UK Thread? UK Thread.

[Tagmatium]

I fear in name only.

This is the future of the NHS, started by New Labour and finished by the Tories.

Welfare changes here, here, and here - 'around a third of the existing stock of incapacity claimants will lose
entitlement to incapacity benefits.' Plus, after a year of claiming jobseekers an unemployed person is sent to a provider as part of the Work Programme. Here a person works full-time and performs the same duties as a normal employee not in return for a proper wage but for their benefits and invariably without gaining a permanent position afterwards. If that same person finds him/herself back on jobseekers within two years they will immediately be put back on the Work Programme.

'State schools hover on the brink of huge private sector revolution'

Is it any surprise that a Tory-led government is doing this?

Because this is what they were going to do.

[Bales Rant]

I fear in name only.

This is the future of the NHS, started by New Labour and finished by the Tories.

Welfare changes here, here, and here - 'around a third of the existing stock of incapacity claimants will lose
entitlement to incapacity benefits.' Plus, after a year of claiming jobseekers an unemployed person is sent to a provider as part of the Work Programme. Here a person works full-time and performs the same duties as a normal employee not in return for a proper wage but for their benefits and invariably without gaining a permanent position afterwards. If that same person finds him/herself back on jobseekers within two years they will immediately be put back on the Work Programme.

'State schools hover on the brink of huge private sector revolution'

Is it any surprise that a Tory-led government is doing this?

Because this is what they were going to do.

Na, and I know. It's always nice to expose their crimespolicies every now and again for what they are.

[Alyakia]

[Naughtania]

One wonders what would have happened had the Liberal Democrats not joined the coalition. Would they have supported Labour, or left the Tories to flail? Presumably then these reforms would not have passed the Commons.

edit: is he intentionally trying to do a quasi-Hitler hypnotic gaze?

[Angleter]

Extracurriculars are, at least for the top universities, only really taken into account if you can link them to the course you're applying for (so I applied for History, and thus I mentioned my having to analyse case files while on work experience at a solicitors', and how I write for the pupils' newspaper). And that was basically as far as my extracurriculars went (aside from occasionally frequenting debating society), and Oxford have offered me a place.

On which note, I wouldn't agree with your suggestion that Oxbridge is a 'pipe dream'. You've got a pretty good haul of A*s, IIRC, and IGCSE (I assume you did these) is widely considered more challenging than the mainstream version. And all the stories of people projected a myriad of A*s and with all the grades and extracurriculars in the world being rejected suggest more than anything (given all the more 'normal' applicants offered places) that Oxbridge applications are the least predictable based on what's on paper. It more than anything rests on interview and the tests the universities themselves run. I wouldn't want you to be discouraged from at least having a go.

Yeah, I did IGCSEs, and got 7 A*, 3 A and 1 B.

That's the unnerving thing about Oxbridge, though. They're completely unpredictable. The TSA and the interview are things you can't screw up. Anyway, yeah, I will probably apply if I get anything a grade over their minimum requirements.

If they reject, then so be it. I'm pretty happy with my predicted results for my AS levels so far: AAAAA.

Also, congratulations on getting an offer from Oxford! I assume it's conditional? What grades did they ask you to get?

Thanks. AAA's the offer, since Oxford don't normally demand an A* for arts subjects (yet), which is a very good policy that I wholeheartedly endorse. Presuming the coursework all goes well, I'd have to do pretty damned badly in the summer to not meet the offer (I do four A-Levels), but we'll have to see. It's worth, when considering Oxbridge, comparing their admissions processes as much as any other criteria, because I think they do suit different people.

[Angleter]

Certainly not a fan of these Lords reforms, though.

Sadly though, it's all the LibDems have left right now (although they seem to have done a good job of getting Cameron to back down on Europe). AV was meant to secure their future as a party, but now that's failed and they're hovering at 10% in the polls, they need to establish themselves as the holders of the balance of power in a PR-elected 'Senate'. I do hope that there's a massive Tory backbench revolt on the matter, and that the Lords drag their feet for long enough on it that it doesn't get passed in time for the 2015 election (hopefully they don't use the Parliament Acts). Then either a Tory or Labour majority government ought to forget the issue. But I don't think that's likely.

