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

[orangecinnamon]

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LOL, how about Brighton?

@Piggywaspushed

LOL, how about Brighton?

Well Sussex is out. They don't support performance as well as the others apparently. Brighton's course is Digital music or something

I've been pleading with her about Birmingham and she told me she only needs one reason to discount it...the reason is she 'doesn't want to....

@AnneOfCleavage I think our school probably do epq year 13 because they usually start with 4 A levels in year 12 Then drop one after the AS levels for year 13. So I guess the epq takes over from the 4th A level. I'll wait to see what Ds thinks about it.

One university course Dd likes is under 2 hours by car and just under 9 hours by train. Forgot what a pain public transport routes are!

@Zandathepanda

One university course Dd likes is under 2 hours by car and just under 9 hours by train. Forgot what a pain public transport routes are!

It is crazy really !

@Shimy I was just on the local Music Festival website they use peeps below

krystal.uk/managed-wordpress

orangecinnamon how about university of Bath… sort of starts with U

I did notice some changes in rankings and wondered what caused the changes. I guess it just proves that tables are not the be all and end all.

As for rejecting unis, I think orangecinnamon”s DD is right, they only need one reason to reject and that is that they don’t want to. DS has rejected Wales, Scotland, london and various other places on distance or just not fancying them. Fair enough really.

Oh, Monkey, that sounds like a very stressful day! So glad the exam happened, though, and fingers crossed for a quick result 🤞🏻
DS took his grade 8 cello in December (incredibly lucky to be able to take it at his school, in person) and the result came back within a week.

I haven’t looked at the uni league tables yet, but my nephew is going to Glasgow in the autumn for law, having been turned down by Oxford and Durham. His other offers were Aberdeen and Manchester.

DD has gone back to thinking she wants to take English, possibly with theatre studies. From a quick look, English with drama seems more commonly available, so we’ll see.

What I find sad for our lot is that you really get a feel for a place visiting in a normal year. Older Dd dismissed 3 like this. The one she’s at, Newcastle, she fell in love with. She loved York too, which seems a bit like marmite on mumsnet.

Ds is now isolating due to a covid case at school. Year 10 seems to have been rife with cases all year - he had nearly two weeks off before half term too and there were loads of cases (including him) in the autumn term.

I think having fewer uni options is a good thing really in terms of making a decision, so it's good to narrow it down (even if the reasons are odd!). I remember choosing on the basis of how sunny it was on the open day and it worked out fine!

There are fewer places offering OT and dd was initially disappointed that she couldn't consider Exeter/Bristol/Bath like some of her friends. But I think now she's reconciled to it, it's actually not a bad thing. She's still saying she'd rather go to an RG uni (like her friends) which only leaves her with Southampton, Cardiff and Liverpool. She liked Southampton last week when we visited, even though it was quiet on campus, so I think she's feeling more settled about things now.

Sorry to hear about the isolating, @crazycrofter, does that mean another 2 weeks of Pirates of the Carribbean? If Y10, at least the 18th June deadline does not affect them. Has your school told you to book PCR tests?

Negative result for DS's PCR taken yesterday, which is great but makes it even harder to reconcile him to all he is missing, particularly the driving theory test tomorrow and not seeing GF for 10 days. Given that people travelling to England can test out of quarantine after 5 days, it would be helpful if that was extended to other people self isolating.

Re league tables, there is a skewing of some results towards Scotland because UCAS points are ridiculously generous for Highers compared to A levels. Makes it look like some Scottish universities have higher entry stats than Cambridge.

We really liked Cardiff, but they are dropping their A104 course for medics without Bio or Chem, so only 2 options for DS (Newcastle and Manchester, so great universities). All riding on the UCAT entrance exam and personal statement will not matter at all!

I agree that it is a real shame they are missing out on open days, and just when things were feeling better, the variant is scuppering things. Is Birmingham still going ahead with their open day?

@Monkey2001 at the moment we’re waiting to see if the PCR is positive for this boy, as there were several false positive LFTs last term. My sister’s boy is isolating and they were told to get a PCR test done but I cant see the point if it doesn’t reduce the isolation period?

I absolutely loved Newcastle and the university when we briefly visited last summer, although Dd hated it! I guess with medicine you can’t be too choosy about where you want to go as you may only get one offer anyway!

