for bridging work, nothing too demanding.

Suits were bought for prom and work experience and he’s given a tie on the first day. He’ll be doing everything on his MacBook so minimal need for stationery, I’ve agreed he can finally have a new rucksack - old one lasted from Y7 😁 So we’re pretty much there.

Interestingly on the Maths front he did get an 8 so would have been able to take it, however he’s very glad to see the back of it. Of my 4, only one went down the Maths/Science route. Ds2 was badly affected by lockdown and so had grades much lower than expected. After a foundation year at Liverpool Uni, he’s now heading into Y2 of an aerospace engineering degree…

I hope she settles well. My DS has had a similar path. Different secondary from all his primary friends and now onto a different sixth form due to his lower results (there is no school sixth form) He has autism, so friendships aren't the easiest, but he is doing maths and further maths so may well meet some like minded people.

Caught up with thread ... feel like us mums/dads have also "graduated" this summer along with our young people!

After passing all subjects (including a 4 in maths ... this was the biggest triumph of all as far as I'm concerned, I almost cried when she read that one out ) and even getting a couple of 7s DD decided to go with offer to do Sociology, English Lit and Media at the college in town. She could have stayed on at school but would have had to have done another A Level and resit maths to gain a 5 in November. She did lots of soul searching and talking to us about pros and cons of both offers but decided to go move on.

It's a wee bit scary as for its faults, school does offer a familiar and smaller environment. However their support over the last few years while she struggled so badly with maths was, quite frankly, shameful (compounded by me discovering this week from another mum that her high achieving daughter was after agreement moved down from higher to foundation paper as she was on the 4/5 cusp. All good and sounds sensible. Until I heard she had several intervention sessions a week since Easter to help her "manage the transition of dropping down a paper. In the meantime so many kids were struggling to potentially pass at all Oh well she got 9a across the board other than maths so I suppose it all helps for the league tables. Sorry I know I sound bitter and I am a bit).
For DD, It's down to her hard slog she got that 4 and we couldn't be prouder.

So on balance I think the new, bigger, slightly scarier unknown option will be good for her. A clean slate too, for me also!! Plus campus has a Starbucks so that's amazing apparently 😀 I think she's going to have a crash course in the value of money over the next few months ...!

She had her enrolment day on Monday and starts next week.

Yesterday I had my first "calm" feeling day in so long, it was lovely to know so much unknown was now a known and decisions had been made.

I didn't say it on the other thread but wanted to say an enormous thanks for all the chat, laughs and handholding these threads have provided.

❤️

Dd finally decided to take bio psych history as well as core maths. Is core maths similar to higher paper gcse? Shes looking forward to starting!

I think the message is more based around 'if you need to achieve a high grade in Maths A level to move on to a degree / job then think twice' rather than don't bother with maths. If what you want to do in life is not dependant on getting an A or A* in maths and you enjoy the subject then absolutely do it, it's a valuable A level for all sorts of other careers.

The number of people doing A-level maths was at an all time high last year, maths A-level is the most popular A-level by a significant margin and it continues to extend its lead. I’m not sure if I really understand your point. Are you saying we should make maths A-level easier?

My point was partly, why is the link between what are ostensibly pretty high grades at GCSE in maths, such a weak predictor of A level maths outcomes?

Why do you have to get much higher grades in GCSE maths to stand a chance of getting those high a level maths grades? Is it something intrinsic to maths that can only partially be taught? Is maths something where you either do or do not speak maths language and this feeds into maths a level grades?

alternatively is maths teaching at GCSE somehow failing all but the brightest of buttons? It can’t be right that a much smaller proportion of the school population can hope for good A a level maths grades, whereas some subjects do not have a similarly strong link between GCSE outcomes and A level grades.

personally I feel everyone should do
maths till they leave school. Not just because it’s useful in and of itself but because it teaches logic, reasoning and foundational skills for loads of things like computing. It’s one of the very, very few things I agreed with the last government on!

@Messen ,Maths is incredibly cumulative as a subject. If you 'only get a 6' (a fantastic result for many) then there are vast chunks of the GCSE you haven't mastered. If you attempt A levels without the foundations you are in for a rough time.

Whereas History for example is skills based. The GCSE may have been on 3 topics, you have the skills but didn't revise 1 or 2 topics very well so you couldn't show them off in the exam. It won't matter as different topics may be done at A level.

