Year 12 - 2025/2026: Here we go again!

[QueenMabby]

A new thread for the new school and college year. A friendly thread for parents of those going into year 12 in September 2025.

Well ds and the rest of lower 6th have gone off on a 3 night residential today. They’ve gone to Pembrokeshire to do lots of outdoorsy stuff, luckily the weather forecast is good! They are stopping at Cardiff Uni on the way for a tour, which he was looking forward to.

Oh lord @Rainydayinlondon

We're wondering about extracurricular stuff and work experience that might be helpful for university admissions. I was thinking of looking into memberships of national societies for their relevant subjects, etc, although I'm not sure Oxbridge really care about that sort of thing.

@Poisoningpigeons what unis care about (genuinely) is (not really in order tho I have started with the most important):

Predicted grades
Do subjects match requirements
Evidence of interest in subject – reading round it, attending talks (online is fine), looking at how it may be useful in later life, any kind of super-curricular activity directly related (easier for maths than some subjects)
GCSEs (for some unis, and some courses)
GCSE maths and English (pretty much all unis set a minimum grade but it's often a 4, tho for UCL for example it’s a 6)
Work experience for some courses like vet, med, maybe law - but the appreciate how hard this is to arrange

So the most important thing is grades tbh. Work at that and all will be well. Certs being captain of the rugby team (unless studying sports science, and even then would need a strong link in the PS) and gold DofE are not needed.

Well DD is on some committee to arrange the Sixth Form social and has the right to do table allocations somehow. She thinks it is worth putting on her CV… her friend is deeply relieved they can match make and sit together, I did tell her to check whether it is not meant to be “fair” and a lottery system? She thinks it is her duty to figure out all the social dynamics in the entire Sixth Form to make the evening successful and apparently she is also performing with her rock band.

And we have had ahem playing tennis with the beau, DH pointed out at least they have to be on opposite ends of a court!

Ratty had a lesson in, get this, lever arch files yesterday 😁

Oh my word, what a palaver, think of all of the only ways you can "mis-use" a lever arch file and I guarantee you it happened!
Disclaimer, dividers where also involved.

After "driving back home" on second driving lesson, very early morning not many cars.

No consistency that has and looks like remains his issue!

(I don't think he wanted us to see his filed work because then we could see what he thinks he can avoid)

Think I had a breakthrough mother daughter moment today. DD has worn my jumper to school. Who knew she would love my JL jumper.
My friend is an Oxford subject admission person. It’s apparently all about the supra curricular stuff (after grades and subjects). What makes you look like you are actually interested in the course and what can she chat to you about at interview etc.
On my ucas, I wrote about some work experience I did, turns out my Oxford tutor was an expert in MRIs and asked me about it in more detail than I was comfortable with. If you write it make sure you can discuss it!

@frozendaisy - lever arch file? What’s that? Is it a relic? DD is iPad queen, even all her music is on the iPad! I reckon it’s so she can get away with that tote bag all the girls here have, it’s their “uniform” together with the shortest black skirt, a scarf and yes a “nice”jumper, wool style or American Wasp style. She has raised DH’s cupboard of all things!

The driving instructor has been saying from day 1, book the theory test, book the theory test. We finally booked it. Now she has to learn it at half term but apparently all her friends crammed it on one weekend.

"you can listen to music down here"

@Araminta1003

No iPads here! Online access work for sure
But notes, on lined paper, written in our own sticky paw (which is probably a good thing otherwise he would forget how to write) - small A4 folder with dividers day-to-day - with instructions to transfer notes into lever arched files at home, preferably weekly, which we have only just started doing, obviously, well we couldn't operate the file for starters.

Ds is using an iPad as is everyone at his college. I am a bit worried how he will manage when the exams come around as he won’t be used to writing. Can’t knock it though he has all past and further lessons on video he can watch along with all the homework etc.

Ds2 uses soft lever arch files too.
Every parent got an arranged Phone call home from tutor today. Just to meet/touch base, check all ok, make sure the child is certain about which subject to drop. Ds2 is, he's dropping chemistry. Left with PE, Biology, Pychology. Really enjoying psychology as never done it before and got an A in recent test. Whereas chemistry was a D so that's why it has to be dropped.

He's tired. Doing 4 is tough, seems silly to me to make all children do it, it should be only for those very bright.

He has a girlfriend from another school. It's only recent though. Football and refereeing going ok, as is driving. He's put his name down for ski trip.

Files at DD school. It’s a state school, bearing in mind they apologise for a £20
school trip, they won’t be making any tech compulsory any time soon. They assume you have access to a phone.

Ha @frozendaisy DD2 has lever arches - she just took all the ones the other girls had had to school with her - but apparently 'half of them are broken', so clearly they weren't being well operated either.

She uses a computer day-to-day so I don't even know what she's putting in them! Dividers are a mystery to her. But because everything is written on computer she reckons half the kids in her english class are using AI because 'they aren't really as clever when you talk to them as their essays sound when they read them out and they can't pronounce all the words'. I did tell her that not being able to pronounce everything you know is the mark of a prolific reader but she reckons not in these cases. We will see. She insists she doesn't use it but who knows?!

