Summer courses for young people into computing

[Guest55]

Do encourage anyone interested in computing to look beyond the 'RG' [self-selected club] courses. A Year in Industry is a really valuable option these days and these courses tend to focus on real-world applications.

[Loopyloulou]

I'll pm you...

That sort of information would be useful for everyone!

I suppose a useful general comment I can make is this: there seems to be a common misconception that relevant CompSci work experience can only be provided by computer companies, eg Google or Microsoft. Those companies are therefore inundated with requests, the vast majority of which must be turned down. However, excellent work experience is much more widely available than that.

Take as an example Leonardo Helicopters, which I happen to know something about. This is a company which takes its social responsibilities seriously and therefore provides work experience opportunities. It is not alone. It also has a fascinating Electronic Warfare Centre in (of all places) Luton, to which is attached some cutting edge computing. Putting two and two together, I wonder whether there might be some mileage there? A quick google search produced this: http://www.uk.leonardocompany.com/peopl ... experience" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; . The Basildon opportunity might be particularly interesting, I don't know; but it is a start, and it is not alone.

nb to toadmum - no he didn't - maybe it's a boy thing...

[DC17C]

We have learned the hard way how difficult it is to secure thus type of work experience. yr11 DS has applied for Airbus, GE engineering and University of Bristol Engineering department but was not selected for any of them..it’s a good lesson to learn in how persistent you have to be I guess and cope with some disappointment, eventually we have gone with the Senior Space School at University of Leicester...yes Ive had to pay for it...but it is absolutely up DS’s street..
..yr 12 dd has been able to find something with a small local firm specialising in cyber security and has a place with the CyberFirst courses...
Do I struggle that other kids don’t get these opportunities? yes I do..in my world all kids would get a great education and have great support but I am still not sure that is a reason for such schemes not to exist...

[Guest55]

I think I would be more comfortable if they were targeted at those whose parents might not have the 'capital' [and I don't just mean money] to find out about them.

[Loopyloulou]

Why do you think that somebody else's child should get the university place instead of mine?

[DC17C]

Why do you think that somebody else's child should get the university place instead of mine?

It’s a tricky thing isn’t it? We do unfortunately live in a competitive world..I wish we didn’t but it seems to be a reality....our natural inclination is to support our children and help them to succeed...and if our kids get the places then others do not.well may be that was meant to be....I am sorry I am human ....if I see talent and interest for a subject or career in my children I am inclined to nurture it but I have also encouraged and supported the children of other people too...

Having sat through a meeting for parents at an open day at a Cambridge college...one parent showed concern that the private school her child was attending seemed to no longer be getting the places at Oxford and Cambridge it once had...the tutor just smiled and went on to tell us what they were looking for in students and the ways they were looking into seeking children more diverse backgrounds.

[Guest55]

Why do you think that somebody else's child should get the university place instead of mine?

Perhaps another child has more talent but not the opportunities your child has had so, in my opinion, they would deserve it more.

[ToadMum]

Having sat through a meeting for parents at an open day at a Cambridge college...one parent showed concern that the private school her child was attending seemed to no longer be getting the places at Oxford and Cambridge it once had...the tutor just smiled and went on to tell us what they were looking for in students and the ways they were looking into seeking children more diverse backgrounds.

It wasn't the Murray Edwards Admissions Tutor, was it? If it was, those who, like the parent you quote, lament this terrible turn of events might hold on to the crumb of hope that this attitude is just the lovely ME AT going rogue . Sadly for them, though, it probably really is a university-wide strategy. He was very firm at the (more generic, aimed at year 10 / 11) talk DS2 and I attended earlier in the year that merely listing things like World Challenge, which few can afford, in their PS, will impress no-one.

(I have to add that DD is going to Madagascar with World Challenge after A levels, but she is paying for it herself and is under no illusions that merely having done it will open any doors anywhere and anyway, it will be far too late for her PS).

Why do you think that somebody else's child should get the university place instead of mine?

Why would helping someone else get the university place that s/he wanted stop your DS getting his university place? Surely it would only be a concern if both your DS and his friend(s) were actually applying for the very same course at the very same institution? Do they attend a school where there is only a very restricted list of universities / courses / colleges for which the tutors will write a reference?

And if the work experience was really so super-duper, so high quality and difficult to come by that merely including it on one's PS ensures a place on one's chosen course, then I can't seriously think of any university course so niche that all two or three of those whose PSs were at the very top of the AT's pile wouldn't be offered places. I'm always willing to be surprised, though; it's one of the things that makes life so interesting .

[Guest55]

Student A: PP at a low performing school, GCSE results 8 A* 3A: A level AAA

Student B: at a Private school, GCSE results 10 A*, 1A: A levels A*AA

Who deserves the place more?

Imho, student A should be chosen.

[DC17C]

It wasn't the Murray Edwards Admissions Tutor, was it? If it was, those who, like the parent you quote, lament this terrible turn of events might hold on to the crumb of hope that this attitude is just the lovely ME AT going rogue . Sadly for them, though, it probably really is a university-wide strategy. He was very firm at the (more generic, aimed at year 10 / 11) talk DS2 and I attended earlier in the year that merely listing things like World Challenge, which few can afford, in their PS, will impress no-one.

No it was Churchill College and I very much got the impression it was university wide...yes extra curricular things like world challenge and Dof E were good to do...but not what they were looking for...I guess they just know when they see what they are looking for...