Year 12 - 2024/25 - Support, Discussion and Looking After Each Other (Thread 2)

[BlackBean2023]

You’re a chatty lot… continue

That’s wonderful @TeenLifeMum - sounds like the Reading visit was genuinely inspiring!

Best of luck to miniWaspie and everyone else awaiting PGs.

Evening everyone! Have previously posted under a different user name (sunblock sue) - but I have been unable to use it for some reason.

Just wondering whether anyone's child is having to do these extra tests. I'm unclear as to which ones you're supposed to have. But I think TMUA seems the most appropriate - maths or linked degree and not Oxford or Cambridge.

DS is doing work experience this week and he is worn out from having to be polite all week! I think he feels he has broken up for summer already but he is back at school next week.

@AuntyBulgaria ds will be sitting the MAT for definite and I think he wants to do the TMUA as well. They had someone into school this week to talk about the MAT which he found reassuring.

He’s so busy at the moment - a special guitar session with professional musicians, university research, head boy application and interviews, open days, driving theory test, driving lessons, trying to train for his sport…. All while trying to maintain a very busy social life (now is not the best time to have his first girlfriend!). He’s not started on his UCAS form yet but will need to start thinking about it soon as he wants to apply to Oxford.

UCL has been knocked off the list of open days now in favour of LSE.

@AuntyBulgaria DS is trying to avoid courses requiring extra tests. Although PPE at Oxford is still a possible - the prospect of TSA is putting him off though!

@JessyCarr wow, well done to your DD on the PS! I think we’ll be lucky to have a draft in September.

@TeenLifeMum Reading sounds great and congrats to your DD for figuring out the plan!

@Waspie I remember that breath intake in the History talk at Warwick! So funny that we might have passed each other at the PPE lunch too.

Good luck to everyone waiting for PG and with the next open days. We have KCL this Saturday but might drop into UCL too as just discovered an interesting course there. For some reason, DS is very firmly anti-LSE, he doesn’t seem to be able to articulate why.

@ComingInByAnsible TSA is quite fun though! Maybe that says more about me…

Once choices have been made, does anyone think they would visit a first-choice uni again in the autumn open days? DD is talking about this as she says she wants to be absolutely sure but I don't know if it would be a bit of a pointless task.

@MamOfTwo I think DS would only go back for an offer holders day. That would depend on if he could get there and back in a day by himself as public transport is tricky from where we live and there’s not a lot of overnight accommodation available for u18’s by themselves.

@MamOfTwo I’m torn on this. DD wants to go to the open days at her favourites in October because (sweetly) she’s just so excited about it all. I tend to think if you’ve already visited once, generally it’s wiser now to wait for offer-holder days - for a more focused experience and the chance to meet your fellow offer-holders.

But - and it’s a big but - there is always the risk that offers don’t come until after offer-holder days, and then you’re into the exam season and it’s all too late. Having lurked on the Y13 thread this year this was definitely a thing that happened to those waiting for Edinburgh offers, and possibly Durham too.

Then again - UCAS is urging unis to offer earlier in the 2026 cycle (preferably by 31 March) and has brought the January equal-consideration deadline forward by two weeks to help achieve this.

Hmmm. In the end if DD wants to go in October, that’s probably what will happen!

I think that visiting top choices in oct if possible definitely isnt a waste of time, there are so many extraneous variables they may have been influenced by, and a second trip would not hurt to sort these out

Reading is local to us and a lovely place. An excellent choice for your DC!

@TeenLifeMum Reading day sounds great, I think I’ve said before that my nephew is there and loving it.

@MamOfTwo I would only do offer days now if we have already seen somewhere. The only other visits in September time for us will be if new unis are added to his (ever growing) list.

@AuntyBulgaria I think DS may be avoiding the tests now with his latest subject choice. He was going to do the PAT test but now he’s settled on Chemistry I don’t think there is one? If I’m wrong about that please tell me someone!

@AuntyBulgaria DS needs to do the TMUA for Warwick. Durham no longer requires it.

@JessyCarr DS is thinking about PPE at Oxford partly because he wants to do the tests 🤦‍♀️ I am dead set against PPE and so is DH (who has a PPE).

DH cancelled the trip to Warwick and wants to go in October or offerholders' day. I am not happy. TMUA and lots of rugby is in October.

DD has got her 3 A star predictions so she’s definitely trying for Oxford 😱. I’m really proud of her as she worked like a demon for her mocks, I don’t know where she got the energy.

We’d only go to new Unis now, plus an offer day if the timing worked. I can’t spend any more money on repeat visits.

It’s all quite stressful as her top 3 are all insanely competitive. But it’s her choice and she knows how tricky they are. Good for her for having the ambition I guess .

