Xaverian college A level timetable-half empty

[Xaveriannewbie]

Does anybody have any experience of A level timetables, specifically for Xaverian College? I didn’t do A levels. Dd starts tomorrow and got timetable yesterday. She’s doing Biology, Chemistry and Geography. The timetable looks like Swiss cheese! She doesn’t start until 12.30pm
on a Monday and on other days she’s not got many lessons. Is this normal or is her timetable missing something? She will of course ask more tomorrow but I expected A levels to be full on, not lots of free periods. I’ve advised her to spend those free periods working rather than lying in bed.

I’m making suggestions/ offering advice/ helping when asked, but I think they have to make the decisions at this point. Trying to force will not work with mine

Yes. This is true for other A-Level-equivalent qualifications too. About 15-17 contact hours per week is normal, but she should still be expecting to top it up to about 30 hours with independent study and reading around the subject as well as doing the set homework.

At degree level it might be as low as 8-10 contact hours and at PhD level maybe 1 or 2 contact hours per week - a student who can't or isn't motivated to study enthusiastically when not in the presence of a teacher will not do well.

She’ll settle in I’m sure and the MDV programme looked excellent so I’ve no doubts the tutors there will be very explicit in what she needs to be doing. Dd is one that needs a fire under her and a tight deadline to be productive. I’ve long suspected ADHD and Autism but she doesn’t want the label of a diagnosis. It’s a tough balance between support and encouragement and being fb perceived as being on her case. I’ll check in with her at the end of the week and see how she’s settling in. As in a proper catch up rather than a hi how’s your day been type chat over dinner. I think it’s all a bit scary right now and overwhelming and she doesn’t communicate that well but gets arsey with me.

That's pretty unusual. Is it a private school?
Most state schools just don't have the staffing to supervise free periods.

Xaverian don't expect them to be in college for their free periods. They are looking at her timetable to see if they can change it to make it more balanced.
dd found her first full day hard going indeed!

I know your DD doesn't want a "label", but it means that various adjustments can be made to help her if you do go down the assessment route.

As someone who isn't a self starter she will struggle with A levels and struggle massively at university. University lecturers don't chase students up for assignments. They expect deadlines to be met. Late submissions result in marks being deducted.

DD did those subjects at A level. Biology has a very specific mark scheme and it is a good idea for your DD to familiarise herself with it and practise exam technique as it often trips even the brightest students up. Geography has an NEA (non examined assessment) worth 20% of the marks. This takes the form of a mini dissertation. Again, this requires a lot of self motivation. It is good preparation for university as your DD will learn about research, report writing and referencing.

Free periods are self study sessions. She'll have a pastoral sessions and an RE lesson added onto timetable if they aren't there already. It's a lovely, supportive college

No the local comp!

DS school they had supervised study. DS said it was like three hours a day of detention, they weren't allowed to speak.
He often had to go in and sit there for 2 hours in the morning before his first lesson.
I think this was to ensure that some work was done rather than preparing them for uni. It lightened up a bit in Year 13.

(bog standard state school)

Wow. At DD's school the emphasis was on preparing the students for university and independent study, so there was no supervision at all.

The 6th form colleges round here are far more hands off and are a good halfway house between school and university.

5 hours per A level is why lots of us used to do 4 A levels, especially if maths and further maths, or three sciences and maths. The subjects all support each other and timetable wise it's totally feasible. My 6th form then lobbed in prep for Step papers 4pm until 5pm. I think it's gone out of favour, as colleges are keener for students to get 3 A* rather than 4 A grades. And in terms on uni applications that's true. But in terms of a broader education it's a shame.

That's how it is unless you do music when you end up in basically full time!

My son’s at Loreto and his timetable is similar. The only full day is Monday.

My DD is at Xaverian, has all of Weds off. Finishes earlier on a Monday and starts later on Thursday. Free periods she is studying or researching uni options. At the open day talk by the headteacher the religious studies would have been mentioned. EPQ they start much later in y12 compared with places like Aquinas who start now. The bus strikes haven’t helped with getting trr hg n into a routine! But so far she’s coping with the early starts as to get in for 9 it’s a 7.10 bus!

