Exam results 2024

[motheronthedancefloor]

Thought I'd get started on the exam results thread as we have a month to go!
I think, as a parent, I'm more nervous about this year (Highers) than last year (N5) as the Higher results will influence university applications.
DD tells me she's not thinking about her exams, but then she throws into conversation how 'super smart' her friends are and how they will probably get As, and also has asked me if our postcode is eligible for widening access (it isn't) so it appears to me that she IS thinking / worrying about her results.
We do have a holiday coming up which will hopefully help us all relax.
How are other kids doing?

Both my children got all A1s at Higher and neither had tutors or are particularly naturally able - my youngest this year and eldest two years ago. I on the other hand did not even sit my Highers and was so traumatised by my o levels/standard grades I can’t even remember which I passed and which I didn’t. I have therefore watched them with fascination and what I boil it down to is study technique; developed by my eldest which my younger one then copied. 1) going over all the content from school each day at home and going back to the teacher with questions about any aspect they are struggling to understand, 2) active memorisation (reading the content and then recalling it, either silently (my son called this his mind palace), or out loud by explaining the content to someone else (who just needs to pretend they are listening 😀) 3) reading the mark schemes of the past papers 4) completing all the past papers 5) repeat

When I was at school I literally had no idea how to study for exams and though I think schools now teach study skills more explicitly than they did 35 years ago, I still think there is not enough emphasis on it.

I would also say the other two factors were (for my eldest) high intrinsic motivation and a desire to succeed, alongside a genuine interest in the content. My younger child found the content less interesting so found it harder to sustain motivation, but they find memorisation easier than my eldest so I feel like that balanced it out.

That's certainly a great way to make sure you pass. Congratulations to your DC for getting all As.

My eldest has various additional needs and is being seen by CAMHS so has lots going on which was never going to make it straight forward for him to be a straight A student like many others. But that's OK as there are many routes to success in life. Children get to their destination in their own way in their own time. Despite all my eldest's additional needs, he still did better than I did when I was at school!😂

Both my children got all A1s at Higher and neither had tutors or are particularly naturally able

Of course they are naturally able. Ability to organise themselves in studying is part of that ability. Of course some pupils could get higher grades if they studied more but many pupils study incredibly hard, with tutors or not, and will never be able to achieve straight A1s. Suggesting it is purely down to your DC study technique that any child could master undermines the hard work and struggle many children put in to get lesser grades or qualifications.

They are not hugely academically able - that was my point - they have both take cognitive ability tests and come up as strong average - but agree that having the discipline and motivation to study is in itself an ability. The reason I highlighted the amount of effort it takes is because many people assume that it is just 'natural' which implies no effort - like the comment I was replying to - I remembering thinking that about kids who excelled academically when I was at school too.

On the subject of tutors, DD is keen to improve her grades in S6 and has asked for a tutor for Higher Psychology but I can't blooming find one who isn't a student (and thus probably doesn't know the curriculum). Would rather get a teacher. Where do I find one? They are like hens teeth. Psychology in particular could help DD with her teaching aspirations.

DS is applying for LEAPS this weekend as he fits the eligibility for it.

Does anyone have any knowledge on it and how useful it was for their own DC?

LEAPS

think its a bit like 'focus west' on the west coast, and widening access, but over here we don't really see or hear anything and seems a bit of a non thing?

I think it is good for people who qualify for it. If we did I'd be taking advantage of it.

My problem with these schemes is that they are not Scotland wide. They are very urban focused.

On having a look at the list of LEAPS schools many of them aren't in urban areas, but they are in areas which are close to Edinburgh. If you come from somewhere in the back of beyond and aren't close to any urban centre it is much harder to fill the criteria for any widening access scheme.

I don't understand how LEAPS or Focus West helps with entry requirements. I know DDs school is FW school and she says they offer help with UCAS but its not clear what difference that actually makes to entry? Does the university simply see that you attended a FW school and adjust accordingly or is there more required?

Leaps isn't just about the school you're in though is it, it's for teenagers whose parents have not gone to university. So they don't have that background of support coming from knowledge of the system.

Definitely not a non thing, as DS's school actively promotes. That's how I found out about it.

I went to uni and DS is eligible under their criteria. It's more than just whether you went to uni yourself as a parent.

We're way out beyond Edinburgh and DS can apply thankfully.

That's the part I don't know about. Does it fast track these applicants onto their chosen degree programme due to getting this type of assistance? Hoping to find out more after he applies this weekend then they offer a 1:1 interview at the young person's school.

Many of the criteria are geography related though. So, for example, LEAPS give applicants from their partner schools which are close to Edinburgh the most help, with people who come from other areas receiving a lower level of assistance, including people who have parents who didn't get a degree. You are also eligible for some help if you come from an area of deprivation, but the problem with that is it doesn't take rural poverty into account. They base the system on streets or areas of deprivation. This means that it misses many people who are in poverty in rural areas because while one person may be in poverty their neighbours may be in employment so you don't end up with streets or areas of deprivation. Last time I looked at the list of the areas that would qualify for assistance I noted that there were very few which were not in the central belt, or urban areas. There were a few in Fife and up the East coast, but not much elsewhere.

I grew up in a very rural area and it frustrates me no end that I see that it is so much harder now for children who come from where I grew up to go to Uni than it was for me and my friends, or indeed my children who live in an urban area. There is (rightly) help through schemes like LEAPS and Focus West but there are also huge gaps and areas where the same level of assistance is not available.

We got Leaps info from school and it focused on you being the first in your family to go to university - I suppose they had already tailored their offering based on the school they were delivering it to!

I was actually talking with DH this morning about all of this, and how it's a scheme running for years now - since 1996? I was sitting Highers in 1998/99 and knew nothing about it or wasn't eligible at that time.

It shows how things have changed over the years!

I know someone who's DD did LEAPS and is now a primary teacher.

It was pre Covid and she did a LEAPS day hosted by Edinburgh uni where there were various workshops.

Then LEAPS worker attended her school regularly to advise on courses, help with UCAS applications, personal statements, SAAS etc.

This girl was the first in her extended family to go to uni and it seemed to be geared towards supporting kids with no family experience of university and all that it entails

I found out by chance that DDs school is a FW school but we've had no communications, no social media posts, no invitations to take part in anything, nothing at all. DDs google classroom does make mention of UCAS workshops but she doesn't really know what that involves nor is it clear if you show up or get selected or what. So it makes no sense. Is it enough to have attended a FW school or is there more involved? It just seems a waste of time and resource otherwise?

It's not widely discussed. I can agree with you there. It doesn't seem to be on any social media platforms linked to DS's school but last year he had a talk at school about it in one of his classes. I looked it up last year and have kept the tab open on my phone for this year.

It's a shame it's not so widely advertised as many young people who are eligible are missing a trick here.

I don’t think there’s anything like LEAPS or Focus West in the Highland area although happy to be wrong. Ds3 would fit a lot of the criteria. He actually received help from the guidance teachers and a “raising attainment following Covid programme” with his university application and personal statement. He also had appointments (in school) with careers advisors.

I suspect the problem with a lot of the widening access schemes ran by the Universities is that they are ran as part of an outreach programme to the schools within a certain radius. This means that people who come from areas which are further away (such as the West Highlands) miss out on a lot of the help as they don't fall within the radius for any Uni.

@Threeboysadogacatandakitten Your DS3 may be eligible for the lower level of LEAPS assistance as it isn't solely dependent on location. It is worth googling. I don't know so much about Focus West but you may want to look it up too.