Year 12 / 6th form support thread

[minesawine]

The term is about to start and I though it would be good to have a support group to help us on our 6th form journey.

May the year be drama-free and our DC's study hard and without complaint

A physics tutor sounds like s great idea. Getting back to full health, and being as ready as possible for the new school year sounds exactly right.

DD is expecting to complete all her revision notes over the summer - causing me some stress as she sat her mocks last week, and i think it would’ve been more useful to have the notes ready ahead of that!!

Just caught up with loads of activity here! We went to Newcastle on Saturday, which we both thought was great.

Offers - Some people have talked about how close offers are for the courses their DCs are considering. I had an interesting conversation with the admissions tutor for Biomedical Sciences. It may be an odd one as a lot of medics choose that subject for their 5th option without intending to take an offer. He said that he gets thousands of applications for 400 places and does not look at the personal statements or GCSE results AT ALL, but offers anybody with predictions of around CCC or above an offer of AAB (provided they include Biology or Chemistry). He makes 2,500 offers for 400 places. On results day, he generally then accepts anybody who had an offer but got ABB. He will then look at the personal statements of the ones who got less than ABB and will accept some of them if he has spaces. This all seems much more relaxed than I thought the offer system was.

Accommodation costs - It is odd that university residence costs do not vary across the country nearly as much as private accommodation. Newcastle mostly £134/week for en suite on campus, but can be £84/week if you settle for a room with basin a short tram ride away or £106/week for room with basin on campus. Private accommodation is around £70-£80/week, which is a lot less than Bristol or Bath (or London obviously). The person who turned down their Durham place due to accommodation costs would probably have been OK after the first year.

Predictions It seems to me that because most students are not taking AS levels this year, the universities have no choice about relying on predictions, which makes the inequality of school approaches immensely frustrating. At DS's school the teachers have different policies - Biology openly making "optimistic" predictions and Maths going the other way. We get them today, but I am hoping head of Sixth Form (who is excellent) will step in if Maths are overly cautious.

Tip for Open Day Accommodation I was discussing the fact that universities let their accommodation in the holidays to generate income and it occurred to me that we could stay in one for the next open day. We have now booked to stay in student accommodation in Leeds on the 7th Sep for their open day on the 8th. We needed to stay somewhere as we are attempting to do Leeds and Sheffield in one day.

That's really interesting Monkey, especially the offers. My DS is concerned he hasn't got much in the way of extras to write about on his personal statement. His school is banging on about volunteering and work experience. Two of the admin tutors we spoke to said,more or less- 'we just look at the grades'

One of DS's friends was told on one uni visit that the Millennium babies (the current Year 12) are a 'dip in birth rate' cohort, so in theory there will be fewer students chasing the same number of places which surely works to their advantage?

DD and friends have discovered varying approaches to the personal statement. Some admissions tutors have said they barely look at it, others that it's an important piece of the jigsaw for them.

We heard an admissions tutor say on Saturday that he really couldn't care if candidates have grade 8 music exams or multiple sporting triumphs, but he does like to see evidence of work and/or volunteering.

Offers and grade requirements - one course DD is looking at, yes they want applicants close to the grade requirements, but it'll be what's in the personal statement and reference that decides whether to make an offer. On results day, if a student doesn't acquire the grades, they again they will refer back to the strength of the personal statement.

jane that is almost exactly what a Cambridge admissions tutor said when I took some G and T on a trip a while back. But I guess if you are Cambridge you are filtering the elite, many of whom will have Grade 8 flute ...

Not sure why work and volunteering are more worthy, that said.

I looked into additional UCAS points as my DS needs all he can get. Some frankly weird things get (very low) UCAS points but not a level 2 FA accredited coaching badge, sadly

I do know the PS is important for things like journalism. Because they look at the quality of the writing!

We heard an admissions tutor say on Saturday that he really couldn't care if candidates have grade 8 music exams or multiple sporting triumphs

That's depressing actually. Perhaps admissions tutors should look at candidates who have achieved more than grades. Perhaps there wouldn't be si many problems with mental health if students were actively encouraged to raise their heads from their books over the two years?

