Year 13 -2025/26 - Support, discussion and looking after each other (new thread from y12)

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Hello
I have started a new thread following on from this one
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/further_education/5340007-year-12-202425-support-discussion-and-looking-after-each-other-thread-2?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

Happy new year to you all!

I am so sorry to hear about your MIL @bluefineliner. I hope she makes a good recovery and your daughter is able to deal with the impact. I am sure Leeds make any allowances needed. I hope the interview goes well.

I’m sure your DS will be n fine with his chemistry test today - and the rest of the mocks this week @JustHereWithMyPopcorn DS also has mocks this week. He hasn’t done a vast amount of revision but says he’ll use this as the kick up the rear that perhaps he wants now.

Good to see you back @ComingInByAnsible. Thank you for your good wishes. I’ve caught up with DS about the Oxford interview- apparently his school usually get around 40 interviews and this year they got 14! It’s either an enormous year or the colleges have really scaled back their interviews. DS has written it off anyway. I’m glad your DS has bounced back. The Bath offer sounds great! What is his current favourite to firm?

I have asked DS to check his email as he should have had offer holder day invitations from Exeter and Warwick.

I love the sound of all the holidays which have been booked both your DC and your own 😊 DS and his friends are suffering from indecision as some want to do one thing and others something else. I suspect nothing will get booked, or they will fracture into small groups.

Mocks started today. Geography 1. Went well apparently. He now has tomorrow and Wednesday morning to crack on with Business, if he can get distinction now he is done which would only leave History x2 and Geography x2 for the summer.
History on Friday is giving everyone the fear 😨 Geography 2 on Thursday less so.

Sorry about your MiL @bluefineliner DHs mum had a big stroke 3 years ago and is still with us, all be it in a nursing home. Its so hard as parents and grandparents age.

Glad everyone else is in the mend health wise, and offers are coming in

It’s been a while since I posted - mainly because DS was taking forever to sort out his UCAS application so didn’t feel in a position to join in! But his application went in today, finally! He’s gradually moved towards the idea of general or joint honours engineering rather than pure mechanical, I can see it suiting him more, so maybe the drawn out timescale was worthwhile after all! Hoping it won’t take too long before he starts to hear back. Bath is the favoured choice here too @JustHereWithMyPopcorn.

Thinking of all the DC as they get into their mocks, DS has another week and a half until his starts. His brother is in y11 with mocks starting next week, so we’ve had a quiet Christmas to give them a chance to revise - with mixed results!

Glad the application has finally gone in @MiniMidiMaxi I would have been climbing the walls by now! Bath is a very popular choice I think, probably why it takes them so long to reply. 😩

DS had his Chemistry mock yesterday and came out happy so that's good at least - hopefully the results reflect that! Maths tomorrow, he is currently doing a practice paper while wishing he was somewhere else.

Anyone got deep snow? It started snowing here again yesterday but only for about an hour or so and it's all been washed away by overnight rain. Sun is out but it's freezing and a big snow is forecast for tomorrow evening. I just hope it stays away until he's home form his exam!

Our snow has pretty much gone @JustHereWithMyPopcorn
Business today was really difficult, but everyone thought so, so hopefully that's OK for grade boundaries 🤞
DS and DH are out at the football tonight 🥶, I'm at home with the fire lit. A break will do him good.

No mocks here - thank goodness! Though he did have some mock type things before Christmas not that DS took them seriously as they didn't mean anything.

He has more mocks in March. Those having mocks now is this the only set or do they have more nearer the exams?

I mine will have some mini mocks covering the topics they haven't finished yet ...but only in the form of tests in class I believe.

He's only been back for two days and we are already looking forward to the mocks study leave 🤣 it's so dark, cold and tiring.

@AuntyBulgaria this will be the only mocks DS will do. They will continue to do topic tests and revision right through to when they stop for study leave (May half term I think?).

Mocks here too. Final two are today so DS gets tomorrow off school as he doesn’t have to be in if there is no exam.

I’m glad chemistry went well @JustHereWithMyPopcorn.

After these mocks DS has said he will concentrate on his driving test which is mid-February. If he could pass it would make a big difference to him as we live on the edge of a village and public transport is patchy.

How is your mil @bluefineliner? I hope Leeds interview was okay.

