Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Secondary education

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

Corona Cohort’s Year 12 adventures

999 replies

FoolsAssassin · 13/10/2020 20:36

We’ve made it into year 12 and rapidly approaching the end of the first half term .

Lots of challenges we could never imagined as we started the year but we’re all keeping on keeping on and this thread is for anyone who would like to jump on board to share the rather unusual journey this is turning out to be.

Thread

Previous Thread

OP posts:
FoolsAssassin · 14/11/2020 11:30

Happy Birthday to your DS Icanbe and hope he gets lots of sleep!

DS looked absolutely wrecked last night, we’re creeping around to let him sleep in as long as he needs today.

OP posts:
icanbewhatiwant · 14/11/2020 12:11

@FoolsAssassin thanks. Ds usually sleeps until at least lunchtime when there's no school anyway. He is awake now though as I sent him a photo of the cake I've made, he did reply. Gone are the days of getting up at the crack of dawn for birthdays ☹️ I miss that now it no longer happens.

JustHereWithMyPopcorn · 14/11/2020 12:28

Ours wasn't predicted grades - they made that very clear - just attainment grades so far and effort grade. No comments at all.

The last page of comments from others though might explain why he got given a B for one of his subjects that he's had As in all the tests and essays set. I don't like that idea.

sullden88 · 14/11/2020 12:47

DD has been predicted all Bs. She got 7/8s for her GCSEs. I presume you have to get all 8/9s to be predicted an A?!

ealingwestmum · 14/11/2020 12:49

Happy 17th to ican’s DS!

Monkey2001 · 14/11/2020 12:49

Urghh, really struggling with the rules meaning that DS can't see his girlfriend unless they find some thick bushes to shelter from the rain today. They are not social distancing so the "don't meet inside" rule just doesn't make sense, particularly as they sit together in Physics and in the common room at school. I wish England would make the same concessions Scotland and make the rules more reasonable, I don't like enforcing rules I disagree with!

Monkey2001 · 14/11/2020 12:56

Predictions were right for our DS1 too. DS2's school gave reports or grade sheets every term with "Projected grade" based on CATs and SATs and "Teacher Set Target" based on the work they were seeing, I think that was from Y8.

I know teachers who are very frustrated because CATs and SATs mean very little for their subjects such as music and art - however clever the child is, if they can't play an instrument they can't get a top grade even if they got 6s for all their SATs.

Comefromaway · 14/11/2020 12:57

@Monkey2001

Urghh, really struggling with the rules meaning that DS can't see his girlfriend unless they find some thick bushes to shelter from the rain today. They are not social distancing so the "don't meet inside" rule just doesn't make sense, particularly as they sit together in Physics and in the common room at school. I wish England would make the same concessions Scotland and make the rules more reasonable, I don't like enforcing rules I disagree with!
I found Ds and his girlfriend hiding in our garage last weekend.
JustHereWithMyPopcorn · 14/11/2020 12:57

@sullden88 I hope that’s not right, especially after this years GCSEs where DS was robbed in that subject and I don’t just mean that in a typical protective parent way, I really mean it. ☹️

Comefromaway · 14/11/2020 12:58

She’s at a different school to him and their theatre group where they met is obviously not on at the moment so they are only seeing each other once a week for a walk in the country park at the moment. (She lives about 10 miles away)

Comefromaway · 14/11/2020 12:59

Happy Birthday ican’s ds

icanbewhatiwant · 14/11/2020 13:32

Thanks. He's up 🤣 he asked for rice crispy M&M's for his birthday. So for a joke I filled a plastic lunch box with them and wrapped them up. He found that funny. He has taken them up to his room. I hope he has the sense not to eat the whole lot 🤢

sandybayley · 14/11/2020 13:37

DD has gone out with a thermos flask of hot chocolate to meet her BF for a 'walk'. Its pouring with rain here. He's made her some blondies with party rings cut in half into 'c' - her name begins with c. Romance!

orangecinnamon · 14/11/2020 14:32

Happy Birthday @icanbewhatiwant DS🎂 mine tomorrow, looking forward to a Chinese but rice crispy M&Ms sound great too!

Interesting to hear how lockdown relationships are going. Dd and her boyfriend have decided not to meet up outside of college as they wouldn't be able to stop themselves hugging. They are being terrifyingly soppy over social media as a result. Pre lockdown 'nature walks' were v popular.

EwwSprouts · 14/11/2020 14:39

Piggy "I miss the Dep head who used to explain a target grade meant actually 30% of past students-nationally- with the same average profile got that grade...30% got one grade more, 30% one grade less and the rest were outliers in both directions!" This was exactly the target info explanation that was shared with DS about now a year ago for GCSEs. Came with accompanying graphs for each subject. Interestingly he ended up a lower outlier in a couple of results, so no school did not inflate.