[Vellosia]

Certainly not a fan of these Lords reforms, though.

Sadly though, it's all the LibDems have left right now (although they seem to have done a good job of getting Cameron to back down on Europe). AV was meant to secure their future as a party, but now that's failed and they're hovering at 10% in the polls, they need to establish themselves as the holders of the balance of power in a PR-elected 'Senate'. I do hope that there's a massive Tory backbench revolt on the matter, and that the Lords drag their feet for long enough on it that it doesn't get passed in time for the 2015 election (hopefully they don't use the Parliament Acts). Then either a Tory or Labour majority government ought to forget the issue. But I don't think that's likely.

I really can't see the reforms actually really going through. The Lords is having none of it and no-one's really convinced by the proposals. While I agree that the Lords needs reform (to be honest, I think the Lords was better back when all the Hereditary Peers held their seats - there was a lot less politicking in the House), I think making it nearly entirely (if not completely) elected defeats the whole point of the Lords in the first place - a chamber of scrutiny and review.

Also, just checking you got my telegram. Internet's all over the place at the moment.

[Keronians]

Yeah, I did IGCSEs, and got 7 A*, 3 A and 1 B.

That's the unnerving thing about Oxbridge, though. They're completely unpredictable. The TSA and the interview are things you can't screw up. Anyway, yeah, I will probably apply if I get anything a grade over their minimum requirements.

If they reject, then so be it. I'm pretty happy with my predicted results for my AS levels so far: AAAAA.

Also, congratulations on getting an offer from Oxford! I assume it's conditional? What grades did they ask you to get?

Thanks. AAA's the offer, since Oxford don't normally demand an A* for arts subjects (yet), which is a very good policy that I wholeheartedly endorse. Presuming the coursework all goes well, I'd have to do pretty damned badly in the summer to not meet the offer (I do four A-Levels), but we'll have to see. It's worth, when considering Oxbridge, comparing their admissions processes as much as any other criteria, because I think they do suit different people.

Good luck.

On another note, when did you start studying for your AS exams? I'm personally at a loss as to when to start since I don't think the approach I used for my IGCSEs will work.

[Chinese Regions]

No Snow

Good... I hate urban snow...

Unusually there was snow for like 15 minutes yesterday, could've been hail, I'm wasn't sure.

[Keronians]

Good... I hate urban snow...

Unusually there was snow for like 15 minutes yesterday, could've been hail, I'm wasn't sure.

All of Europe's had a lot of snow this week. I wouldn't be very surprised if you got some.

Of course, we Canarians who are geographically African didn't get any.

[Vellosia]

Thanks. AAA's the offer, since Oxford don't normally demand an A* for arts subjects (yet), which is a very good policy that I wholeheartedly endorse. Presuming the coursework all goes well, I'd have to do pretty damned badly in the summer to not meet the offer (I do four A-Levels), but we'll have to see. It's worth, when considering Oxbridge, comparing their admissions processes as much as any other criteria, because I think they do suit different people.

Good luck.

On another note, when did you start studying for your AS exams? I'm personally at a loss as to when to start since I don't think the approach I used for my IGCSEs will work.

By 'study', I presume you mean revision. I didn't revise until the few weeks before my exams. I did extra reading and work in my own time around the course (seriously, it really helps not only with the course but with interviews - you have something to talk about and show that you're enthusiastic about the subject, which is really important), if that's what you mean.

[Keronians]

Good luck.

On another note, when did you start studying for your AS exams? I'm personally at a loss as to when to start since I don't think the approach I used for my IGCSEs will work.

By 'study', I presume you mean revision. I didn't revise until the few weeks before my exams. I did extra reading and work in my own time around the course (seriously, it really helps not only with the course but with interviews - you have something to talk about and show that you're enthusiastic about the subject, which is really important), if that's what you mean.

Yeah, I did mean revision.

