GCSE '18s (20) - half term beckons!

Agree Korma, talk of empty nests may be somewhat premature! It’s the travelling I’m looking forward to...it’s such a beautiful morning and I have a real urge to take a trip to Scotland. Sadly DS would wonder where we’d gone when he came in from school.

Limit remind me what other A Levels your DD is doing? I’m very glad that DS is only doing 3 from the POV of his dyslexia. I don’t think he’ll do an EPQ either as his History is actually a Pre-U which includes an extended essay Personal Investigation (they can choose what to write it on so it won’t be part of the syllabus.) Your DD may well be better dropping the Biology if she’s doing it for the right reasons and not as a response to yesterday’s test.

Alex My next door neighbour was in a similar situation, playing for a PL academy throughout his childhood. They were told all the way through that they would be unlikely to achieve their dreams and forced them to do their homework and get their exams before letting them play. He gained various coaching qualifications. He made to through to their reserve team and played for them in the Championship, but then they got promoted again to the PL. When his contract was due for renewal he was simply told that they had bought in a more experienced player from overseas and he was being let go. He is now working overseas in a semi-pro capacity and just has to accept that it was nice while it lasted.

Get fit soon AH's DD.

Limit I hope your DD's meeting goes well. The right support can make all the difference.

The story about my DC coping with real life and doing well at work was aimed at our lovely visitor and I hope it didn't look insensitive next to your DD's troubles.

My point was they needed my support to get what they needed fron school but it didn't make them incompetent adults.

Thank you to everyone for your concern. Spoke to dd this morning. No break or ligament damage but muscle/soft tissue injury. No dance for a few weeks.

She had a physio appointment booked for Monday anyway as she had gone over on pointe last week. She is hyper mobile & had a bad sprain in Year 10 and I think a lot of her weakness stems from that injury. She is insured so we (and one of her teachers) wants things investigating in more depth. There is an NHS clinic in Birmingham that specialises in dance injuries and it is supposed to be very good so organising a referral is a priority.

But this is why, although I think its important to let your children follow their dreams, in my opinion its important to choose an accredited course with back up options. Ds's form tutor at his school was in a premier league post 16 academy provision and played for the reserves but an injury stopped that. The club helped him to retrain and get qualificatins to become a PE teacher.

I was critisised on another forum by the principal of a certain college because I said that I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole (someone asked for MT course reccomendations) as they were unaccredited & offer no qualification for the 3 years work. They might offer excellent preparation for the industry but what happens in the case of injury?

Limit Hope your dd has a better day today

Typed 3 fairly long paragraphs and then website crashed and lost it. So hate that - arggghhh

I hope your luck turns Alex, you and your family have certainly had it rough. Here's hoping for a swift recovery for your dd and that her ankle responds well to RICE

Thanks Cherry, Loose, Peggy and others for getting it and for offering support and encouragement. Always good to hear that your older dc with spLD are now succeeding at work Peggy. Sticker - as Cherry said, your approach to your students sounds spot on.

Hoping for a better day today and that dd has a constructive meeting with study support. At the moment she wants to quit biology which sounds a bit kneejerk, but she is convinced that in order to keep up with it, the work involved will be too significant and will squeeze out her other A level subjects.

Loving the very honest list of hobbies Sostenuto . When I have finished flying my helicopter I will mostly be singing, cooking fancy stuff that DD1 doesn't like and watching box sets while snuggled under a blanket. I think I'll cope!

Mind you, given the state of the housing market, and that there are three years between DD1 and DD2, there's quite a strong chance that DD1 will be graduated and back living at home as a soon as DD2 goes away. I could yet be several years off an empty nest!

Sorry to hear about DD Alex. X

I had an MRI scan a couple of years ago on my foot & ankle as I lost sensation in part of my foot after surgery shortly after DD was born and they weren't sure how much damage there was. I was shocked to discover when I saw a physio that I couldn't stand on one leg. Certainly not AH's DD's problem.

AH really sorry to hear you have suffered more bad news.........is it just the one ankle or does she have weakness in both, if one could it be the result of an old injury. DD who is not a dancer suffered with weak ankles we saw a physio and the exercises he gave sorted it out, according to him it was due to the fact she didn't start walking until she was 18 months.

My dd feels the same way kick being a single parent too. She is going to find it difficult when dgd leaves home for uni. I too will be at a lose as my dgd is everything I am not. She has worked so hard and continues to do so and is determined to better herself and not be in a spiral of poverty that her mum and I are stuck in. She is so brave as she is a real ' homebird' at heart and often says she knows she will be homesick but is comforted that wherever she may be we are but a phonecall away and will be at her side if she needs us. We look forward to see her venturing out into the world and beginning her own life and we will be so proud of her as she succeeds in all she does safe in the knowledge that the grounding, nurturing and love we gave her from her birth will make her the human being we know she is, kind, caring and loving.

