Nat 5/Highers etc - Anyone getting ready with their S4 - S6 dc?

[weegiemum]

My dd1 is in s4 and about to sit 8 Nat5s. I don't know who is more wound up about it - her or me! (and I'm a teacher!!).

Wondered if there's anyone else out there to hold hands with?

DD is sitting English, Maths, Ghaidlig (Gaelic native speaker), French, History, Art & Design, Physics and Design & Manufacture. First is English on 5th May.

The current entry requirements for Scottish universities are adding a lot of extra pressure, I can't believe how blasé my peers all were about uni choices ( I went to art school, a whole different ball game). I remember rather casual chat about whether to choose Edinburgh or Glasgow depending on where your pals were going etc. Parental involvement was minimal..

She's doing reach at Dundee . YY to medicine, she's not interested in that at all . I don't think it's the exams that put her off, just the job itself .

But I've heard of so many kids who have

5As
UKCAT score above average
Work exerience
Great school reference
Good personal statement
Parent is a dentist

And don't even get an interview , or get an interview but no offer .

So I don't think DD will have a chance . She's mad keen and has loads of dentistry work experience already , so it's a shame. She's even doing 4 days while she's on study leave, even though she already has 8 days and they only need 3 days . There's some things that she wants to learn more about apparently ( implants I think )

But I can't see her competing with all the private school kids with 6A , whole family are dentists and 100% more confidence that DD.

Anyway good luck to everyone sitting exams today and tomorrow .

we only have follow up plans as he is child3....so he's seen how things can not go as planned, but that really more often than not any hiccups are just a sidestep and not a step back

All three of mine are arsing about this year!! (arsing is said with love!!)

Ds1 has had a couple of years out finding himself but has sorted himself, flat/jobs/car. DD has sideswiped her Bio sciences and is heading for nursing, with a year out...she's had an off year this year, but now has her plans mapped out minus the shitey boyfriend, at the root of the shitey year and we just have this Babychild to sort out

goodness know I am sure it wasn't so pressured and convoluted when i left school.

I have to say Kristina, anecdotally, I know of several cases of kids from my local private school with just the qualifications you describe being rejected from medicine, vet and dentistry, que dark mutterings about prejudice against private school applicants, no one seems able to get their head round the fact that you can't waltz in if you get the right grades and have the right experience any more.

Tondelaya - yours all sound pretty together now . It's so hard for them to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives when they are only 16/17

Terrible BF/ Gf are just the worst . It's not like you can stop them playing togther as you can when they are 4 .

Wiggly - I've heard these things too and that's what worries me . If these kids can't get in and have everyhthing going for them , what chance does DD have ?

I met a young woman last week who had all of the above mentioned ( plus competes a national level in her sport !!! ) And DIDNT get in , did another related degree and is now doing dentistry as a second graduate degree . That's a 9 year route to a BDS, plus the rest before you qualify .

It's too much . Besides I'm not sure if I can cope with another 10 years of exam stress < pops another tranquilliser >

Sounds like you are all so much better informed than me. I have never heard of the Reach programme and I have a son who is very keen on dentistry just about to start S5.

Should I talk to the school do you think? Will they know who to approach at the university?

To be honest, I thought I was being proactive by getting him to go to Open days this autumn rather than leaving it until his 6th year.

Our dentist was desperately trying to persuade my two to go into dentistry - neither of them were biting... :o

I had no idea that it was so difficult to get into in the same way as medicine and being a vet. I though DS1 might be suited to making dental stuff such as plates and crowns etc.

Reach Programme its says there are 95 partner schools. I can't find DDs info on it, I think it has been widen further this year for engineering etc.

I think the problem at this stage is a lot of schools do different things as support. DDs school is massively into volunteering, also employment preparation, they have had life coach type events also their HT believes they need to be ready for employment from S4 onwards even Saturday type jobs, they had an evening with local employers attending and carrying out practice interviews, DD was interviewed by 4 different companies and given feedback which I thought was a fab idea.

I think the programme works in slightly different ways for each subject and university . It's a widening participation programme and they work through certain schools that have a low rate of sending pupils to universities. Also some people qualify individually, such as care leavers or adult learners .

Lizzie - If your school is part of the programme your child would have heard about it in 4th year . But you can search the university websites for information .

Thanks Kr1stina. I have had a look and we're not on those lists and will likely be far down the criteria.

That must be the same scheme a friend's son used to get into Edinburgh University with a pretty average set of higher results. I did wonder how he had managed that and also managed a place at summer school, all funded by the university.

Seems a worthy initiative though now I'm a bit envious of those that qualify just based on their postcode.

Don't think ds' school participates (link to participating schools won't work for me ) but there again, I suspect it has too high a success rate into Uni to qualify for extra support which I suppose is a good thing

However, I know my niece, at another Glasgow secondary was on it as she wanted to go to vet school. In the end though, she gave up on that ambition (I think for positive reasons) and is now doing Marine Biology at Aberdeen

Tell your sibling to start saving now . Marine biology has field trips to places like the Seychelles

Technically, she's dh's niece. She's already been to Indonesia (Java?) with the Scouts on a turtle expedition (before she started at Uni). She's a sensible girl - she'll save/work as required.

When I was a scout we went camping in a field about a mile from home and made a fire on a bing to roast marshmallow

She's got her Queen's Scout award, so she's done a lot. She had two (or three?) weeks away - most of it away from civilisation with only enough electricity to run a small fridge for research purposes. Some cracking photos. She had to learn to dive before she went.

Higher history today . DS1's best subject, yet he totally fucked it up last year. He's studied like hell but the spectre of results day last year is hanging over him. My heart is aching as he put such a brave face on this morning as he left for the bus.

Fingers crossed for your ds Hidingwithwine. Though even if he feels the exam is ok, he probably won't relax fully until he gets the result.

Hope it goes well for him Hiding!

Dd has history today too, 7th and final exam! History is probably the subject she is best at, she got 96% in the prelim and i think has become a wee bit over confident. There hasn't been loads of study done for this, considering it has been a full week since her last exam. Fingers crossed it goes well!

Good luck to everyone else with History today too

DSb2 has history nat 5 today and then a week off before Comp Science, nearly done, then I move on to helping slacker Ds1 prepare for applying to the navy and learn to drive, he is much harder to work with bit insists on help.

Good luck with history everyone X

He says it "went well.." . He wanted to see his Mods teacher but he's teaching just now. Last exam is Mods on the 30th.

Glad to hear it went well

Glad to hear it went well, hiding, thats good news!

Dd1 was bouncing out of Nat5 history, she's pretty confident of an A which is good as she wants to do higher.

Now a weekend of doom awaits before physics on Tuesday, its her 2nd worst subject after maths, and she gets confused. DH will help over the weekend. Only physics next week, then 3 the following week. She's getting a bit bored with being at home now and is keen to get on to starting the Higher courses - partly as the school has moved on to next years timetable already.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Glad everyone seems happy with History. DD was pleased with it too.

That's all her exams finished now (thank goodness) so she has until the 1st off now. Think a bit of time to relax will be good for her.

Good luck everyone for the rest of the exams