Year 13 2026/2027: Support Thread 1

[QueenMabby]

Sorry - I was not on it on getting new thread open. I hope you all find this one! I’ve updated the
year as we’re basically at the end of year 12 now. Scary!

DS had another meeting to go through his form today at college and it is now submitted!

He had the maths challenge yesterday but said he didn’t think he did that well at it, he’d been thinking his ESAT prep would help but it didn’t!

DC2's UCAS form is with school and just waiting to be sent off. It's not a medical/dentistry/veterinary/Oxbridge application but DC2 wanted to get it in early as it's for a course that requires an interview and was hoping an earlier application might result in an earlier interview. Whether or not that's the case, it's nice to know it's been done.

@LewishamTeacherthat’s great and nice to get it out the way. My older 2 dc’s submitted as late as they could, ds2 literally on the last day. I suggested to ds3 that he get it in early. But he’s not even started his PS yet.

We are visiting Birmingham tomorrow. I think it will be in third place for preference.

DS1 is off to Nottingham with DH tomorrow . He is showing some pretty significant anxiety around all the competing priorities . It’s a bit of a surprise as to date he has had to deal with a few things ( emergency surgery and a diagnosis that limited future plans ) and has taken it all in his stride . I think I would like to see UCAS applications with grades in hand . If it’s shaken DS1 it would upset most I think

Whilst I think it’s very normal for our DCs to have anxieties / overwhelm at this stage of yr13, do seek help if you’re even slightly concerned. There can be an insane amount of pressure. We can easily forget to ask how they are. We all know this but sometimes it’s easy to focus on the wrong things. I certainly missed signs with my eldest and although it’s all good now, I’d hate anyone to go through what we did.

I agree @waitingquietly that grades in hand makes so much sense. Your lad has had a tough ride and yet super stoic. Hope he enjoys Nottingham and that alleviates some of the pressure.

@NotDonna thank you for the good advice - I hope your DC are all ok now .

DS1 isn’t going to Nottingham now .. just too much - i think he will apply and we will go see it if he gets offers . He likes Loughborough and we’ve been there . I think the priority is to try and get good enough grades - in reality everything else can wait

Thanks @waitingquietly DD1 is so very much better thank you. I think I’m now a better parent too. Your DS could go to Nottingham’s offer holder day if it remains a relevant uni for him.

DD2 didn’t see York uni before she applied but she did go to their offer holders day and is loving it there. They also did a disability event (after results / confirming), which was super useful and reassuring for her. DD3 has seen Kings, Leeds & Birmingham only and will apply to those three. She’s adding Sheffield and Manchester to her list (unseen). She’s VERY unsure about a London uni and thus Kings so will go to their offer holders day if she gets an offer - to check out the ‘vibe’. I think she’s worried it’ll be too clever for her. Then if Manchester and Sheffield do become contenders she may do those offer days. Not that she’s submitted her forms yet! She’s not sure if she clicks submit and then the school add references etc or if she needs school to add things first and let her know it’s ok to submit. DD2 and I can’t remember.

Has anyone’s DC looked at Manchester or Sheffield for History / Politics and have a view?

@NotDonna - we clicked and paid online for UCAS. And then school sat on it until this week when they sat down with DD2 in a meeting to make sure she is fine to submit it formally via the “system”. Whoever did her references got a few things wrong which the SLT in charge of submission corrected.

I am not sure anyone at DDs school actually read her personal statement, but I think it is OK. They did the references and final submission bit. And there was so much drama in early September over the PS from DD2 and then there was more drama over LNAT, I am just glad it is all over now. I think I have got her in a place where she realises that any of her listed unis are good options with pros and cons. I am just not looking forward to the period when the offers start dribbling in and they compare each other etc and get stressed out by not having offers yet.

@waitingquietly i’m sorry to hear about your DS, I do think the whole time now from the latter part of year 10 just feels like one thing after another, and it is so much pressure on them. As NotDonna says, he can always go to an offer holder day later on.

@NotDonna from what DS told me, when he clicked submit (and I had to pay!) that then sent it to his college, who could still return it to him for changes as well. He then had a meeting and went through everything after they added grades and references, then they did the submitting to UCAS part.

@Araminta1004 im so pleased DD3 has decided against law. The LNAT would have been too much for sure. Huge good luck to your DC!
Yr13 seems to have ramped up considerably with a LOT of homework plus the NEAs. She has a Saturday job and still does her sport and is practicing driving as much as possible as her test is quite soon. She was asked to join the MUN team yesterday but she’s said no as doesn’t have the headspace for it. I’m pleased she was able to decline and appreciates her limits!

Thank you @NotDonna - straight after LNAT she was quite upbeat when I spoke to her. But then the doubts started kicking in and then she spoke to her friends etc etc I think it is just one of those tests they genuinely don’t know how they did, most find it difficult, and the results are 6 months later! So I do hope she forgets about it soon and focusses on her A levels. She did enjoy the debating essay part of LNAT though. DD2 also has a best friend from her former school and they both did really well on entry to grammar at 11 plus at verbal reasoning (like top percentile) and they both found LNAT really difficult. I somehow think it is unlikely they both did badly in LNAT, even though they both genuinely think this and got really stressed about it!

Thank you @Eccle80 .

I think we’ve made progress today - he described how he was feeling as scatter brained so I’ve written a list of priorities with him and helped him plan out what he’s going to tackle when . He did an appeal on one of his predicted grades today and looked so much happier once I scrubbed that of his list . It was interesting watching whilst he did it - made me realise that part of the problem is that he wants everything to be just right

its all a bit strange as he seemed fine with organising himself during GCSEs .. it’s almost like a rabbit in the headlights

@waitingquietly - I think it sounds like he needs the Eisenhower Matrix talk. If you only do the stuff in the box urgent/important you will always have done enough.

@Araminta1004 good idea actually - thank you …definitely something to mention to him

Hello. I am a lurker on here (twins in Y13), but just saw @NotDonna 's question about History and Politics which one of my DC has applied for. She's an early applicant, so form has gone in and Manchester is one of her choices. The main thing I would say about it is that what she liked is that is has a very broad range of modules. It's called, I think, Modern History and Politics, which nearly meant she ruled it out, but there are actually modules from right through history. We went to the open day in the summer and were generally very impressed - both the subject talks were good (quite a few places have been ruled out here when one is significantly stronger than the other).

Sheffield was instantly ruled out because of the modules for her (she has very specific interests!!), but it is likely to make my other child's list for a different subject. I thought it was great at the open day - great vibes, liked the accommodation village, excellent sports centre. (I have been to A LOT of open days over the past few years - elder DC has just started second year of uni - and I have been impressed by pretty much everywhere, so perhaps I am just not the most critical though.)

We did Bath and Southampton this weekend. The latter felt very drab and dull to me, but seems to have great engineering facilities. DS liked the facilities and said that if we lived in the south it would definitely be his top choice but he's going to have to think carefully about whether he's willing to travel 5+ hours to go there. I preferred Bath for the vibe, but I think DS found it all a bit 'posh' and he commented about hearing a group of 'obviously private school students' trying to outdo each other with their travelling/adventures discussing trips to Asia, climbing mountains, and trekking in South America etc. He's a well travelled kid himself who goes to a private school, but it seems he sees himself as a down-to-earth boy from Yorkshire in his heart!