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

Thanks @ComingInByAnsible. DD had viral meningitis, which (although obviously suboptimal in Y13!) is less scary than meningococcal disease.

I need to correct an important error in my earlier post about this. Meningitis B is not rarer than the ACWY strains. Although meningococcal disease itself is rare, the B strain accounted for over 80% of UK cases in 2024/25. It may be that this is because of the vaccination gap, with the vast majority of pre-2015 babies unprotected. There is a current thread here running on the Canterbury outbreak, and it is alarming to see how many parents say “my child had the vaccine at school” without realising that there are two different vaccines needed for effective protection.

@ComingInByAnsible Of the 2 fatalities in Canterbury, one was an undergraduate and the other is reported to be a Y13 from a Faversham grammar school who went out to a nightclub popular with students. Eleven others are in hospital. This is a very rare tragedy and it’s not known which strain caused it, but if you have a 16 year old I don’t think there are any advantages to be gained from waiting to vaccinate. They will retain good protection through their student years if vaccinated now.

@JessyCarr i hope your friend’s dc makes a quick and full recovery.

looking at the meningitis vaccines for after ds’s exams has been in my to do list for a while but this awful outbreak in Kent has reinforced the need to actually do it. It does seem bonkers that even if the NHS won’t vaccinate this generation of kids against the B strain, there’s not more of an awareness campaign particularly for those thinking of heading to university.

@ComingInByAnsible we spent some time in Leamington Spa and had a drive around Kenilworth, some of the closer parts of Coventry and the just off campus private halls as where to lived after year 1 was one of ds’s concerns. Most of the students that we spoke to opted for Leamington after their first year and just accept the bus ride. DS seemed to think that was an ok trade off to live in such a nice town with plenty going on. Getting a job within the university also seemed to be a top tip from our tour guide - that way you get a permit and staff parking rates 🤣. For now Warwick seems to be in the top spot, though DS is going to a Bath OHD too so it’ll be interesting to see if things change after that. An offer from LSE would be the icing on the cake and throw the cat amongst the pigeons but if that happens (it’s a big if!) it’ll be a nice problem to have.

We had a great weekend in Edinburgh and DD intends to firm it and insure Sheffield. We went to look at some accommodation from the outside and I think she has made her short list. She hasn’t done UCAS yet, partly because she is really ill today but it is an advantage to do it earlier rather than later for getting her accommodation application in.

I am worrying about meningitis but she isn’t ill enough for that. She is worrying about missing lessons. I am keeping an eye on her. Fully planning a Meningitis B vaccine after A levels, so sad for the families affected in Kent. The news reports are not making it clear that this age group won’t be routinely vaccinated against meningitis B but that it is available privately.

A few clicks this evening and the UCAS decision is done. Feels momentous. I am much more excited about the process than DD who is taking it in her stride. I am happy with the accommodation situation for insurance students at Sheffield. The Edinburgh accommodation seems more difficult even as a firm but at least she will be early to the applications.

I’ve been following but not posting much and it’s so lovely to hear of great offers and choices being made along with so many other things going on.

After a torturous application process, 4 interviews last month, followed by mocks and a rejection. DS had an offer last night for Dentistry from Sheffield.

That’s brilliant news, @Lalux, congratulations to your DS! He must be elated!

@ArchitectureMum wow, UCAS decisions done! What a milestone! And great choices too. Hope your DD is feeling better today.

@Muchtoomuchtodo, that’s a great tip from the Warwick tour guide about uni jobs and parking. My DS would definitely be interested to know (provided he passes his test!). How do the Warwick and Bath offers compare for your DS in terms of achievability/safety?

@JessyCarr, I think you are right about vaccination for my younger DD, I’ve spoken with her and she would prefer to be vaccinated sooner rather than later. The Kent outbreak seems to be developing at the rate of knots.

We have UCAS done too. Firmed Northumbria and insurance Leeds Beckett.
Seems happy with this but very stressed with teaching ongoing, loads of coursework still to do AND revision. He's now whittering on about post 18 apprenticeships!
DS fell asleep in the chair at 8pm on Monday night. I made him clean his teeth and go to bed. He slept until 8am!

