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

[orangecinnamon]

Placeholder

Hi everyone, I’m going to try to keep up with the thread this time!

We were supposed to be popping to Oxford yesterday afternoon to look at the Brookes campus - all the other unis Dd might look at for OT will need a full day/overnighter. But Dd got stuck at a friend’s house the other side of the city after staying over, as the trains were down all day. I went out in the car to try to pick her up and got a puncture! No spare wheel and tyre places not open! So that was a good start...

I’ve been trying to pin Dd down for a few visits but she’s out every Saturday doing something with friends and thinks half term will be full too! No idea when she plans to revise for her June exams!

Hello - I "know' a few of you from other threads as we have older DC.

DD is year 12. Passed her theory test 2 weeks ago and we are now at the mercy of one of those clever apps to try and get a cancellation in July.... her current test is booked for late September. She's never had a lesson with an instructor, just DH and I.....but will need at least 2 or 3 I expect before her test.

She's hell bent on a career in medicine and has secured a volunteering role in a stroke ward at a big London hospital which starts next Sunday. Exciting times! I think she's identified 3 unis she's keen to apply to - the last one is still up in the air.

July has been earmarked as UCAT preparation month. She is very unlikely to go down the BMAT route too.

Hello! I dropped off the last thread but glad I’ve found the new one. Starting to get a bit nervous as exams are looming, personal statements, driving lessons, evidence of learning ...Aaarrgh!!!!

Exams straight after half term. 2 full papers per subject.(4 subjects) Most will drop 1 subject after the results come out. Chance to retake in Sept if they don’t do well in a particular subject they want to continue with in Y13. Will form the basis of estimated grades. DS has decided not to do the EPQ which they are encouraged to do the bulk of over the summer. 4 subject workload this year has been hard - I haven’t encouraged him looking for a PT job because of it. A few of his year has supermarket shifts and sports coaching jobs but it’s definitely the minority. How many hours are your DC working PT in the week if they have found a job?

Dd has started looking for a job but she won’t do the sensible thing and ask in person - she’s just applying through Indeed. She thinks she wants a Saturday job. She does seem to manage to do most of her work in frees at school - she’s definitely doing less at home than for GCSEs. But whether she’s doing enough, who knows? Exams start on 21st June.

Thanks orange

Not too many hours during the week sansou, currently 2 x on fri evenings, but does 8 hour shifts in holiday times when her sport runs holiday clubs.

Nice to see old faces returning and new (hello MidLife), it's a busy term here as I'm sure with all of you...exams are the week before half term for DD. She's a little nervous, GCSE mocks feels like a long time ago for her and she knows the exams will have everything thrown in, which she finds more challenging on the essay based subjects due to the sheer volume of revision.

DD is another with exams after half term that will determine predicted grades.

I can't help thinking that our cohort could be the beneficiary of lower grade boundaries next year. It seems utterly implausible that the 40% grade inflation seen in the 2020 results (expect higher this year!) will be totally reversed.

Personally, I wish grading would go back to pre 2020 levels - as I've seen the carnage that resulted from unis giving far fewer offers this year due to anticipated pie in the sky TAGS from many schools!

I just hope ours get to do proper exams or else they’ll be forever the generation whose qualifications don’t count/were made up by their teachers!

The grade inflation thing is tricky. DD’s exams in June will contribute the majority of her UCAS predictions too- but will they use 2019 grade boundaries to set these or not?

@Sansou my DD has a job in a local village pub. She works Friday or Saturday night, usually a 5 hour shift and 5 hours in a Sunday lunch. She’s been ‘rained off’ a few times but when it’s indoor trading ( next week) things should settle down.
She’s got another seasonal ‘as and when required’ job and often does 8 hours during school holidays.

Just checking in, thanks for the thread @orangecinnamon!

I have no exciting or non exciting news. DS has his exam timetable, they are later than I thought and now his Theory test is the Friday before they start - oops. He only has three but they are 2.5hours each in exam conditions.

I have a questions for the those with young drivers, at what point do instructors start doing manoeuvres with them?

DD been told that exams after half term will form part of the predicted UCAS grades.
Also the rule that you have to get a minimum C grade in any subject to progress with it in the U6. Retakes haven't been mentioned, but I know DS had to resit his maths two years ago.

Thanks for the shiny new thread Orange

Another set of mocks after half term sometime mid/ late June for us too Seeline which form UCAS predictions and we haven't had a report on the last lot she took after Easter but they are due this week apparently so watch this space. She's predicted BBB which I think is low ish so she's hoping for higher next year. Think the school like to get value added and to show what a great 6th form it is as students smash their predictions so they predict lower.

@midlifecrisis007 schools vary massively in their approach to UCAS predictions. At our school they predict "what you would get on a good day", which is what the TAGs are expected to be this year. Some schools don't like predicting A*s, another local school asked students what predictions they wanted and have them those of they were reasonable!

