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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Corona Cohort Y12 into Y13, braving the storm of the third wave

986 replies

Monkey2001 · 20/06/2021 11:24

Supportive thread for parents of Y12 students going into Y13.

Previous thread - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/4240252-Thread-16-Corona-Cohort-Year-12-2021-Zooming-through-Summer-Term

OP posts:
blahblahblah321 · 27/06/2021 16:29

@NCTDN

Can I join you? I've been looking for a thread like this...
Oh yes!

I don't post on here often (for some reason it never stays in my active posts section..), but it's been invaluable for support.

Piggywaspushed · 27/06/2021 16:35

Yes, it was probably me. My family call me 'Mrs UCAS'...Blush

Shimy · 27/06/2021 16:38

Sorry about all the kids being sent into isolation. It’s such a pain but for the greater good, at least one hopes.

Welcome@NCTDN.

EversoDelighted · 27/06/2021 16:48

DD is climbing the walls already with SI. She didnit between Christmas and NY too but there was no school and lockdown. So far this weekend she's missed swimming, archery x 2, cinema. The swimming is particularly frustrating as she's just gone back after a month off due to injury.

Piggywaspushed · 27/06/2021 17:22

DS had just come back from a swim when the email came in...

Orangecinnamon21 · 27/06/2021 17:34

Welcome @NCTDN!

Gah ! Sorry to hear about the SI hope everyone stays as well as they can.

Dd got the seasonal job she wanted , helping out at events at a local historic attraction. She will do some weddings too which will be lovely.

End of term next week ...hopefully for some of you too. I feel we can then all relax a bit regarding the dreaded virus once that out the way.

NCTDN · 27/06/2021 17:48

Thanks everyone. @Piggywaspushed yes liberal arts. I don't really know where to start TBH... (just leaving her to it).
How come some know their AS results ahead already?

Seeline · 27/06/2021 18:18

Well done to your DD orange sounds a lovely job!

NCTDN My DDs results were just end of year mocks, not AS exams, but used by school FOR UCAS predictions. I think most others on here are the same.

ealingwestmum · 27/06/2021 18:21

Hello NCTDN, welcome!

In DD’s case her AS subject is being covered over 2 years, so it’s a first cut ‘university application grade’ issued by school (or UCAS predictions); final grade given early Oct. Exam will be sat alongside A levels next summer. I hope.

There is also only one grade, the one that will be used for UCAS. I got very confused by those schools issuing 2, though Piggy, I think you said most do issue 2, my small brain still can’t work out why the need for 2!

Piggywaspushed · 27/06/2021 18:35

I think it mainly has to do with tracking and targets, especially with bloomin Ofsted and VA etc for state schools. So, it's known that UCAS grades might be optimistic ; the school prediction is more likely to be a bit less so, and perhaps reflect what a student would achieve if nothing changed. A UCAS prediction would generally assume that students work hard - and in soem case this would mean a complete transformation, of course! DS1 got nowhere near his UCAS predictions and closer to the target /in house predictions he had been set.

Heifer · 27/06/2021 18:36

I may be very late to the table as this may have been posted before, but it's the first time I've seen it - DD school posted the link.

www.opendays.com/calendar/

Heifer · 27/06/2021 18:37

and this one

www.opendays.com/#&slider1=1&slider2=1

ealingwestmum · 27/06/2021 18:44

Ah, that makes sense, thank you Piggy. I guess that grading process may unravel this year with such a variance on approach to TAGs. Either way, anecdotally, Y13s I know with they had just sat their A levels, though I know rising rates now may have impacted even more negatively. No win really.

Original poster
Monkey2001 · 27/06/2021 19:10

@Heifer too late for York now, but for Manchester DS could not watch live so I did a screen recording. It is very easy on a Mac, sure it must be possible on a PC.

OP posts:
Heifer · 27/06/2021 19:17

[quote Monkey2001]@Heifer too late for York now, but for Manchester DS could not watch live so I did a screen recording. It is very easy on a Mac, sure it must be possible on a PC.[/quote]
Thanks @Monkey2001 I will take a look next time.

Shimy · 27/06/2021 20:07

@NCTDN Ds’s school doesn’t do AS’s. What they’ve done is internal school exams (mocks) which will be used for their UCAS predictions. Mocks at ds’s school ended 2 weeks ago.