I don't know what to do about MenB vaccine. It's so rare but obviously devastating if it does happen.

Hope everyone else is coping, good to see offers and OHD continuing.

Incredible to see the final choices being made for some of your dc. It’s all feeling very real now!

@ComingInByAnsible there’s not a lot of difference between the offers tbh.

Warwick for MORSE have offered A⭐️A⭐️B. With a C in Welsh Bacc

Bath - maths and stats with professional placement have offered A⭐️ A, A or A⭐️A⭐️B (A⭐️and A in maths and FM)

He seems to prefer the Warwick campus and living options after year 1and they have said that deferring isn’t a problem. He needs to ask Bath about that being an option.

Brilliant to see people firming/insuring on UCAS already and things getting real. DS has all his offers in now after finally hearing from KCL this week - an offer, which is nice, but it's higher than his preferred option so is out of the running and not worth waiting for the OHD in mid-April I don't think. He's going to take till Easter just to see if his inclinations change, then he'll finalise his choices. Phew!

Been a long old journey since first visits to very different unis on the road to understanding where he fits and what his chances are. And exams still to do ofc, but feels like we're getting there. Good luck to all still waiting on offers and making decisions.

Did anyone go to the York OHD today?

@gingercat02, congratulations to you and your DS on the UCAS decisions! He sounds exhausted, this year is such a marathon for them, isn’t it? Will he be able to take a break around Easter to recharge a bit before the final revision and exams?

@Muchtoomuchtodo, those do sound like close offers, with Bath being a bit more flexible. Would he consider Bath as insurance to Warwick or is that too close for comfort? What is he thinking of doing in the gap year if he defers? My DS has been muttering about reapplying to Oxford if he gets his predicted grades (which tbh I’m not that keen on as it would still be a lottery even with grades achieved, but it would be up to him ultimately).

@pinkdelight, congratulations on the KCL offer! Even if not taken up, it’s a great achievement!

We are still a way off UCAS decisions, as DS will wait until after the Exeter OHD (next weekend) and Warwick OHD at the end of April. It’s still between these two as firm choices for him.

In the meantime, we had the last ever parents’ evening for DS, following his mocks. He had a bad day in one of the history mocks and still has quite a bit of work to do across the board but nevertheless still on track to achieving his grades. More importantly perhaps, lovely words from all his teachers about the pleasure of teaching him, so it was bittersweet. It really feels like the ‘lasts’ of the school years are accelerating, he had his last football match too.

I think Warwick with Bath as his insurance is the current plan @ComingInByAnsible but we’ve also had mutterings about applying to Oxford again, especially as they’re now using the TMUA. It’s such a lottery even for the top performers that I’m not going to be actively encouraging that as an option!

If he does defer it would be to do some more qualifications in his sports coaching - something that he’s really enjoying and as a summer born I don’t think having another year would do him any harm. Who knows?

The later offers are definitely very frustrating for everyone who’s still hanging on. I’m not looking at accommodation options or when those applications open as it’s just more pressure that DS doesn’t need, or any of our dc for that matter.

DS has just informed us he has had his offer from Northumbria for Business and Marketing reduced to Distinction and 2 Ds! He has known for a while but only decided to tell us now.
He is worried this will demotivate him, but hopefully that's a guaranteed place.
I'm delighted, but get where his thoughts are.

Well done on all who have got Uni offers places decided. Some great mock results there. DS had B C C last C he just missed B by 1 mark. Still further with applying for apprenticeship. Geography NEA deadline tomorrow and he ain't printed it off. Asked him show me to prove it was finished no contents page or front cover so pointed that out then went of to scream didn't even read any of it as that was more than I could handle dread how bad what he did is 🙈

I’ve been dipping in and out of this thread but bimbling along. Dd received offers for all of her choices but her favourite uni has offered the lowest grades so I think she’ll only be putting down one choice - Reading. It’s a much more flexible course for her and the news that the natural history museum’s bug collection is moving there is a big pull (biological sciences with a focus on insects is her interest). They only want BBD (D - clearly not interested in her ancient history alevel, and Bs in biology and chemistry) she’s predicted AAB so it feels really safe. She has an offer day in Cardiff next week so wants to go to that before making the final decision but seeing her walking around Exeter and Bristol (our nearest to home unis) and comparing that to the excitement on her face in Reading is really making the decision easy.