Monkey2001 · 14/11/2020 14:56

Haha @Comefromaway

@orangecinnamon that is impressive self control from your DD. DS and his GF have accepted that if one of them gets it, the other will, but as they are in the same school bubble they would both have to isolate if one of them got it anyway.

I am struck by the range of responses, from some students ignoring the rules to your DD not even hugging her BF. I wonder whether, as the weather gets worse, there will be lovelorn teens hanging out in Asda because it is the only place they can get out of the weather!

icanbewhatiwant · 14/11/2020 14:57

@orangecinnamon I asked ds what he wanted for dinner. I asked if he wanted take away. But he asked for stew as his younger brother hates it 🤣

icanbewhatiwant · 14/11/2020 14:59

Ds2 doesn't have a gf. He says he doesn't want one...too much commitment and would take up too much time 🤣 ds1 hadn't had a gf until he went to university. He's been with her a year now.

orangecinnamon · 14/11/2020 15:04

[quote icanbewhatiwant]@orangecinnamon I asked ds what he wanted for dinner. I asked if he wanted take away. But he asked for stew as his younger brother hates it 🤣[/quote]
Oh dear lol!

orangecinnamon · 14/11/2020 15:10

@Monkey2001

Haha *@Comefromaway*

@orangecinnamon that is impressive self control from your DD. DS and his GF have accepted that if one of them gets it, the other will, but as they are in the same school bubble they would both have to isolate if one of them got it anyway.

I am struck by the range of responses, from some students ignoring the rules to your DD not even hugging her BF. I wonder whether, as the weather gets worse, there will be lovelorn teens hanging out in Asda because it is the only place they can get out of the weather!

I was struck too. DD is quite risk-averse when it comes to Covid. I suspect she worries about passing it on to her Nan..they are extremely close and she is in our bubble. Or they think they are being hopelessly romantic. They are extremely happy together which is nice all the other Herberts the have been totally wrong for her and fuelled her anxiety. I did give a bit of a lecture before lockdown about being careful but she doesn't usually take any notice of those Hmm
Monkey2001 · 14/11/2020 15:19

[quote icanbewhatiwant]@orangecinnamon I asked ds what he wanted for dinner. I asked if he wanted take away. But he asked for stew as his younger brother hates it 🤣[/quote]
Haha! DS2 hates stew too.

DS1 also met his first GF after leaving school, during his gap year. I became intense very quickly and she lived with us for the first lock down. She is studying to be a nurse and he is doing medicine. They are looking like they might be permanent which feels odd for a first relationship, but she is lovely so we would be happy with it. He hates hassle and fuss and is a bit lazy so maybe finding a new GF would be too much like hard work!

DS2 has had girlfriends since Y7, went on a 3 week holiday with the last one and her family for her sister's wedding.

MirandaWest · 14/11/2020 16:27

DS has a girlfriend. He met her a couple of years ago through a band thing both of them were in. We’d had suspicions there was more to their friendship a bit ago and they’ve been going up properly for a few months now.

She’s at a college whereas DS is at school so not seeing each other much - they went for a walk on Wednesday - they’d normally see each other 2 or 3 times a week.

He got his first report yesterday - they had an estimated grade based on GCSE results, their assessment grade so far (which didn’t really make much sense given the marks he’s had for essays etc) then grades from 1-5 for contribution, effort and something else.

It’s his birthday next Sunday - he will get driving lessons at some point (until then he can go out with DH a bit) and DD has got him a plant. We’ve also got him a very large toy sloth and a hot water bottle sloth. I feel I need to get him some more things although he’s not easy to get small things for whereas 15 year old DD is much easier like that!

ProggyMat · 14/11/2020 19:07

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn DD had a report at the end of half term and will receive one each half term.
Each half termly report given will highlight ‘attainment’ grades and ‘effort’ grades but no written comment as a full written report is given in spring- prior to end of year exams.
No ‘predicted’ or ‘target’ grades.
That said, we were told that if an effort grade was lower than was expected then a comment would be on the report.
Could this be the case with your DS- given the late notification of an essay you have mentioned?

KingscoteStaff · 14/11/2020 19:35

DD has just gone out to meet her bf in the pouring rain to buy and eat a takeaway on a windswept bandstand. If anyone is in Battersea Park, she is the one in the fluorescent yellow rain jacket.

orangecinnamon · 14/11/2020 21:04

@KingscoteStaff

DD has just gone out to meet her bf in the pouring rain to buy and eat a takeaway on a windswept bandstand. If anyone is in Battersea Park, she is the one in the fluorescent yellow rain jacket.
Very wise choice of clothing! As an aside I've missed London and it's parks etc so much this year. I love where I live now but growing up near London it always has a special place in my heart Sad