A-level process handhold

[springisintheair74]

Looking for advice for DC who is about to sit GCSEs and will likely stay on for A-levels. Am I right that the process broadly is as follows:

Y12

• January and/or June (realise these may vary) - mocks
• [Y11 mocks are important as predicted grades are made on these and other results e.g. end-of-topic tests, rather than GCSEs or are GCSEs included too?]
• Summer term- start going to Open Days
• July/end of Y12 - start uni applications
• Summer Hols of Y12 - have heard some students have so much work to do that they don't go on long holidays this summer - is this right?

Y13

• First term - open days & uni applications in (by 15 Oct for Oxbridge/medicine)
• December - mocks
• March - mocks
• May - A-level exams
• August - results

Any other advice? I know that GCSEs will be a huge step up from GCSEs but is there anything that students should think about as they enter into Y12?

When, if looking at universities, should you think about putting deposits down for accommodation as I hear that the best options go very quickly.

Thanks

I don't think summer y12 is as heavy going as you fear. Worth visiting unis then if you miss any open days. Mock timetables will vary. Some unis will interview candidates before offering or invite to offer holder days. May is the deadline for firming and insuring uni offers.

My DD is currently in Year 12.

You've picked up some of the main dates/points but based on her experience

1. Predicted grades seem to vary heavily between schools. DD's school uses Y13 mocks (which are November) mostly, but also uses other things to inform them (i.e.. the mock result is a contributing piece of info, not the most important thing)
2. Uni open days are summer term and also across the summer holidays and September/October.
3. I'm not expecting her to have anything to do over the summer. She also didn't do anything over the summer between Y11 and Y12.
4. If your child is interested in EPQ, look when this needs to be submitted. DD's school asked for before Easter in Y12, which was way earlier than I'd expected (and meant that she had a stressful term where I hadn't expected there to be one)
5. Depending on NEAs and deadlines, these will also inform busy periods (DD has 4, 1 already in progress; 3 next year)

The big difference IMO between school/sixth form (and this will be setting dependent) is managing time. DD is very disciplined and goes in early and works through her study periods, so she gets most of her work done during the day. My DS used to use his study periods for socialising and lying in bed (if they were early ones) which meant he had more work to do in evenings and weekends but he hated mornings so was probably more productive that way. I don't think either approach is inherently wrong, but they do need to make sure they have time set aside to work.

Ds2 is year 12 so this is how it went for him. A level predicted grades are based on his GCSEs (mean value) this can be useless if they have a spiky profile ie 9s in the subjects they love and are taking at A level but 5s in MFL or science. Ds1's mate was predicted Bs based on that but he got As. Predicted grades don't mean much at the start, just crack on with the work.

Regular end of topic tests in year 12 confirm if they are on target. Ds2 has already had 2 reports, November and February. He is sitting pre-exams this week and next week to cement exam technique. He has the week before May half term as study leave plus May half term. His end of year 12 exams are the week they go back in June.

This summer, Ds is booked in to 2 paid for summer schools, they are online and 3 days each. He has also been selected by one of the Big 4 to also do their summer program. He is predicted 4 A stars and will have basically half of July and August off. There is plenty of time for holidays.

So not that intense, however, because his brother has been through the whole uni process he knew to start doing extra bits early so he can document things on his personal statement. Ds uses his free periods (5 hours worth even with 4 A levels) to get work done, his friendship group are a high achieving group so all focused on work, then gaming and chatting in the evenings as all their work is done.

July/end of year 12 uni applications are mainly focused on those going for early entry. But Ds1 had summer school stuff to add to his but they wanted them to at least start it and submit something as he was early entry. Normal deadline is mid January. Sometimes it is worth waiting until after year 13 mocks to get a more accurate grade prediction. Your year 13 thoughts are pretty accurate.

GCSEs to A levels are a bit of a jump but also not depending on the work ethic of the child and a willingness to succeed.

