Another Path - part IV

[321zyx]

Apologies if I've done this wrong! I seemed to have filled up the last thread, hopefully the abbreviated title is ok!

Hello all, how is everyone? Five weeks today for A level results... 🤞

Hi pumpkin! I read five days and started to panic! I am so disoriented as currently learning something I know very little about and it's taking up a load of brain space.

I am just watching motherland as the boys are watching football - the lady on TV told Alex to order an Uber and my Alexa started to respond! Luckily we don't have Uber here 🤣

IB results out today - I think one of the posters on this thread had a DC doing IB? Hope they got the results they wanted

Hi all. It still seems a long way off at the moment. Gosh I hope everyone’s dc on here gets what they need. Dd is v invested in her firm.. let’s hope it pans out
Are all dc enjoying their holidays and having a bit of long awaited fun?

Hey chopc, busy times for you hope all is going ok. Love motherland. Lol at your Alexa kicking in to order you an Uber - we don't have them here either which makes it all the more galling when they offer me a £15 fast food delivery for free 😁

@Longtimenewsee both my teens seem to have gone nocturnal! As both are exam years both are having the longest summer holidays ever in the history of the world- and 2-4pm seems to have become 'getting up time'.

As for fun - yes a bit although not constantly hanging out with friends as I expected (ds does game with his every night and his gf currently has covid which has put a spoke in that wheel). Dd did have a party Sunday, I offered that she could have friends over here in a week or so but she said she's not too bothered about seeing most of them outside school 🤷‍♀️.

@Pumpkintopf starting student life early (starting the day at 2pm). Luckily your DS will be doing a science degree so will have scheduled things to get up for

@Longtimenewsee 🤞🏽

@Pumpkintopf one of the worst jobs I ever had was working in an Indian restaurant kitchen. They had a rubbish dishwasher so I basically scraped all the plates/dishes, dipped them into one "dirty" sink, then into a cleaner sink before stacking them onto a rack for the dishwasher.

The worst bit was having to shower when I got in due to the curry smell on me. Nice when you have eaten it, not when you have dealt with the remains of other people's meals for hours. My laundry hamper also smelled of curry. I had to quit. I was still waitressing at the weekend and I was babysitting too. All builds character

I don't know if anyone's child is interested but Ofqual are asking for students' views on their experience of TAGs. It is about 10-15 minutes of mostly multiple choice questions. Ds has filled it in.

ofqual.citizenspace.com/public/6b36e360/

@chopc indeed! Probably just as well he'll have some structure!

@OnTheBenchOfDoom gosh yes that does sound like hard work - apparently ds is operating a £10k dishwasher that washes the plates in two minutes which he thinks is wonderful- certainly sounds better than your experience! And yes, definitely character building, hopefully.

Thanks for the Ofqual link.

Rest is good too! (and also v well deserved) @Pumpkintopf
Dd is working lots of hours. Much moaning at first (so much) .. lol- right up to the moment when the first months wages were paid .. and then it suddenly seemed to be bearable

@Longtimenewsee, ah yes when you see the fruits of your labour in cold hard cash it makes it all worth while I remember spending some of my wages going out "clubbing" to the local nightclub for under 18s, then getting a McDonald's afterwards before the bus home. All we cared about was getting a song played and a shout out by the DJ.

@Longtimenewsee yes I am hoping the cash will help

Yes @OnTheBenchOfDoom I remember feeling like I suddenly had lots of cash from the summer holiday job before I went to uni .. we went to the pub a lot, late club nights in the city with night bus home and i spent a lot on big music gigs as I recall.
We have been sent school guidance for results day and how it will be organised for collection of results. Also info that any appeals need to be lodged by 4pm the following day. 😮 ( seems v fast although I guess it needs to be)

Yeah I don't understand how appeals work ..... whom do you appeal to? And if the school then should it not have been done at the time of marking?

The guidance is on the JCQ website, but the information from DS2's school is that stage 1 comprises a request to the centre (school) to check whether it has:  made an administrative error such as the wrong grade/mark was recorded against an item of evidence and/or
 made a procedural error such as a failure to take into account mitigating circumstances

The second stage is the appeal to the awarding body, which can be on the grounds that

the awarding organisation (exam board) made an administrative error
 the centre made a procedural error such as a failure to take into account mitigating circumstances  or
that the centre made an unreasonable exercise of academic judgement in the choice of evidence used to decide the grade and/or in deciding the grade from the evidence used.

There are warnings that either stage can result in the grade going down, as well as up or remaining the same.

@MarchingFrogs thank you for the summary.

How's everyone doing?

We've been told today that the a-level results will be emailed to DS at 8.30 on the 10th. Feel sad that he won't get to go to school to collect them and see teachers and friends. He'll still meet up with his mates but it'll be so different to when he collected his GCSE results, at school.

Hi @Pumpkintopf . I think DS school said something similar. I am still trying not to think about the results

Dd has been told to collect hers in person. They are doing it outside with alphabetical order tables . There will be small group photos outside too. Parents to stay in cars if dropping off/ waiting . If isolating, results will be mailed.

That sounds better @Longtimenewsee - I did wonder about the lack of photos, there's usually a feature in the local paper with photos of those collecting their results.

Well.. we’ll see if it pans out @Pumpkintopf. The covid numbers are nuts here atm so unfortunately it wouldn’t surprise if they have to rethink it.

Oh gosh sorry to hear that. It's all very worrying isn't it.

I've no skin in the game here as DS1 is on a gap year, but that is rubbish @Pumpkintopf.

By posting results and delaying their arrival for 24-48 hours, students will be missing out on valuable places in clearing. I'd be furious.

.

@MidLifeCrisis007 they're emailing them for 08.30 on the day the results are released so no worries about delayed receipt or clearing, I just think it's a shame they don't get to go into school, say a final goodbye to the place and the people and see friends.