Year 12 - 2025/2026: Support Thread 2

[QueenMabby]

A new thread for us to keep chatting on!

Lancaster do offer holders days too (well did for econ). Much prefer them as smaller and less manic.

Thanks. I think it looks great, just v v far, although that doesn’t need to be an issue

Did he get accommodation despite clearing?

We're also taking a look at Lancaster (for maths) - potential back up campus option to Warwick. Still quite undecided about city vs campus at the moment, so we're trying to take a look at a variety of options. DS gave me a list of pretty much every RG that does maths within a 2.5 hour train/car journey of home!

Lancaster is quite a nice option for us though because DH's family are local and it is his alma mater. Nice campus, nice city, Lake District on your doorstep if that is your thing. But, yes, if you're from the south then it is a LONG way - I used to regularly make the weekend trip to visit DH when he was there and I was in London.

Ds is looking at maths at Cambridge and we have been given different advice. There is one college that is seen as the most prestigious. This attracts all the most talented applicants from across the globe. We were told they can only pool so many so don’t apply there unless you are pretty much getting 100% in all your mocks.
He has been encouraged to look at colleges near the maths building that might be further out of town and take a bike or use the bus.
I am leaving him to it as his college seem to know what they are on about.

@RigbyRight - makes sense. Though I suspect the difference between applicant numbers/interest for maths and music is stark nowadays.

Huge stress from DD2 today. She is mid mocks. Printed out her timetable for the exams and has been working towards it for revision. They changed it at some point and didn't tell her after she'd printed it. So she had a surprise English exam at 9am that she thought was tomorrow.

She's distraught - doesn't think she's done her best at all. I'm a bit cross to be honest, as she will have been so flustered. The other boarder in her house doing the english exam had the same experience but i don't know about others.

That is so bad. If she doesn’t do as hoped ask for a resit?

Trouble is she's not someone who deals well with sudden changes - especially not as she's trying to fit in rehearsals with her accompanist and teacher for next week's diploma exam as well. Seriously not ideal. I mean maybe she should have checked again but surely they should have sent an email if they'd changed it?

That’s not good. Just double check she didn’t miss any emails etc before you plan your argument. I know as DDs school they could sit another test if they wanted to up predicted grades for UCAS. However as she was unaware seems unfair to make her jump
through the hoops.

@Bufftailed- yes. He got his first choice!

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest - I would probably ring her tutor to discuss. The predicted grades might not all hinge on the mock, but the whole year and they can hopefully take this into account somehow, and reasonably so when they predict her grade. Obviously if she is applying to Cambridge she needs the highest possible predictions.

Do look at accommodation offerings at uni especially for insurance and clearing. Lancaster was very good but Bath only guarantees accommodation if it’s your first choice! Think Exeter may be the same. Friend got into York on clearing and he got accommodation. Another thing to consider in the mix 😣

@Araminta1003 Yes, I've emailed head of english and deputy head. Tutor poss not the right person at her school. Head of English says he'll reassure her and it won't all go on the mock (which was two papers and the other was fine) but on her 'excellent performance all year). Still rubbish for her though.

Very relieved to report that DS1 passed his driving test .. I am so so pleased I do not have to join the online queue to try and book another test . Now though starts the insurance issues

@waitingquietly what brilliant news! Well done to him!

@labradorservant I have double checked. She has missed no emails. Instead the head of sixth form sent me a somewhat arsecovering email showing me the timestamped email sent to TUTORS saying the exam time had changed before half term.

However, DD's tutor didn't tell her so the Head of Sixth Form informing me that it was fine as 'due process' was followed really doesn't help her.

Meanwhile it emerges that one friend in a different tutor group missed the exam altogether (day pupil, couldn't get in on time) so it's not like the 'due process' worked for everyone else either!

Not really sure what to do - I'm getting a lot of heavyhanded 'should have constantly redownloaded the timetable from the portal in case of changes' - 'should always be asking the tutor what she missed' attempts to blame DD for not knowing when it was.

I'm sad they're trying to blame her when they should be trying to support her.

That’s a shame @achangeofnameisasgoodasarest - it’s not like she’s a lazy so-and-so who couldn’t be bothered to turn up. Sometimes schools are too quick to point fingers at anyone other than themselves.

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest - sounds unfair and stressful. Just don’t let it affect her diploma exam so I would simply reassure her.
I am guardian to several nephews and nieces at boarding school and their scheduling seems quite nuts to me, as well as the frequent direct conflicts between academics vs extracurricular or even different extracurricular clashes.
At DD‘s grammar they email the parents all the important academic stuff very clearly and well in advance with immense detail on do‘s and don‘ts. I print it all of and stick it on the fridge.

Congrats to your DS @waitingquietly - I am too embarrassed to say how much we had to stomp up for DD‘s insurance! She did check with all her friends though on how to do it in the most economic way. It’s simple ludicrously expensive but because it’s mandatory by law to have it, we just paid up. She now Ubers me around to make up for it!

Huge well done @waitingquietly 🚘

@achangeofnameisasgoodasarest sounds like a lot of arse covering! And who has time or even expects to keep refreshing an exam timetable ffs.

@RigbyRightmine is thinking of applying to do maths at Cambridge. I have no idea about colleges, it’s all new to me. I guess we will find out more at the open day. I wonder whether Ds knows anything about them.

@Oblomov25 sorry to hear you’ve been poorly. I hope you get sorted soon

We have bought Ds a fiesta as our cars are automatic. We pick it up in a couple of weeks. The learner insurance was so cheap. I’m sure I’ll get a shock for insurance once he passes. It only took about 15 mins to get on the website to book his test for October. We have a stupid amount of vehicles now. Dh has his main car and his “toy car” plus a Fordson major tractor. I have a car. Ds1 has a car which he needs for work. Ds2 currently has his car at uni, but he will be back home at the end of June. So when ds3’s car is collected and we are all home, there will be 6 cars, a tractor add a ride on lawn mower! Dh is retired so definitely doesn’t need 2 cars!

@waitingquietlywell done to your Ds.
mine says he will feel the pressure on his test as dh, myself, dh’s older 2 dc’s, ds1 and ds2 all passed first time. Ds is taking it a test centre with quite a low pass rate too, we know 3 who have taken their test there over the past month and all failed. Ds1 took his there and passed though.

Ahh well done getting a test date for October. Nothing still in our area at all & surround 4 test centres.

Yeah!! DD managed to get a test date in our area for mid November - which I don’t think is too bad at all. She logged on at 5.40 was only 1600 in the queue so got to the front at 5.50 where it said ‘will open at 6am’. Nothing happened at 6am so she refreshed the page and got a ‘welcome back’ message where she was able to enter details. I was a bit concerned that refreshing may send her back to the start of the queue. So for anyone else’s DC doing the new system, this seems to work. Don’t wait til 6am as the queue is then 2 hours long, with twenty-five thousand other teens ahead!

@NotDonna good news well
Done to DD

DS1 says his friends who have booked since he did are all having to go an hour away for a test . So it’s definitely get harder

She said there were three dates in November nothing earlier (and I expect nothing later as not released yet). Then there were several time slots per date so probs only 12/15 slots available & our test centre covers a huge area / population. So there’s really not many. She just has to isss the damn thing niw but I think a November date is realistic.