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

[BlackBean2023]

You’re a chatty lot… continue

@Waspie our school is so mean with predictions I imagine he'll just be given what he achieves in these exams. They don't like to 'over predict' for their reputation, they were the same with the Covid grades, marked everybody harshly while the rest of the country got 9s! 😂

@SunblockSue I'm sure it wasn't as bad as he thinks, Paper 3 will be the dream I'm sure.

@gingercat02 good idea for the change of scene, it usually works for DS when he get's into that kind of spiralling. How fabulous to have a beach nearby, I would love it.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn indeed the beach is our go to when you just need out.

I miss living by the beach. It really is a reset for the soul.

Question re Open Days - what's the best way to get the most out of them? DD has booked on to talks at some we have coming up. What should we make sure we check out? I just don't want to be wandering about vaguely and realise we missed a load of stuff afterwards!

Mine is doing four and he's not in a studying groove 🤣 more like an avoiding studying groove

He is doing FM alongside Maths and has found that although FM is hard it has really helped his standard maths and he comes out with around 90% all the time in tests but doesn't seem to have done much work at home 😱 maybe this won't continue next year, he will be in for a shock in Y13 I think.

At least lots of your son's classmates found paper 2 difficult as well @SunblockSue - that implies it was a tough paper and the grade boundaries should reflect this. Good luck to him for paper 3, and the following mock.

Oh bless him @gingercat02 a walk on the beach and treat tea sounds like the ultimate soul repair to me. I hope he enjoys the uni library trip and the perfect beach weather through the weekend.

When DS went to the UCAS Discovery event he found the admissions people he spoke to knew which schools tended to over predict on grades. It's clearly something they bear in mind when making offers. It does seem very harsh to me, given that there is a year to go, that a student a mark or two away from a grade boundary wouldn't be predicted the higher grade. Fingers crossed for him @JustHereWithMyPopcorn .

I didn't go with DS to the Exeter open day so tomorrow's trip to Bristol will be my first time too @MamOfTwo. DH and DS said that at Exeter they ended up not going to the final two talks I'd booked as they found that the presenters were mainly going through the info easily found on the website. So instead they did the accommodation, library, theatre and sports facilities tours, then went into town to explore, which they said was very helpful. I've also been told not to bother going to more than one of the Finance or Applying for university talks as they are fundamentally the same for each university. The other thing everyone seems to agree on is that you must wear VERY comfortable shoes! 😂

Hi all

That is interesting @Waspie about unis knowing which schools overpredict grades, I never considered that because there will be quite a range depending on the schools outlook on this. I'm not sure on DD's school but I think she's been told they will predict one grade up from mocks taking their achievement to date in to account.

DD's now finished her mocks, biology was yesterday and she's been surprisingly positive and calm about them all until then. So I got the tearful phonecall after the exam which was only based on her not having time to complete one question she knew the answer too 🙄. She was also thrown by another student sitting back looking smug for the last 15 mins of the exam when she ran out of time. I think the adrenaline of the past two weeks finally caught up and she needed a good cry. Once we had established the logical facts and reality of what might happen she is ok. Tbh I'm surprised this mini breakdown took so long, her GCSEs were peppered with tears and meltdowns, the downside of having a perfectionist drama llama for a DD 😂.

No open days this weekend for us, ours starts with Manchester next Saturday. I'm looking forward to reading all your feedback on other uni visits.

Bless your DD @bluefineliner she must have been bottling that stress up but at least they are done now.

DS has successfully made it to Bath uni according to find my phone! Fingers crossed he navigated the site and made it to his talk on time. Him and his friend then have to get to Bristol for the afternoon.😀

Just back from Bath (went early and didn’t stay long as it’s not too far for us and DS is in the middle of exams). Overall impression was positive, DS liked the sound of the courses from the talks he went to, and thinks he’d be happy enough with the campus set up. Lots of talk about the placement year, it seems to be their top selling point.

@SilverBlue56 the engineering departments were very good and had a lot organised - as well as the talks (I didn’t go in but DS and DH were both very positive about them), they had lab tours and a large display of project posters, and plenty of students and lecturers to chat to. Very busy though - and a lot more people in mech / aero engineering than electrical.

Thanks for the info - I think I will send him in October with my husband
Wonder whether it's better to book earlier or later talks.

@MiniMidiMaxi what course is your son thinking of applying for? X

He’s been thinking of mech engineering but the integrated mech and electrical eng degree has caught his eye. Everyone we spoke to was emphasising how broad and therefore flexible the first year or two are though, so scope to steer towards different specialisations depending on how interests develop.

Mine might see yours there then 😁 he's going for aero with IMEE as a backup as the grades are a little lower.

Went to Bristol today, DD really enjoyed the subject talks. We've done Exeter which was also great. She's off to look at Edinburgh on Friday, then Southampton. Clocking up the the miles on open days at the moment! She's looking at religion and theology.

We are back from Bristol and Bath, had a very nice time. DS is more impressed by Bristol city and buildings/location, he was a bit disappointed by the Bath campus. But we all did think the Bath placement program looked excellent, and if he does apply to Bath it will be for a course with a placement year.

