Ditto

On my way - Zoom is updating!

I think I'm pretty much aligned with you @AlistairB1983, but put it less bluntly than you. I do like your idea on resits. As for the 'not fit for purpose', statement, I agree probably another thread, but broadly are you saying that about GCSE/A' levels/Vocational examinations or just processes dealing with students missing assessment due to illness etc.?

Missed this on the day. I'm not surprised, but my old school will be in a bit of a flap. Hopefully they don't slip back to SIMS. I expect that any power MIS users ought not book Summer holidays!

Ex Progresso user, but still interested. When did the announce end of development? When did they say they are pulling the plug. In some ways, I'm not surprised given market movements over the last few years and losing one of the bigger MATs must have been the last straw. I had my doubts about the longevity probably 5 years ago. I'd even got as far as being in deep discussion about being there product development manager, but in addition to I'm no fan of a commute, I really felt it would be a big risk career wise. I came to Progresso as it was settling down after an initial disastrous launch. I'm not sure they ever really recovered from that, but I felt the product wasn't so bad and had some excellent features. I have wondered whether ESS should buy it out and start from there for their cloud offering! Presumably it would be going at a bargain price?!

I can see why on the face of it looks that way, but I wonder if there is more to it. It's a scary long time since I worked at what is now AQA, but missing an assessment (or indeed an examiner losing exam papers, which unfortunately happened) didn't prevent an award being given. I don't know the details today. But a good while back, I programmed the calculation for what was called is called an aegrotat estimated score. It was fascinating maths and I remember the fun of programming inversion of a correlation matrix using Gaussian elimination. Not my mathematical work, research officers that were far more mathematical advanced than me - I just needed to programme the calculation in COBOL! That reminiscence is perhaps a side topic, but the issue with purely centre assessed scores, is that they over score compared to what a student would get via the more rigorous approach of awarding bodies. The first no exams year, centre awarded grades as a result of covid demonstrates that unequivocally. Ultimately those that miss assessments due to illness would achieve higher grade from purely centre assessed results. The argument then switches to, "that's unfair on all the other students". It's one of those problems that there is no perfect solution, where you need a standardised approach, but where the students circumstances can vary enormously. To conclude, I wouldn't go as far as saying don't sign the petition, but you might want to research the background in more detail, and consider that examination bodies will have had to deal with this situation and similar for decades. They will have given a lot of thought to handling the scenario as fairly as possible.

From another thread but better here. O2 don't think so - OH and kids O2 mobile contract increase just received RPI 13.4% plus the additional increase of 3.9%. That's a 17.3% increase! BT have used CPI at 10.5% plus the 3.9% given a bargain increase of just 14.4% Just where did this mythical 3.9% additional increase come from? To me it appears to be used a lot. Given it's on top of whichever inflationary index is chosen, it can only fuel inflation further, so not going to help bring that down. It also appears to have coincided with the cost of living crisis. What are these corporates trying to do? Feels like given us all an extra kicking when times are tough.

Not sure if I fully understand the requirement, so apologies if I am off the mark. Would ROW() provide a number unique to each submission - a caveat I'm not sure how resubmissions are handled. Alternatively, would a global variable help - https://stackoverflow.com/questions/24721226/how-to-define-global-variable-in-google-apps-script. One more, but may be a bit cumbersome -https://digitalinspiration.com/docs/form-notifications/unique-form-submission-id

Sorry, bit late to this thread - I could have helped earlier with the missing "P"'s. Following research, it appears Bob Holness has them all

For your next shot, worth heading off to Ynys Enlli - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64731286

It's a talking sign?! Wow

Mowed the lawn over the weekend. I had left it longer than planned going in to winter, but it must a first for me doing so in February!

I'm not so sure we'll even need to wait 'longterm'. I know there are a good number of 'don't like change' heads out there, but equally I see the sheep syndrome in action and with the current rate of movers, I think it could accelerate more in the near future.

I meant to post this way back, but 'restore' showed I didn't! Thanks for confirming James. I pleased to confirm the link I posted a couple of posts earlier (a the time!) is exactly as yours - maybe I should come and work for Arbor . On the contract of 3 years, then rolling, all I can add is a few years ago, I used to negotiate with Advanced Learning for Progresso in a growing all-through school. OneAdvanced offered me 1, 3 or 5 year renewals, progressively getting low per pupil/month costs and at the time, I don't recall an annual rise being built in. Their model was to then balance that expected income with the level of investment it could make. Now one might argue given their market share over the last few years, it's not a good model, but what I'm not hearing via the forums is discounts for signing up to longer contracts.

