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Secondary education

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

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Original poster

Starting Year 13 - September 2015

999 replies

hellsbells99 · 05/09/2015 08:01

Welcome to Year 13!
Their final year of school;
Applying for university/college/work/apprenticeships;
A year of 18th birthday parties;
Going to their first nightclub (unless they already have fake ID!);
The year they turn into adults!

DD2 has been back at school for 3 days and has lots of work already.

OP posts:
sassymuffin · 04/12/2015 17:31

I think a hoody may be seen as a little too casual. My DD wore a blouse with a fitted jumper over a black short skirt and thick black tights. Most girls had thick tights ballet pumps and skirts with smart tops, most boys had very dark denim fitted jeans or chinos with shirt and jumper combinations.

Needmoresleep · 05/12/2015 11:17

Well just got interview clothes sorted when she gets an invitation to an 18th birthday at a seriously posh Central London venue. Even I would be in a flap. I assume there are retailers who specialise in smart dresses for young Sloanes. Now to find one.

Dunlurking · 05/12/2015 12:40

Good luck for the clothes search for that one Needmore. Very thankful the 18ths round here aren't too formal. Last one ds went to was a Bonfire and BBQ - last weekend Shock. They were VERY lucky it wasn't this weekend as we have all sorts of dramatic weather now - 2 trees over the road out of village one way and River flowing over the road the other way. Oh and 50mph winds.

talkiinpeace · 05/12/2015 13:33

needmoresleep
find a dress agency - you might even be able to rent

Molio · 05/12/2015 14:46

Medicine seems to be different but law is absolutely the same as history, english anything like that.

Brioche201 · 07/12/2015 12:51

Well DD has set off! She is going down with father of a friend who also has an interview tomorrow.They are staying at a travellodge . The dad has some business in London and will pick them up tomorrow.DD has staken smarts as well as jeans and hoodie and will decide on the day what to wear.I emailed college anonymously(lol) and asked .they reassured me that jeans and hoodie will be fine and is what many candidates wear .It is just a question for me, of whether being dressed smarter puts you in a different frame of mind.I guess only DD can know that

talkiinpeace · 07/12/2015 12:57

Glad you managed to make all of the timings work out

SecretSquirr3ls · 07/12/2015 13:03

Fingers crossed for BriocheDD.

MorvahRising · 07/12/2015 22:55

Good luck junior Brioche!

Original poster
hellsbells99 · 08/12/2015 06:49

Good luck to Brioche's DD!

OP posts:
Needmoresleep · 08/12/2015 10:01

Good luck to all DC who have interviews this week. Here's hoping for good news. We have heard nothing here so I want to celebrate vicariously.

Brioche201 · 08/12/2015 13:12

Heard from DD who had her interview this morning.The first interview was she said was a perfect scenario.The interviewers were lovely and the maths straightforward and lots of very jolly maths chat.
The second was a bit more gritty and she had to ask for clariication on one o the questions as to what type of answer they were expecting (numeric? algebraic (I think)) but she managed to work through all the questions to the right answers without help, explaining what she was doing and answering their questions as she went.
She said she was very lucky that the tricky bits they threw in were things she had come across before and knew the 'tricks' for.
So I think she came away feeling more positive and can't see,if she is rejected, it would be because of the interview.
For myself though, I wonder if not being thrown any truly new material they did not get to see her thought processes so well? probably splitting hairs!
The schoolmate she travelled with has his interview at a different college this afternoon.I have no doubts about him, he is truly gifted did his first A level maths module at primary school!
Need to put it out of our minds now til January!

Brioche201 · 08/12/2015 13:13

ps forgot to ask her what she wore

Good luck to everyone else's DC with interviews this week!

mygrandchildrenrock · 10/12/2015 07:19

My DS had his interviews on Tuesday and came home yesterday. He thinks they went okay, not badly and not spectactularly well either! In his second interview, the interviewers agreed with something he said, one laughed and then the other one did, in a good way. I said leaving them laughing can't be a bad way to end the interview!
He didn't get called by another college, only 2 of the candidates did so we have no idea if that is good or bad news! Most of the girls wore short skirts and thick tights, jumpers or smart tops, most of the boys wore chinos/smart trousers, smart polo shirts/open necked shirts and jumpers. No ties or suits to be seen.
All students had an early morning meeting on the first day with the Dean of College and he gave a lovely pep talk about how well they had done to get where they were and the very best of luck to them for their future.

GloriaHotcakes · 10/12/2015 19:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Leeds2 · 10/12/2015 22:09

Well Done to your DS, Gloria.

GloriaHotcakes · 10/12/2015 22:16

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Needmoresleep · 10/12/2015 22:21

Second interview (medicine) and no rejections yet. One is at the end of Feb and the other is in March and so nothing is happening quickly. Though Bristol is the aspirational choice, they have about 25 applicants for every place so it would be a really big deal to get an offer. An offer from any of her other three choices would be wonderful.

Original poster
hellsbells99 · 11/12/2015 08:03

Well done Gloria's DS and good luck to Needmoresleep's DD.
DD has had 4 offers and is withdrawing from her 5th pre interview. She has made her mind up on her firm choice but not decided on her insurance yet. She won't be confirming anything until nearer May though so she can see how she is getting on with achieving the grades.

OP posts:
homebythesea · 11/12/2015 08:09

DS final offer came in yesterday from Exeter- as expected at the top of the range for his subject, equivalent to his predictions but he's not so confident he will achieve it, so something of a dilemma. He needs AAA, AS results mean he can get B's in 2 subjects and still get A overall. It's the third subject that may be a banana skin (not the subject he us applyimg for). I think he should go for it and hope there's some wriggle room if he just misses the third A. He hasn't visited Exeter yet- we will go in the new year, and it may be that if he doesn't actually like it then it will be an easy decision to make. He has 3 offers at AAB and one ABB so a happy place to be in!

So its decision time!!

MorvahRising · 11/12/2015 15:28

Well done Gloria's DS and I hope you hear soon NeedMoreSleep. The writing game is a tough one.

DS has three offers currently (including Exeter - perhaps all our DCs will end up there together!) and had an interview at Southampton on Tuesday. It's his stand out top choice ; the facilities are stunning for his subject and he will be gutted if he doesn't get an offer. The email said 'if you are asked on one of these days we are seriously considering making you an offer' so I hope they do, and I hope they hurry up and decide!

MorvahRising · 11/12/2015 15:30

That should of course have been the 'waiting' game - bloody autocorrect . . .

MorvahRising · 12/12/2015 10:08

DS got an offer from Southampton last night - phew! Grin

Leeds2 · 12/12/2015 10:49

Well Done to your DS, Morvah!

GloriaHotcakes · 12/12/2015 11:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.