Barton Pevrill - entry this September

[Eve]

I know there are quite a few posters around looking at this college.

Anyone else super impressed with their communication and organisation? Good luck letters to students, introduction day timetable sent, bus pass sent, new parents presentation!

DS has places at Eastleigh and Brock as well....and heard nothing from either of those.

We've had stuff from Brock. DD has info about intro day and has signed up online regarding enrichment activity on that day. Bus costs to Brock are available online (£800 for us including early bird discount).

Had a good luck postcard from PS.

Yes, loads of stuff from BP, but tbh I'd rather they waited until DD's GCSEs are finished as its just getting stacked up in a 'do later' pile. I couldn't even face the new parents stuff this week due to DD's exams.

What I'd like is info on how to withdraw applications.

interesting.. we have had nothing from Brock.

Eve just checked. the info from brock came addressed to DD, so make sure your DS hasn't received it and just not told you.

BP is a really, really good college.
Its location is less posh than PS
but the standard of education is pretty much the same

I cannot remember when we heard the details of the PSC induction day - I know it was late.
The open evenings are on 13th and 14th July for those last minute questions.

I will say that even at 17, the travel time is hard - especially if it involves the M3
but now that DD has a rail card I'm doing less chauffeuring to the other end of the PSC area

Draylon Do you have a Plan B?

Over the year, DD's Plan B has become Plan A as it became clear she would not be suited to A levels.

If not, might be worth doing any open evenings at colleges that are still running this term. You don't want to be bounced into a rushed decision on August 20/21st.

Hear hear to that.
Have plan A, B and C lined up.
I'm at the Uni application stage and we have plans A through H lined up!

DS should be fine getting into PS and wants to go there (mainly because he'll not overlap with his sister)
but the kids go to whichever college suits them best ...
From DDs year they went to PS, BP, Eastleigh, City, Totton, Alton, Brock, Sparsholt and a couple left the area completely.

don't forget Richard Taunton.

So basically he needs A for maths and B? for sciences to do them?

He's not actually going to fail as in Ds?

I would look at the BP/PS prospectuses and see what other A levels there might be that could interest him. Preferably with him, but if not, then on your own, at least then you'll have stuff to suggest in August.

At the taster days (but I guess he'd need to contact them now), he could maybe try a taster of his fall-back options to see what he thinks, or at least go to talk to the tutors?

Also look into the vocational colleges and see what sciency options there are there that have lower entry requirements?

BP present themselves as woolly and huggy but a friend's ds has struggled a bit and wanted to leave. Friend was highly unimpressed as rather than persuading him to stay/sorting out problems, the boy was just instructed to come and fill in exit forms.

It really, really is worth talking to the colleges.

According to DD the whole you need As for PSC is just hype
all of the colleges are trying to get good kids who work hard

and yes, I forgot Taunton's on my list - who are coming up pretty fast in lots of areas

NOTHING is set in stone till the GCSEs come out - so go to the open evenings or call them and find out what you can

TP thank you for this. DD has conditional offers for BP and PS, she wanted to do Science and Maths at A Level (however she's feeling a bit despondent following the Chem and Biol GCSEs, Physics tomorrow). I have suggested she looks at the prospectus to think up a plan B (or C or D), but she wants to wait til the results come out.
Admittedly the stress levels are rising at the moment as this GCSE session seems to have gone on for ever.

Do you think there is merit in either her (or me) contacting the colleges to ascertain what exactly is required? Should I encourage her to attend the open evenings in July again?
WWYD?
Thanks for your advice.

tbh Having been helping my DD through maths GCSE, and having a maths degree myself, I would agree with the colleges that an A for maths at GCSE would/should be the absolute minimum to go on for A level, (even with Hannah's sweets). If someone is aspiring to do Maths A level then the GCSE should be a piece of cake to them.

Draylon We found it very hard finding a BTEC for DD for the reasons you mention. They all seem to lead you down very specific job routes, which if you have no idea what you want to do can be very hard.

Sparsholt have some engineering courses - one I believe requires B for sciences so muct be reasonably academic.

Sparsholt is a nightmare to get to from many areas - Stagecoach are messing the bus routes around.

PS definitely has a whole load of Btec / GCSE / retake kids - they are just not put on show for the open evening
think of the difference between the kids at the Romsey Abbey services and the whole RS/MB cohort

I have to say that a fair few of DDs friends who chose BP over PS regretted their choice, but its all settling down now.

Once the exams are out of the way and they have had a couple of days sleep they will start to cheer up again

Talk - any specific reasons they regretted the choice?

asking as DS is talking about PS as opposed to BP..

BP - well its Eastleigh rather than Winchester
also BP has EC next door which can be perceived as having an impact on aspirations
BUT
after a term or two of shakedown (and thank goodness for twitter pointing out the national reaction to exams)
more people are realising that life is what you make it

Winchester is definitely a much nicer and naicer town to study in
but BP is a darned sight easier to get to

looking that the children of my friends, equal numbers hitting target destinations from both (be that Oxbridge, RG, specialist or work)
so really it does come down to "feel"
as BP and PS are very different.

For those, like me, who live in Southampton, Tauntons is working really hard to become a valid alternative - within 3 years they will be a serious contender.

Because there is a choice of colleges, I think quite a few dcs think the grass would have been greener elsewhere. Oh, if only I'd gone to X,Y or Z I'd have had piles of friends, I would have had far better teachers etc etc etc.

Ds is a PS student, and I am a Barton one (very aged student). BP wins hands down on appearance - it's so shiny and new. But... ds likes being in Winchester. There seem to be more clubs and societies at Barton, if that is what interests a dc.

I would take issue with BP's convenience: there are buses all the time from here (CF) to Winchester, but for BP there is only one bus in the morning and one in the afternoon. This is particularly a fag in the sixth form because you don't do a set day and have odd hours, plus at exam time you are all over the place regarding timing. Biking is ok, but bear in mind that if you have four subjects in a day a student will need to be lugging a giant weight around with them.