Who knows whether the grade inflation will end for our lot. It shouldn't because a lot of them have missed out on so much teaching that they will get lower marks, so for them the grade boundaries should go down. Others have barely missed out at all, but if you have exams, you have to have grade boundaries, and to be fair to the disadvantaged, the ones who have not missed out will end up with higher grades than they would have got in a normal year. There is no right answer.

I assume you know that medicine has been a year like no other! Significantly more applicants with lots of 2020 and 2021 high grades, on line interviews, some of the medical schools like Birmingham changing the scoring system to make it a "brave" choice for candidates without perfect scores from a normal background. Best not to choose 4 places to firmly until after UCAT and make sure you really understand the shortlisting algorithm they use so no choice is wasted.

Cheers for that @Monkey2001. Yes, she's all over how the different med school shortlist and their interview techniques.

I hear you with regards to waiting until we get her UCAT score.... Thankfully she's ruled out Oxbridge, all the London med schools, Bristol and Cardiff so she won't be aiming for the creme de la creme in any event.

A few years back, older Dd was disappointed about not getting an A prediction in her favourite subject. To be fair it was the first (and still only!!!) proper exam cycle of the new syllabus so the teachers were being cautious and said they wouldn’t predict A. However, her friend did get an A* prediction as she was thinking about Oxford. This cheesed Dd off as the friend got an unconditional off the back of that from Birmingham.

DD predicted BBB at moment...it is a hard place to be as predictions could change for better or worse come October when they are finalised (according to college...no idea what they do about Oxbridge).

I do have external assessment news not a driving test but Dd having her digital grading soon (Trinity). It turns out her wonderful accompanist sheuses has a really good relationship with her new singing teacher. I love them both they are great. I think they appreciate that I am very hands off when it comes to Dd Music because I don't have a clue she also wants to attempt grade 8 theory this term..not sure you can do that digital with abrsm though.

Luckily she has also chosen to work on keyboard skills and a couple of new songs going forward. I have been listening to these exam pieces since last August and one is on a current advert (Carmen) total ear worms.

It is now very unlikely that Dd boyfriend will follow her to uni since he has decided he wants to do an gas engineering apprenticeship at this level. He just doesn't get on with college. It is a shame since he is supersmart but he'd rather be doing what some of his mates are...there are lots of pathways.

Thanks @orangecinnamon. It’s so good to be part of this thread and hearing how all different sixth forms/colleges are doing things.

Good news here is that DD can apply for a driving licence without declaring ADHD to DVLA according to the psychiatrist because DD doesn’t know whether it would affect driving before she actually tries. She said the gov advice was confusing. So have applied and will be booking a theory test as soon as it’s sorted!

DD has also applied for a part time job but I’m not sure she will really be able to comit to it with all her musical commitments.

How have some people got predicted grades already? DS won't get his until after the exams he sits this term. We have had progress report cards with just grades on every three months and just had one a week ago but that's based on attainment grades rather than predicted.

@PaddingtonPaddington that's very good news about your DDs driving licence. Hopefully she won't find the ADHD a barrier to her learning to drive.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn Ds gets a target grade on all termly reports. But these are just based on gcse grades. Is predicted grade different? It must be.

I don't know Ican, we just get attainment grades and have been told the next set of exams will be the basis of their UCAS predicted grades. It seems schools all do things quite differently. I do wonder how they work it from what they achieve in this test to how that plays out a year later? Do you think it allows for improvement, so if they get a B in that exam do they predict a B for next year? I know no-one can answer that, I'm just wondering aloud.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn

How have some people got predicted grades already? DS won't get his until after the exams he sits this term. We have had progress report cards with just grades on every three months and just had one a week ago but that's based on attainment grades rather than predicted.

We get lots of data based on assessments during the term. Then at parents eve they add the predicted grades too.

ALPSTargetGrade:ThisisthesameastheMinimumTargetGrade.Thisisgenerated
from GCSE grades (ALPS is the Advanced Level Performance System software that
sets minimum target grades for students based on their GCSE grades)
·ALPS target %: This is based on the percentages needed for each grade and may vary
across subjects
·Average assessment %: This is calculated as an average using the individual student
percentages for key assessments in the markbook
·Assessment difference %: This is the difference between the ALPS grade % and average
assessment %.
·Projected grade: This is generated based on the difference.
(Then last predicted grade)

I'm not sure how accurate ALPS vs Projected is ...guess only time will tell!

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn We have the same. Working at grades on reports with UCAS predicted grades by the end of this year. I know my DS managed to persuade one of his teachers to increase one of his predictions at the beginning of the Autumn term due to improved grades in tests etc before making his final application two years ago, so I don't think they are set in stone.

@PaddingtonPaddington

Thanks *@orangecinnamon*. It’s so good to be part of this thread and hearing how all different sixth forms/colleges are doing things.

Good news here is that DD can apply for a driving licence without declaring ADHD to DVLA according to the psychiatrist because DD doesn’t know whether it would affect driving before she actually tries. She said the gov advice was confusing. So have applied and will be booking a theory test as soon as it’s sorted!

DD has also applied for a part time job but I’m not sure she will really be able to comit to it with all her musical commitments.

That is good news ..I remember you posting the guidance...clear as mud!