Ah but you ll need to know when the school holidays are as that’s when you ll want to book your hols !! And will also be the time when I’m sure you two boys will return and dump their washing and empty the fridge !!

Kick I'm going to miss my DC too. In 4 years, they will both be gone. I'm married, and DH and I have a good relationship, but the boys leaving will leave a gap. I think most (loving) parents feel the same. How could they not?

I'll get used to the new norm eventually though, just like I've got used to all the other changes. DH plans for us to do a lot more travelling again, like we used to do before it was so rudely interrupted when I got pregnant with DS1! It will be strange going back to being oblivious to when the school holidays are.

I think the only one who needed to get a life was ophelia! What do they get out of it really? Its so sad that all you do is try and stir people up. I always feel sorry for those type of people mainly because its such a waste of a brain. Think she needs a dose of my life experiences lately to giver her thoughts and opinions a bit of true perspective.

It was quite spiteful the way Ophelia launched her opinions yesterday. I had a look at her recent posts and she seems to spend 99% of her time in AIBU, so I guess rudeness will have been normalised for her.

Imagine trying to helicopter parent a teenager?! DS2 would simply reach up and snap off my blades in mid-air if I came within a country mile of him! He's in full throttle independence mode.

AH and to you and dd. Hope it's a minor blip.

I can't believe it's page 5 already and I missed all the fun with the perfect parent. It reminded me why I rarely venture out into the rest of mumsnet any more.

I do agree with her though that I will struggle with the empty nest in 2 years. Not because I'm too involved in her schoolwork (I'm not any more since English is done) but because as a lone parent with one child my life will be very different when I live alone.

Dd now stays at her dad's two nights a week so I am getting a bit of practise. I don't mind my own company but I do tend to just do more work if I've got nothing else to do and my job can become all-consuming if I'm not careful.

Tonight I'm starting a beginners Spanish course.

That must be so worrying for her, and you, Alexander. Would a weakness show up on an X-ray or ultrasound or some of diagnostic test?

Honestly, it’s one thing after another. I swear anyone reading just my posts on the threads since Easter would say I’m a troll as it’s all so unbelievable.

Anyway. Dd had an x ray which says no lasting damage. RICE & no dance for the next few weeks are the advice.

But I’m going to get her investigated Further. This weakness keeps happening & we either need to find out any underlying cause & get it sorted or re-evaluate whether she is physically strong enough for a professional career.

Hope your luck changes soon alexander I know what it is to have a run of bad luck. Think positive and all will be well.

alexander for your little
Gosh glad the pious parent has gone phew!!!! I might have started on her otherwise with my sparkling g wit as for being a helicopter grandparent I wish I had a helicopter so I could fly away!
I have several hobbies.....rum, knitting, rum, reading, rum, cryptic crosswords, rum, driving, rum, rearing a pup, rum, tooting my cornet, rum , chemo, rum, radiotherapy, rum, watching game of thrones, rum, watching lucky man, rum, troll hunting, rum...

Alexander poor dd, ankle injuries are horrid and I hope it’s sorted soon. [ flowers]

Stickerrocks sounds to me like you’ve got it right - the only thing I’d watch out for is that poor organisational skills can go with the dyslexia but at the level your students are working at I think it’s less of an issue!
The red flag in Limit’s Post for me was for a dyslexic student to take an impromptu test and then having the result read out. It’s not a level playing field and that isn’t fair. But the teacher may not realise and it’s only fair to explain.

We have an online system which supplements what I do. The students can access video tuition which goes over everything I cover in the classroom at their own pace, topped up with knowledge checks and quizzes. Unfortunately we just don't have the time to slow the pace in the classroom. I have 5 days over the next couple of weeks to cover all the material in a 1086 page text book for one paper.

I have always thought that anyone with dyspraxia or dyscalcula must be incredibly determined (or crazy in the nicest possible sense of the word) to put themself through 3 years of professional exams and then build a career where precision is crucial. However, there are a significant number determined to take the risk each year.

She’s just been called after 3.5 hours. Her teacher says she needs to push for a scan & to emphasise what she does (comparing it to an elite athlete).

Ha! Typical! Ive had a stressful day and was just wondering if I've done the right thing by going back to work and now apparently I'm a helicopter parent "A mother's place is in the wrong" as some wise old bird once said.

Y12 evening was quite dull but at least we met the tutor who seems lovely. Also found out about all the stuff available to students in case of them struggling. DS is good at masking that so I shall be on the look out for a good few weeks.

Got home to find that DS2 has eaten the week's supply of cold meats (ie my lunches), I got cross, and he called me all the rude words he could think of. So I'm in bed with gin.

Sorry to hear about DD's ankle alexander, that's just what you needed
Night night all you wonderful supportive and kind parents! Too right I'm invested - I gave up a career and a lot of dosh and a lot of time to get them this far and I will not apologise for ensuring they leave education with what they want for the future!

AH