Any parents of Y12 DCs up for a support thread?

[cardibach]

to get us through AS and university Open Days etc.?

HAving to be really tough to get DD to revise Chemistry at all. Despite a good CH1 before half term she has given up on CH2, saying she is going to fail it anyway (she may be right) so she wants to focus on Biology which she wants to get a high grade in. It is really hard to deal with this and I'm not sure what the long term resolution can be. Anyone else in a similar position with a subject that just does not compute?

Despite having done really well at GCSE and absolutely loving the subject DD has struggled with Chemistry at AS. The big thing she has struggled with is the correct use of vocabulary.

Now that she has realised this is the problem she is addressing this specifically.

Is this the problem for your DD notfluffy ?

It is the problem that the precise use of language isnt needed for good grades at GCSE and if the school doesnt teach to A level they dont seem to be aware or care about that problem.

Slight hijack. Has anyone's dc entered for the R A Butler prize at Trinity college? Just wondering how many students enter for it.

cardibach my DD is similarly finding revision for chemistry really hard. First paper was fine. Practical was good. But this section of chemistry she things she just doesn't get so easily. She's been working really hard on biology for tomorrow so it's not an overall malaise, it's just related to this chemistry.

But she did make herself spend practically the whole day on it yesterday and felt much better after that - so there is a point at which it falls into place - so hers hoping the same for your DD...

I will be so glad when this is over.
A year ago when he was doing GCSEs he did alarmingly little revision. His answer was always " I've got it in hand".
Fast forward to now and he is working so hard I'm constantly trying to coax him out. He's left the house just twice in this week's holiday. Other than that he's been dong 3 or 4 past papers a day. He is only dropping the odd mark on each one so it's clearly working. Now he just need to get them done.
First up Biology, he's dropping that for A2 so he'll have a bit more time for the others.

cardibach My DD has found chemistry really hard all year at AS, despite getting A* at GCSE and loving it then. She has spent ages on it during study leave and has straightened out the vocabulary but is still not all that happy with it. She has also focussed on Biology as she feels she can do better in that. She has the second papers for all 3 sciences this week, starting with the Biology tomorrow.

Cricket notfulffy that was close!

Luckily, for us, DD can only get there if I take her to the train station so I've had her dates in my diary for months ( and have obsessively checked and rechecked them a hundred times!)

Biology this morning here. Had a text with a smiley face so I guess it went well.

secretscwirrels Was it OCR? DD had biology this morning and has just arrived home, happy that it went well. She had done loads for it, as it her strongest of the 3 sciences, so I was hopeful for her. Just relieved it's over. Worried about the chemistry tomorrow though.

No it was AQA but OCR chemistry tomorrow.

Oh ok, DD has OCR chemistry tomorrow too. She has found it hard all year but has done all the practice papers she can find a couple of times each. Doing past papers seems to have paid off with other exams so far, so I am hoping it will be ok, she is not looking forward to it at all.

Thanks for all the suggestions about DD's Chemistry. It is a really serious issue, when I say she isn't doing well I mean she is struggling to get a grade, not just getting a lower grade then she wants. It isn't vocab as WJEC are tough on that at GCSE too. She is going to continue into A2 course fr now to see what her result is and enquire whether her preferred universities accept Welsh Bacc. If they do there is no problem and he can drop it. Alternatively I think she will look at doing a whole A level in one year or some sort if intensive coaching in Chem if her result is not as bad as she fears. It's an odd one as she was very high performing at GCSE across the board and is working harder now than she was then... Wh would be a parent?

cardibach she was very high performing at GCSE across the board and is working harder now than she was then.. . I think they all are.
After seeing the work and results so far in DSs cohort and reading this thread it's clear that A levels are such a giant leap up from GCSE. Did anyone warn our DCs? I don't remember anyone saying to me or DS that A*s at GCSE would mean nothing at sixth form. Yet that seems to be the case.

I agree, it is the case - DD got all A*/A at GCSE with comparatively little work and has had to really work hard just to keep up at AS. I am wondering if there is another leap to A2 or is that it now?

Glad I've come back to this today - ds hasn't booked onto any open days yet. It's like trying to get blood out of a stone getting any commitment from him, although he's very keen to go somewhere - just won't put the time into looking at the on-line stuff and various prospectuses (?) and committing to any sort of 'narrowing down' procedure.
He's actually been on holiday all last week (1/2 term) and is for all this week, as they are on study leave, but he had his last AS before 1/2 term, so has just been "resting"

BackforGood ah resting .
I know that after his last exam next week DS will retire to the sofa until September. Meanwhile to be fair, he has been a workaholic this last half term. It's all or nothing.
DS has some open days booked on college coach trips. Also Nottingham and Lancaster which he has booked independently. He hopes to be able to drive to them if he passes his test.

ds starts his A2 lessons next week - don't all schools / colleges do this ??
They have to go to the A2 lessons for all the subjects they did ASs in, until after August, when they can decide which one to drop.
I'm surprised if some schools just ignore 6 weeks of possible teaching time ?

I meant when he was at home. No "study leave" here, lessons as normal unless they have an exam. They were supposed to confirm their subjects for 2nd year a month ago. They do break up on 27th June though.

DS officially starts his A2 lessons today, but he doesnt finish exams until next week so they are not being strict about it. He doesnt finish until 19th July but wont be the there for much of July as he has his Headstart and a school trip to CERN.
He has booked at Nottingham and Durham now, have decided to take him and going to book a hotel in between the two as the train journey was so expensive to Durham for the day. We are in Herts

DS has Headstart in June.
I had hoped for an overnight in or near Durham as it's a lovely area but his coach trip was only £10 so I've missed out on that.