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

DD is mid mocks. And very stressed...possibly due to not doing enough revision. She also has to get her textiles practical finishes soon. She is going to have a trail driving lesson once mocks are over, as she is very anxious about the idea of driving...

If anyone is interest in a parliamentary debate on dropping interest on student loans then it might be worth signing
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/756832

Finally DD heard from Newcastle, she has an offer for med!! Very happy and relieved all round as it was her favourite. So now she has both NCL and Leeds the pressure is off slightly as the other two choices are less important. NCL offer holder day on 14 March to look forward to now.

It's been a very long journey but the end is in sight, just a few A levels to get now 😂.

well done to your dd @bluefinelinerthat’s great great, really takes the pressure off! I hope the OHD goes well next month.

let’s not think about the A levels!

thank you @JustHereWithMyPopcorni have been reading some of the articles about plan 2 and l
plan 5, and I'm very confused! I think I should be grateful that DS is plan 5. I’m guessing your DS 1 is on plan 2?

DS1 is on Plan 2 @Ventress he'll start paying back soon as he's moved jobs where he will now be in the payback salary. DS2 will be on Plan 5 which is actually going to be much worse than Plan 2 according to Martin Lewis and he wants that looked into as well. Don't be grateful for Plan 5, no-one should be charged interest on a loan to educate themselves.

Well done on your DDs offer @bluefineliner !!

Well done on the final offer @bluefineliner

DS didn't really get much from the Leeds OHD, 5 of them went on the bus at 7:30 and they weren't home until after 8pm, so a v long day, but think they had fun anyway.

DS has got the distinction in Applied Business he was hoping for, so he won't have to do the Sumner exams, which is such a relief.

He can now concentrate on History and Geography.
The dreaded NEAs are printed and handed in too.
Slowly getting there.

Well mocks are over today. The feedback I'm getting is less and less positive after each exam. I don't know whether he is just bored of my questions or whether he found them hard. (Probably both!)

Still waiting for offers from two places - it would be really helpful to get them and then DS can make a decision and then really focus and visualise his next steps.

Glad mocks are over @AuntyBulgariahope the two offers come in soon!

we have OHD this weekend in Durham. I shall leave DH and DS to it although I’m looking forward to seeing Durham.

Hopefully they will do something about the interest rate and way plan 2(at least) is worked out for students @JustHereWithMyPopcorn- it does seem really unfair to them.

I’m not sure what to do about DS. His form tutor, and I, are both ill and I’m not sure whether we should just ignore it or grab the bull by the horns and attack it full frontal or ignore it and pretend it doesn’t exist! He got a detention from not going to Pshe the other day (he is year 13 for goodness sake!) I think I will just leave it for the time being.

DS got turned down by Leeds yesterday. He knew the grades would be a push, but he was still disappointed.
He thinks he will firm Northumbria now as its the best course from the 3 offers he has.

Glad mocks are done, very late to have them imo, the actual exams are only 2 months away 😲

Congrats to your daughter, @bluefineliner ! That's a wonderful achievement.

I'm sorry for your son's disappointment, @gingercat02 but how lovely to have three other offers to choose from!

Very happy mocks arr done as well. Going to take the while family to London for the weekend for some shopping and a show before they have to settle into the grind for actual exams. We need to look at the BIoJ as well, as DC2 is thinking of applying to their apprenticeship program for after she finishes her gap year.

@gingercat02 sorry about Leeds for your DS, sounds like he has good alternatives though. I agree about mocks seeming late if done now. DD did hers early Jan which now seems like ages ago!

@temperedolive London sounds like a fabulous temporary distraction, have a great time.

@Ventress If I clash with DD leaving things is the best way to resolve as it just escalates if I try to tackle too much head on. You know your DS best, and need to think about your own health too.

