Thread 14? Corona Cohort Yr 12 2021 - 'Vaccinations and Eliminations'

[orangecinnamon]

Just place marking for the New Thread!

I'm pretty sure it's like chemistry, there is a professional body but you don't need to be a member in order to work as a chemist or biologist (DH and I have both worked as chemists all our careers, I'm a member, he's not). Some employers encourage it but the application process is separate to getting your degree - you can join as a student member or wait till you've graduated. Have a look at the websites for Royal Society of Chemistry / Royal Society of Biology.

The advantage of accreditation is that they’ll be able to go out to work straightaway in a clinical role etc but also have the choice to continue along the academic research route if they wanted to whilst the non accredited route only leads to academic research unless they sit extra exams or do more practicals. I’m not sure why the older universities don’t offer both routes by getting their degrees accredited.

Yes, if you want to work eg as an NHS Bioedical scientist you will need to choose the accredited route, but plenty of careers in science are not regulated as such. So it does depend a bit on what you want to do after you graduate. I couldn't work in a clinical role without further training / qualifications but I do work in the field of healthcare and only require a science degree to do so.

DH is in Group 6, received his text yesterday and has a vaccine appointment booked for Sat morning at a local GP practice. I’m not even expecting to be in Group 9 since I don’t turn 50 until the autumn unless they are setting Group 9 to include everyone turning 50 this year. Does anyone know?

In the process of chivvying both my teens out of the house for a short walk. I have taken a few days off work this week to give them some apparently unwanted attention.

Complete change of topic...DD's school hasn't even sorted supervisors for EPQ. When I questioned it I was told the girls should just be getting on with it and a supervisor was pretty unimportant. Seems bizarre to me and was wondering what other schools were doing?

Fingers crossed they are back on March 8th. DD hitting a wall - even half term seems a bit miserable.

@Wheresthebeach when is your DDs EPQ due to be submitted?
My DDs is submitted in May and she’s had a supervisor since September.
That said, the input in tutorials has largely been on the skills needed to complete the online log book as this carries a hefty amount of marks.
The supervisor is not allowed to give specific advice on the content of the EPQ.

@ProggyMat - the online log is what DD is fussed about. We have no idea when it's due to be submitted. They've done nothing about it in school at all yet.

I think we'll have to ditch it really. DD will have exams this summer term that she needs to concentrate on as they are what is used for predicted grades and first term of yr 13 seems a mad time to load a tonne of work.

@wheresthebeach DS was 'appointed' an EPQ supervisor and has a double period a week on timetable for it as a subject, From what I can tell hardly anyone turns up (even fewer now they are not on line) and the only bit that they've had feedback on is the literature review. I don't think DS has done any online logging which now has me very worried as its all due to be submitted in May.

Our school also has what they call UCAS exams at the end of year 12 to decide on final predicted grades.

I don’t think it will be 8th March - unless they’re classed as exam years (which they should be really). The newspapers seem to be suggesting secondaries will be a couple of weeks after primaries. I’m hoping I’m wrong though!

Sorry, my last post was in response to @Wheresthebeach! DD’s school has UCAS exams too but she wasn’t sure if they were still going ahead. I hope so as she’s not had any exams since year 10! But maybe they’ll put less emphasis on them in setting predicted grades for UCAS?

@sansou I was hoping for May as I am over 50 (group 9). I've just had a call from my GP to say I can go and have my jab on Saturday! I checked as I have no underlying conditions (apart from being overweight, but nothing recorded at the GP), but they said I was definitely on the list. So fingers crossed it may be sooner than you think.

@Wheresthebeach I think some schools submit the EPQ in Yr13 and start the ‘log’ off in the spring/ summer?
DD also has end of year exams which will inform her UCAS predictions.
She’s pleased that she’ll have the EPQ ‘out of her hair’ in Yr12!

@Monkey2001 yes I can imagine health centres being inundated with calls. Which is why dh won't ask if he's eligible for a vaccine. I wouldn't know where to look about booking online.

@Seeline that's great you've been called. I think it depends where you are etc. Dh is in his 60's (older than me as I'm not 50's yet) but as I said not sure when he will be called.

Dd's school still do As exams at the end of this year. So I'm wondering/hoping 🤞 whether this will allow them to go back earlier.
Sorry about the disastrous Pancakes @Monkey ☹️. We forgot about pancake Day here. Half term is dragging on here & the kids have become fully nocturnal.

Epq's are really hard to do without help and I feel for the ones who are totally at sea. I think doing them online remotely will be so much harder this year. Dd is finding hers very dry - it's a dissertation on Architecture.
Ds isn't doing one. As he's dyslexic & organising himself isn't his forte. He's doing Peer Support in his school instead.

@teta does your DD's EPQ have to be dry? The joy of EPQ is that you can do anything! Could look at follies or cathedrals or a particular type of building she likes. Now that DS has decided to give up FM, he is likely to do an EPQ in developing muscles as that is his passion!

DS has shelved doing an EPQ but is cracking on with the research project (mandatory for all). He is instead self studying for Core Maths which I think he will get a lot more out of and he’s really excited about it.

Just got emailed about some excellent taster sessions at Sheffield in a big range of subjects if anyone is interested?

Yes please, @Piggywaspushed!
Hummm, I maybe need to find out some more about Ds's EPQ process and timeline as he' confident it's under control whilst being extremely vague about the timelines ;-) They do have a supervisor but I think they've all been assigned that via school, and I know he's had a few sessions with him (but earlier on, when he kept changing his mind about his topic, I think!) They have EPQ timetabled sessions with one of the heads of sixth form, I know they've done drafts of their presentations within that already for example, as well as interminable info on the process.

@teta my degree dissertation was on Finnish architecture, it was fab.

I lie, it was my post grad special study.

Details for Sheffield tasters:

www.sheffield.ac.uk/undergraduate/visit/taster-days

Thanks @Piggywaspushed Really liked Sheffield when we looked around for S1 (it was his insurance & thought that was where he would end up!)

DD has weekly EPQ sessions with a small group and supervisor. I only know because it’s on a Friday afternoon so the zoom call is booming all over the house as I get home from work!

@KingscoteStaff when is your DDs EPQ due to be submitted?
Given As looks like it will go to TAGs, along with GCSE and A level (give or take whatever else is decided after ‘the consultation) I’ve asked DD if she’s heard if the May submission of EPQs will be graded as ‘normal’.