Corona Cohort - Year 12 - 2021 - NO 'Self isolating' please.

[Oblomov20]

We just want our kids in school. Please. If at all possible.

And driving lessons. And good Mental Health. And happiness.

In-and-amongst all this Covid nightmare and lockdown debacle.

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😂😂😂 love it! Sounds fab. And yes. Expensive

One of the problems for Y12s is that it easy to think in terms of their current skill set rather than the skills they will be acquiring over the next few years. DS has spent the last year learning about muscle development and fitness and although he loves technology he says he does not have the right skills to be a technology developer, so he thinks he should be a performance coach. Another very specific aspiration, which seems to me dodgy as he is not any sorry of elite sportsman himself.

@Directionerforever Yacht brokerage is even more specific, not everyone's cup of tea to be schmoozing with super rich people, oligarchs etc. Can she sail?

We used to sail, she hasn’t for quite a while though, I think we both know it’s a bit of a pipe dream but I guess someone has to do it and if it gives her a bit of focus then I’m all for it!

Good to have ambition Directionforever ! Someone i went to school with is doing something along those lines in South of France I think

What about when things get more normal she has a word with Sunseeker and sees if she could do so do some summer work with them?

Good idea @FoolsAssassin, god our kids are missing out on so much with all of this craziness.

Yes sadly. DD has given up on getting to her host university for second semester of her year abroad.

That's such a shame @FoolsAssassin. Young people are missing out on so much and it's not necessarily things they can get back/do again at a later date. Dd was bemoaning the loss of a full sixth form experience, the parties and socialising, but I think it's worse for the university students.

The UCAS applications are certainly going to be different next year! On the plus side that might actually make them focus on the subject they want to pursue in their applications rather than all the side 'frills'.

Can I join in?
Boy/girl twins with a late July birthday.
Dd is very down at the moment.
I'm wondering how things are going to pan out this year?

Hello teta, welcome. Is it stuff in general she’s down about, or something in particular? Maybe worth mentioning to school if work related so they can try and help? It is rubbish at the moment, especially as they know the likelihood of getting back after half term is negligible now. I don’t think the vaccine roll out impact hits them until they see things relaxing again...

I also think they have been the afterthought in every sense in this pandemic. But taken the most blame. The let’s wing it attitude the education minsters have had has just been appalling, and the subsequent consequences yet to play out. This would just not be acceptable in the private sector, and yet people like GW and the likes are still in place. Cheery soul, me this morning, but we still spin it all for DC to keep it going!

Hi Teta and welcome. If you have an older DC I think I was on a GCSE thread with you back in the day under a different name .Really sorry to hear about your DD, can she articulate what is getting to her the most ?

Ealingwestmum is is ridiculous isn’t it. Obvious they were going to cancel exams after Scotland and Wales just as it was obvious they were going to close schools but our glorious leader was proclaiming they were perfectly fine.

I don’t disagree with either decision, it’s the processes (or lack of) that gets to me and don’t get me started on the idea of replacing isolation for close contacts with daily testing with lateral flow tests.

Pretty much every teenager I know is doing what they are supposed to be but social media seems to be full of people moaning about them. Really winds me up.

crazycrofter yes I agree. DD was so looking forward to the easy come easy go nature of 6th form as 6th formers get a swipeable lanyard that lets them in and out the buildings without a teacher supervising. Since Sept she's not been allowed to leave school premises as teachers have to physically let you leave and if you forget something and go back the doors are locked shut. She's missed simple things like making hot drinks in the 6th form common room and going bowling/ cinema etc with friends ad hoc. Seems trivial but she wasn't into partying / hanging out in town with friends in lower school but was getting braver and I think she would have blossomed this year. Everyone the same and I so so feel for the uni kids not having the proper experience of uni life or work experience that lots of them need to complete courses eg teacher training etc.

We've just had a new rule for our area where you can't meet anyone who isn't in your household or support bubble so the walk DD had arranged today can't happen or the one she had planned yesterday- she FaceTimed her friend and they baked instead.

Also found out (DH emailed the school) that the reason we have no GCSE certs as yet is they put the wrong school name on certs - our school changed its name last year as became an Academy.
The results for resits in maths and English have come back now (last week) so maybe another reason why certs are late.

Welcome Teta are your twins in the same school? My twin niece and nephew - year 13 - are in different schools and one is on the ball with online tuition and the other not so they find the disparity unfair when one is gaming when not self studying and the other having proper scheduled lessons all day.

I feel pretty sure that DS is going to drop out of college.

He keeps saying he can't do homework because he doesn't understand it. I think this is because he's not paying attention enough in the (online) 'live lessons'. He managed ok when he had to sit thru lectures, but he can't find the self-discipline to focus at home.