DD now has an offer from Lancaster so 3 in total, just waiting for Liverpool decisions later this month. I think it will be Newcastle/Leeds for firm/ins or vice versa but plenty of time for her to choose. Unfortunately MIL (after her stroke in the new year) is now on EOL care so we are staying with her as much as possible while she is in her final days. DD finds it too upsetting to see MIL atm so she is carrying on as normally as she can, which I am encouraging. She has got used to grandma not being around (she lives with us) so has been gradually adapting to not having her near for a while now.

So sorry to hear about your MIL @bluefineliner thats really tough.

Had parents evening for DD this week, just maths (they only arrange appointments if they’re concerned). Was really useful I think, teacher seemed lovely and they formulated a plan for extra revision. I think DD dyslexia is making it more tricky, teacher thinks she sometimes makes a mistake in methodology and then has to relearn a different approach fairly often. On a good day she’s an A student on a bad day she’s a D.

We’re waiting for mocks results here. DD is in a state of constant panic. She needs 3As, was predicted 3A stars quite easily but she’s now finding it hard to get above Bs. So the mock results are a bit scary and I foresee a bigger panic if they’re not what she needs …. I keep saying they mark mocks harshly - am I right ?!!

Hey everyone, I’ve been a bit quiet because since the new iOS update I’m finding mumsnet a right pain to load.

DS has had 2 of 4 of his mock results, A⭐️ in maths and A in computer science. Still waiting physics and further maths.

But in other news he got offered a place on a degree apprenticeship today for a very well renowned company so it’s a happy day in our house-there was a confetti canon announcement and everything 🤣.

@bluefineliner, so sorry to hear about your MIL, that’s really tough. But it’s great to read about more offers for your DD, including her favourite! Hope you enjoy the NCL OHD today!

@Ventress, how did the Durham OHD go? A detention for missing PSHE in year 13 seems a bit draconian, hope it all blew over now!

@gingercat02, sorry to read about Leeds, but Northumbria sounds like a great choice. I know several colleagues who work there and always seem to have exciting things going on. Well done to your DS for getting those NEAs in!

@temperedolive, hope you had a great weekend in London!

@Countrylife2002, I hope the mock results turn out better than your DD fears. At the end of the day, the main purpose of the mocks is to identify the remaining gaps, to practice under exam conditions and to boost revision, so hopefully they are helpful to her whatever the outcomes.

@KellySeveride, that’s fantastic news on the degree apprenticeship, massive congratulations! And great mock results too 🙂

@AuntyBulgaria, hope the remaining offers come through soon!

The big news here is that the Warwick PPE offer has finally arrived! We are all delighted. It does mean that DS now has some tough decisions to make, with the main contest between Warwick and Exeter (econ and politics), which both have the same offer (A star AA). Bath (politics with econ) is still in the running as potential insurance, but having been to the OHD he’s really not keen on the campus and the limited econ content.

Great news @ComingInByAnsible.

We’re just home from the Warwick OHD. DS applied not having been there but has come away feeling very positive.

I thought the campus was lovely, and the course (MORSE) looks right up ds’s street.

He’s still waiting to hear from LSE which is very frustrating but not unusual judging by lots of people that he spoke to today.

It’s good to hear of all the decisions that are coming along for everyone.

@Muchtoomuchtodo, thank you and it’s great that you’ve had such a positive experience at the OHD! When I was at Warwick (back in the Stone Age) I knew several people doing MORSE, and they all seemed to love their course. Hopefully that LSE offer comes through soon too - would it be his favourite?

We are now booked for the Warwick OHD on the 29th of April, so relieved that the offer came through in time to be able to do this. Before then, we have the Exeter OHD at the end of March, so this should hopefully help DS make his decision.

Amazing news @KellySeveride

some great offers and results, so exciting!

We took a very very long train to Liverpool and back yesterday (5.5 hours home and some kids got on the train in Wolverhampton with an air horn - it was grim).