On the TRV, what make - I've have Drayton TRV 4 in more than one house and can't fault them. It's it just some TRVs giving this issue or all. I wonder if your system is balanced correctly. The symptom you mention suggests the return flow is too hot or maybe overall flow rate is too high.

I started in a new free school which was initially primary only then grew to an all-through school, so secondary too. The school was strategically Google with Chromebooks for all and had backing for that approach from it's inception. It all worked extremely well and new staff that joined knew it was a non Microsoft school, and with Governor and SLT commitment, they had to work with it - the pressure to meet any staff's particular MS whim was a non-issue. There were a small number of Windows PCs, including me (Data Manager and Workspace manager), business manager, SLT, and a couple of office staff. I think we could have managed with Chromebooks if needed. As the school progressed towards Year 11, pressure grew to have a traditional IT network of Windows desktops in an IT lab. Memory is fading but I think it was things like programming and general Computing curriculum related work. Was it absolutely necessary? I'm not sure, but for the pupils education, especially those doing Computing, having both ChromeOS and Windows experience wasn't a bad thing. Another exception was Music, which was a high profile topic at the school where a cluster of Apple devices and software were insisted upon - I recall Sibelius being argued as an (expensive) must have, I guess much as the Adobe suite of software was too. We then had a new secondary head, who want to ditch our cloud based MIS for SIMS because he couldn't (refused!) to adapt. The period was a bit of a disaster and said head was gone within a year. So, in summary, I think it's 100% workable in primary, harder in secondary, but as mentioned earlier you need 100% SLT (and ideally governance) buy-in and willingness to battle through the challenges. The only piece of software that I recall operationally that absolutely needed windows, and I forget it's name, but it was the archaic software to move files to and from exams bodies, which of course was important for the exams officer! Realistically though, I'd happily run that on GCP, AWS or similar, but a Windows PC hidden from sight could be the compromise! Oh, one other tip - watch out for the maverick staff and lock machines down - we had a couple of staff that installed LibreOffice - yuk!

ChatGPT wouldn't be much company on a Valentine's date

Given you can do most transactions electronically, I'm really struggling to see the purpose or benefit.

Water bills up by an average of 7.5%, being reported as below inflation. All well and good if you are getting an inflationary level pay rise, but I honestly don't think I know anyone that is. There seems to be no end of price increases and with a new financial year starting in about 8 weeks, I'm not seeing any sign of the waters calming.

That's the one I have been to and 100% agree. However, I won't be doing a 'disgusted' letter to the BBC - I believe such letters originate from Kent

The other one I would add as a colourful place is Tongariro Crossing in NZ and I have done that one! It really was a lifetime experience.

I agree - just as impressive as Vinicunca Mountain, Peru, albeit on a slightly small scale

Just for fun. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z3dkkty I have been to one in the list of six. I'm sure someone out there can beat that, but surely, no one will claim all six!

That reminds me - ski holiday wall panelling - nothing great, but one sort of reminded me of E.T. [ATTACH=CONFIG]67943[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]67944[/ATTACH]

I tried ChatGPT out for a recent unsuccessful job application. The request was write a single side cover letter where I stated my skills and experience were more important than their essential experience 'specified product'. It's not bad, a bit predictable and bland and I prefer my unsuccessful elephant in the room which at least elicited positive feedback. Here it is: Dear Hiring Manager, I am writing to express my interest in the [Job Title] role at [Company Name]. I am confident that my diverse skill set and extensive experience make me a strong candidate for this position. I have [Number of Years] years of experience in [industry/Field], during which I have honed my skills in [skills Relevant to the Job]. My expertise in [skill 1], [skill 2], and [skill 3] would allow me to make valuable contributions to your team from day one. While I understand that the use of [specific Product] is listed as an essential requirement for this role, I would like to emphasize that my broad experience and versatility are my greatest strengths. I have a proven track record of quickly adapting to new technologies and processes, and I am confident that I can learn [specific Product] with ease. Furthermore, my strong communication and collaboration skills, as well as my ability to work effectively under pressure, would enable me to thrive in this role and collaborate effectively with your team. I am eager to bring my skills and experience to your organization and am confident that I would make a valuable addition to your team. Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to the opportunity to further discuss my qualifications with you. Sincerely,[Your Name] In truth, at large part of what it says is what I put in the cover letter too!

The green comet - next pass by in about 50,000 years! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-nottinghamshire-58071075