Page 32 | Another Path to Greatness - Part II

chopc · 17/03/2021 13:31

That's why I love this thread- people on here understands how I feel in a way my real life buds don't .......

Chilldonaldchill · 18/03/2021 15:49

All grading going to be on exams at DD's school - some of her exams will be 2.5 hours long and will be over a 4 week period. Apart from the actual NEAs (history and English lit) none of their work previously will be taken into account at all.

Original poster

BigWoollyJumpers · 18/03/2021 16:07

@Chilldonaldchill

All grading going to be on exams at DD's school - some of her exams will be 2.5 hours long and will be over a 4 week period. Apart from the actual NEAs (history and English lit) none of their work previously will be taken into account at all.

Goodness me! They might as well have taken ALevels!! Does that mean they are also covering the whole curriculum, and not focusing on particular topic areas?

OP posts:

chopc · 18/03/2021 16:24

Has anyone else's school mentioned they need to submit three sets of data to the exam boards?

Pumpkintopf · 18/03/2021 17:12

@chopc no, I thought the exam boards haven't yet published their guidance- end of March we were told.

@Chilldonaldchill that's ridiculous. They should be taking a holistic approach to performance throughout the course to inform a professional judgement. Yes summative recent assessments will be useful but shouldn't form the whole picture this year otherwise as woolly said, they may as well sit A levels.

DD (year 11) school have just emailed to confirm they will be doing two lots of assessments in term 5 after Easter but that these will form a part of the whole assessment , not all of it. Pretty happy with their approach tbh. Still waiting to hear from DS's school.

@chopc I so agree...what a year to hold an oxbridge offer. Harder to get in the first place, but arguably easier to meet once acquired! I think DS has mentally moved on and I'm thinking there won't even be an option of places through adjustment this year.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 18/03/2021 17:22

Re grades, still undecided on the minutiae of it but essentially they want to demonstrate what a student knows and what they can do, demonstrating what they understand about their subject. They want to test them as late in the year as possible to give them a chance to finish the course and get some revision work in. So...

Historic performance in the usual assessments they have been doing since the start of sixth form and taking the best X number of grades from that (I know but it could be very outing)
Then an unseen assessment in controlled conditions - in school and timed
Another unseen or a seen assessment in controlled conditions - in school and timed
Any NEA component.
Weighting to be decided.

Teachers have yet to decide if they are doing 1 unseen and 1 seen or 2 unseen assessments. For different subjects different methods will be used to demonstrate a student's ability in a subject.

I actually think this is fair given the circumstances. They are a great sixth form, supportive and really do want the best for the students, they have worked hard with lockdown learning etc.

chopc · 18/03/2021 18:05

As this thread title is "another path to greatness" I do hope we all keep this going when our DC's are at Uni as I am invested in your DC's and would love to know how their future pans out

quest1on · 18/03/2021 18:21

Hi, DS school still a bit vague as to the weighting of assessments. He has three one hour exams / tests before Easter (so next week and a half). One per A-level and they have been told the topics which will be covered. Then after Easter, they have a two-week study leave and (I think) one exam per subject in that, but these are more like 1.5/2 hrs long. Then, following this, there is a “reflection week” (not sure what this means). Then there are more tests in the week just before half-term, probably. They say they want to give students various opportunities to show “evidence” in case this will be required by exam boards, although they are not yet sure whether it will as most boards have not stated requirements as yet. I think it’s the CIE board that have specified they need three pieces of evidence, but other boards may follow suit, which is why they have set up these tests in case.

In other news, he got his C feedback the other day which was very short. It just said he scored an average of 8.2 in the interviews, but unfortunately there was extremely high competition for very limited places. They said they were sufficiently impressed by his application to put him in the pool and were disappointed to hear he was not offered by another college. That was it. Well yes, we know full well that they gave the one and only place to a boy who has applied for geology everywhere else and this happened to coincide with the specialisms of three of four interviewers. But it’s fine and all water under the bridge because if that’s the kind of geography student they are looking for, DS is not it. He doesn’t give a monkeys about rocks and “how long would it take a thousand foot cliff to erode?”

The strain of waiting for LSE is taking its toll. He’s not saying much, but I know he’s stressed and so am I. It’s been almost 6 months fgs!

One if his friends has a fully-funded scholarship (bursary) to MIT for black women in STEM. One if his other friends got some other mega US scholarship that only one in hundreds of applicants get (can’t remember what it’s called). It’s all go on the US front this week!

Chilldonaldchill · 18/03/2021 18:32

"Goodness me! They might as well have taken ALevels!! Does that mean they are also covering the whole curriculum, and not focusing on particular topic areas?"

@BigWoollyJumpers
I know. It feels a little unfair and frustrating but I have one in year 11 and one in year 13 so at least they're going through it together.
And a lot of parents at the school are very pushy so I can totally see lots of appeals and demands for changes if they had based it on the last 18 months. So I get their decision with one part of my head but find it frustrating with another.
The school feels that the students want to prove they got the grades but, since they'll be compared to others who haven't had exams, it does feel quite unfair if I'm honest.