DD has a laptop she takes to school, but she also insisted I buy her some exercise books: apparently she is allergic to files. I just hope she is sticking in the loose sheets. Half term starts next week, so maybe we can have a marathon book-tidying session.
Meanwhile, she told me casually that they’ve finished Year 1 Pure Maths of Maths A level.

dd has a laptop but mainly uses paper and folders. Maths still has exercise books. She has separate pure, mechanics and statistics lessons (with three separate teachers) and I think the aim is to get all of year 1 maths done by Christmas. She was very pleased to get 100% in her recent pure test - apparently in statistics that makes her an outlier!

she has a chem test today but is expecting a shoddy result due to three nights of the school play and a closing night dinner last night! She looked exhausted this morning! Fortunately she has today off before rehearsals for the school musical (Legally Blonde) start tomorrow. 🙄🤣

(edited for typo)

@QueenMabby I suspect your dd's definition of a 'shoddy result' would be one that would be greeted with delight over here!

DD has not been to many lessons this week - she is on concert number four tonight, and I'm heading down to see. Very cross because in an attempt to be more 'educational' the orchestra is being made to wear block coloured tshirts which depend on instrumental family.

I think she's got off lightly (woodwind is a quite attractive sludgy green), but she's extremely grumpy. Strings - in bright yellow - have a lot more to complain about.

Half term starts tomorrow. Might actually get to catch up around how A-Levels are going!

Unusual sized exercise books here for STEM, some bigger than A4 so standard covers don't fit.

Having to wear bright yellow might almost be enough to cause dd to put down the cello!

DD2 is using paper and files, she has quite an impressive system going on, which includes beautifully made flash cards in separate holders for each subject. She's finding 3D Design really time intensive, partially because she's not really an artist and partially because she sets very high expectations for herself, and won't hand anything in until she's really pleased with it. It's led to a few late nights and quite a lot of stress!

The college did trackers last week, and DD2 has got As in both Maths and 3D Design, just waiting on Physics (which she says not to get too excited about!) She is determined to have 100% attendance, and dragged herself in a couple of days last week when she was feeling particularly rotten (we had visited DD1 at uni and DD2 managed to catch her freshers flu!), but there are several kids who are already on attendance warnings - including one who took 6 days off for a holiday in Ibiza!

DD2 is starting to worry about having things to put on her UCAS form. She doesn't really have many hobbies (apart from the gym and baking), she spends most weekday evenings studying, and works in a cafe at the weekend (mainly so she can afford coffee and clothes - the college is in the city centre so temptation is everywhere!) She tends to see her friends in her (long) breaks at college, and sees her boyfriend on Saturday nights, so not an awful lot of time left for anything else. She's planning some work experience next summer, and I'll suggest she looks for some online talks she can watch (thanks @clary!) She is thinking about doing something Physics related, possibly astrophysics, or architecture (but we know the course is loooooong and the field itself is competitive). She has her eye on Bath at the moment (which I'd be very happy with, DD1 is currently in Cardiff, so they'd only be an hour apart).

Any further advice on things DD2 could be doing to enhance her UCAS form would be much appreciated!

DD1 is home from uni this weekend, I've scrubbed her bedroom and bought all her favourite treats, it's going to be so much fun to have the 4 of us together, even if it's only for 48 hours - I can't wait!

@OliveWah she doesn't need hobbies for her UCAS form. Honestly. Whatever school has told you.

She needs to talk about why she wants to do the subject and what she has done to enhance that.

Ds2 talked about how he was going to cure cancer. No one cared about his grade 5 piano.

Actually most unis are not fussed about the PS; it's the grades that matter.

@OliveWah - ds is at Lancaster studying physics and astrophysics. Hobbies are irrelevant. He played loads of sport but for fun and basically did nothing else. The most important thing is supra-curricular - so just encourage dd to read around her subject, watch YouTube videos etc. Unis want people who are interested in their subject and can show it. Work experience directly related to physics is really hard to find. Ds didn’t do any. He did have an EPQ related to astrophysics (about space travel) which he wrote about on his PS. But the PS is different now, much more structured (new this year I think?) which makes it easier to know what to write about.

@OliveWah I know they’ve changed ucas now but DS had paragraphs on his subject and the reading and his work experience. He had one sport and his lifeguard job listed at the bottom.
He got into Bath. But from what I understand predicted grades were very important.

Interesting re extra curricular activities.

I was talking to my DD about doing more extra curricular stuff, but when she asked what I did in L6… I had to admit that it was mainly going for coffees with friends in “study periods “ and lounging around in the common room!

Can I say that for sure I am all for DC doing social activities. Especially in the allnew environment of uni it can be a lifeline if you play a sport, play clarinet, love to do drama or backstage work, want to get involved in politics, volunteer as the media corres .... all good if not vital.

Just not needed to get there. But sport for example has absolutely been key for ds2 - social life, housemates, chance to take a position (president and social sec). All good.

I think I’m going to start DS writing two lists - one of any competitions he’s done ( there already seem to have been a couple ) and one for every relevant podcast / video/book he reads .. I keep what’s apping him things that I think look interesting … I doubt he’s looked at anything … I think I am more intrigued by his subjects than he is ( he’s a Stem boy and I was humanities ) 😂