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

[Monkey2001]

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

One of my ex pupils did say to another teacher 'I have learnt that teaching has changed since I was at school (he's 23!) . When I had Mrs Piggy she just taught us stuff'!

I think he is taken aback by how much faff and feedback there is nowadays.

@Piggywaspushed

I am amazed at the Chaucer! What board is that?

It’s OCR Piggy.

@AndwhenyougetthereFoffsomemore

DS went to the Royal Holloway open day today (more because it was local than because it is of real interest tbh): he was very impressed by the main building and the laid back relaxed atmosphere .... and the board games club! But less so by the course (comp sci) - which is good news I think, as he's starting to get more of a sense of what he does and doesn't want...

He’s doing it at A level not below. It’s still awful though! 😀

@AndwhenyougetthereFoffsomemore apologies I’ve quoted the wrong message of yours, I meant the Chaucer comment below!

We haven’t done any campus visits at all. We were going to do Notts in half term but I wasn’t talking to DS so didn’t bother. 😀

OCR is quite old fashioned. York Uni used to make all first years do Middle English. Think they may have abandoned this.

@Wheresthebeach my Dd has Southampton as her favourite now! We were surprised by how nice the campus is.

I learnt Middle English pronunciation as part of my degree (Leeds) but it was an option! My tutor would have us reading Chaucer (& the god -awful Dream of the Rood) out loud round the room. But it is NOT up there in terms of accessibility or (tbh) fun times!!

OCR English Lit is quite formulaic in its mark scheme and it is technically possible to get 100%, which is how it should be really (just like maths etc) it’s just it always feels wrong somehow in humanities. Thank goodness the school didn’t do the Chaucer option. There was some nice Angela Carter and Rossetti in there too as well as Richard 111.

I like Southampton, been to the Highfield campus lots for work.

I'm notsure about online interviews. I'm hoping Dd will have some Music interviews online. She is not going for conservatoire but there is an element of performance in all her courses..she needs to get grade 8 standard which she has just got. I think all that she is applying to interview

I suspect for some non-competitive courses interviews are a bit of a marketing ploy. Actually I know so, as I know a Uni dept that did that some years ago. When the applicants were shown round student ambassadors were asked to use language as if the applicants had gained their place "when you come here, this will be where you pick up your kit" etc etc.

[quote crazycrofter]@Wheresthebeach my Dd has Southampton as her favourite now! We were surprised by how nice the campus is.[/quote]
Yes us too. It just seemed such a nice size and very pretty and green

Thanks for the new thread Monkey.

Someone I know has just finished Southampton and we we were talking about graduation which will be virtual this summer but they are hoping to do something another time, I asked where they hold the real ones and he said outside on the campus, it looks quite nice if you angle the camera well !

We’ve been to one of the science days so seen some of it and I thought it was nice.

Urghh! Just spent half an hour attempting, unsuccessfully, to move DS2's driving test from Monmouth, where I randomly managed to get a spot in November, to Bristol. A date in 2 days came up at one point, which is not of interest, but showed it was working. Nothing else came up in the Bristol sites or the Cornwall sites we can do. If I can't get one between 7:45 and 8:15 on a Monday morning I feel that I might have to get the app, although I object to it on principle, like the fast queue bracelets at theme parks!

My niece went to Southampton to do biomedical sciences. She loved it there. I took DS to the science fair thing they do a few years back when he didn't hate science and it was great fun.

@monkey2001I have bought two apps after Testi was useless! I'm still not getting the cancellations though as they are gone before my autobook can book. I think it's all a scam.

Last day of DS exams which is his Eng Lit. I have genuinely never seen him so stressed as he has been for these exams. He's gone out this morning saying he's so worried because if he doesn't do well then he can't go to uni! It doesn't matter how much I try to reassure him he is heading into panic mode. He is most worried about the Chaucer / The Doll's House paper, partly because of reasons mention previously about Chaucer but also that teacher is a really harsh marker. At least they are over today and he has plans later to see his friends so hopefully they will cheer him up.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn, hope it goes well for him, but remind him that the school is on his side! Our school is possibly being a bit too gentle, the physics teacher has said that even if they get a D in the exam, if the work they have handed in had been good and they attend optional extra sessions, they will be predicted an A.

DDs school is saying not to panic - there will be resits available in most subjects at the beginning/before the beginning of next term!! Very reassuring. I suppose it shows that the predicted grades (due Thursday) are not et in stone.

Thanks Monkey, it doesn't always feel that way tbh - I want your Physics teacher! I'm hoping that they are kind though, he has actually revised really hard and has learnt about a million quotes and critic quotes, I have no idea how he keeps them in his head!

DS finished exams last week, we await the results. Previous paperwork said that the predictions would be what they could achieve “on a good day”. While it is great for UCAS purposes, it slightly worries me that DS will think they have already predicted him those grades so he’s due to get them, and may think he doesn’t need to be working as hard as he actually does need to.

Hope he gets on ok @JustHereWithMyPopcorn. It’s a lot of pressure isn’t it.

DD’s psychology and RS teachers have given them so many clues, they’ve managed to find the previous year’s papers they think they’re being set. So it won’t quite be a practice run for the real thing. She hasn’t a clue for History though.

JustHereWithMyPopcorn Dd1 did that board and between Yr12 and 13 she really got to grips with all the AOs and exactly which % you needed for each question so she didn’t waste time on going off at a tangent. She did have good English teachers who were strict but fair with exact marking. Didn’t do Chaucer option though - urgh.

Okay, everyone cross their fingers for the next 40 minutes and if you are currently driving around Southall and you see a teenage girl with L plates in a red car, let her out!

The examiner looked very friendly...

I am now drinking coffee...

Fingers firmly crossed for her Kingscote !!!