Oxbridge 2020 (8th thread)

[DadDadDad]

A thread to continue discussing entry to Oxbridge in October 2020 (less than nine months away ). All welcome, although this obviously will be of most interest to those with DS or DD holding an offer, and wanting to find a bit of support.

All too soon, 13 August will come over the horizon. Until then, ask questions... share experiences... discuss news and stats... write a poem... (we did briefly have some poetry on a previous thread).

With huge thanks to @HugoSpritz and predecessors for previous threads.

Hoghgyni minor point but the 24th is contingency day.

DD and friends are going away for three weeks around Europe and those in the group who are over 18 have already got insurance but DD can't buy it until she's 18 - we tried on Friday. A group policy would have worked but they decided to do it as individuals.

I'm just really hoping for predicted grades and an early summer.

@hoghginy
So there is one catchup day? But if all exams cancelled they couldn't do all exams in that one day anyway? It's all seeming tense. If they cancel exams would they use mocks or predicted grades as results? Or postpone everything as obv the kids at uni didn't get their work and teaching. Will everyone have to repeat the year? It's crazy times. Not trying to cause panic. Just speculating.

@hoghgyni. Sorry!

For those wondering, it was New College which was affected by the suspected CV student last week (source was conversation with current Oxford student at the weekend). I don’t know whether the now confirmed student is the same person.

The catch up day is only designed for hiccups. It sounds as though there are contingency plans, but presumably these will be on a school by school basis initially before they consider a whole scale move, which would be by months not days. In which case, I think we have far more things to worry about than a few exams.

How can predicted grades be used in lieu of exam results? Universities over offer - even Oxford by as much as 24% for some subjects.

25%!

A lot of overseas students won't take up their places? I still think that Ironoaks & my idea of a papers, scissors stone tournament is as good a method as any!

In terms of holiday insurance - not sure whether any of you have an Annual Insurance policy but if you do then some policies cover your children up to the age of 23 if they are in full-time education...and some policies also cover their contents when at University.

@Coleoptera DM me wrt reading list.

@Coleoptera sorry phone died before I could finish typing! if you would care to send me a private message I can help with reading lists for History.

The confirmed case is Queen's College. Source is my DS who is indirectly affected.

My DC (current student) said it was Lincoln. This article corroborates this plus there is also another now.

www.oxfordstudent.com/2020/03/09/second-oxford-student-tested-positive-for-coronavirus/

As the term at Oxford finishes soon, hopefully the break will slow down the spread.

Look, I don't really know why it matters unless you're involved. One student was tested positive and all those in contact were given formal advice. That's where my knowledge comes from. It was direct. This is becoming like Where's Wally!

I'm not going to say more because I don't think particular students should have fingers pointed at them. Seems like the students who've tested positive have all behaved in text book fashion, so all credit.

That said, there is a possible source of confusion where undergrads or postgrads at one college have a close link with another college which can happen for a variety of reasons.

I agree. It's pointless knowing unless you have friends or family in the locality as there are cases in schools & colleges around the country. A school in Ashford has a confirmed case, Peter Symonds has a confirmed case, schools in Devon don't have confirmed cases but are still deep cleaning. Whether or not a named college in Oxford has a confirmed case is neither here nor there unless your friends & family have been contacted by PHE.

I thought a pupil at Churston Ferrers tested positive days ago Hoghgyni?

Name changed but old lag on here. Apparently current Oxford students have been sent an email claiming that coronavirus is only passed on once sufferers have symptoms. Which is absolute bollards.

I only googled school & college cases reported on Sunday/Monday GS, leaving out 2 in NI as well as they're overseas for all intents & purposes. You get the gist.

Wwwwash (do the wwwws count towards the 20 second rule if you enunciate correctly?) The email was doing the rounds on FB, but I'm sure the students have listened carefully to Boris and now have the correct info. Probably sent out in a rush over the weekend by someone busy trying to add hand sanitizer to their own Ocado order at the same time who forgot to fact check first. Unhelpful advice which I believe was corrected, but which had already be tutted about all over social media by that point.

A scrum of passengers at a London station branch of Boots yesterday swept on 12 packs of Kleenex disinfectant wipes like a flock of seagulls after a chip. I could have collected the barely used wipes from the tables they had skimmed a few minutes later and made a fortune on ebay. Nobody started a fight by deliberately coughing on each other as they were filmed doing on an Australian train though. The case by case reporting is only interesting to the general population at the mo because the majority of cases aren't local but may be near Great Uncle Wilf who lives 30 miles away from the victim but once went to the Tesco in the vicinity.

@hoghgyni of course you're right. If exams cancelled by CV-18, then bigger problems. Another uni-centric problem. The students at uni won't have had a full year of study.

Will the world need to do-over 2020 in 2021? The cancelled weddings, honeymoons? Getting businesses back on track, etc?

DD’s college has a confirmed case. (source: email from the college principal).

DS's long term gf in Oxford has been required to isolate as of this morning, which seemed pretty inevitable. He's What'sApped to say he's taking her round a bag of all the things she needs when he finishes work for the day.