Oxbridge 2020 (thread 10) - the path to the first term (just one slight hurdle to clear first)

[DadDadDad]

For better or worse, there is a bit of a bond of mutual experience between parents whose DC go through the Oxbridge application process. Thank you for your companionship so far - and thank you to others who started the earlier threads in this series.

This thread should take us to the start of the first term (whatever form that takes). All welcome here, but for many of us hopefully this will be the place for practical support as we help prepare these peculiar* young adults to spread their wings.

But the first item on the agenda appears to be the small matter of judgement...

*or for those who chose Oxford, very peculiar.

It's good to see some of the universities allowing flexibility at this horrendous time. One of dd's friends has been accepted for medicine at Imperial despite her grades being diminished. I wish I could say the same for UCL, who have seen fit to reject my friend's ds for PPE - he needed A AA with the A in Maths. In the end he got those grades but with the A* in Econ. Bastards .

Fantastic news from Worcester. A friend has spent the afternoon putting forward her case with the school to another college, but she holds an open offer, so may be less fortunate.

Doadeer that’s great news! So happy for you and your brother.

Thanks everyone. I've got a 1.5 year old.. Wondering what I'll be like this time in 17 years!!!

Hope you are all enjoying a lovely drink/treat

She's in! After a worrying day yesterday, and her school preparing to start an appeal, DD's original college at Cambridge accepted her! Hurray! Wishing the best to all Year 13. They've been through the wringer.

Pass the gin, please!

And so happy for @Cliff1975’s DS and @doadeer’s brother!
And fingers crossed (and nibbled) for you, @flowerrful

That's great news, @FingernailNibbler - I'd noticed that we'd not heard from you since 8am yesterday, and was fearing the worst. Well done to your DD.

Presumably, from what you say she was a grade off her offer?

I just hope everything's OK, @bpisok , as we've not heard from you- if it's bad news, I appreciate your focus is not on updating a load of MNetters, but I send best wishes...

Statement on D1's school website - firstly congratulating Y13 on their successes, but goes on to say

" we are concerned about how the school’s historic performance data has been ignored, for example, last year 60% of entries were at A*/A/B grades, this year exam boards have only awarded [our] students 51% at those grades.

We engaged fully and fairly with the guidance and modelling developed by Ofqual and we are deeply frustrated that over a third of our grades sent to exam boards have been downgraded. In some cases it feels like the exam boards have not taken into account the teachers grades at all which is so disappointing when we are the people who know them best. Coupled with this [this school] has both an excellent track record of results and an upward trajectory from 2017 to 2019 and it appears Ofqual have failed to recognise either.
I would like to reassure students that we are analysing the results very carefully and that we will use all of the available evidence in order to take this further. The hard work of our students, professional judgement of our experienced teachers and consistently high performance have been ignored as part of the approach taken by Ofqual. We are aware of many other schools who are also in a similar position and despite exam boards saying schools can’t appeal against the standardisation model we are still working with bodies such as Schools North East and ASCL (Association of School and College Leaders) to make the Department for Education and Ofqual aware of the issues of a statistically led system without taking into account teachers professional judgements.

We will continue to support our students and celebrate their huge successes, they have been a real credit to the school. We wish you the best of luck in the future and will continue to keep you informed of any developments."

It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this, local MPs have also been very vocal on twitter, letters to the PM etc.

Nice one FingernailNibbler, I was getting worried there. . What a relief!!

I was worried too. Well done - phew!

@FingernailNibbler - amazing news. Please keep the faith anyone else still hanging on.

But he's an 18 year old who needs to think bigger picture than he currently does - work in progress and not finished article.

That's funny @sandybayley, I had a similar conversation with DS, except the roles were reversed and I don't have the excuse of being 18 years old.

I've been mildly irked by his chemistry result. He's top in the year, could have got an A, but was given an A, it would seem purely because nobody got an A last year. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hey, Snap Junior, how do you feel about your chemistry grade?

DS: Fine, I got my offer and that's the most important thing. I'm happy.

Me (because I'm an idiot): But don't you look back on all that work you did and wonder what it was all for?

DS (looking genuinely perplexed): Why would I regret working hard? I enjoyed it and learned a lot. (Pause). It's not all about exam results you know.

So, yeah, I'm hanging my head in shame.

Fabulous news Cliff1975, Doadeer and Fingernibler

Flowerful My heart is going out to you.

DD had her Fine Art CAG Adowngraded to an A in her strongest subject - the one she is the top student in the year, historically the school has had at least a couple A, when the schools shut she had submitted 85% of the work (100% assessed subject, with the final 15% a timed practical) and graded at A* and it is a subject she got a 9 in at GCSE. She is so angry. The whole system seem so arbitrary. Despite getting into Oxford she has been in tears all day. I can't imagine what it is like to have missed out having been in similar circumstances.

That seems so unjust. They had 5 months to work it out and they screwed it up so badly.

It's alright @SnapSnapDragon I forgive you. DS1 has asked his school for his Maths CAG (they haven't given them out) and it looks like the school will appeal the cohort.

It may be that I just don't have the right mindset here. Like your DS I'm just happy he has his place. My DS and you are more demanding 😉 and alike!

Yay @FingernailNibbler!! You ‘ll be needing a manicure...

Worrying we (I) being complacent now. It feels like there are so many way bigger injustices than DD’s moderation down. But is not rattling the cage being complicit in a flawed system?

@hobbema - that sounds like a question for a PPE student to me.

Well done to all the parents who survived this terrible year of exam results.
It's been nice to read of all the successes and the other good unis your DC are going to. I was literally over the moon when DD got her place at C two years ago- but we didn't have the added stress you have had!
Any going to C - it's great! And I think there are many other amazing unis, we are lucky. My nephew got his insurance uni today although some appeal will happen over grades. Lots of very stressed families around!

Hob There are a lot of new voters who have been put through an opaque calculation. I hope they exercise that right. DD got in but is still angry. Many of her peers were downgraded and didn't get into their first or second choice - they were equally able and hard working but came from a collage that didn't have their grades inflated by 4.7% on previous years. Many of them will hold onto that sense of injustice.

collage = college too much art

Same here @Unescorted, even though DD wasn’t downgraded she is very conscious of the widespread injustice and some of her friends’ cases. This generation are so socially aware, thanks to social media and availability of news and information really - my just turned 14yo has hundreds of very well formed opinions thanks to her commitment to Instagram (in many ways a curse but very occasionally a blessing)...

Great to see so much good news here!

DD has been filling in forms allllll day, in between messaging with college parents.

So glad to hear of cliff1975, doadeer and fingernail nibbler's success today. I can't imagine how much harder it has been waiting so long for news. Very sobering seeing the stories on the news and realising how lucky we are that DS's grades weren't affected.

Many Congratulations to @Cliff1975 @doadeer @FingernailNibbler and thoughts to you @flowerrful. It has been a nerve wracking wait.

There were some truly awful individual results at DS's school which is heart-breaking - it seems mainly amongst the capable students but those who were not right at the top of the ranking. Schools' results are the worst they have been in years too. It's hard to see this as a 'fair' process.