Thread 16 - Corona Cohort Year 12, 2021 Zooming through Summer Term

[orangecinnamon]

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Y12 exam week is straight after half term and I really hope we get to that point without bubbles bursting and kids needing to SI. Masks are worn in communal areas and when walking between lessons but off in classrooms. Tbh, I would have supported the continuation of wearing masks in classrooms just to attempt to make it to the end of the school year with the least amount of disruption. Not looking good though is it?

This was shared on the 2021 medicine thread. More evidence to support the fears we discussed earlier on this thread that all the As and A*s floating around last year and this year will make it so tough for our cohort.
www.theguardian.com/education/2021/may/22/top-pupils-rejected-by-universities-in-a-levels-fiasco-fallout

It does certainly seem particularly concerning for medical applicants.

@Monkey2001 But if our Corona Cohort actually sit exams in 2022 will they find University entrance tough?
By this I mean, how will admission teams view 2021 students who have taken a gap year before applying with (generous) TAGs for 2022 entrance against our Cohort with predicted grades, particularly if and certainly it’s a big if the exams are certain to go ahead in 2022?

That is worrying, particularly as the DfE's response is "try going through clearing". Not much help if you are applying for medicine or dentistry.

It’s not just Medicine or Dentistry that has been affected by the grade inflation of A and A star, though.
Reading across the threads on the HE board, Its been utter carnage for Humanities applicants this year too.

Dd is going to have a gap year - I wonder if this will affect her as much? I expect it’s going to take a few years to iron out.

The problem is that there are a lot of people with top grades, so the highest ranked subjects in all subjects are going to be over-subscribed. Our cohort's grades will officially be assessed as equal to 2020 and 2021 even though we might not have grade inflation because it would be unfair to the high achievers in those years who would have got the grades of the universities do anything else. There is also the issue that the

.... Inflated grades were not uniform for 2020. Some schools were rigorous and people got lower grades than they would have got in normal years, some schools just gave everybody A*/A and left the algorithm to pull some down.

@Piggywaspushed: sorry to hear about cases rising locally with you: fingers crossed things calm down soon.
DS is definitely thinking a year out is a good thing (ASC and has lost confidence with external interactions this year), and in the context of competing with inflated TAG grades from this year, I can see it's sensible and may dilute the impact of TAG kids from this summer who may carry over to next year. Although of course if everyone does it, it won't! I was wondering how this is going to impact grades going forward. The gov won't want to have a picture where we can see grades falling - and parents/kids aren't going to like seeing grade boundaries getting tougher again. But they'll need to pull grades back to normal levels, esp with some of the inflation at a/A* level - it's not going to be a bit wobbly for a few years I suspect. Teachers on the thread: any guesses for how they might handle it (other than badly ;-)

I genuinely have no idea at all!

Just saw on a BBC news bulletin that 25% of 16-17 year olds have antibodies to covid! Bit odd that 1 in 4 have had covid exposure and I expect many of them not even noticed! Dd is 16 and is double vaccinated now but can’t imagine too many 16-17 have had the jabs. Still good for a bit of herd immunity! Fingers crossed she got antibodies now. She was fine btw if anyone is worried about their child. Just a sore arm for a day and v slight headache.
I think going into year 13 obviously more and more will be 18 and able to have the vaccine. This is the most obvious route for exams to go back to being normal.

Piggy great news about your 2nd jab brought forward too! (Though teachers should have been done months ago)

I had my second jab on Saturday too, it was booked for next Sunday but I've got something else on that day so I went online and was able to change it. Got it 1/2 a mile from home instead of 20 miles away like the first one was. I had no side effects apart from my arm aching very slightly.

I'm hoping they allow 16+ to have the vaccine. DD is an end of July birthday so if we are still going through this she might only have had time for one jab before going off to uni. I'm already worried that she won't have had much experience of going to the pub or clubs before she goes. If she's not fully vaccinated either I shall be really worried 😁

I had to chase my second jab, and going to do the same for DD today.

My worry is that there are so many kids with top grades that uni's won't want our kids to take gap years as they'll want to be back to normal as soon as possible with kids from 2023 that have sat actual exams. I think ours will be TAGs again so wonder if viewed as less valuable by uni's.

Gah.

I thought they'd definitely said ours would be taking normal A level exams with no concessions for all the disruption that they had encountered. Is that not the case? Or is that just England?

@Seeline I thought ours would def have reduced content, like this year, and exams were up in the air. But I may be wrong.

@Seeline I can remember reading somewhere that the plan for 2022 was back to exams but have also read that it’s all still up in the air!
My concern about TAGs for 2022 is that it will mean reduced offers from the universities.
The 2021 grades in hand applicants will have met the entrance requirements. 2022 predicted will be deemed as having met the requirements too if it’s TAGs. It will be a nightmare for admissions teams.

My understanding is there is reduced content for our current yr 12s as they have had a lot of disruption too. I have also seen somewhere that exams were potentially not happening next year too or a mix of assessment and smaller exams. It would be nice to know wouldn't it, it's not like the government haven't had time to think about it.

The only thing they are definitely looking at is coursework, and that has more to do with the practicalities of completion.

I think otherwise, the government seems to be ploughing ahead. I guess they think teachers and students can just work harder/faster to make up for lost learning in years 10/12 - or that they sticking to the belief that remote learning during school closures is a proxy for class time.

THat is what I feared Piggy

With the absolute shambles that is Yr11&13 this year and the last minute changes/no guidance I don’t think anything is off the table. To be fair, it depends how bad next winter is, if they have lots of school closures.
I am trying not to put too much pressure on Dd but said that it is possibly more important she gets consistently good essay marks than her sister did just in case . Actually that is pressure but she aware of the reasons!

I think/hope our lot will do exams, but am also trying to impress upon DS the chance that the exams this month might actually count for something. I have a habit of picking up on sensible things I hear and dismissing the things which are clearly nonsense, but for the last year that has not worked - the people in power consistently make stupid decisions! Still really cross that they think traveling abroad is OK at all, but really unfair that you can only go if you are lucky enough to have been vaccinated, 😡that teachers, and anybody else who is required to work outside their home, are not vaccinated.

Hrumphh!

On the subject of exams, it’s end of year exams week for DD, under formal conditions.
Today she has Greek Literature a 11/2 hour paper , which in her words ‘doesn’t give you a chance to breathe’.
We set off in car to train station and I ask how she’s feeling and remind her about time:
DD: The battery has gone in my watch.
Me: There will be a clock in the exam hall.
DD: Don’t think I’ve got my glasses
Cue U turn to retrieve said glasses from home.
Ye Gods!!