Page 3 | AIBU to wonder what 16-year-olds do after exams before college?

TheOpalFox · 2026-04-24T14:37:57+00:00

What do 16 year old do from the month of when they finish their exams to starting college?

Mummyoflittledragon · 24/04/2026 17:06

CraftyNavySeal · 24/04/2026 15:58

Be truly free for one of the last times in their lives.

This. It’s a truly wonderful time for them. Well, my dd was very unwell with anorexia, but she so needed the break.

steppemum · 24/04/2026 17:02

mine started by sleeping and vegging out for a few weeks.

Then they both got jobs. Earned a stack of money doing loads of shifts and saved up for things eg driving lessons.

Both retained those jobs as Saturday/weekend jobs during the first year of sixth form.

Zanatdy · 24/04/2026 16:54

My DD rested, as she had health issues and worked her socks off before her exams. My DS had his GCSE’s cancelled in 2020 and he was home doing nothing from March - Sep. None started working until 18, which was fine as neither had expensive habits.

Amba1998 · 24/04/2026 16:54

Family holiday, saw friends, continued working at waitressing job, normal teenage things?

Retro12 · 24/04/2026 16:53

Have fun, hopefully

Disasterclass · 24/04/2026 16:53

I had a fantastic summer, working but also socialising.

Following with interest as this will be DD next year. The NCS scheme seems to have ended last year which is a shame, she’d loved to have done that. It also seems to be much harder to get part time work than it used to be too

TheAutumnCrow · 24/04/2026 16:49

Scrounge money off you then go on stupid holidays that they need rescuing from because they’ve fallen out with their best friend and then spend all day at the seaside getting sunburnt and lose their phone.

Or volunteering.

rainbowunicorn · 24/04/2026 16:49

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 24/04/2026 16:39

It’s much more than a month… it’s closer to 3 months off. My ASD DD relaxed, met friends, chilled out. GCSE years were brutal for her. It was great to see her unwind and relax for the first time in months.

OP said From the month they finish not that it was only a month.

SleepingStandingUp · 24/04/2026 16:47

I worked, chilled, hung out with my mates, watched telly, did some extra work experience

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 24/04/2026 16:41

Work? Volunteer? Chill with their friends?

My dd did a bit of all three!

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 24/04/2026 16:39

It’s much more than a month… it’s closer to 3 months off. My ASD DD relaxed, met friends, chilled out. GCSE years were brutal for her. It was great to see her unwind and relax for the first time in months.

Catza · 24/04/2026 16:36

Don't know what they do nowadays but when I was 16, I was out of the house all day every day - going the the beach with friends or hanging out in a park, taking a train trip somewhere to hike. I had a job every summer holiday since I was 14 (Europe so we had three months of summer holidays) but not the year of exams. It was great fun. You definitely wouldn't catch me sitting in my bedroom watching TV.

toastandegg · 24/04/2026 16:30

Mine won’t be 16 until August so no job for him - I expect lazing around all summer!
I loved that Summer when I was that age, saw my friends, sunbathed, met boys, got drunk in the park… such memories!

OnlyFrench · 24/04/2026 16:28

Both mine worked and spent the money on festivals.

Nourishinghandcream · 24/04/2026 16:26

When I was 16, I used that summer* to do as much as I could!🌞
*The summer of 81.

I remember when leaving school, I said to friends that I was going to enjoy the 7-weeks of summer as it would be my last long, free, do anything I like time, before I retired.
It may sound a naive thing to have said but it turned out to be absolutely true.🙂 Until I retired (at 57), I never had more than 3-weeks off at any one time.

That summer after finishing school, knowing I would need transport when I started work in the September, I took my moped test which meant that over the summer, my best friend & I could travel around independently. I went on my first holiday without my parents, I went to a couple of concerts and basically I just lived life as much as I could while anticipating that big change when I entered the world of work.😁

ginasevern · 24/04/2026 16:25

I went youth hostelling around Devon and Cornwall with my best friend from school. One of the best summers of my life.

Owlteapot · 24/04/2026 16:21

Mine worked, went to a local festival, saw friends and went to the beach

AliasGr4ce · 24/04/2026 16:19

I did not much, it was bliss. Everyone else was finished too so plenty socialising. After the stress of exams they deserve a rest.

However, live in Scotland now and up here they go straight back to school after nat5s to start highers.

Blueeberry · 24/04/2026 16:16

Get their first summer job. Go drinking in fields and spend time with friends. Head off on family holidays. Train for sports. Sleep at bizarre times!

Monty36 · 24/04/2026 16:15

I worked full time, stacking shelves and pricing groceries.

Beachwalker66 · 24/04/2026 16:15

Work
Go on holiday with their mates or family
Hobbies
Beach

Needmorelego · 24/04/2026 16:14

Have a bloody rest.
First one for about a decade.

hellospring26 · 24/04/2026 16:06

Mine aren’t old enough but I think that was the best summer of my life. 1995. It was BAKING hot. Had a p/t job in Argos. Hung out with mates, particularly one with a pool. Went camping together at my parents static van - we had to have an adult with us, we stayed in pup tents. Beach. Discovered Hooch. BBQs. Wimbledon. Stables. Oasis.

whiteroseredrose · 24/04/2026 15:59

Mine did NCS or National Citizenship Service which was a 4 week programme for a bargain price. There was a week of outward bound stuff, a residential week learning about finance, presentation skills etc from industries then two weeks on a local volunteering project.

The rest of the time they relaxed and went out with friends.

DS went away to Krakow with a few friends.

It passes very quickly believe it or not.

FloweryPenPot · 24/04/2026 15:59

They have a bloody good summer. Oh I miss having summers to myself, I should've gone into teaching... not saying its easy btw, just that they get lovely summers.