Fantastic predictions @Countrylife2002 - well done to your DD!

@Wehaditsogood Why dead set against PPE, if you don’t mind my asking? It was my subject and I loved it - perhaps your DH had a less positive experience with it?

For those doing essay based subjects, if your dc write a practice essay for example how do you mark it? Im thinking more so over the summer holidays as she really wants to get y12 content down

@PinkChaires dd doesn’t write essays but she does detailed essay plans as revision. Then she checks it herself against the mark scheme. Essay style and content is so specific there’s no way I could help with that.

@PinkChaires If it is from a past paper there should be a mark scheme online. Also, now that I have belatedly discovered ChatGPT I can tell you that it will generate a mark scheme for any given question, tailored for the relevant exam board.

The mark scheme is helpful but what she wants is a specific mark. Unfortunately we found that chat gpt is not reliable! Marks the same piece of work with two different levels on two separate occasions. She finds revising for this subject (history) the worst and i can see why

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn Regarding Chemistry (at Oxford) you are right that there is no admissions test - I have attached the full list of Oxford tests.

At Cambridge, Chemistry is part of NatSci, so they have to take ESAT.

@Countrylife2002 fabulous predictions, well done to your DD!

Thank you @JessyCarr , he’s not going for Cambridge but we’re looking at Imperial today so I’ll check if they need anything. Anyone else at Imperial today?

@JessyCarr DH loved his PPE course. We just do not think DS is interested in politics or philosophy. He wants to work in business. DS started a philosophy and a politics book and I am proven totally right so far.

DH thinks that politics and economics are such disparate subjects now that they do not build on each other. And you have to compete against people who did single honours economics or politics and have way deeper knowledge.
I just think DS needs to earn his own money, because the only thing he will inherit from us is his education.

Well done @JessyCarr DD on the award, excellent for UCAS!

And well done for the other mock results so far. DD hasn't had predicted but is getting her results drip fed by the day so knows she has got 3 As for her results (couldn't get higher than an A in these) so is waiting to see her predicted now, but that is next week. She needs 3 As for her course but an odd A star would help too, which I think is a possibility.

DD now more relaxed about grades but its focusing (and stressing) about writing her first draft PS which school are insisting is done by Monday. She still has WEx to do which would form part of it so is struggling to start it. I don't think it is necessary to do it now but school want to offer feedback before end of term so I understand why, just not helping DD as she has lots of things to concentrate on atm (UCAT, WEx and a trip to Paris with school) as well as open days taking up our weekends.

I don't feel Y12 has been a breather either and obviously Y13 is going to be worse 😂. Good job we have MN as an outlet!

Well done to your daughter @Countrylife2002 - excellent PGs!

Very pleased to hear that the Reading open day was so positive @TeenLifeMum - it's such a lovely campus.

I hope the day at Imperial goes well @JustHereWithMyPopcorn we are following you into London tomorrow to go to UCL. which, on paper is DS' first choice.

Regarding admissions test; DS is quite upset there is no HAT test this year. He wanted to get an idea of where he stood. He was planning to do LNAT when he was considering a Law degree but now that he's come back to "firming" History he probably will not bother. He has plenty to keep him busy this summer with his LTA Level 2 coaching and work for NEA's in both History and English Lit. Plus, of course, his UCAS application.

@PinkChaires is your DD doing doing past paper questions, or indicative ones? If they are past paper questions her school should be able to give her exemplars for the different grades from past student work. DS also creates detailed essay plans rather than full essays for his revision. Will your daughter's teachers be happy to mark essays for her over the summer? It's very difficult to predict an actual score from a mark scheme in History isn't it? DS finds it frustrating too.

A draft PS by Monday @bluefineliner - that is demanding. Perhaps a very rough draft for them to offer a few words would be enough?

Fingers crossed for good PG's - I'm sure they will be!

Year 12 has certainly not been a quiet, calm year. I'm sure all of our DC will be pleased when the term ends and they can relax a little.

@bluefineliner Re the PS - I know you didn’t ask for advice, but can I suggest a couple of thoughts from having so recently supported DD in doing hers:

Do the first draft in a Google doc - the “Word Count” feature includes a character counter so that you can see how you are progressing. I do think the new structured format is much better than the previous freeform PS. Just writing something - one paragraph - under each of the three headings, taking you up to the 350 character minimum, stops it looking like a blank page and it’s easier to progress from there.

Put in a placeholder sentence re the work experience for now (presumably under Q3?). “I have arranged three days’ work experience at NASA in July 2025, to get an insight into space exploration. I expect that this will provide an opportunity to develop skills A, B and C, which will be relevant to the XYZ aspects of my course.” (NB that’s already 240 characters including spaces). Then it’s not a distraction, and can be fleshed out when the work experience has happened