I doubt we’ll get two weeks of Pirates of the Caribbean 😂 He will leave all the practice until the night before again!

I think the reason for getting a PCR test for us is that DH and I are not self isolating, so although we are keeping separate in the house, I am taking them meals and the dog is visiting everyone because we are fairly sure that the person who tested positive did but really have any contact with DS although, in compliance with the rules, he is not leaving the house. If we had a positive result we would be much more rigorous.

Yes I see what you mean. But it can take several days after contact to develop covid and get a positive test so it’s not fail safe is it? I remember ds’ symptoms started on day 7 after contact. Of course I don’t know how many days before that he may have tested positive! We all had it at Christmas so I’m fairly hopeful we won’t get it again.

On a different note, are any of the musical DCs here applying for/ involved with NYO/NYO Inspire?

Lockdown meant DS qualified to apply for Inspire (he’s not state school or BAME) and he’s been involved in several projects that he’s really enjoyed.
We’re currently wading through the application for main NYO orchestra, mostly for the audition experience.

DD tried to apply 3 years ago piccolo, but we didn't realise it was for state educated DC only, which was fair enough. They were quite direct about it on the rejection note, just would have been easier to have made the preferrence more transparent.

Thanks for all the good wishes - all ok so far. She keeps LF testing daily, but as PPs have said, it can take a few days to present. I agree totally with the PCR disproportionate rules on incoming travellers vs the domestic crowd just following the rules at home...

Sorry to hear about those in SI right now.

DS did NYO Inspire 4 or 5 years ago and enjoyed it, but not as much as he enjoyed NCO, which he loved. He liked the 3 day one in Liverpool better than the 1 day in London, but pulled out of the residential the second time he was offered a place because he did not want to go without friends. He also auditioned for NYO when he was 14, but did not really want to get in as he had been told that the fun/work balance was very different and that NYO is very serious, so was not surprised that he did not get in.

After a year off ensemble playing, I think NYO Inspire would be great, and a 17 year old would probably enjoy the social aspect more than a 12/13 year old.

That’s interesting to hear, Monkey - I’m already feeling a bit overwhelmed by the application process, as it’s 2 rounds of auditions, the second a whole day in London IF by some miracle he gets that far, and then an obligation to do 5-10 days of Inspire.
He’s year 10, so we’re talking about GCSEs next year too - a huge workload, should he get in.

Ealing, that’s frustrating. We were lucky this year that Inspire was open to non-state school kids grade 8+, otherwise DS couldn’t have applied.

Sorry, I mean, 5-10 days of Inspire in addition to the 3 residential courses if he’s offered a place in NYO main orchestra.

@Alsoplayspiccolo have you looked into Welsh Youth Orchestra? An NCO friend enjoyed that and it is a lot less commitment than NYO.

Yes, we have, thanks, Monkey . DS applied for this year, but they rolled over membership for current members, so there was actually only 1 cello vacancy (plus DS was 14 when he auditioned, and the lower age limit is 16). He was, however, given a reserve place and a note from the orchestral manager to say it was only the lack of spaces that stopped him being given a place, so they hope he'll audition again in the autumn.
Quite a lot of his youth orchestra have placed in NYOW, which would mean he would already know people on the courses.

@orangecinnamon Thanks. I'm very familiar with Krystal, unfortunately, they only do web hosting.

Cello is fiercely competitive for NYO, friend who was at Chet's did not get in Y12, although she made the reserve list. She is now a professional cellist. Another friend who is section leader of the local youth orchestra did not get in, but was given an inspire course instead. If he does it, make sure he will not be upset if he does not get in first time.

Thanks, Monkey. Yes, the kids that get into NYO are crazily talented (a friend's daughter was leader a few years ago, and she is a very special violinist). I auditioned way back when I was 17, but back then, you would get in at 13 or 14 and work your way up through the ranks, so I was told in no uncertain terms that I had left it too late (I'd got grade 8 distinction at 12 but no one had suggested applying for NYO then).
DS is pretty chill about any audition he does, and he's clear that this year is simply a try out for experience.

Well Also, I am assuming you are a flautist, which is the most competitive of all! DS plays double bass, so did not face such crushing competition, particularly when he auditioned for NCO at the age of 7 - there were already a lot of good violins and cellos competing for limited spaces.