Mocks were last week and she’s already got grades back. Feeling like things should all fall into place for her (although I know life isn’t always that straight forward). I ordered her some saucepans in the sale today 🤣

Feels like we’re on the home stretch. Hope everyone is getting offers they’re dc are excited by.

@TeenLifeMum thst sounds fantastic for your dd!
Be careful with the pans - at Warwick OHD our guide was very keen to tell us that all halls there only have induction hobs. Some of his flatmates had arrived with pans that wouldn’t heat up 🤣🤣

That was one thing I checked - these ones work on any including induction but most of the Reading halls don’t have induction… year 2 would be unknown though so I’ve gone safe.

The EPQ is in! One step closer. 4 weeks and a day until Art A level is over. Then it’s a 5 week gap till the first exam in the other subjects. That is going to be a strange time. Lots of Art for the next month though

Well done on getting the EPQ in @ArchitectureMumand hoping all the Art goes well.

it really does feel like the final stretch now with a lot of ‘lasts’.

@Muchtoomuchtodo I know what you mean about having another year. We were fully prepared for that if DS hadn’t got any offers this year and DS is also summer born so I don’t think it would have done him any harm at all.

DS got another offer for Dentistry from Glasgow earlier in the week so just waiting for the final one before making some decisions. Didn’t really expect to be in the position to have a choice.

We did the student finance and DSA application on Monday and it's all completed already (well, DSA needs an assessment but we will have an appointment shortly)

It was suspiciously easy for a government website!

@ArchitectureMum once art is over it must be great to know that one subject is already done and dusted.

Exam timetable came home yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised about how spread out the exams are. Think I'm used to GCSEs when they started later and there were so many subjects.

So spread out that I can see my DS thinking that he can do all his revision in the couple of days between each exam!

Wow @Lalux well done to your DS, the competition for dentistry is insane!

So DD got her last decision back today and has an offer from Liverpool. So that is 4/4 offers for med which is completely unexpected but of course DD is delighted!

Now she has decisions to make, think Newcastle will be her firm but between Leeds and Liverpool for her insurance. What a lucky position to be in after all this time.

@AuntyBulgaria that timetable sounds good. DD has 2 psych exams before spring bank holiday then all others after with one tough week. At least there are so many fewer than GCSEs though. Strange to think it will be over so soon, last push now DD can't afford to drop any grades with her offers all being the same.

Brilliant news, @bluefineliner and @Lalux, congratulations to your children on the medicine and dentistry offers! @bluefineliner, if DD16 continues with her medicine aspirations I might be asking you for tips!

Well done to your DD on getting the EPQ in, @ArchitectureMum! Good luck with the art stuff. Is she looking forward to getting it out of the way or is it a nice therapeutic distraction from the other A levels?

@Muchtoomuchtodo, thank you for the tip about induction. We have recently upgraded our pans for induction following the building works and saved our old pans for kids to take to uni. Maybe this wasn’t such a clever plan after all!

@TeenLifeMum, that sounds great about your DD and Reading. It’s wonderful when they find their place and know what they want to do.

@gingercat02, that’s great news about the offer reduction, must be a relief to have some peace of mind and certainty.

@Ventress, how did the Durham OHD go? Hopefully it was helpful for your DS in his decision making.

We are off to the Exeter OHD tomorrow at the crack of dawn, doing a day trip from Surrey.

One thing that we only realised yesterday is that now that DS is in a fortunate position to have received all his offers, he must make UCAS decisions by the 6th May, or the offers will auto-decline. We thought the deadline was early June for everyone, but if you’ve received all your offers by the 31st March it’s a month earlier. Which suddenly puts pressure on DS to decide pretty quickly after the Warwick OHD on the 29th April!

Well done to your DD on getting the EPQ in, ! Good luck with the art stuff. Is she looking forward to getting it out of the way or is it a nice therapeutic distraction from the other A levels?

She does love Art really but has probably had enough now. It is so time consuming. It will be a big relief to have it off her shoulders so she can concentrate on the other two.