GCSEs 2019 support thread 4

[TacoLover]

The last one is almost full!

Tabby- yes totally agree . My sister is very ill and has been in hospital 2 months, one nurse turned around and said “ I don’t know why you just don’t put a do not resuscitate sign on your bed” wtf!
Dd has just decided she loves languages so at this stage no idea!
We are going to the Oxford and Cambridge open days in July for inspiration.

Tabby, on 'What to do with history / politics type combinations?'...

DS's 3rd subject is music, and he's off to a conservatoire in September to do Jazz! He and we had always thought he'd go somewhere to do modern history / politics type degree - but he confessed the summer after GCSEs that his dream was to do this course at conservatoire, and to his credit has got his head down and got through the gruelling rounds of 2x Grade 8s, auditions first for junior conservatoire and then for the courses he wanted, the earliest possible deadline for UCAS etc etc

Cantkeepaway.. wowzer. Full of admiration for Dc with a passion

A few posters have been worried about their DC not getting at least a 5 on Eng Lang as it may affect their chances of going to 6th form.

Something else that I'll say is that quite a few (perhaps most?) universities require this as well.

Also, some universities also require an MFL as well - even if you are doing science or computing!

My DD is currently at UCL studying a science subject and UCL state that unless you have at least a 5 in an MFL then you will need to take extra courses while you are at university and pass an equivalent exam before you graduate.

My DD hated languages at school but just managed to scrape a C in French. This is from the UCL website:-

UK students who do not have a GCSE grade 5 (or grade C) or equivalent in a foreign language (other than Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew or Latin) on admission to UCL will be required to acquire an equivalent level of language proficiency once they are enrolled with us.

Arewedone oh no, sorry about your sister, her illness in the first place is terrible, but it's shocking staff say that. I've been on the verge of complaining about things, but didn't want the extra grief in the end.

DD has Oxbridge aspirations before the reality of GCSEs hit!! I might look at open days though.

Music sounds great, that's what I wanted to do but wasn't allowed, DD plays a few chords on the guitar but that's that, so I don't think there's going to be a sudden music epiphany .

Tabby- do look at the open days there are still places available 3-5 July,I’ve just booked for Dds friend to join us.
Yes shocking that you’d enter into a “ caring” profession and be completely uncaring!!!

This MFL for unrelated university courses keeps coming up. I gather from previous posts that UCL is the only one for whom this is true, and that in some cases it can be covered by a course done in the first year.

I haven't researched this myself but if anyone is factoring this into their planning, please check

The Cambridge page says that it's for y12 or mature students. I'm assuming that it's held on a similar date every year. Do schools allow y12 kids to take a day off for uni open days?

Pikapik- Dd doesn’t need to go back to school after her last exam on the 14th. Open days are not age specific although on the Cambridge one we have changed her DOB

What is the drill for Oxbridge open days? One heard of pupils and parents going after GCSEs but the Cambridge website at least says they are for year 12s only.

Do people just go anyway in year11?

Yeah that’s what we are doing. Have done St Andrews and Bristol already. Dd going along with Ds who will go to Uni next year

nickymanchester It is only the Russel Group Universities that may insist on a 5 in English Language and Maths. I have also heard a lot about the MFL requirement but I have only ever known UCL require it.

Michaelah So it looks like DD chose the only university in the country that demanded this. I wasn't aware it was the only one.

You're right that they run courses for people who don't have a GCSE, someone that DD knows had to go on one of these courses. You can do it at any time but it's easier to get it out of the way in the first year.

Only UCL demand a Mfl.

Lots of unis want a 5 in English and maths which is as it should be.

Derigeurmortis, my DS sounds like a carbon copy of yours

He'll decide between further maths and computing once he has his grades, he can't really decide (nobody here does 4)

English language will be the clincher! He got a 4 in his mocks, college wants a 5 for him to do physics (which he loves most). It will be a nerve-wracking wait until results day

He is quite positive though, and not stressed at all, he's so even tempered... so I do the stressing for him

Fingers crossed for all the DC who are borderline on grades!

Uni visits - I have 2 at uni already. DS1 started at the end of y11, beginning of Y12 but he had a very clear idea of what he wanted to study. DD waited until Y13 - if possible I would not recommend this!

Fibbke, really interested that some unis will accept Textiles as A level as DD determined to study this at A level, a choice change from English. I suppose it depends on what courses they apply for. I am a little bit meh very disappointed about Textiles as I think English would give more options later. But I guess they have to do what they enjoy. There are no required grades here for college, curiously. (Apart from Grade 4 for both English and Maths) All the schools in this town have no sixth form, they all move after Y11. So DD doesn't feel as much pressure as she might have been under. Just as well, being my DD! She wants to do History and Psychology to go with it.

srilanka she emailed Exeter and Birmingham and both were fine with it. They wanted an A in english and good grades in another two

Meant to add i am quite pleased shes doing textiles as i think eng lit, classical civ and philosophy and ethics might be a bit dry

Fibbke, the other main issue is that DD has done Art GCSE as I imagine yours has and it has literally taken up most of every weekend this past 18 months or so. I just wanted her to have more of a life over the next 2 years ie. go out a bit, get a Saturday job ( ha, ha ) Learn to drive etc . I just don't want her slaving away over the kitchen table on some design or other. Or maybe I'm just naïve and all A levels are going to take over?

I can see why it might be a good mix for you though as its a good thing to put with Eng Lit, Classics, Phil and Ethics.

Sri Lanka, mine did Art AND Textiles GCSEs! So definitely only doing Art for A-level!

(I do know someone who did Art, Textiles and Music for A level. Masses of coursework, but VERY smug at exam time!)

Wow cantkeepawayforever- I can't imagine the workload there! Does your DC want to do an Arts related career in the future then?

DD wants to be an architect - hence Art, Maths and Physics. The French is because she also does 2xMFL for GCSE and would love to be able to speak a language - the French is the subject that she is most likely to drop after Year 12.

Her school does 5 full options for GCSE, so she has quite a broad base - 2x MFL, 2x Art / DT subjects, 1x humanity - as well as the obvious English, Maths and Sciences. She's pretty good at them all, tbh, though she's competent rather than keen in English and History, so carrying on with a bit of a mixture going forward made sense.

Am I the only parent who’s dd doesn’t know what career she wants to do?? Even her A levels she is not sure ?