GCSEs 2018 (14): the aftermath

[mmzz]

Following on from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/3275972-GCSEs-2018-13-Untwisting-our-knickers-lucky-for-some

Really hope she has a great day Jufus - deserves it !

My DS has set off for an induction day today at Sixth Form College. I have everything crossed he loves it - otherwise we're stuffed!! The other Sixth Form has induction days on Thursday/Friday this week and he is very unsettled about going there as he'll be one of only 12 from outside of the school that got offered a place. The other 180 came directly from the school it's attached to. He feels he'll be an outsider and everyone will already have their friendship groups set up and he'll struggle to integrate. There's a lot riding on today!

DD's induction day for college was in Easter hols whic feels like a long time ago now.
Good luck to all going this week.

We can't do uni open days as there is such a wide range of possibilities for grades here. If your DC is medicine or Oxbridge hopeful it does makes sense as the tine frame is shorter.

6th form induction is Wed and Thurs here with Prom on Thursday...horror...conflicts with the England game . I think some boys won't go (yes it's a single sex school)

No uni days here either - ds has already done a shortlist of courses he wants and we'll do them from April onwards (some have faculty open days in April).

Isn't it lovely to read this thread these days, with talk of proms, summer and exploring new opportunities for the future! Lovely to also share the good news about sost and Alexander's DH.

Beautiful young ladies, cool young men - great to share our pride in our kids.

Mine has now left the country and I'm so proud she managed her first international flights without us. The promised airport assistance for her changeover and arrival never materialised, but she didn't have a meltdown and managed to find the second plane, and then luggage and dad on arrival! She is a very happy bunny in her newly decorated bedroom and catching up with lifelong friends this week - in person for the first time in AGES.

To add to the Prom dress photos - including hair

Yay he's dressed and got his nose out of the front door !! Going back in to school for rehearsals so hopefully will connect with others in year 11 in the same boat. School with out the lessons - his idea of heaven :):)

Yes makes sense for uni visits now if you have an idea of what you want - but there is plenty of time if not. Please don't worry if this isn't on your radar yet. And I don't think you necessarily need to do a large number of visits either (depends on how broad your course is and whether you have set preferences between campus/city or distance etc as to how many you may want to see). DD1 went to four initially, then went back to the favourite two at offer days to decide on the first choice. DD2 was very restricted on time (doing IB !) and also her school had a maximum of two days allowed for uni visits per term so only went to three initially, then wen to another for an offer day that she hadn't visited before. Offer/applicant days (usually held in Jan to April of year 13) are great and much more focused and I know some applicants even short list 5 to put on their UCAS form and only visit for offer days. It depends very much on how much you know you want before hand.

My only other advice would be think course, course, course. Courses vary so much from uni to uni in both content and style - I have seen so much discussion on mumsnet worrying about standard of accommodation etc or the town but please do consider if the nature of course is right for the DC. That is most important. That is also true of Oxbridge - the courses at Oxford and Cambridge can be very different for the same subject

Sorry for the ramble !!

Good advice oratory, thank you! We are doing oxbridge open days this week and next but mostly because DS is fixated on them and won't consider visiting elsewhere until he's seen them properly. TBH Oxford don't offer exactly the course he thinks he wants so it will be useful for him to have to rethink a little if he loves the colleges etc. No pressure from us! His grandmothers are much worse for that - one thinks he's destined to be Foreign Secretary after an Oxford PPE (she loves BoJo ), and the other thinks he'll be an ambassador and bring about world peace. Aaaargh!

farang OMG that hair is gorgeous!!!

Is your DS looking at HSPS at Cambridge too TerfTerf?

farang one word gorgeous!
oratory great advice! Dgd has said she doesn't want to go too far from home to uni which is great as Cambridge down the road hour and a half and London only 120 miles away. So........actually not a too bad uni in the city 35 miles away but she won't consider it. Until she makes a firm decision ( GCSE results will help her decide) not much use doing open days (sigh)
So hot and can't put my fan on as dog is terrified of it ( another sigh) .
When having treatment was listening g to a programme on radio 4 about prom dresses! Anyone else hear it?
The future is beckoning our dc who will soon be adults. Time really flies and I feel the wrench of letting go much more harder with dgd than i did with my 2 dds. I don't know why as I love all my family to infinity and beyond.

Terf that's what grandmothers are for.....!

farang well done dd negotiating international flights.

Oratory great advice. Ds is arguing with dh over this very issue! He wants particular courses but dh has his sight aimed at Cambridge which is where he went. But Cambridge don't do the course ds wants...

