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

[orangecinnamon]

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@Seeline reading the boards a problem has arisen with 2021 entrance perhaps due to the ‘overspill’ from 2020?
Many of the 2021 entrants have not secured an offer at their preferred Uni as apparently there have been less offers due to the cancellation of 2021 exams.
If these students defer it will put more pressure on 2022 entrants as they will have ‘grades in hand’ and our cohort are a higher birth rate year,

Hi singingstones. Sorry to hear lockdown 3 has taken its toll on your DS. DD found it really hard too (as did we - DH still unable to work as a musician until a couple of weeks ago), but doesn’t have AS levels to worry about, thankfully.
The option to start afresh in year 13 sounds good. Fingers crossed, he picks up now they’re back in school.

I would like to see an end to a lot of GCSE and A levels hinging on terminal exams and the return to an element of controlled assessments.

@Seeline

Where deferal rates high last year? I know of one in my DSs year, and I don't think any of my friends DCs did. The general view seemed to be one of might as well go as I can't really do anything else!

Not just deferrals but some started and then 'intermitted/suspended' and they need their places counted for in the next academic year too.

@FoolsAssassin

I would like to see an end to a lot of GCSE and A levels hinging on terminal exams and the return to an element of controlled assessments.

Agreed! I most definitely think they need to look at the way they assess GCSEs absolutey ridiculous the amount of exams the kids are supposed to take over May and June !

Thanks Also

DS was ok for the first two lockdowns but the last one just floored him. Much better now he's back in school and can meet friends too. Lower 6th is such a big year in the change from child to adult isn't it - they should all be out having fun and getting into mischief. I think your DD changed schools for Y12 too (?) so that must have been even more difficult. Here's to better times next year and in the meantime our priorities have definitely shifted from "Manchester or UCL?" to "let's just get through this in one piece and worry about results later" 😂

Hard too on your DH - I have worked on a couple of music events recently, only for tv or online so no live audiences, but it's been lovely to see the joy on everyone's faces, making / hearing live music again.

Sorry to hear about those struggling with the lockdowns. I really hope the Indian variant doesn’t mess with the roadmap. We were really compliant until the last few weeks, but I could see Dd really needed normality back, as she’s very extroverted and sociable, so I’ve allowed her to stay over with friends a couple of times and go into friends’ houses. Her mood has definitely picked up since being back in school. Both kids have summer plans (camps, festivals) and will be devastated if they don’t go ahead.

We are in Indian variant hotspot. You wouldn't know it at rush hour or of you looked out of the window.

Masks remaining in DS's school. No surge testing for my area though just testing of contacts. MP and mayor and local Public Health have requested vaccine rollout to all over 16s. Government says no.

I think we all need to keep fingers crossed. Personally I think the dates are overruling the data now .

DS isn't really bothered by any of it. He doesn't see mates out of school. he has lost band and orchestra but seems OK with that and football continues. Guess we are lucky that he doesn't find the lockdowns stressful for the most part. I think if we can't get to any Open Days after September he might find that tough.

Yes, it definitely affects people very differently depending on personality. We’re going to do city visits (Oxford Brookes tomorrow ) so that at least she’s seen the city, where the accommodation is etc. We can find out details of the courses online. Having not been to uni open days, what else do you get from them that you wouldn’t get with a self-tour? I guess you don’t see inside buildings or get to speak to students?

Yes, those in the know with older DC, if we go for a wander around some campuses / cities over the summer, what do you think are the key things to look for? (Sorry if that seems a silly question.)

The main thing crazy is seeing inside the accommodation. The subject talks are OK, but unless the applicant is undecided between subjects they don't add much. It is nice for them to see other applicants as well and feel grown up for a day. Mine have led sheltered lives so just seeing student bars and cafes is nice for them.

I think OBU might be doomed! When I went there with DS1 it tipped it down and it looks like it might do that for you tomorrow too!!

croc, look out for nearest supermarket to accommodation (we chose stuff for DS1 right next to a Morrisons!), length of walk from key accommodation to uni facilities (often over estimated on websites : DS's was 10 mins easy walk and it says 20 online!), proximity of campus unis to towns and public transport routes.