Did you go to open days? It’s 4.5 hour class and 4.5 independant study per a level min

How is she getting on now @Xaveriannewbie? We are trying to decide if it’s a good fit for DC or Loreto

@Xaveriannewbie any update? My DD is AuADHD and I’m trying to work out if Xav is a good fit or not. It’s defo great for self motivated DC but not sure that’s what I have!!

@eurotravelhello, I’m so sorry that I haven’t replied. For some reason the thread has only just updated tonight after lying way down on my “I’m on” threads.
DD decided to leave Xaverian. She is going to a smaller college that is much closer. Despite being a Catholic at a Catholic college, she found that she was a minority. The college population is largely black and Asian. It’s also swallowed the kool-aid with regards to trans ideology which is odd for a Catholic college. The pastoral support was poor, the lessons fast-paced so no good for someone with slower processing due to autism. There was a catch up class where the teacher literally said they were thick if they couldn’t grasp what they needed to catch up on and ran the class at the same fast pace so she had no chance. One male teacher was very misogynistic and blatantly so, putting his sexist thoughts into his teaching material. Another teacher regularly made negative comments about our nearest large town. She went from 9s in her chosen subjects to a U at one point but her grades ranged from C-E generally. She is very bright, high IQ, quite driven in her chosen career and was floundering there. I asked for support for her and she didn’t get it. Communication was poor.
She was so set on Xaverian at the end of year 11. The college felt like a great fit on the open days so it’s been a huge disappointment for her and has battered her self-esteem. She’s really looking forward to a new start at the local college where hopefully they will be more supportive and she will reach her potential.
I’ve spoken to many school mums at my son’s school who loved their time at Xaverian but it wasn’t a good fit for Dd. That’s not to say it won’t be a good fit for others but I can’t recommend it based on DD’s experience.
I hope your Dd loves whichever college she chooses😊

Thankyou so much @XaveriannewbieSadly your story isn’t the first like that I’m aware of re lack of meaningful support. That’s what really concerns me about DD going there. Seems very much sink or swim.
I think it’s prob fine - great for neurotypical self starters but seems less so for anyone needing more support. Teacher comments are quite poor. Less bothered by the student profile as we live local so it’s expected & loads go from her school go and people she knows from
other schools are going

It's normal to have about 15 hrs of scheduled teaching with the other 25hrs of a full working week supposed to be self-directed study, wider reading, preparation for lessons that are coming up, and any homework tasks that have been assigned.

At university level it can be more like only 5-8 hrs of scheduled teaching time so it's really important for young people to start learning to use their self-directed time properly. The higher up the academic ladder you get, the more you are trusted to fly solo - at postgraduate level I got 1 hour a week contact time.

I have to say I’m sure I must have had more lessons many moons ago. We had free periods but didn’t do much in them and don’t recall hours and hours of self study either. My DD is really going to struggle albeit she thinks not

Perhaps it depends on what subjects you do?
At uni I was in more than I wasn’t until year 3 and even then I was still in a lot. Post-grad was 9-4 and 10-4 5 days a week. Not much time for studying especially on placement weeks when you could be on 12 hour shifts or nights. Again, it depends on the subjects.

@eurotravelif your dd can be very disciplined, keep any opinions about anything political to herself, and keep up with the fast pace then I’m sure she’ll be fine, especially if she has friends going. Dd ended up with no friends at all thanks to some rumours being spread about things she hadn’t said. She didn’t gel with any of the teachers either. She’s now changed career path as a result of the college experience but it’s one I think is right for her anyway. Hopefully!

I did sciences & maths so I’m thinking my memory must be wrong! DD is not disciplined at all and due to ADHD never keeps her mouth shut. She knows plenty going, but not all are big friends of hers. That said I suspect her closest friends will go - they seem to be opting that way

@Xaveriannewbiethat must have been misearable. To date the comms has been almost non existent in comparison to her other options so that matches your experience. I think I’ll email and ask about SEN support for her. Her other options already have that sorted

Communication isn’t a strong point. We had some issues with one subject and the form tutor wasn’t great. Accessed better support via the Chaplaincy who said the tutor should have helped more. In the end the timetable was changed but they wouldn’t allow an A level subject swap after one term despite my DD being a bright student. They also suggested repeating y12 wasn’t an option so DD dud explore other colleges and school options in case a fresh start was needed. Fortunately the other two A levels have gone well so far and I, hoping we can get through y13 and she will end up with good results.