When does Bristol University break up for Christmas for Design Engineering?

[Christmasbreak26]

DD is off to Bristol U to study Design Engineering. We are going away around Christmas time for my niece wedding ñ.

Does anyone know when they break in Christmas?

She won’t have a choice - exams finish on the 18th. She’ll either need to catch a later flight or miss the wedding.

But there is a chance she won’t have any exams scheduled for the 18th.

Unfortunately, there is also a chance she won’t know this for certain until the term has started, and possibly several weeks into it.

DD didn't know the exact dates of specific exams until shortly before. While the official exam period was at the end of the first semester in January, she also had exams in December (STEM degree).

It is perfectly possible that they have an exam
on 18 December. They probably won’t know for sure until well into the semester. Can’t you go on 19 December?

There is a chance but as you say, she won't know until well into the semester as it will depend what modules etc. she chooses.

Bristol is a 2 semester system uni. So exams before Christmas.
My dd is at a 2 semester uni and both yr 1 and 2 she had an exam very last afternoon on last day before Christmas. Her exam timetable doesn’t come out until late November. I know international parents were moaning but booking an early flight is a risk.

This is helpful, thanks a lot

The 2 semester system has really suited my dd. The exams are all done by 18/12 and they can have a proper break then start new modules in January. They finish semester 2 by mid May. So ahead of curve in getting jobs for summer or can take up opportunities abroad like Camp America.
It’s more aligned with international universities.
I think Bristol moved to semester system 2024 I recall some new halls weren’t ready.

@MoreholidaysthanjudithchalmersThey were 2 semesters when dd was there - graduated 2014. They started much later and had exams in Jan and then reading week. Then semester 2 but I think it finished later than mid May. Exams were done by very early June I think. 4 months each semester I suppose. Certainly was not 3 terms.

@MeetMeOnTheCorner the exams
moved to December around 2024, they asked the students if they wanted mid Dec or Jan and they said Dec.

Yes they definitely moved a a proper 2 semester system 2024 with earlier in September start and exams before Christmas.
Mine isn’t at Bristol but her semester 1 dates are identical.
I was just sharing what a positive my dd finds a semester system like this that I hadn’t thought about before she started.

@sailingsunshine All they really did was start in September and finish earlier. It’s still been 2 semesters for years. Certainly 15! As I said, DD started in October - about the same time as Oxford. They just finished later in the summer. There was no way an October start could have December exams but DD was doing uni work in December, and revised after Christmas and in January. I guess students want to do nothing over Christmas but the system wax still 2 semesters and the dates were identical in the 2 unis she went to abroad. End of Jan - end of semester 1.

I think the 2 semester are great. Proper holiday at Christmas and summer

Hi, OP -

STEM academic here. I have sat on far too many Mitigating Circumstances panels in my own School. I would expect our standards to be similar to Bristol’s and those throughout the RG+.

Wanting to book early tickets for an overseas wedding is a frequent circumstance but not generally a mitigating one. (Exceptions might be around the health of the bride and groom, as well as the student’s relationship to them.) This means that a student who missed an exam for a wedding would take a capped resit, where the maximum recordable mark is 40%, in order to progress.

How many course units will DD have, and hiw many of these will be examinable? By student request our Registrar is lumbered with the task of optimising exam spacing for as many students as possible. The majority of those with five exams would have one each day. However in DE I can see the possibility that there may be more project based assessments and fewer exams. DD can perhaps get a sense of the odds by looking up the assessment procedures for her course units.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but as no one else has made any of this clear yet I thought various readers would find the information useful.

I know it would help if exam timetables came out earlier. I agree that on the whole it is better to finish up before Christmas!

Thank you. She will be travelling later; once exams finished