On the depressing conversation about competition for university places, this article from the Guardian about 2021 entry is interesting. www.theguardian.com/education/2021/may/15/uk-top-universities-fearful-of-extra-student-numbers-if-grades-stay-high

I know that there are a lot of 2021 medicine applicants still waiting for decisions as the medical schools are not allowed to overshoot their numbers, and so they are being very cautious about making offers, waiting to see how many of the top rank of offer holders firm then before doing the final batches of offers. There will be a significant number getting in who would not have achieved AAA in a normal year with the 50% increase in A/A*, I wonder whether that will mean that more than usual fail end of year exams, but then the underlying inconsistency of A level marking undermines grade boundaries anyway. It is all such a mess!

An order here for no exams please! DD’s health is such that we can’t tell how she’ll be at any given week. The last essay she did she still got an A* even surrounded by and attached to hospital equipment. She’s doing really well grade-wise but everything drains her energy. For her, it will be gameover if exams are close together.

Crocidora I would see if you can go into the student union - you may be able to. Also look at first year accommodation (peer through windows as won’t be students there) and look at transport/distances between the campus and accommodation.

You should be able to wander round most campuses freely - just the buildings you won’t get into.

Even just noting how easy/difficult it is to get there is useful as your child has to feel comfortable with that. If they can’t get there by public transport you may have to be involved more.

Thanks piggy, yep it looks like rain tomorrow! Most unis seem to have some pictures or videos of accommodation online so that’s not too critical. Good tip about supermarket proximity!

Dd spent five years at school right next door to University of Birmingham. She walked through campus to get to the train station every day and she and her friends used to use the campus cafes/shops etc so she has a good feel for what university will be like. She’s also very used to getting around a big city. But I don’t think she really knows whether she wants to go somewhere similar or to a smaller city, or even to a campus uni. So that’s my thinking in getting a feel for each place. I’m not sure in her case that she really needs the open day experience from what you’ve said. She’s decided on a subject now (I think!).

Hopefully there will be offer holder days for our lot next year!

Thank you for the excellent suggestions

I agree that the main thing we got it of open days was a look at accommodation, even though it only affects the first year, it feels very important at the beginning. We also got a bit of atmosphere and what the students were like. I like being able to attend lots of open days on line, the in-person ones are good, but very expensive on travel and take a lot of time. I think most people go to fewer than 5 open days, so they are not really a very effective way of shortlisting.

Yes to a hope of in-person offer holder days!

You’ve remembered right, singing - DD moved schools for year 12, which has caused problems of its own. She’s really happy at the new school, but bridging the old and new friendship issue during lockdown has been an issue.

This year/the past 15 months has been so strange, even thinking about uni is challenging to DD. I’m with you - let’s hope to make it to the summer holidays with our MH intact, and worry about everything else in September.

@Monkey2001 I agree that The Guardian article is interesting - the depressing aspects of it aside.
I’m wondering if 2022 saw an exam series or indeed a combination of controlled assessments plus an exam series, how that would affect our Corona Cohort’s chances of securing an university of their choice?
By this I mean, how would university admissions compare an applicant for entrance in 2022 holding 2021 TAGs grades ‘in hand’ with a 2022 entrant with predicted grades, if and it’s a big if, the exam series was guaranteed to go ahead in 2022?

What happened to the entrance exams for medicine for this year’s entrance Monkey , did either of them run?

Proggy interesting question and I have no idea of the answer.I’ve felt from the start that it is going to have a knock on effect for a few years. Think we will see a fair bit of what has happened to someone we know, got offered Oxford and one other, rejected from other 3 whereas before I think he would have stood a good chance of getting offers from most of them. Have said that before I think, I am impressing on DS that every choice will really matter - hard though when no one can look around properly.

We are not getting on very well with online open days. I feel reluctant to take time off work for them as I want to save it for potential visits in September, but DS is struggling to navigate them by himself (possibly because of his SENs, possibly they are just fiddly with logging on etc). So we keep saying, oh well, got the recordings, can look at the weekend and lose interest. I think we will do a couple of city visits at half term (I have got that week off).

I also don't feel as though school are doing enough but suspect the staff are swamped with y11 and 13 assessments.

Does your ds know what he wants to study @EversoDelighted? I looked at a few open day videos and thought they were so dull I didn’t bother to suggest the idea to Dd.

DS has not done any online open days yet. I think it all feels too far off. He has yr12 exams after half-term and then two weeks after that they are doing some UCAS info sessions, hopefully he will be more engaged for Sept open days. There do seem to be some online for then.

He's undecided between countryside/environment type courses and history and isn't certain he wants to go at all. If he does go he's not sure whether he wants to live away from home, but we do live in commuting distance of several unis.