Chilldonaldchill · 18/03/2021 18:35

For GCSEs they are doing half the curriculum in one set of exams and half in the other.
For A levels I've only heard that they have missed out one part of the curriculum in English lit. They are getting a choice of questions I believe in the other subjects but not leaving anything out.

chopc · 18/03/2021 19:10

Thank you for updating on the Cambridge feedback quest10n. Much appreciated.

Pumpkintopf · 18/03/2021 21:07

@quest1on that's interesting re the Cambridge feedback, thanks for sharing. I really hope your DS hears from LSE soon. 🤞

bendmeoverbackwards · 18/03/2021 22:25

Hi I hope everyone is ok. Will read through and try to catch up.

I’m so worried about dd, I don’t think her mental health is very good currently. She seems so flat and low. I’m sure all the uncertainty over university doesn’t help and I’ve told her I think things will improve once she knows where she is going next year, but she doesn’t believe it.

Lots of hassles with younger dd too which doesn’t help. I hate seeing her so low.

jano69 · 18/03/2021 22:32

Thanks for sharing the Cambridge feedback @quest1on. I genuinely feel your DS would've received an offer on a different year. Interesting comments on the US front too, I think we'll be seeing more of our young people off to the US over the next few years.... lots of change in recent years for people to adapt to and the rippling effect will be felt for years to come....

DD got her Oxford feedback a while back. She got 68% in the HAT - the average score for an offer holder was 72% so has accepted there were better candidates out there....

DD did her mock exams last week. She did well in Eng Lit (prob A*) and is still waiting to hear how she did in the others....

chopc · 18/03/2021 22:33

Does she know what is causing her to be so low @bendmeoverbackwards ?

Does she have a happy school environment? Friendships?

I don't think it would help to know that she is definitely not alone struggling with her mental health. And it is so hard for a parent to watch.

jano69 · 18/03/2021 22:35

I'm so sorry to hear your dd is struggling @bendmeoverbackwards - she's had a rough time and I completely understand that the long wait for Durham isn't helping...

bendmeoverbackwards · 18/03/2021 22:40

Thank you both. She does enjoy school and has friends but I think it’s a combination of covid, insecurities over friendships, lack of boyfriends, work stress and being on this treadmill through life. And a fear of growing up and living independently. All very common I imagine.

bendmeoverbackwards · 18/03/2021 22:42

@jano69 that’s a very good mark. My dd also got her HAT score, I can’t remember what it was now and at the time she was confused if it was a percentage or out of something.

jano69 · 18/03/2021 22:49

@bendmeoverbackwards I think she was happy with the feedback - it was a decent mark but understandably not good enough for an offer. So she's moved on...

I'm pretty certain your dd will feel better once she's heard from Durham, the waiting game is awful. Same for those desperate to hear from for LSE.

chopc · 18/03/2021 23:02

Do you think a gap year may be useful for your DD @bendmeoverbackwards ? Hopefully a year in which life will be more "normal" and she can catch her breath and perhaps be a year older and hopefully wiser to leave home?

@jano69 thanks for sharing the feedback and pleased your DD able to come to terms with it

Hope DS gets his soon. Did your DC receive ur directly or was it sent to their referee?

jano69 · 18/03/2021 23:09

Hi @chopc - she received the feedback direct but she did have to keep chasing the college....

chopc · 18/03/2021 23:17

Ok thanks jan069. Will tell DS to chase

Wbeezer · 18/03/2021 23:17

@SeasonFinale numbers of Scottish students have been strictly capped for years so it's not them who are displacing English students and hardly any Scottish students go to English unis anyway due to the fees ( and our lower maintenance loans don't help). Scottish students have to get higher grades on average than rUK students to get on the same courses at St Andrews and have a lower acceptance rate.
I'm a lurker on these threads as DS did not go to Oxbridge because he refused to apply, leaving me with unsatisfied curiosity about the whole thing. He certainly ended up with good d enough grades but was not confident about interviews etc. He is very happy at St Andrews and finds it academically challenging and the lifestyle suits him too (in normal times!)

Pumpkintopf · 18/03/2021 23:31

Oh bend sorry to hear your dd is feeling so low. It is a lot to cope with for them isn't it. Hope she gets a lovely offer from Durham soon- I'm sure you're right, some certainty will help, something to look forward to hopefully.

Longtimenewsee · 18/03/2021 23:53

Sorry to hear that your Dd is struggling @bendmeoverbackwards. Dd also had a period where she didn’t seem in a good mental place and I was very worried about her. Not having any certainty about the months/ year ahead and a lack of control about their situation is really stressful. I have everything crossed for your Dd and hope she gets some good news soon so that she can then shift to looking forward with excitement .