Liverpool is a beautiful city though, the sun was out, the atmosphere was great, that city energy DD loves. But she prefers the course content at Reading, she can study more macro, policy, social justice based material there. Liverpool was very business based. There seemed to be more opportunities at Liverpool, including a group that had set up and was running charities, a women in economics group, a ton of networking opportunities. But lecturers at Reading were more engaging and Liverpool is a really long way away. It’s a dilemma. There aren’t many BA economics courses (she’s doing maths but is likely to get a B/C and is working so hard for that), only Liverpool and Southampton at the top of her grade range. Would she be daft to go for a course offer 3 grades below her predicted at a less prestigious university? Will she regret not going to a city, there’s so much going on in Liverpool, it seems such a nice place.

So who knows, I’m trying to stay neutral, it’s got to be her decision.

He’s discovered that outside space and greenery is quite important to him @ComingInByAnsible so I think LSE has dropped down his list. But if he does get an offer he’ll he pretty chuffed!

Will you need an overnight stay at Warwick? They have 2 on-site conference hotels if you do. We stayed the night before in the Scarman hotel to give us time to explore leamington spa, Kenilworth and Coventry as year 2 and 3 accommodation options which was good. Then we explored campus a bit and DS used the gym (free with the hotel stay) which was great before heading to the Arts Centre for a bite to eat. We had planned to go the an onsite pub but hadn’t realised it was the final hours in the SU elections so it was absolutely heaving!

Thanks all. He went into the applications last October knowing how competitive the degree apprenticeships are. It was always his preferred route but he didn’t actually think he’d get on one. However he got a call only 48 hours after the assessment centre so they must have wanted him.

He’s planning to defer his uni place just in case it turns out he hates the apprenticeship, but it does mean we haven’t gone to any OHD.

Just catching up, and great to see things falling into place for so many.

DD is OK, but suddenly lots of stress is boiling over as the exams draw nearer. It’s all feeling a bit close for comfort.

We have received the awful news that a friend’s DC is critically ill from meningococcal meningitis, in a university outbreak. They are not in the UK, but there is also a dangerous outbreak currently in Canterbury, involving students at the University of Kent https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxg35dv7npo

With apologies to those who have heard me banging on about this before, I do feel it’s important to think about meningitis vaccination before our Y13s launch into their next phase.

Meningococcal (bacterial) meningitis comes in 5 main strains: A, B, C, W, Y. These are covered by 2 vaccines: a combined one for the ACWY strains, and a separate one for the B strain.

ACWY: In England this vaccination is routinely offered in Y9, though some (including my DD) may have missed it due to Covid disruption. A catch-up vaccine is available free on the NHS to any under-25s who have not yet had it, via the GP.

B strain: This is rarer, but also dangerous. Nowadays the B vaccine is part of the infant vaccination programme, but that didn’t start until 2015 and there has been no NHS catch-up programme for children who were beyond infancy then. It can only be obtained privately (from chemists), and requires 2 doses. Current price at Boots is £110 per dose, so £220 for the course.

Oh no @JessyCarr, that’s awful news, especially after your DD’s own illness. I hope your friend’s DC recovers fully. 💐

I was reading about the Kent outbreak last night and thinking this is probably the right time to get DS vaccinated for Men B (he’s had his Men ACWY vaccine already). I believe they need two doses at least one month apart, and then a few weeks after the second dose for the immunity to develop, is that correct? Also pondering whether we should also be vaccinating DD (16) at the same time or waiting till year 13.

@Muchtoomuchtodo, I am with your DS on the importance of green spaces! One of the reasons why DS ruled out London applications in the end.

We are just over a two hours drive from Warwick, so will be doing a day trip, but your overnight trip sounds lovely. Great to know that use of the gym comes free with the hotel stay! What did you think of the area? DH and I are both alumni but it’s been a looong time!

My son has men B privately when they brought it into the babies vax schedule. I have read in the US they top up after ten years so I will be taking him to a private GP for another booster in the summer holidays.