Orangecinnamon21 · 27/06/2021 20:19

@piggywaspushed what a beautifully coloured kitty Smile

Piggywaspushed · 27/06/2021 20:31

She is gorgeous. her big hulk of a brother was cuddling some teddy bears at the time!

Every time DS attends and Open Day or webinar she settles in to have a watch.

Zandathepanda · 27/06/2021 22:19

We have an 8kg hulk of a cat. He attacks you when you dare to push him off to rescue your dead legs when he’s sat on you for too long. The best way to avoid this is to start writing on a piece of paper. He leaps off, attacks the pen and sits on the paper to prevent further writing. He occasionally eats homework, with A-Level revision flashcards his speciality dish.

Orangecinnamon21 · 27/06/2021 22:39

They both sound lovely. MIL had a gorgeous big old ginger who acted very much like a dog. He was also caught living partially at a neighbours house when he was spotted in a portrait said neighbour painted and exhibited at an open house/ gallery type affairGrin

Bovrilly · 27/06/2021 22:47

Are everyone's DC fully engaged with the whole uni thing? I finally persuaded DS to look at some courses today as they have some UCAS sessions coming up at school, but he just doesn't want to talk about it and was uncharacteristically snappy this evening. He did apologise and said he doesn't like thinking about university because he doesn't want everything to change 😢

Shimy · 27/06/2021 23:18

I think sometimes we underestimate how big a change it means for them. They’ve been in the same school for the past 7yrs with all their friends, some who they went to primary school with and suddenly they are looking at leaving that all behind but not only that, leaving home.

Some are really excited and looking forward to all that independence and adventure but some haven’t quite got there yet mentally and emotionally. They like the familiarity of home and friends and don’t want all the talk of ‘Courses’, ‘Uni this and that’, accomodation etc

I think for those feeling this way, they have greatly lost out on the gradual mental shift to putting their future (for the next 3or 4yrs) into perspective by being able to attend ‘in-person open days’. It’s a real shame.

Bovrilly · 27/06/2021 23:28

Yes i think you're right Shimy. I naively thought he would be really excited (I am excited for him!) but he just wants to pretend it's not happening Sad
I expect school is getting on his nerves with constant talk of personal statements too.

sammyjoanne · 28/06/2021 00:20

@Monkey2001

DS1 fell in love with Cambridge when he was about 11 and we went punting. He really wanted to go, but did not get in despite great academic and admissions test results. However, he loves St Andrews, and it really feels like Cambridge light with bonus beaches - beautiful old buildings, a lot of very clever people around you and he has a choral scholarship. He was concerned that it would feel too posh, but he has made a great variety of friends, English, Scottish, International, rich, poor, it has worked very well for him, to the extent that it can in Covid times.

I think somebody mentioned that the first year uni mumsnet thread is dominated by very happy Lancaster parents. They seem to have Manfred a very good social life despite convos restrictions.

Loughborough is excellent for sports and Exeter was a very good choice for the very sporty DS of a friend.

Ha Lancaster seems to have done alright. There was a scandal where their food boxes for self isolating students were a stupid amount, but most students including my own DD just ordered online shopping and had the local campus chippy Sultans do a delivery service anyway. Lancaster excelled at the freshers week and the programme was well worked out, and even in tier 3 in november, the students did pretty well entertaining themselves. January lockdown Lancaster were less strict on students going back. If you had no study space at home, you could go back (which half the students did). Now first year is almost over and I'm sad she will will be leaving campus. Its just a lovely campus to live on.
EversoDelighted · 28/06/2021 06:31

@Bovrilly that was mine until a few weeks ago. He's stayed at the same school for 6th form and loves it there, when they didn't go back in Jan he was really upset as he felt his precious remaining time there was being snatched away from him, then everyone kept banging on about "what are you going to do when you leave" when he simply wasn't ready to think about it at that point. Also the school were urging them to attend these online UCAS events which he found overwhelming and difficult to navigate by himself if I was at work. There was a turning point somehow a few weeks ago, a youngish teacher gave them a chat about how amazing his uni experience had been which has opened his eyes to the possibilities a bit more.