No further offers here (waiting on UCL and Durham) and DS isn’t bothered about offer days at Exeter and Warwick and hasn’t signed up for either.

We had snow, enough to cancel rugby on Tuesday, but it hasn’t hung around.

Well reports from the TMUA today do not sound hugely positive! DS ran out of time on both papers and had to take wild guesses! Oh well.

Results in Feb I believe.

Oh no @AuntyBulgaria hopefully he did better than he thinks, it's not over til the fat lady sings as they say.

DS2's maths mock appears to have gone OK other than the last question which he says he couldn't answer. This is a fairly normal pattern for him though, I feel he just sort of looks at this hard question around 2 hours in and thinks, I can't be bothered to even try. I might be doing him a disservice though, I know I couldn't do it and I did maths A level (a million years ago)!

@Ventress how did your DS find his mocks today?

This is the only set of A level mocks for DS. They will continue having unit tests until they have covered the whole curriculum then turn their thoughts to revision, and honing exam techniques.

Ds is still waiting to hear from LSE but I think that’ll be after the next lot of TMUA results are known so he’s not holding his breath.

dd having lots of smaller assessments rather than full mocks. Maths test today, and although we had tears yesterday and she was convinced she’s failing, she said it wasn’t too terrible and lots of others said it was hard, so she’s feeling better about it.

I think she’s really finding maths hard and putting off homework and getting behind, which obviously makes it more difficult and more stressful. I think she’s doing the right thing applying for BA economics rather that BSc, she enjoys the stats and mechanics in maths but really finds pure maths a struggle. I’m in awe of her, I got a C in GCSE there’s no way I could do what she does.

Still no reply from Liverpool.

I'm sure they all felt the TMUA was horrible @AuntyBulgaria . Your DS probably did better than he thought.

I'm glad maths was okay @JustHereWithMyPopcorn that last question is always a tough one! I'm sure your DS has done well.

I'm so glad DS didn't take maths in the end (he toyed with swapping English Lit for Maths in first term of Year 12). His last mocks today were English Lit and DS is floating on air. Apparently he needn't have bothered revising! Yeah, right 😂English Lit really is his "thing". Oddly he doesn't like it much but he's just so good at it that no way should he have given it up for maths.

Unit tests sound like the way forward for the rest of the year.

I hope the rest of those offers come through soon. It's final application cut off soon so hopefully the remaining ones will start coming through.

This is our only set of mocks too. Human Geography didn't thrill him today either, and the dreaded history tomorrow.
Hopefully this will give him the incentive to crack on with some serious revision

Good luck to hm @gingercat02!

DS got his Durham offer yesterday- standard offer (as expected). He’s really happy. I’m glad things are looking up for him after some lousy months .

Fab news @Ventress well done to your DS.

Thank you @JustHereWithMyPopcorn😊 I have asked DS to look out for the offer holder day info and book it as we didn’t go to the open day. Might make a short holiday out of the trip. I love that part of the country.

Hopefully the offer day will be when the weather has improved a bit so you can actually enjoy your trip up there! 😄

Congrats to your DS on Durham offer @Ventress . Will that be one of his firm or insurance choices?

So after DD not putting a 5th (non med) choice, we had a last minute change of heart this morning and decided to put one in as a back up with potential to transfer to med, so Newcastle biomed application submitted. It would be nice just for her to have one offer to give her some comfort at this stage.

2 mocks done this week, bio was hard apparently, 4 more next week so full on revision for now. DD will be glad to get them over with, then 2 more interviews and by 5th Feb she can fully focus on A levels!

Yay - congrats! Just UCL to go now?

Thanks @Ventress rather strangely history was the best of a disappointing week. He said he felt destroyed after Thursday 😭
I'm quite dreading the next 5/6 months

Ah @gingercat02 at least there is quiet some time now until actual exams so a chance to review any mocks that don't go to plan. That is what I am telling DD anyway!

@Ventress thank you for asking, my MIL is ok, will be in hospital for another 5 weeks for rehab then we will know if she can come home or not permanently. We are visiting a lot and adjusting to our new way of life for the time being, luckily as I work at the hospital I can pop on before or after work. DD's Leeds interview was 'ok' but not great, she has convinced herself it will be a rejection now but seems ok for now. 2 more interviews to go. Fingers crossed for UCL for your DS.