I went to the LEAP evening at Ross High last night; early days yet for us to think about University but we did wonder what we’re in for financially.  I was surprised at how few people were there given that it covered several year groups, but perhaps this is normal? In my school board days it was always difficult to get primary parents to come to anything other than parents’ evenings.

Anyhow, it was all very informative.  An affordable action plan developed from the talk on finances (we were promised a positive spin at the start – would hate to have gone to a negative presentation) would take the following lines:-

1. On NO ACCOUNT go to University south of the border;
2. Son 1 to take 2 gap years;
3. Son 2 no gap year;
4. Divorce;
5. As an option, encourage at least one of the children to become a lone parent.

So that’s Oxford & Cambridge out of the equation then.  Set their aspirations high – but perhaps not that high.

Very good presentation on UCAS forms by a lady from QMUC – maybe it’s as well to start thinking about this in S3 as I think it will take 3 years to hone the personal statement required to 300 words of concise, relevant wit and brilliance.

I also went to an impressive, if somewhat lonely, presentation on how the guidance system works at Ross High.  I thought this might be more relevant at this stage than finding out about student life – a weekend in Edinburgh with their art student cousin might be a better bet than a talk at school.  Anyhow, it’s very reassuring to learn that the children are being monitored through their school career as whole individuals.  I think this is the sort of talk that could usefully be given to all parents at a very early stage, perhaps on either a P7 or S1 Open Night (we didn’t seem to get one of these last year).  After hearing this, it did strike me yet again how totally out-of-step the music instrumental set up is with the rest of the Ross school system.