Thread 15 - Corona Cohort Year 12, 2021 Lateral Flow & Driving Tests

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A totally depressing read Piggy.

Welcome back Piccolo. Hears to a less turbulent term will helping your DD navigate her options. It can’t be easy moving schools and then having a stop/start L6th derail all aspects of her integration.

Here’s 🙄

Love the Lurcher, Greyhound chat.

I'm a big year abroad fan. I had the best gap year ever.

There are many reasons for doing so. If a child kind of needs to for emotional reasons that's cool. If it's because they don't know what they want to do.

But, how possible will it be now? Not just because of covid, and lack of opportunities now, but what about the lack of travel? Not just because of covid, but the Greta idea of discouraging travel for green reasons?

Will you be able to work on a kibbutz, travel to Oz, go to 15 different countries on inter-rail?

Piggy, if we didn't know before, we do now - this government are philistines.
I despair too.

Welcome back Piccolo!

@Oblomov21 did you try the app?

Hello Piccolo and I'm sorry for all the difficulties parents have been facing .I haven't posted for a while too, as I didn't seem to have any news. I'm hoping optimistically that everything is going to settle down now and Covid will just seem like an exceedingly bad dream.
It's been so difficult for year 12's this year due to the total lack of certainty in anything. Also as a parent, I've felt in perpetual stasis, or like I'm banging my head against a brick wall.

Things are starting to pick up.I've just had a positive, speed dating parents evening for ds2. He's now decided instead of Sports he wants to do Psychology. Currently a C but improving and finds it very interesting (he's dyslexic and this is his worse grade). How can you filter out unis with these sorts of grades - ABC ?

Regarding gap years I was really anti. However it was the making of dd1 and had a huge impact on how she is today at 22. She's had so many friends who've changed courses. One who did a first degree after failing to get in to medicine and now has got in. My nephew took 3 years out and is now doing medicine.
Sometimes as parents we become obsessed with being on the academic treadmill without realising it's beneficial to hop off for a while.

Welcome back piccolo

Fferny1 totally agree with with becoming obsessed with the academic treadmill, it’s all too easy.

piggy a depressing read as DD is heading towards music.

Thanks for sharing @Piggywaspushed

There is a petition linked below and I've responded to the consultation
www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/stop-the-50-percent-funding-cut-to-arts-subjects-in-higher-education/

Fferny , does your DS's school use Unifrog?

Good to see people dropping back in.

Friendships are so tricky at 6th form. I remember changing school for solid reasons but after university I wasn't really in touch with anyone from either school. I had a lot of fun in 6th form but the friendships didn't cement.

Envious of the dog owners. We had a soppy lab and he's still missed.

This was what I was talking about when I said earlier about them changing a funding model for next academic year. In their minds it only affects new students, this is untrue. There will have to be staff cuts , students have already been offered places at this point.

Such a shitshow.

I looked into the analysis of the last government consultation. In certain things they seemed to give more weight to.the responses of the exam board and other similar interested parties. What is the point of these stupid consultations if they are going to do what a certain section wants anyway.

Welcome back @Fferny1and @Alsoplayspiccolo

The behaviour in one of Dds classes has become appalling. Rest are ok. There are a group of boys who are being horrendous. It’s a lesson where debate is needed so it is descending into stupid comments to get laughs. Masks are being worn under the chin, phones out etc. Dd says she’s never seen behaviour like it. She can’t work in that environment. Both teachers in the subject struggling to maintain order. I have been listening to what the teachers are doing (ex-teacher so know the tricks) and I can tell they are doing all the usual techniques, including sending one out.
Anyone else’s DC’s having problems?

Thanks for the welcome back 😍

Zanda, that sounds unbearable. No idea what the answer is, other than to maybe raise a concern with HoD/HoY? Not easy, I’m sure.
Why are some 17 year old boys such idiots? There is one disruptive boy in DD’s English class, but the other students and the teacher squash him pretty quickly by the sounds of it.

Sounds like time to pick the phone up zanda and be that parent?

@Zandathepanda that is awful, the school must have a way of dealing with that, it can't go on.

I am so THAT parent I have to pick my battles. Dh, Dd and I chatted about it, discussed how to phrase things correctly, and she has spoken to school about it. She is a superstar. The teachers are supportive.

I can understand the boys to an extent with the last year - they are letting off steam. I taught some of them a long time ago and they are ok individually but together, as a particular group, have become awful. I think there must be a lot going on socially out of school with this group. They are so lacking in respect which has shocked Dd - and I think the teachers.

It would be interesting to know if this is more of a problem nationally. Her other lessons are fine which include some of the same boys. It’s all a bit .

I mean, as you know, I am a teacher and I have never had issues like those you describe in sixth form lessons. The odd lazy arse (OK loads), some misplaced banter and a bit of squashable off task behaviour. There is , however, behaviour like this in common rooms, car parks, assemblies (I heard) and generally about the place sometimes. I don't think anything to do with Covid : I think it is a lads lads lads culture and -usually- entitlement .Been issues at my place this week with girls eventually deciding to tackle sexual harassment!

What subject it it? Is the class size large?

Sixth form lessons are rarely quite how most parents imagine them that said... as you know!

In other news, DS's school just emailed a letter : multiple cases of the Indian variant...

Oh no Piggy that’s not good about the variant.
In answer to your question= 24, mainly males who are financially better off than average and like showing it off. It started off with banter but they have been cranking it up to stupid levels. My Dd is like those girls at your school and it doesn’t mix. Dd can’t even answer a question without groans from them.

That's shit.

The large class size won't help as it will just seem like extended year 11.

Piggy Dd reckons it’s because they are living that Year 11 term they missed. The last term I hated (as a teacher) as it was a heady mixture of pupils too stressed/can’t be arsed. Bizarrely some of these boys are bright and could do well. Maybe, because they don’t have the experience/fear of exams, they can’t appreciated this isn’t a good strategy for A Levels?

I think it is possible but my year 11s don't behave like that either! It sounds more like year 9!!

Yep! In a last lesson Friday time loop!