@ellieinfrance- and anyone else who has knowledge of Southampton or goes to an open day - I’d be interested what you make of it. I am trying to persuade DS to add it to the list of options because it looks good in principle.

We went to Durham University Business School today. (It would be my choice for DS.)
Economics was very impressive, finance was good as well. I might be too harsh on accounting, as it seemed very basic to me. I have been doing for almost 40 years, started before uni.

I have a DC looking at Religion and Theology as well! Philosophy or History also possibilities; she'll need to make a final decisison this summer. Where else is your DD thinking of applying?

Her big 4 are Exeter, Bristol, Edinburgh and considering Southampton as well. Edinburgh and Bristol both big for Buddhism which she wants to look at. Durham ruled out as course seemed very Christian without a much on other religions. And Oxford is very big on studying ancient languages as part of the assessment which wouldn't suit her. At Bristol and Exeter they're options but not essential. I think she'd also benefit from somewhere with more coursework assessments rather than final exams - Bristol and Exeter definitely do this. We've not got predicted grades yet but I'll be surprised if they're not AAB.
Where is your DC looking?

Oxford is the dream - she's doing a Latin A-level and has been teaching herself Greek as a supercurricular. She also likes the look of St. Andrew's, Edinburgh, Bristol and Birmingham, plus a few others she's mentioned in passing. I don't think she's mentioned Southampton but it could absolutely be worth looking at.

She's a bit nervous about absolutely locking in and choosing Theology, but more and more it seems to be where her heart lies. She likes the way it combines sociology, anthropology, literature, languages, history and philosophy while still providing more focus than she thinks she'd get from a general liberal arts degree.

Sorry got a question about DDs doing exams and periods. Anyone got any any tips?
At least 1 or 2 days of her period my DD really struggles. Just got year 10 results set like gcse mock exams, and she lost a grade as mind went blank ! Sorry for asking a non year 12 question nearly all my friends have boys in year 12 or they ain't done GCSEs yet.

@Tebheag lots of DD’s friends took norethisterone tablets during GCSEs to delay periods. If considering this do consult the GP, as they’re mostly safe but not for everyone (DD can’t take anything like this due to thrombophilia).

Sorry @Tebheag I have two boys so don't have to deal with the same issues. I would definitely look at the norethisterone though as @JessyCarr suggests.

DS did his Bath and Bristol double yesterday, managed to get to both on time, find the correct departments and get their train home with no disasters so I'm very pleased about that! He loved Bath, it's now top of his list, Bristol was less enamoured by the city or campus but thought the course seemed interesting. He does acknowledge that tiredness may have made him less enthusiastic about Bristol though. Sheffield next weekend and a stay overnight at the DGPs for some spoiling!

@JessyCarr thank you just good to hear other options than just the pill. Will look into that for her trying to get a gp appointment but it's near impossible hear so just trying to find out about options so we know what to ask.

We’ve also visited Bath and Bristol Universities over the last couple of days.

DS wanted to like Bristol but overwhelmingly prefers Bath. I think Exeter has dropped even lower and he might not end up applying there at all. Bristol is likely to offer him a pretty low conditional offer compared to Bath. Bristol will take into account his GCSE grades (20%) as well as his predicted grades (80%), Bath won’t take GCSEs into account at all but do take Welsh Bacc into account. None pay much attention at all to personal statements unless it’s a very close call between 2 applicants.

All 3 of those universities say that they don’t guarantee university accommodation to first year undergraduates who don’t have them as their first choice which seems harsh.

It’s all very interesting and we’re learning lots as we go!

@Muchtoomuchtodo it’s pretty common for universities to limit their accommodation guarantee to first-years who firmed them, rather than including those who arrive via their insurance offer or clearing. It doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be anything left on results day, but it isn’t guaranteed. Universities do invest in student accommodation, which means availability varies across the years and the past isn’t always a guide to the future.

E.g. Bristol had a horrorshow a few years back when they ran out of nearby accommodation and some first years were placed in Cardiff. I understand they’ve contracted with more private providers of purpose-built student accommodation since then, and the situation may now be better.

Bath I don’t know much about - I do know that accommodation after the first year is the main headache (scarce and expensive!).

Exeter is building new very smart accommodation on campus to increase its (already substantial) on-campus offer. But planning approval has taken longer than expected, putting the build back so they can’t bring it all on-stream as soon as was hoped. (Some should be ready for 2026 starters, though - and it will be very good quality).

Manchester is redeveloping its very popular Fallowfield accommodation campus, which may temporarily reduce availability of those blocks which are being refurbished but again should be good news overall for 2026 starters.

York and Lancaster have both invested in plentiful modern accommodation on their campuses so all first-years have a high chance of being accommodated even if it isn’t guaranteed.

Etc etc. Then you can have unexpected developments such as the RAAC issue at UEA which rendered a big chunk of on-campus accommodation uninhabitable. But let’s hope that’s a one-off!

@JessyCarr it’s understandable but frustrating.

I know of someone applying for 2025 entry who’s decided to put 2 courses at Exeter as their 1st and 2nd choice rather than one at Exeter and one at Bath because of this policy.

It’s a shame that accommodation options restricts course choices and might end up being the same for us depending on the offers that dc receives simply due to finances