New Batch of Year 13 parents this way!

Voilets - hope DG is on the road to recovery. My cousin had a stroke two months ago - it's slow going but he is improving each day. He's only 46. Life is pants sometimes.

Any lovely MN's have words of advice re Leicester? DS booked in for open day next Friday....I haven't been there in about 25 years.....

Hesmylobster ensure your DD takes loads of insect repellent on her DofE expedition. DD has come home with her face and eyes all swollen from midge bites. Antihistamines are barely touching it .

Good news also was that due to wet weather there were more last minute route changes, and there was no wild camping necessary!

Are some students applying to universities they haven't even looked at then?

Voilets sorry to hear about DG, I hope she is recovering well, and that your DD is enjoying life as an adult!
I feel as if dd has only just turned 17 so can't get my head around her friends starting to turn 18 now.

DD has changed her mind (again) about open days. We'd booked to go to Bristol, Newcastle and Durham but she says she's 100% sure now, based on the course details, which 5 she wants to apply to, so is back to waiting to see where she gets offers from before visiting.
It means we suddenly have free weekends instead of being booked solid for the whole of September, which I'm happy about, but I can't help thinking she might end up regretting not having a look around pre application.

Driving test is booked but she won't say when for. I know it's approx 8 weeks wait around here though, so my guess is half term!

How very unfortunate voilet that the 2 events happened the same day. Hope it doesn't affect how your dd felt about her party as strokes are so unpredictable that it could have happened at any time.
At the other end of the age scale, I became an aunt (again) over the summer as my SIL gave birth to her and DBs 5th Child !

The shuttle bus service early on a Saturday morning should be fine Lonicera. In the rush hour, it may be quicker to walk back to TM or hire a taxi!
Parking at Cribbs is a good plan drummer. From there the best buses for the university are the no. 1 (slightly quicker and goes through slightly better areas) or the no. 2 (a bit slower and goes through some less desirable areas). There are buses approx every 10 mins. For the uni you can either get off by the BBC building on Whiteladies Road or on Queens road by the Sainsbury's local (next stop after BBC).
The other alternative would be to use the Park and Ride at Avonmouth and then get off at the Hippodrome and walk up the hill (Park street) to the university.

Our ticket is for Temple Meads, plus we have booked a hotel near the station. Will get the shuttle bus to the uni in the morning.

Thanks catslife, I had looked at that as an option but this means going to pathway first and then templemeads, I'm not sure which part is bus though and how badly the route will be effected.
I'm thinking going stupidly early and getting the first bus from cribbs is looking like the best option but with ds1 booked on a talk at 945 it's going to be tight for time. The bus leaves at 0830 and they've said to leave an hour for travel. It doesn't leave much time to register and find our way.

It doesn't seem as well thought through as some of the others we have been to.
Either that or I'll need to drive into Bristol- also not a prospect to fill me with joy!
I'm sure it will all be good when we get there.

Another update - Bristol Parkway station is closed (replacement bus service in place) so using this option instead of Temple Meads may not help.

We had an 18th b'day and grandma had a stroke!!! Puts PS work into perspective. DG is okay though - just lots of tests now and help to recover.

Just as my last flies the nest next year, my duties as an ageing DD take on new proportions!
Back to school Wednesday here, then the hard work begins and probably the highly strung nerves at times.

Also have to keep my job ticking along - reaching targets etc.

It's a balancing act being a mother!

Thanks catslife- I'll check that out.

back on Tuesday here. Unlike his elder db DS2 has no clear view on what (and why) he wants to study or where - some outline ideas but nothing concrete. He needs to decide whether he wants to put in the necessary level of effort over the next 8/9 months - scarily that is all it is until A2 exams get underway [gulp]. Certainly more than capable but needs the sustained and planned effort to go with it. Consciously starting to think about applying in the next cycle with his results. Interesting times ahead, but at least no PS to worry about for some time.

Thanks for the tips cats

Top tip for next September. Do not watch Toy story 3. It's on today, and I remember crying watching it last September ahead of DS1 leaving for uni. I'm wondering if they show it in September deliberately!

dd goes back to college on Weds. They had info about post-18 options at the end of the Summer term. She has holiday tasks to finish off but is ready to go back now.
We are restarting driving lessons with a new driving school / instructor. Wasn't too happy with the last one - changed too many lesson times around at the last minute. Including one where he was supposed to pick up dd from college and the first thing she knew about it was when he didn't show up.
If anyone wants tips for Bristol University, please ask either on here or send a pm. I went to Bristol University and still live here. Am shocked by the train fares now - it was a 4 hour train journey from my parents house but it was manageable. It would be cheaper to fly here now than use the train (Bristol does have an airport) and there are also cheap coach options as well.
There are currently roadworks around Temple Meads station which are making the bus journey to the uni very slow. My tips for train travellers would be to check out the local train to Clifton Down station to avoid the traffic (much nearer the uni and fewer hills).
My only other word of caution is that there are 2 other events on in Bristol that weekend. The first is called Bristol Doors open Day and has a chance to look round some buildings that are usually not open to the public. (some are close to the uni and may give members of the family who aren't interested an alternative to looking round the uni buildings.) The second is the anti-austerity protest march which will close down many roads in the city centre for a while and probably cause traffic chaos.

DD has completed her D of E expedition. Drenched but safe.

TheSecond the details say nothing about theory, just what will change in the road driving test so presumably theory will not be changing. I hate driving from the SatNav, she never answers me when I say "what, this turn HERE or that one?". DS does a much better job with directions - "follow that red car, turn where the bus went" and he's improved no ed since he started driving himself.

Well done to all the DCs who have started working on their personal statement.

Question about driving tests: Is it just the practical test that changes on 4 Dec 2017, or will the theory test be changing too?

It's not been too bad here, just as well or I would have had to say no to some.
We have a friends and family pass which has been useful this year.
So far Liverpool has been the furthest, although I don't know anyone there personally, a friend has family there if he needed immediate support. She volunteered them.

Ds1 has just announced his first draft is complete.

DD is looking at Bristol on Monday on their way back up north.

We were very lucky with DS1. He didn't particularly think about distance, but the combination of ideal course and campus came up an hour and a half drive away with easy motorway access at each end

Ha ha knitting we are travelling from Sheffield.

Back in the day I went for an interview at Bristol. The journey from Rotherham was enough to put me off the course, it was raining when I got there and I couldn't find the bus from the station. I cannot remember anything else about the place, course or interview except that I was tired, wet and felt very far from home.

There are very few places that offer what DS wants to do and all except one are a couple of hours from home.

Our return rail fares to Bristol are £158 , and that is with a student railcard. There is no way I am driving there on a Friday afternoon, and it is too far to do in a day trip, so we have overnight hotel costs as well.

We haven't found it too expensive, but that's because dd has been very cautious about choosing which unis to visit. All have been within a 2 hr drive from us, and we've managed to do each one as a day trip in the car, which has been fine. Of course, that's because she doesn't fancy going too far away, the practicalities of being able to come home whenever she wants to easily have been high on her priority list. She's also decided against going to any Scottish unis because it would take an extra year, and going straight into second year wouldnt work as she doesn't have an A level in computing so needs them to start from the basics.