Then please look at oxford cubscout and Cambridge Terf - the courses are very different (perhaps intentionally). DD2 had a Cambridge offer but the subject she did had very different content between Ixforf which she wouldn’t have considered and wasn’t interested in at all and the Cambridge one which was exactly what she wanted and the reason she applied. Also to get an Oxbridge offer the thing you need the most (apart from huge intelligence) is to be able to demonstrate you really want to do that specific course in that specific subject and that you can talk excitedly and interstingly about that subject. If you applied because you thought you should or you haven’t researched the course or you think your odds on for a place because of your grades - they will know. Likewise medicine - you have to love it. Don’t be put off by less than stellar gcse s either - I don’t like the word passion but for want of a better word that’s what Oxbridge and other courses that interview are looking for

Good advice all round Oratory . The courses he is looking at run at Oxford, Warwick, Durham and Bath - also London Uni's but he doesn't want a 'London' experience (we live too close anyway!). Actually, he's incredibly organised for a 16 year old! Year 12 might bring some changes.

I also have a very organised 16 year old who has looked at the university courses for his preferred subject in detail and has made a shortlist of seven that most interest him. We'll be visiting one this Thursday.

It makes a change from my 18 year old who barely knows what he is doing next week.

Day one of work experience here, terrified on the way in, but "not too bad" on the way home.

And she was fully inducted into modern working life- they had her doing spreadsheets

@TheThirdOfHerName - does that mean DS knows what he wants to do after Uni, hence the degree selection?

Do other DC know? I have seen a few med/biomed mentions on here and thethirds post has got me wondering.

DD thinks IT at the moment (unless work experience puts her off) but she has also talked about Law and the Armed Forces (scary) but nothing seems to have solidified in her mind

Anyone else?

The future is beckoning our dc who will soon be adults. Time really flies and I feel the wrench of letting go much more harder with dgd than i did with my 2 dds. I don't know why as I love all my family to infinity and beyond.

Sost maybe it’s because as a grandparent you really do know how quickly it goes? I think you are so busy as a parent that it all catches you off guard

Farangatang : beautiful

Do other DC know?

DD’s thoughts include Royal Marines band (she’s thinking after she is 18), cyber security, vet/nursing/animal physio.

She had trial shift at cafe today. The owner makes fab celebration cakes and quizzed DD on cake themes e.g. Game of Thrones and Divergent. So who knows she may have a career as geek cake designer ahead

My ds doesn't know what he wants to do after uni but has a passion for the subject choice and wants a course with specific modules. One uni he is thinking about offers a year in industry.

Do other DC know

Dd is very keen to go into primary teaching. She's planned to for a while now and has done various volunteer work to aid that. She's aware of courses she may consider and knows the grades needed in gcse for key skills etc.

She's just done day 1 if work experience - again in school, though she's chosen to go to a school for primary children with some profound SEND. She's really enjoyed today and found it very interesting. She's even opted to go in for their two INSET days this week (given option and two other WE have chosen not to) as she's talked to the teacher about what they are about and apparently they sound really interesting and informative, with one day a proper external advisor coming in, so she thinks they'll be useful and also good for her experience part of her application forms.

DS knows he wants to something in computing (probably programming) but not any detail - I worry a bit that he doesn’t really have any experience or do anything outside of gaming and gcse CS - so we ve got some research to do and he should try some courses or on line stuff over the summer. I will look at some of your links too thank you Peggy. He thinks he wants to go apprenticeship route rather than uni but I may get him to look at a couple in case plans change over the course of next year.

A chill few days first though I think 😀

Awww, Farang she looks lovely.

DD now seems to think that retail therapy is the best way to relax. I think I've persuaded her that her glittery prom shoes (which her dress has been shortened to fit) are fine, but she has cleared space in her room by recycling her school uniform which she wants to fill with new clothes. I took a rare day off today and went shopping with her (I actually got more for me than her) but we're heading to Westfield tomorrow. It's DH'S fault, as he had to go to a conference there last week and told her how much better it is there than in (say) Stratford. Can anyone with girls tell me if they wear anything other than ripped jeans, as I'm trying to persuade DD that they are not suitable for all occasions. Tennis kit is also not always appropriate.

DS1 is pretty clear that he is leaning towards chemistry or chemical engineering. He also wants an English university where he can play cricket. He doesn't want to be in London. Plus we think he is likely to get quite a strong set of results. That has helped in identifying potential unis.

As others have said Oxbridge applications need to go in very early so it makes sense to get thinking sorted as early as possible.