Furthermore I moot it can be easier to at least write something for a history essay if you have been paying attention. It is possible with maths to just not know how to start a question at all.

Maths A-level is deliberately difficult. It isn’t meant to be for everyone. If you don’t get a grade 8 or 9 at GCSE, you are not in the top 12 percent of the cohort.

Compared to other subjects, maths is entirely cumulative. Every concept at A-level builds upon concepts learnt earlier. If you have gaps in your knowledge (which you will have if you got a grade 7 or below) you will find A-level concepts very difficult or impossible to grasp making lessons inaccessible. You will not be able to progress until you fill those gaps and unless you are very dedicated you will not have time to both fill gaps and stay on top of new content. This can lead to gaps compounding over time, leading to grades E and U at A-level.

Some other subjects are partially cumulative, but none to the same extent as maths.

It is also true that maths can only partially be taught. We all have a ceiling in maths: the level beyond which we cannot progress even with the best teaching. For some people, maths A-level is beyond their ceiling.

I really don’t understand your third paragraph. More people get high grades at maths A-level than any other subject. It is the most popular A-level by far. A higher proportion of the country gets good maths A-level results than any other subject.

However, because maths is prestigious, most people who are able at maths take it. So someone who is not very able (eg a 6 at GCSE) is going to be competing against the tens of thousands of much more able students at Alevel for the top grades. Other subjects don’t have quite the same profile.

I disagree that everyone should do maths until they leave school. And I am a maths teacher and a Tory voter.

DS had his enrolement yesterday and all signed up to do IB (standard English, History and Spanish and Higher Chemistry, Physics and Maths). I am hoping he enjoys it but I think the work load may come as a bit of a shock!!

We're still debating whether to get his English Lit reviewed - I don't really think we need to as he's got where he wanted to be and majority of his class are below where they were predicted and got in mocks.....

I agree with @TeenToTwenties and @Pythag - maths is cumulative in a way essay based subjects are not. We had a lot of debate about maths in our household. DS is very capable (solid 8 at GCSE) but he is not a maths brain and finds maths hard compared to other subjects.

We spoke to his maths teacher at year 11 parent's evening and he said that DS could get a good A level result in maths if he worked very hard, but he probably wouldn't enjoy it. I agree with this and, more importantly, so did DS.

I firmly believe that A Levels should be taken in subjects the child really enjoys and will be engaged with. Obviously they need to be good at them too, but if the child is lucky enough to have the grades to be selective then chose those subjects they enjoy most.

I agree with @Pythag re maths ceiling. I found A level maths and FM pretty much a walk in the park back in the 80s.

I hit my ceiling at degree level only just scraping through the second year and managed the 3rd year by picking units not based on years 1 & 2. (Should have switched to CompSci. I wish someone had suggested it.)

Yes, this. I definitely also think that there is a maths ceiling. I want DD2 to enjoy her A level subjects. DD1 took a subject at A level that she did not then enjoy as it had a different focus to GCSE and it was a very stressful two years. I was prouder of her C in that subject than I was of the A* she got in a subject that came easily to her. DD2 is lucky enough to have a choice between subjects, I want her to study something she loves.

Interesting discussion about maths. DS started year 7 weak in maths but his trajectory throughout secondary has been steadily upwards and he ended up with a strong 8 at GCSE. I think it's been a matter of maturity for him (he is young in the year).
He doesn't love maths but is taking it at A level to keep some doors open (he doesn't know what he wants to do at uni yet). They start with four and drop one though so maths might well be the one he ends up dropping if he finds it too hard.

For dd she’s always enjoyed maths and got an 8, there’s still a fear that she’ll find A-level too difficult, and she toyed with the idea of statistics instead, but has decided to take the plunge. She had planned Spanish, but in the taster lessons decided she didn’t love it enough for the level of work she felt she’d have to put in.

This year generally feels like a step into the unknown, it’s a big step up and the choices are so narrow. I know I found studying at a-level a real challenge (although I got gcse grades that only just got me on the course after coasting at school).

Such an interesting maths discussion - especially about the ceiling. Dd is doing maths a level. She got a high 8 and missed the 9 due to silly mistakes so we are feeling confident that she has the ability. But I hope she doesn’t reach her ceiling like I did! I turned up at my first A Level maths class and was told that no one would get above a B as we weren’t going to be taught the whole curriculum. I ended up with a C. Maths GCSE was easy for me, but A Level was much more difficult