I do extra work in my own time for all my subjects with the noted exceptions of Business Studies and Spanish, since the extra work's usually on material I found a bit hard and didn't fully grasp in class, something which has yet to happen to me in those two subjects.

I was originally planning to start revising around the 20th, but apparently many of my friends have started or are going to start revising next week. My business teacher keeps on going about how we should have started revising by now.

[Vellosia]

Yeah, I did mean revision.

I do extra work in my own time for all my subjects with the noted exceptions of Business Studies and Spanish, since the extra work's usually on material I found a bit hard and didn't fully grasp in class, something which has yet to happen to me in those two subjects.

I was originally planning to start revising around the 20th, but apparently many of my friends have started or are going to start revising next week. My business teacher keeps on going about how we should have started revising by now.

Revision is one of those things that is different for everyone, particularly on what subjects you are doing. I didn't really revise that much (I'm really good at remembering facts, figures, dates and things like that - the really useful stuff, although my short term memory is abysmal) and I got what I wanted to get. When is your exam?

[The Matthew Islands]

Awww yeeeah, Parents taking me to Red Hot World Buffet on Saturday for my Birthday on the 6th. Imma eat so much food.

Has anyone here been to a Red Hot World Buffet?

I've been to the MK one which is pretty cool, and the Northampton one, which tries to blend into Northampton by being shit. The Manchester one has like 300 dishes though, which I'm pretty mad about since MK has 120.

[Vellosia]

Awww yeeeah, Parents taking me to Red Hot World Buffet on Saturday for my Birthday on the 6th. Imma eat so much food.

Has anyone here been to a Red Hot World Buffet?

I've been to the MK one which is pretty cool, and the Northampton one, which tries to blend into Northampton by being shit. The Manchester one has like 300 dishes though, which I'm pretty mad about since MK has 120.

Never heard of it...

[Tagmatium]

Awww yeeeah, Parents taking me to Red Hot World Buffet on Saturday for my Birthday on the 6th. Imma eat so much food.

Has anyone here been to a Red Hot World Buffet?

I've been to the MK one which is pretty cool, and the Northampton one, which tries to blend into Northampton by being shit. The Manchester one has like 300 dishes though, which I'm pretty mad about since MK has 120.

Never heard of it...

Same.

[The Matthew Islands]

Never heard of it...

Same.

D: That sucks, but they do only have about 6 restaurants...

[Salandriagado]

By 'study', I presume you mean revision. I didn't revise until the few weeks before my exams. I did extra reading and work in my own time around the course (seriously, it really helps not only with the course but with interviews - you have something to talk about and show that you're enthusiastic about the subject, which is really important), if that's what you mean.

Yeah, I did mean revision.

I do extra work in my own time for all my subjects with the noted exceptions of Business Studies and Spanish, since the extra work's usually on material I found a bit hard and didn't fully grasp in class, something which has yet to happen to me in those two subjects.

I was originally planning to start revising around the 20th, but apparently many of my friends have started or are going to start revising next week. My business teacher keeps on going about how we should have started revising by now.

What A-level subjects are you doing? The advice will vary significantly depending on what they are.

[Tagmatium]

Same.

D: That sucks, but they do only have about 6 restaurants...

Obviously none in decent parts of the country.

Only grot-holes like Milton Keynes, Northampton and Manchester.

[Keronians]

Yeah, I did mean revision.

I do extra work in my own time for all my subjects with the noted exceptions of Business Studies and Spanish, since the extra work's usually on material I found a bit hard and didn't fully grasp in class, something which has yet to happen to me in those two subjects.

I was originally planning to start revising around the 20th, but apparently many of my friends have started or are going to start revising next week. My business teacher keeps on going about how we should have started revising by now.

Revision is one of those things that is different for everyone, particularly on what subjects you are doing. I didn't really revise that much (I'm really good at remembering facts, figures, dates and things like that - the really useful stuff, although my short term memory is abysmal) and I got what I wanted to get. When is your exam?

Exam period's May.

I'm pretty much the same as you. Long-term memory's superb, whereas my short-term memory's horrible.