Re uni, if they know what they want to study go now, there are open days in July when they will have finished GCSEs. Accommodation is a long way off, some unis wait until after exam results to get students to pick, some after the May deadline for all offers to be out and a smaller number make you choose early and some students decide not to apply to these because it pressurises them sometimes withdraw their outstanding UCAS applications to other unis so they can firm their choice and choose the accommodation there. It is completely shit and I think shouldn't happen.

But I think what you are doing, looking ahead etc is important. Look at uni courses now, see the entry grades which are the minimum they take people in on, see if there are any specific subjects for A level too.

Year 11 summer is 10 weeks ish, they can use that time to explore their subjects a bit, absolute wealth of information online on A level topics. Both mine had summer work set by sixth form but it was fairly easy to get through considering how many weeks off they had.

Amazing responses, thank you so much. Uni seems far off but it really isn't, is it?

Hi

Thanks again for your incredibly useful response. Reading through all the messages again, I realise I had a few more questions specifically regarding the summer schools and the summer programme he is signed up for with one of the Big 4.

Which are these and how do I find out more about the summer school and programmes please?

Thanks
:)

@springisintheair74 you literally google year 12 summer schools and the subject they are looking at. I know, easy when you know how. Some universities offer them Ds1 did one, check your local uni plus there are Cambridge/Oxford ones but you need to be ticking lots of criteria ie free school meals, first child in family to go to uni, carer, in care, previously in care, horrendous performing school but you are doing amazingly etc. This is called widening participation.

Ds2 got advice from his teacher on the big named companies in our area who you could possibly work for post degree (major city not London) and then researched to see if any of them offered year 12 summer schools/summer internships. There was a Future Focus morning at sixth form where universities and apprenticeship employers came in and had stands meaning you could get advice from them even if it meant them saying we don't offer a summer program but X do and go speak to them. I would ask the sixth form if they are offering something similar. Ds's sixth form is an outstanding academy one. Absolutely brilliant at preparing them for either uni or the "real world" with jobs and apprenticeships.

Any more questions, just ask.

Great, yes I actually did google after I'd sent the message and was surprised how much on offer there is. I'm sure it's all super competitive!
Thanks

@springisintheair74 for the Big 4 one Ds had to sit a test with different problems to solve so there may well be applicants who didn't get in.

I think if you look on MN then it is super competitive however, lots of children don't do summer schools, don't know about supercurriculars or MOOCs etc unless they are told in sixth form or have parents who know about it. I honestly didn't know about supercurriculars until I read about it on here. Like you I am always looking a few years ahead of where my children are.

My take on summer schools is that they give your prospective university an indication of how much money your parents have to spend. And given the vibe these days of universities taking a more egalitarian approach to their intake I’m not sure they’re worth it. I really don’t want to offend or insult anyone who has chosen to send their kid though. So please don’t come at me.

We are having a long summer break. My year 12 has huge amounts to do. We’re going to a place with great internet, and she has a quiet place to study.

Wrt when mock exams are - try looking at the Calendar on the school's website. A whole year group doing something would normally be en 'event'?

In terms of mocks etc, these will vary massively from school to school. Most schools will have exams at the end of Y12- whether they call these mocks or not. These will likely inform predicted grades, but they won't be the sole thing informing them. If he works hard and does well throughout Y12, this will help in terms of getting a good predicted grade.

In terms of uni options, it really depends what he is applying for and where- but unless he is interested in really competitive courses, it's not as competitive as you fear. Unless students are wildly unrealistic, they tend to get offers, and very often if they are a "near miss" on those offers, they will get let into the uni anyway.

Obviously for medicine etc, you do need to be organised and to check all the entry requirements before applying.

The important thing is that this is driven by him- he needs to decide which uni courses interest him, what sort of grades he wants to aim for, and so on. If it's all being pushed by you, likely he won't do the work needed, and at some point it won't work out. Whereas if he has a goal in mind- even if not the goal you would have picked for him, he's likely to do better.

I wouldn't bother putting down any deposits on accommodation etc until he has a place- unless you can financially afford to lose the deposit.

But I really think the key thing is to make sure he is aware of these things, and then take a step back and let him decide what he wants to do at uni, and motivate himself to revise, and so on.