Work is not more worthy than sporting excellence or commitment to music! Or it bloody shouldn't be for 16 year olds.

Just the other side of the coin....relevant for those thinking about degree apprenticeships. I spoke to a number of the recruiters for the companies that run these apprenticeships and they told me that all the extras are VERY important in who they take on. Yes, there are grade offers too but they are looking to see what students have done beyond studying hard. Music grade 8 would be irrelevant for a CS degree apprenticeship with the BBC, but they would be looking at what a student has done in that field outside of school.

This is why fewer and fewer children are learning an instrument I think anyone who gets to grade 8 anything is a bloody superhero!! Shows commitment and determination

I agree. As does a coaching badge. It brings with it safeguarding and first aid training and the ability to work with a range of people.

The grade 8 music does have some UCAS points , however. Hoorah!

Jorah

I couldn't agree more about looking for students who have done more than just study. Achieving well at music or sport is fantastic and great for personal development.

DD and I were just slightly relieved to hear what that tutor (and it was just one tutor) said because she is (very) unsporty and gave up her losing battle with music at Grade 4! She does, however, have a Saturday job where they seem to rate her and volunteers in the holidays for a learning disability group.

Dd has a coaching qualification. But she wants to do sports science so I would have thought it's very useful!

Definitely : in fact, a few unis list it as a requirement!

Good on her [smile}

However, musical and sporting achievements (as well as lots of other courses and experiences) can also very very dependent on parental commitment and/or spending money, and thus people who don't have them shouldn't be penalised. Grades (in context) are maybe more of a level playing field?

Very interesting that the admissions tutor was so open about the process Monkey! Those questions seem to be usually answered with, "it depends on the cohort" etc. But everyone knows that huge amounts of people don't achieve their offers and still get into their firm choices, so openness is a good thing I think.

very be very dependent

We heard an admissions tutor say on Saturday that he really couldn't care if candidates have grade 8 music exams or multiple sporting triumphs,

Apologies for shouting, but NO ADMISSIONS TUTORS SHOULD EVER TAKE THE ABOVE INTO ACCOUNT UNLESS THEY ARE DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE COURSE!

And breathe!

Jorah it would be acutely unfair to offer based on the above, hugely hugely hugely unfair. Not depressing at all.

I was thinking this was unfair to students looking at the hugely competitive apprenticeships. Often access to head start course, computing courses etc is dependent on interested parents with the ability to pay and transport DC to these opportunities.

But late to the party in this thread but am very glad to have stumbled across it.

We have looked at Manchester so far, which we both liked (AAB), and have Lancaster, York and Sheffield in September. All AAB or ABB required.

However mock results are now looking like CDD. Dd devastated, saying she’s leaving 6th form and starting again at college.

How much of a catastrophe is this really? How reflective of her final grades are these results likely to be? She’s a really hard worker....

We were also told by ds's school about this being a low birth year and that that could mean more wiggle room on results day if they fail to meet their offer. They did stress that this should not be relied on though!

I absolutely agree with that error.

So, I am left massively unclear as to what should / does count!

errorofjudgement - I would disagree with what you said about parents able and willing to pay and transport. We have found the complete opposite to be the case. Almost all of the summer school opportunities we have come across in London for STEM subjects being put on at Uni's are not accessible to my ds as we earn too much. Every time we get told of another by the careers office at his 6th form and we go online to apply, they are only for those on benefits, etc. I do understand the reasons for this, but it has also been frustrating for him. As to transport, again that is not true for us. Living in London means I stop transporting my kids anywhere once they are about 12. I realise this is not true all over the country but it is for us.

Wiifitmama most of the taster courses I have come across at London unis are free. Ds was due to go to one at City University next week but he has had to pull out duecto a work experience opportunity coming up. Admittedly it was only half a day so not on a par with a UNIQ summer school for example but better than nothing!

Yes my DS is booked onto a few (tomorrow at UCL is one I think). But the types of "extras" that the recruiters were talking about for standing out in applications was more along the lines of the summer schools, not taster days.

I am not worried for my DS. Over the last couple of years, he has built up his CV with some amazing work experiences and other things he has been involved in. I was just trying to show the other side to the idea that you needed parents willing to pay and transport.