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

[orangecinnamon]

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Monkey That’s really impressive. Medicine applicant that’s also pursued music at such a high level possibly diploma. I’m going to tell ds2 that for inspiration.

Crazy Concerta?

If anyone with an 18+ DC is still awake, you can beat the scrum tomorrow morning and book vaccine. I just did DS1's and managed to get both appointments before he goes back to university 4th Sep.

A merit at grade 8 @orangecinnamon is fab. Well done to your DD.

@Alsoplayspiccolo she was on Equasym (methylphenidate). Started off well and was able to focus so well doing school work. But then started getting headaches as they wore off which got worse over time, low mood and then developed involuntary tics at which point she decided to stop. They’ve gone away and she doesn’t want to try any more medication which I respect. Hopefully a coach will help her for the future.

@PaddingtonPaddington and @Alsoplayspiccolo ds was on Equasym too

Wow and congratulations to the amazing grade 8 music grades. DD used to sing and do grades too Orange but only in English so kudos to your DD. She's really missed being a part of her school choir and A Capella group and doing comps etc. She doesn't miss the solo comps as those were nerve wracking even though she always placed. She mentioned wanting to re start her 1-1 singing lessons at school again but she's only there for another year but it's good enrichment so if there's room it's meant to be.

That's great news re 18+ can book vaccines now Monkey.

It's really pouring here which is great for the garden but not good as DH has a rare day off and we were hoping to to be out enjoying the sun.

Many congratulations to all those with good grades and music passes. Your lot are so talented!

In awe of all the DC still doing their music, it is a lot of work-both mine couldn't hack the practise.

DS did his theory test, then got a Dec booking for his driving test. We bought the app and now have an early Aug date.

He did his exams last week, he actually studied for the first time in his life. He is saying he did badly, so now dreading his grades and parents eve. He was fixed on medicine but if he isn't close to the 3 A's, he has to re-think and he hasn't got any ideas.
We haven't done any thing on Uni, no visits or looks at any. Mainly because we don't know what he wants to do (if not medicine). Is anyone else struggling with it? I think everyone else seems to know what they want to do apart from my DS.
My other DS has been doing exams all week, so this house feels really stressed at the moment. Hope everyone else is doing ok, although the weather is not helping!

Crazy and Paddington, that doesn’t sound much fun.
DD was on Equasym for ages. It was amazing for her concentration, but eventually she said she didn’t like how quiet it made her. She tried Elvanse, which was horrendous for side effects, and then changed to a non-stimulant when she saw a new consultant during lockdown.
I’d say she is more even on it (not such high peaks and troughs), but maybe generally more ADHD like on it than on Equasym, which she’s fine with.
She’s doing well in class, so we’re happy to let her dictate staying on it.
Not a good mix with alcohol, though.

This thread is filled with people who are very bright. And talented at other things.

Bet you're all beautiful. And naice to pot. FFS.

(Come the Revolution you all have to die. And your dc. Then I'll get both my ds's into Uni, and top jobs.)

Re grades of exams sat last week:

Ds1 just text.
He got A in sociology. We are both both pleased.
C in psychology. He thought he'd get a B. Was disappointed.
No grade for Business yet.

The world and their dog seems to get AAA. ABC, or even if he upped it to ABB, isn't going to cut it to get into many places, including the Southampton he liked. He's kinds gone off the idea of Uni atm, even before this.

(I got onto a great Russian course with shit grades (in my day, back in the late 80's, a B was very well respected) so this is a whole new world to me)

But even getting on an apprenticeship is going to be hard next year. I don't know what to advise him. I'm all of a dither.

Yes...well done with the music grades. Ds started to learn piano for duke of Edinburgh. He didn't quite get far enough to take his grade 1 then we went into lockdown. He didn't practice once through lockdown. So when lessons could start again I said no to the teacher. Ds didn't ask to re start for ages. But I told him he's not that interested.

Ds's mocks start next week. Apparently the history teacher randomly dropped a few words into a sentence that basically told them what the questions will cover. So Ds said he knows what to revise. I was a bit annoyed about that because they haven't yet sat proper exams. So it would be good for them to go in to it not knowing what the questions will be about. Unless it was a joke and the questions won't be that.

Ds has been offered the possibility of a summer job. But it's about 45 min drive to that town. Dh says I'm not to take him. I told him to say he's interested and we will worry about getting there if he gets the job. There is a bus that picks up in the village at 7am and gets to the destination at 8.40am so it takes hour and 40 mins picking up from all the villages. That's a long journey! That is the downside of countryside living.

@Oblomov21 ds1 got ABB for A levels. So he's not A* student. Well I say A, business was an A level equivalent so has a different marking system. He got distinction star. So I call it A. He needed ABB for his biology degree. AS level he got B in geography which he promptly dropped and C in the other 2. Business didn't have an exam half way so no grade there. So he had to get his grades up.