Sometimes he surprises me by suddenly understanding and doing some homework, though, I may be writing him off too quickly. He's a total procrastinator & will resolutely do the bare minimum.

I don't know when it will be clear that he's truly failing 6th form.
I don't know if he can maybe salvage 1 or 2 of the A-levels and partly continue.
I don't understand the different types of apprenticeships which seems like the natural alternative training path for him (all mean daily commuting far away & pay lousy so will be challenging, though).

Just wondering if anyone else in similar situation!?

Lovely to hear from everyone. I'm desperately in need of a companiable thread. Plus some help via shared experiences.

No, they both go to different schools .Both with good online lessons. Ds is dyslexic but bright & is doing a mixture of btecs n A's.

Dd is at a very academic school that's mainly boarding. Of course she's now totally excluded from all her friends.
That's the main issue. She's used to having lots of friends and has always been very popular. But now she says she hardly has any as she has no friends in her classes. Plus, due to protecting the boarders they are not allowed to socialise any more.

lljkk we had lots of problems with DD in year 12. After several changes of courses we did get her to the end of year 12 which gave her some BTEC credits so that was easier as completing the first year actually gave her something and as they finished early was just about possible to keep her going, a few weeks at a time.

Much harder in these times. I would speak to school or college this week if possible and find out how they feel he is doing in reality and see what his options actually are with regards to dropping something. They do all get 3 years of funding for level 3 so if he did want to he has the option of maybe switching to a BTEC if he wanted to.

If he was coping before online lessons though might it be possible to get him through this bit then hopefully back in the not too distant further ? It sounds like a reaction to the current circumstances to a fair extent.

I don’t know a lot about apprenticeships, DD looked for one but didn’t find one, there’s a website you can search by area that she used. There are ones aimed at people with GCSES and others for those with level 3 qualifications ie. A level or BTEC . Hopefully someone else knows more.

Teta that must be really difficult for her , a big change🌷

Thanks for reply, FoolsA...
I can't see BTEC working better, still a set of Quals that require self-discipline.

DS is amazing in his paid jobs, very conscientious and diligent. But don't ask him to organise self at home.

Anything underlying possibly going on like dyslexia or dyspraxia? Unlikely but have known a couple of DC diagnosed at this age when the workload steps up.

Meh, I wouldn't be surprised but I don't think DS's TLA will be identified for another 20 yrs or so. He's in a space of his own.

A lot of boys aren't good self-organisers & procrastinate like crazy. He's pretty ordinary in those ways I reckon.

I know it's common for kids to drop out of A-levels, but nobody talks about how it happens and how to be ready for that.

Yes agree with that about organisation etc.. Only mentioned it as sometimes easier to get a bit more support if it is the case.

We found that when DD dropped out end of year 12 it wasn’t very clear what was available. She did go and see a careers advisor locally but that didn’t really lead to anything.

@Lijkk your Ds sounds very similar to mine. Hugely practical & has absolute flashes of pure intelligence but can't organise himself. But he is getting better & boys often find success very late. Also finds online learning very hard and exhausting. Dyslexia doesn't help. However he's really enjoying his btecs. They tend to be more practical & Ds reckons they're easier. Also modular which helps.
Would it be worth chatting to a teacher or the head of year to see what they recommend you do? Don't completely discount anything at this stage.

@lijkk that sounds difficult. I think online lessons are really hard. My ds is only year 10 but he has ADHD so focus (and also organisation) are issues anyway. I can see him totally switching off with the online lessons; there’s only a PowerPoint to look at and no accountability as mics and cameras are off. He did better in lockdown 1 when it was all read this/watch this video.

Also, he just can’t organise himself to keep track of all the various platforms - email/teams/satchel one etc. I’m really having to work hard to keep him going and make sure he knows when he’s got a lesson/what he needs/when work is due etc.

Not sure what to suggest; at least he could restart year 12 (the same or different courses) in Sept when things might be more normal. I don’t know where the level 3 apprenticeships (which only need GCSEs) get advertised but I guess he could start one in September?

www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

Apprenticeships are here, think they hsve some at various points in the year.

Apprenticeships are very, very rare at the moment. Researching for them will give you a good idea about what’s about. I expect it is because we are fairly rural but the situation is dire around here. It’s pretty essential to have a driving licence and have the the resources for a car in order to get anything.

@lljkk my DS is the same. Very similar to yours - loves his job, hates academic study.

The school are making noises about him dropping a subject which is really sad as he was doing really well in school for the first time ever.

I'm not sure he is learning anything at all at home tbh.