The Random Thread

[saundra]

Looks ready to snow here as well

[JoM]

Snowing here

[JoM]

P*** up and brewery are the words that come to mind when I think about the school.

Tom's needing to get his UCAS application in by 6pm on Thursday. He chased up what he needed last week when they went back, a reference he'd asked for before the Christmas holiday. He got it that afternoon, Tuesday. That then had to be checked by someone. The head of sixth form told me that neither she or the sixth form officer (everyone has a title!!) had any record of seeing his personal statement, even though that was marked off as being seen and checked on his online application, so that also had to be re-submitted. By Friday nothing had been checked.

He was ill yesterday - Monday - so didn't go in. I was on the case. I was told by the head of sixth form that the statement and reference had been checked and he needed to make an appointment for sometime this week with the sixth form officer to check through his application before it could be submitted. I emailed back asking when she had appointments available as I didn't want him to have to leave it until Thursday as he has a late lesson and doesn't get home until gone 5pm and if there was a problem with the website when we tried to make payment it could mean him missing the 6pm deadline (no way is he taking my card details into school).

This was her reply last night;

School pays for all UCAS applications so it will be ready to send when Miss R checks it through with him.

If he makes an appointment with her tomorrow then it will be done during that time slot.

So...he made an appointment with Miss R, the officer, and had his application checked through. But it wasn't submitted because we needed to pay. I haven't got a problem with paying for his application but why does the head of sixth form say that the school pays and submits there and then and another member of staff, who she supposedly works closely with on UCAS applications, sends him away to get our payment details before he can submit it?!

Nothing changes with that school.

[debih]

Grrr on your behalf Jo!

[Kaz]

Hope it all gets sorted Jo (((x)))

[JoM]

I think it's sorted, but not without much confusion. We made the payment last night, obviously if the school do pay then they can refund it, and he submitted it. I'd earlier emailed both of the staff members and not had a reply. Anyway, this morning 'Miss R' emailed me and said that she was just waiting on confirmation of Tom's predicted grade for his AS Law resit (which isn't done until Summer) so that she could enter that on the form before submitting it this morning. Yet, as Tom understood it yesterday, everything was done and ready to go once we'd paid. She later emailed me to say that it had been submitted, even though we thought that had happened last night.

Really, and I've made this point in email to the staff concerned and will also email the head, it would've been a massive help if they'd issued guidelines - even if it's just a message on the website saying that they deal with UCAS applications from start to finish and parents don't have to worry. We've not had to do anything apart from pay, and whether we had to do that hasn't been clarified even though I've now asked four times, but we've not been told that and over the Christmas holidays I received texts from school, one even arrived on Dec 23rd, saying "Polite reminder: UCAS DEADLINE - Thursday 15th January 2015 at 6pm. Thanks". Why are they panicking the parents during the holidays when everything is orchestrated by the school?

[Kaz]

They don't sound as though they know what they're doing Jo - which isn't very reassuring is it?

Still, at least by paying yourself you have gone for 'belt and braces,' and will definitely be covered one way or another!

[Diflower]

Blimey Jo, p*ss up and brewery are indeed the words that come to mind!

[JoM]

Kaz, that was what we thought - get it paid and get it in. While Tom's a dozy sod I don't think that he can totally responsible for how late his application has gone in and all of our nagging at him wasn't fully deserved.

Another example. We had a letter a few months ago saying that Joe would be taking his maths GCSE this coming June. I don't think it's because he's a mathematical genius, just so that he can resit it repeatedly in the hope of getting the sacred grade C (I was talking to a woman the other day whose daughter has been at school with Tom since nursery and Holly's now taken her maths GCSE 7 times and hopes that finally she'll get her C). I was expecting him to have a mock exam this month. And yes, he did have a mock exam yesterday but it was in science. Is he taking science GCSE early too? Your guess is as good as mine because I can't get an answer from the school and Joe doesn't know either.

[saundra]

what a nightmare jo
what ever did we do before computors
love your sticker but can you move it along a bit quicker please we need spring now
its sunny but freezing here