@Oblomov21 we are the same over here dont worry! I will be happy with BCC at this stage for DS and anything over that will be a massive bonus. He isnt heading to university obviously but he does enjoy working and I'm sure he will get a job and work hard and be ok. I will give him the money I have saved for Uni and he can start a business eventually or something.

Try not to worry.

We will be over the moon with BCC here too

Oblomov21 Dd is extremely clever but we have no idea what she’ll eventually get as sometimes her health gets in the way. The best thing for her is if they haven’t got to do exams (not a popular option on here) or the University she wants gave her an unconditional (wishful thinking). Makes predictions/ me pushing her, a little tricky! She has never had to revise for anything before so it’s really difficult as she’s not so clever she could get amazing grades at this level without revising. But she’s doing very little. Let’s just say the mocks could be interesting. I will have more grey hair.

I got BCN (N was for nearly). But I have told DCs that’s at least ABE nowadays . I talked my way into University through clearing.

Thank you both.
I am feeling particularly miserable today. Not just because of the pissing rain.

I wanted ds to travel for a year before Uni, like I did. I couldn't wait to get rid of him for 3 years, and him enjoy the 'uni experience' that I did. I was the last year to pay no fees. I had 20+ lectures per week doing a language and 5+ areas studies. I went to every lecture. Loved it. And still went to the student union and drank like a fish, and signed up to women's rugby.

The thought of him not going to a halls of residence, not getting the 'uni experience', but still living in his bedroom for the next 3 years, in OUR house, and paying £9k for the fxxking experience, of on-line tutoring?

Or not going to uni. Whose gonna give any of our kids a job in this climate? What apprenticeships are gonna be available mid covid?

I don't know. I just feel really about it all.

Plus, like Hopeful201 he doesn't even know what he wants to do.

Me too Zanda

If they get disappointing results in these mocks, hopefully it will be a wake up call. Our school has said that UCAS predictions will not just be based on mocks, so people worried about university applications should try not to worry.

@Hopeful201 there are quite a few medical schools which do not consider predictions, so if your DS thinks he can get AAA, but is not predicted the grades he can consider Aston, Cardiff, Nottingham, Lincoln, Oxford, KMMS and Keele. Some of those require perfect GCSESs (Oxford and Cardiff) and Keele wants lots of work experience, but there are still options if he does well in UCAT.

Who knows whether there will be exams next year, it will certainly be challenging to make it fair - what will happen if the northern state school results take a nosedive, which may happen based on press coverage? Levelling up would suffer badly.

Ds1 got Es and a D when he did his mocks, when he resit them, it turned to Es and Us . I just lost all hope that he would go to uni that yr (2019) and like some of the young people here, he had no idea what he wanted to do. I considered pulling him out of A’levels but DH felt he should finish as pulling out will teach him he could chuck it all in once the going gets tough and he was lazy. Results day gave us a shock, he did far better that we ever could imagine and he got into his first choice where he is now doing very well. So it can end well.

@Oblomov21 he'll be fine with ABC. A friend's daughter applied to various top unis for natural sciences and they all asked for AAA. She got BBB and still managed to get to Nottingham for the same course via clearing. I think there's a difference between the grades they ask for and the ones they end up accepting.

Dd has applied for house captain, which surprised me as she didn't go for head girl because of the public speaking. But then she said 'I'm not gonna lie, the main reason I've applied is to get a nicer tie'!!!

She's also got some potential 11 plus tutoring lined up, which will be handy money for summer activities.

@PaddingtonPaddington @Alsoplayspiccolo ds also has top up pills, which I think are Medikanet. They last 3 hours I think and were aimed at evenings where he had to revise/do lots of work. He hasn't taken them for ages, but we tried it last night for history revision and he seemed to learn quite a lot!

Oblovmov21 Dd1 has had a shocking 2nd year at university. Just as things were starting to open, practically everyone she knows is covid positive. She’s negative and we are picking her up ASAP after another isolation and bringing her home.
I definitely want Dd2 closer due to her health but I want her to spread her wings too. Poor thing isn’t allowed to drink alcohol though so already my great Uni experience (which sounds much like yours) won’t be replicated. I am hoping a year out will be the making of her instead. The real blessing is she knows what she wants to do for a job and there’s many ways to achieve it.

Crazy love the tie story

@Zandathepanda there is another spike at St Andrews too, I have heard that it is happening at a lot of universities and lots of new cases in the last couple of days at Bristol Uni, Durham and Exeter. Ughhh! Hope the vaccine allows normality next term.

Ds1 had an offer of bbc for biology. from university of Essex. He wanted to stay fairly close to home. UEA offered ABB he did consider putting Essex as first choice just incase he didn't get the grades for the others, but he didn't really want to go there, so I told him not to chose it just incase. So he put UEA first and that's where he is. Seems to be a great university. I know some of you prefer RG universities. He does wish he'd gone further away though now. He's only 45 mins drive away. I think he wanted to be where he could come home and commute if he hated living there. Though with covid I'm glad he's been close. When lockdown one was announced i quickly nipped there and collected him and his belongings. Also Norwich has had fairly low case rates compared to bigger cities.