This board can be a bit intimidating but ...

[ButtonintheBox]

what the hell - I'll give it a go 🙂

DD17 isn't naturally academic but she's a grafter and passionate about studying.

She wants to do French and History at University (neither DH nor I went to uni but are very supportive).

Her predicted grades at end of Year 12 were A (psychology) B (history) and B (French). French teacher says they will give her extra support to get A.

Most of the posters on this board have A* kids and I'm just wondering if DD is setting herself up for disappointment 😞

Lots of students get uni places with results that are less than As.

Grafting counts for an awful lot as does really enjoying the subject.

I guess it depends what university she is aiming at and what grades they usually ask for?

Of course she could go to uni with those grades! Don't be put off by all the A* stories!

Have you checked places like WhatUni to see the unis/courses she could apply to for AAB/ ABB grades:

www.whatuni.com/degree-courses/search?q=french-and-history&score=0,128

I agree about these boards, they are unrepresentative and anyone whose children aren't getting As isn't given a look in.

My friend's daughter just graduated with a similar degree from Manchester Metropolitan University- she loved it from the first open day she attended and thoroughly enjoyed her studies despite everything in the last few years.

@ButtonintheBox if it helps my DD studies medicine with no A stars 😊. And loads and loads of students go to Uni with much lower grades than your DD. They are great !

Has she looked at the UCAS course search. Or does she have access to Unifrog via school ?

She's bright! They're good grades, and the fact that she's a grafter is a brilliant quality. I'm sorry these boards can be intimidating - but honestly the vast majority of parents on here have kids in the same, or weaker, bracket as your dd academically. (I have an A/B kid and a B/C kid. Both RG grads, one now doing a PhD, the other an MSc if that reassures.)

@ButtonintheBox just did a quick Unifrog search (in car on way home from holiday so loads of time as M1 is a car park). Her grades will get her offers from Nottingham, Bristol, Liverpool, Leicester, York, UCL ....
Loads of amazing options 😊.

Thanks for the encouraging replies.

She's booked some open days for September but - from initial research - the ones offering joint honours with MFL seem to be RG.

Also, I was reading the German thread on this board which said many MFL students start uni with excellent spoken German. Is this likely to be the case with French?

And is French+History likely to come up in clearing?

Friend's son got to Uni on BCD IIRC, including a year abroad (!)
DS's was offered 4 places (STEM) on ABB, plus had an unconditional offer.

@ButtonintheBox I'm off go check clearing for you 😊. M1 still busy.

@ButtonintheBox so today French and history is in clearing at (deep breath) :

QUB
Nottingham
Southampton
Swansea
Liverpool
Manchester
Strathclyde
Stirling
Glasgow
Dundee
De Montfort

And she should be aiming for RG type Unis with her grades.

@ButtonintheBox this is from Manchester Uni. Looks like you don't need much language at all (although weirdly need English here) 😊

Liverpool seem to want ABB and no language knowledge.

Thanks mumneedswine and TooHot2022 for the clearing info 🙂

I am proud of her work ethic and pleased with her predicted grades and am encouraged by the posts that say she's in with a good chance - she wants it so badly!

She's in with more than a good chance - she's guaranteed offers.

Oh OP I post quite a bit on this board and secondary (I was a secondary MFL teacher) and my DD got BCC at A level. I would still feel fine about asking for advice.

Certainly IME most students do not gain three A-stars at A level. BTW DD just graduated with first-class honours so A levels are not the end of everything.

Lots of unis will be more than happy with ABB, and many many students are happy and do well at non RG unis so please don't worry. Is she thinking of campus, a big city, near to or far from home?

WRT French at uni, I think there would be a range, and if you gain a B at A level and go to uni with that, then it is likely that others on your course will be at a similar level. People (inc me!) on the German at uni thread are perhaps talking about very popular unis - I was talking about Bristol 40 years ago which was full of very high-achieving public school students whose families could take them abroad at every touch and turn - I am sure most unis are not like that.

Indeed, DD ended up at Uni of Leicester (not RG! the horror!) and had a good time; she feels that if she had gone to first-choice Warwick it would have all been a bit high-pressure (may not be so of course) but at Leics she felt more comfortable.

Second that. She will apply and if her grades meet their usual offer she will get one. Sometimes v v quickly after applying. Good luck !

My dd is predicted AAB and has an offer from Durham to do History! In fact the had 4 conditional and 1 unconditional (from Lincoln).

Make sure you take into account that there are allowances (there's a special term for it I can't remember POLAR score maybe) for first generation students and from certain postcodes. It meant my DD got an offer that may be 1 or 2 grades less than what the course requirements are. For example Durham was AAA, and she has been offered on AAB.

Dd also did summer schools last year at a few unis. Durham, Sheffield and Edinburgh I think. Because she is 1st gen and from an ex mining area and a poor area according to postcode they 'reach out' to these students. It helps with getting an offer, and Edinburgh also sent her a free laptop as she was using the one we use for the business. They were online cos covid but usually in person I think. There are also sometimes financial bursaries as well. I am also at uni and get a £1250 a year bursary from my uni. Dd still classed as first gen tho.

Good luck to her. They are fab grades and a good work ethic will see her go far.

Wondering why previous posters think she should aim for RG?

There's loads of none RG places which she might love too.

There's a whole world outside the RG where people study and are happy and successful.

RG type places.Loads of non RG that area similar level. It does matter as some employers do like certain types of Uni.
Definitely look at contextual as first generation will get her lower offer as has been said. So look at AAA type Unis too !

Former RG admissions tutor here, OP , who thinks you have lots of good advice. I also think it is particularly important for your DD to focus on finding a good fit - being passionate and hardworking herself, she may do best with lecturers and classmates who share that ethos. So she should attend a fair number of Open Days. In addition to the excellent websites mentioned above, she might want to join the online forum TheStudentRoom where she can ask undergraduates about their experiences.

Really glad you came here. Your DD sound delightful. She definitely belongs at a good university. RG if that is important to her, although I think the distinction is artificial. Students should go where they will best thrive.

Open days are so good at getting an idea if you like a Uni. My eldest took a dislike to Bristol on sight but my youngest loves it there. Campus or city ? How far away from home ? Seaside ? And course content as I know they vary massively for both history and MFL.
Please let her know she sounds exactly the sort of student that will thrive at Uni. Hard working and loves her subject.

DD2 gained lower grades than your DD is predicted @ButtonintheBox, but is focused, determined and very hard-working. She now has a first-class Masters from a university ranked 2 in the UK for her (STEM) subject.

I am sure your DD will get lots of great offers with what she is predicted. My DD (just done A levels) was offered ABB for French & Italian at Bristol and her friend who was eligible for a contextual offer was offered BBC. I am sure your DD will received offers well within her grasp. My DD really like the cinema in the languages department at Bristol where you can watch foreign language movies.

Secondary school teacher here. Solid grades and worth remembering that currently languages are pretty unpopular so offers tend to be lower. Much easier, for example, to get into Oxbridge as a linguist so that trickles down. Decent Unis including Russell Group are doable.