"Kero, where did you leave my Physics folder?"
"... Er... I'll give it to you in class..."
*goes off to find friend's Physics folder*

[Keronians]

Yeah, I did mean revision.

I do extra work in my own time for all my subjects with the noted exceptions of Business Studies and Spanish, since the extra work's usually on material I found a bit hard and didn't fully grasp in class, something which has yet to happen to me in those two subjects.

I was originally planning to start revising around the 20th, but apparently many of my friends have started or are going to start revising next week. My business teacher keeps on going about how we should have started revising by now.

What A-level subjects are you doing? The advice will vary significantly depending on what they are.

· Maths
· Physics
· Chemistry
· Business Studies
· Spanish

[Salandriagado]

What A-level subjects are you doing? The advice will vary significantly depending on what they are.

· Maths
· Physics
· Chemistry
· Business Studies
· Spanish

Of those, I only did maths/physics, so I'll stick to them.

Maths: Basically, you just need to run through all the past papers once and you should be all right, so start early enough to be able to do that.
Physics: Start a month or so in advance, I've never got much benefit from starting earlier than that, to be honest.

[Keronians]

· Maths
· Physics
· Chemistry
· Business Studies
· Spanish

Of those, I only did maths/physics, so I'll stick to them.

Maths: Basically, you just need to run through all the past papers once and you should be all right, so start early enough to be able to do that.
Physics: Start a month or so in advance, I've never got much benefit from starting earlier than that, to be honest.

Hm, that was pretty much the advice my maths teacher gave as well. I think I will try and get through at least 5 past papers for M1 and C1 and two for C2 plus one each in Easter. Maths is after all practice.

Physics is more or less what I'd been planning as well.

Thank you.

[Angleter]

Thanks. AAA's the offer, since Oxford don't normally demand an A* for arts subjects (yet), which is a very good policy that I wholeheartedly endorse. Presuming the coursework all goes well, I'd have to do pretty damned badly in the summer to not meet the offer (I do four A-Levels), but we'll have to see. It's worth, when considering Oxbridge, comparing their admissions processes as much as any other criteria, because I think they do suit different people.

Good luck.

On another note, when did you start studying for your AS exams? I'm personally at a loss as to when to start since I don't think the approach I used for my IGCSEs will work.

Well, if you feel your knowledge of a certain part of the syllabus slipping away as you go through the year, then I'd just look over it again. Proper revision for the exam I'd start once you've done the syllabus. Then you can do past papers and the like- because when it comes to it, you need to be able to display your knowledge in the exam setting. But revision is really a case of each to their own. My own methods can be a bit haphazard.

[Angleter]

Sadly though, it's all the LibDems have left right now (although they seem to have done a good job of getting Cameron to back down on Europe). AV was meant to secure their future as a party, but now that's failed and they're hovering at 10% in the polls, they need to establish themselves as the holders of the balance of power in a PR-elected 'Senate'. I do hope that there's a massive Tory backbench revolt on the matter, and that the Lords drag their feet for long enough on it that it doesn't get passed in time for the 2015 election (hopefully they don't use the Parliament Acts). Then either a Tory or Labour majority government ought to forget the issue. But I don't think that's likely.

I really can't see the reforms actually really going through. The Lords is having none of it and no-one's really convinced by the proposals. While I agree that the Lords needs reform (to be honest, I think the Lords was better back when all the Hereditary Peers held their seats - there was a lot less politicking in the House), I think making it nearly entirely (if not completely) elected defeats the whole point of the Lords in the first place - a chamber of scrutiny and review.

Also, just checking you got my telegram. Internet's all over the place at the moment.

I did. Thanks very much.

As regards the Lords, I completely agree. Even the concept of two chambers of Parliament, representing the same electorate, but having different compositions and disagreements, is something of an absurdity. There's all manner of possible options and combinations of options, and I think that'll probably be the Achilles heel of any reform attempt- proposals will take so long to finalise that they'll only get to Parliament close enough to the election to not make it through in time. But I do worry about this government's tendency to push everything through with haste.