A level results day 2024

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How’s everyone else feeling about results day? I’ve got one at uni already and 2nd dd hoping to go to Kent in September. She seems ok about it at the moment although think that will change as it gets closer. Me I’m so keeping my fingers crossed she gets what she wants, I know there will always be other options but she loved the open day. Going to struggle with this one going though as it has been a real journey to get to where she is.

@Tortiemiaw DD1 was offered accommodation last year in Edinburgh that was none of the 5 she had chosen. She rang up and they managed to change it but it was still more expensive than the ones she had chosen.

She got a job as soon as she got up there.

DD2 off this year having just got into Liverpool - hoping she gets one of the places she chose!

That's concerning. If she can't get somewhere cheaper, then it will be almost impossible for her to go.

Getting there and handing the loan over for rent and then hoping to get a job is a massive risk.

We're just not in a position to help enough. This is a bit shitty

She might need to defer for a year and work to save up. It’s harsh but Edinburgh is an expensive choice.

DSA is unlikely to give her any cash unless she has a severe disability in which case she might get some assistance with travel cost.

Mine all have to take a gap year and work to save money if they want anything approaching a nice student lifestyle.

It's York.

She's already been told by dsa that she is entitled to help, just waiting to see what!

Surely DSA is worked out to cover things that are essential - like mobility and speech aids and laptops? Not being able to afford the nice rooms at uni - unless they are accessible of course.

Yes, of course. The extras she will need will cost more. If these are covered a little, then there will be more left from her loan to pay for day to day essential living plus she will try to get a job once there.

She has been working all summer to save up and has been workong out a practical - the issue is the accommodation that has been offered is the highest priced one, which was not on her list so we are concerned.

DD just went through the DSA process and they were great - we weren't sure if they would be able to help but she has a laptop and all the bits, keyboard, monitor etc, plus loads of software and sessions with a support / mentor type person when she gets there. All very efficient, it's all arrived already and she has her first training session coming up this week.

That's really reassuring!

@Tortiemiaw which hall has she been offered? They can apply to transfer accommodation after a few weeks if needs be. Dd has been at Edi, it is not cheap even renting in the city but the uni has some flats they advertise at reasonable rates through its own platform Domus. Lovely city and she is staying put as a postgrad,

And get her, and any other students heading north of the border to apply for a Young Scots card which gives discounts including free bus travel to under 22's.

@Tortiemiaw My dd is at York, just about to go back into year 2. She also has DSA. York uni also have there own disability dept which my dd has found very helpful.
And yes York accommodation is extremely expensive, halls are cheaper than private rental though in general!

It's Constantine!! The most expensive 😫. We're working on it now anyway.

Ah @Tortiemiaw sorry misunderstood her uni destination. Good luck to your dd!

DS seems to have managed to say he’ll pay the whole year’s accommodation cost in one go. I’m hoping we can change that and pay termly.

Thanks! It will be ok - somehow 😃

Yes you are right there are cross overs. And many clever students become complacent and cruise, my DS is one of them. But the clever ones do not need to work flat out for 3 years to maintain the grades.
Education is just much easier if you are naturally clever. Concepts are easier to understand, memorising facts without being able to apply them can be frustrating. Higher education is all about analysis, application and critical thinking.

In research we make no advancement in sticking to the facts, questioning current and historical thinking is how we move forward. Also it is really important to see failure as a learning experience. So many instance of disappointment on TicTok, A level students who think that they deserve an A* or A. Lots of parents and students looking for remarks even though they have got into their firm choice.

I have 3A levels and an S level ( prize for any one who knows what that one is, I didn’t and I took one) in 42yrs no one has asked me what Alevel grades I achieved.

And in 20yrs from now no one will be asking this year’s A level students what grades they achieved. They are just the currency we use to move on to the next level.

I recently read a very sad Twitter post from a new graduate who was disappointed that she was only awarded a 2.1 despite achieving 3A*s at A level but of course that was 2020 when they were giving them away in cereal packets. The system failed this cohort as it has done the last 3 yrs and this year as well.
Because of their inflated grades they are under the impression that they will continue to be top of the class.

As I said, it is 42 yrs since I did A levels. While helping my DS revise last year I was confused by how much time they spend on how to make the most of marking schemes. Passing an A level seems to be more dependent on knowing you way round marking schemes than actual knowledge of a subject. So memorising blocks of information to slot into the marking scheme is definitely an advantage.

New thread for anyone with DC going to London unis (or with older ones already there or younger ones thinking about it) - all welcome to share tips and experiences

Thrills and spills of studying in London www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/5144963-thrills-and-spills-of-studying-in-london

But the clever ones do not need to work flat out for 3 years to maintain the grades

Everyone I knew at Cambridge who got Firsts worked incredibly hard. They were all very clever as well.

Maybe because your ds isn't a grafter you are trying to convince yourself that uni will be easier for him than A levels?

Dd dropped a grade. Not helped by every senior teacher in the department leaving by Christmas year 12 leaving a very inexperienced junior team and supply teachers.

I know private school parents huff and puff at the inequity but when I see my friends Dd doing the same a level at a local private school she is hot housed to fuck. The incredible teacher that left now works there. So in my mind Dd achieving a B should be equivalent to my friends Dd A *. I wonder if the top university that let Dd in anyway thought that too.

Possibly taught efficiently and cleverly rather than hot-housed? But yes, state schools often get contextual offers.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!

You've raised a good one there Pinky. Well done.

I think that’s a stretch. We all know that many experiences of teaching at state school are way inferior to many experiences of teaching at private school, be it longer hours offered (boarding schools having homework sessions, many having school Saturday mornings etc), less teacher turnover and less class disruption.

I certainly view results from private schools differently to state, especially at the top and bottom ends. I’d assume the private school pupil - whilst bright - would have had a lot of support to get there, so I’m always more impressed by an A* from a “normal” state school.

I was recently speaking with a school inspector who had just retired. Over her career as an inspector she found there was no difference between the quality of teaching at state schools and that at private schools.