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Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Secondary education

Part time jobs whilst in 6th Form

94 replies

Horsemad · 25/08/2013 20:14

DH doesn't want DS1 to have a weekend/holiday job whilst in 6th form as he wants him to be able to concentrate on his studies more.

I disagree and think apart from the money, it equips the student with time management skills, social skills etc.

DS is quite happy to take DH's money and not work!

School didn't help; at the 6th form open evening they advised against them having jobs.

OP posts:

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Fairdene · 28/08/2013 19:05

Flute playing etc actually highly relevant for medicine secretscwirrels, if you talking about the top unis. But only really for medicine, which is a different beast. The like to know you have a mechanism for stress release - music, sport, whatever.

Fairdene · 28/08/2013 19:07

you're/ they - sticky keys.

5Foot5 · 29/08/2013 23:22

DD's school recommend no more than 8 hours a week.

DD has just started a job that will be around 4 hours a week and I think it is A Good Thing. Apart from earning a bit of her own money I think it is important to have had some work experience and it might stand her in good stead if she needs to earn any extra money as a student.

BackforGood · 30/08/2013 00:38

Fairdene - that's not encouraging for this household. ds's 'extra curricular' part is his strength. He's never going to get A*s, but he's great with people, and with planning things and getting things done, and was kind of hoping his achievements with Scouts, drama, etc. would help him along...

TheAlphaandtheOmega · 30/08/2013 06:55

BackforGood I think it depends what level your son is and who he is competing with. A friends daughter who was at about level B/C for Universities did loads of extra curriculars like Scouts, D of E etc and it was seen as a very positive thing on her interview. She was also great with people and getting things done.

OttilieKnackered · 30/08/2013 07:18

When I was doing A levels ten years ago I worked about 20 hours a week over the weekend and one evening a week, more in the holidays. I managed to get 5 AS levels and 4 A levels, one B grade and the rest As. I also had a very active social life.

It was invaluable in terms of learning responsibility and time management. Each A level only takes four or five hours a week contact time. That leaves an awful lot of hours for private study as well as work and anything else.

secretscwirrels · 30/08/2013 10:41

Fairdene you are right, medicine is different. Grades are not the be all and end all. I have a couple of good friends who are doctors and both seem to be permanently stressed. A bit of flute playing would be very good for them I think .
DS wants to do Maths and has been told that extra curricular counts for next to nothing. It's all down to his results and broad interest in maths. He lives and breathes maths and not much else. Even his part time job is maths related. It's not necessarily a good thing but it's the way he is, always has been tunnel visioned.

BackforGood · 30/08/2013 11:13

Thanks Alpha
I also happen to think it's part of making you a fully rounded person - nothing to do with CVs, applications or careers.

Fairdene · 30/08/2013 14:48

BackforGood lots of very high achievers applying to the top universities do lots of extra curricular things and are very well rounded indeed. The point was simply that, with the exception of medicine, those things aren't a factor in the selection process, or only on the margins.

It sounds a daft idea to pursue an activity purely for the purposes of a CV. If you don't enjoy it, don't do it.

BackforGood · 30/08/2013 15:16

I agree with that last sentence Fairdene.

Horsemad · 08/10/2013 22:32

I am vindicated! Kind of

Had Parent's Evening with Form Tutors tonight (PE with subject teachers is next month).
He said DS is not really 'engaged', hasn't put himself forward for any committees etc and is not performing to his potential in one subject. He also said he's going to be struggling to put anything else down when it comes to completing uni applications, 'cause he doesn't do anything.
So, apart from him getting his act together re his work, he is going to be completing his DofE, and I'm going to get him back into ATC & sod DH and his bloody concentrating solely on academic results.

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RiversideMum · 09/10/2013 07:01

DD works 13 hours on 2 shifts over the weekend. It has been brilliant in terms of her learning how to do time and money management. The only thing we have limited her on is the number of parties she goes to. Although she is also getting quite sensible at that too.

cory · 09/10/2013 08:59

I don't think there's a one size fits all solution to this question. There are different ways of learning social skills and time management: for some that will be a paid job, for others it may be volunteering or a special interest. It depends on what you want to do in life.

A relevant job approached in the right spirit can be a useful tool for teaching general skills. But if you want to go to medical school, volunteering in an old people's home is going to be far more relevant than stacking shelves at Liddl. If you are going to apply to stage school, they want to see that you are both taking part in productions and going to the theatre. If you apply to do English lit., they want to know that you can find the time to read books outside of your A-level curriculum. An experience isn't necessarily more valuable because you get paid for it. Or because your parents have to pay for it either.

The money management thing I am not so sure of. I found when I got to university that my friends who had always had Saturday jobs whilst living at home were hopeless at coping with a frugal student lifestyle: they had literally never experienced a situation when they didn't have spending money in their pocket to buy a coffee if they felt like it. Worries about finances took a lot of their energy away from their studies. I was fine because I didn't expect to be spending all the time.

Horsemad · 09/10/2013 09:13

Hmm, this morning I broached the subject of volunteering/ATC/DofE with DS.

He flatly refuses to go back to ATC; he needs to do some sporting activity to complete his DofE - hates sport, so won't be proactive on that.
He thinks his prevous ATC service will count for something, although Form Tutor says it's unlikely.

He won't entertain the National Citizenship Scheme.

Says he absolutely does want to go to uni, so isn't being browbeaten down that route.

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TheWave · 09/10/2013 10:13

I agree with cory. He doesn't need to boost his uni application with work necessarily, or DoE etc if he doesn't want to/that's not his thing. Lots do DoE because they already do the skills and physical stuff anyway and that's their bag. It's not your son's thing. But what is?

He will need to show something extra around his A level subjects though that he can talk about/write about. Which ones is he doing exactly?

Horsemad · 09/10/2013 10:49

He's doing Maths/ Further Maths/ Chem/Physics. Wants to do Computer Science at university. Spends every waking hour (if allowed) gaming. Has no other interests. At all.

I'd like to add, it was his choice to do DofE and his to join ATC; we don't push him to join stuff at all, it's entirely lead by him. DH insisted he gave up ATC temporarily to revise for GCSE and then he chose not to return.

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TheWave · 09/10/2013 11:26

DS is a bit the same here in that if he gives something up he rarely returns to it as the routine has been broken.

I was thinking that if he was into, say, geog or english literature, languages, then we would have more ideas about how he could "sell himself" and bolster his interest; for example talking about TV programmes in the area of interest, books read, etc and am trying to find parallel ideas for sciences.

Maybe something at local unis in the field? Finding out specialists in fields he is interested in and writing to them/visiting? Going to early open days at Uni with you/without you.

Emailing scientists in, say, the States and striking up correspondence?

Following the Dana Centre events, Wellcome Trust stuff, on line if need be (don't know where you are), or you going with him.

Are either of you into the sciences?

Horsemad · 09/10/2013 11:52

DH is a Mathematician & my interests are English Lit!
Obviously he needs these subjects for uni but he said he chose them because there are no essays!

It's his blind faith that he'll just merrily sail into uni that frustrates me.
Perhaps if he isn't accepted, that'll make him sit up and notice.

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TheArticFunky · 09/10/2013 12:18

I think it's not as common to work these days.

From the age of 13 I did paper rounds, at 14 I started babysitting and at 15 I worked a couple of evenings in Woolies. All my friends worked at school it was just what you did.

These days it seems more unusual. None of my nieces work at all.

Is it really discouraged by schools? I don't think my old school expressed a view on it.

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