BTEC/T level/other vocational 25/26

DS first day today and not a brilliant start.

Most of his friends and girlfriend have gone to the local 6th form college, he doesn't know anyone at his college and spent today on his own pretty much.

I've tried to reassure him its only the first day but he's annoyed he's not on the level 3 course and said tonight he can't face the thought of having to spend 3 years there.

Problem is there aren't many other options so he'll have to stick with it for the time being. I'm hoping if he excels at the level 2, they might bump him up to the level 3 course earlier.

In all honesty I suspect he finds the environment a bit intimidating. He's a bit of a nerd and as its primarily boys that attend I can imagine it's a bit of a shock.

Dd says she is fed up of people (adults including her counsellor and teachers) telling her that it's normal to be anxious about future/new things.
She says she wants to be around people her own age and talk to them...but she doesn't. She tends to seek out older kids/people?
No idea.
I'm winging it, frankly.

@OhCrumbsWhereNow
I believe she's NT.
She's actually pretty self aware the majority of the time.
I'm just feeling sorry for myself today.
I'll pass.

Is your DD NT?

Just mine, unmedicated, does this kind of thing - or demands that we 'chat' but then answers everything with monosyllables and doesn't generate conversation topics... and then sulks if I dare check my phone.

Drives me INSANE.

Medicated she is a normal human being.

Me, too!
I'm utterly fed up and then feel guilty because I'm utterly fed up 😬
Dd has had sime positive news today re: work so 🤞

@swampwitch0 how infuriating! I hope things are better once she's actually started the course.

Well.
Trial run on transport done. Then a look around the shops - dds idea.
It was ok...except dd refused to speak to me, or even look out of the window...
Apparently thats what young people do and IABU for expecting at least to be acknowledged.
So, all in all, I'm feeling pretty fed up.
I know she's anxious, but ffs 😡
I'm so utterly done with it all.
If it goes well tomorrow, I'll be glad, but of it doesn't, dh needs to step up.
I'm not dealing with it.
I think - after months of doing everything I can for both dds - I've simply run out of stream :(
Hope first day's go ok for everyone x

It doesn't help that there is an Indian qualification called BTech.

DD has her first day today, she was a bit nervous when she left. Fingers crossed she will have a good day, she really enjoyed the taster days in July so I'm hopeful. Also she has found out two of her friends on different courses will overlap two days with her (they do three days per week) so that's good.

Good Luck to all today’s starts!!! I’ll be keeping everything crossed for your DC ( and you 😸)…… 🤞🙏🤞 🍀

Ohhhhhh…. I’m so sorry. I hope she ( snd you!) managed to get some sleep, and it’s now nervous excitement, as opposed to nerves for her.

I hope she manages to take a massive breath and walks calmly in…….and that it all goes so, so much better than she may be panicking about.

I’m sending a ton of positive vibes, and huge 🤗……!

As expected...dd very anxious and panicky.
Sigh.

She's doing a L3 extended music course (but in a niche specialism) - I pretty much spoke to every option in SE England in the Spring, and this was the front-runner by a very long way. Their team were great over all those weeks, and put up with me being a nightmare (I like to have ducks in row before making decisions so no nasty surprises later) so it's slightly annoying to find that what both DD and I were told may not be the reality.

But, there are no other options as only this college has this course, she really likes the tutors, they were very keen to have her, and if there are gaps then we can fill them through extra-curricular if necessary (I was rather looking forward to not doing so much of that 😭)

DD seems a bit happier this evening, so a lot may just be nerves - with any luck I will be back in a month saying it's all perfect 😂

There was definitely a soft spot - music department 😂and it was an ongoing battle for years so he could have just handed out detentions.

I've had long talk with DD and said to just give it time and see how everything works out.

My guess is that they may have a lot who drop out - it's the kind of course you might opt for thinking it would be a bit of a doss and then realise that actually there's rather a lot of theory and writing and what is fun in your bedroom might not be so much fun when it's 'school' and you're being marked on it.

And no, DD is not in tomorrow... not in until next Monday... which is v annoying having bought a weekly season ticket for the train. Have suggested she go and see lots of friends while she still can.

I've got all her logins and passwords and am now trying to find my way round the VLP... which is not particularly intuitive, and lots appears to be in the process of being added but I think I'm getting there.

Her dyslexia means she can't just scan things and say 'Oh that's where that is'. So our method is that I work it all out and then in 3 weeks time when she's wailing that nobody gave her the assignment/notes etc I can just tell her where it actually is on the system.

Dd's college you can get a refund if you drop out, but not if you decide to travel by alternate means.

Dh and I are holding off on the transport season ticket...
We will buy it once we know she is happy at college

Oh, I am so so sorry! And, so.cross for you and DD!! What did she say about it? That is so bloody irritating and upsetting. Do you have a contact at the college that you can speak to? Yes, that is a good plan, a month to see how it is starting to pan out. I truly hope things improve ….. fast…. 🤞🙏🤞….

It looks like your DD former teacher needs to find someone else to be annoyed by now! I always think in these situations that the teacher has a soft spot for the student involved! Or, maybe they were just a studs fan….🤷‍♀️😈😹!

So, I take it that DD is not in tomorrow? Bit of a difference between 2 days and 3 hours, tho?! Hard to miscalculate that 🙄🙀!

🍀 going forward…x

Yep...expecting bumpiness here, too
Solidarity @SuperTrooper1111and @Sisublondie
💕

Just concurring re anxiety. It can be so debilitating and exhausting.

It's horrible when your child has anxiety. I'd do anything to take my DD's away. I have a feeling the next few days are going to be bumpy. @Sisublondie It is quite a bit farther – she'll need to get a train or bus there. I'm hoping someone on her course might live near us and they figure out travelling together. But if not, as I've just pointed out to her, it's only three days a week that she's got to make the journey.

Well…… I didn’t get a huge amount out of him….. did smile…..but, apparently he said to DH, on being picked up from the bus, “ after all the years of crap at Old School, that was the best day ever”…… so, even if it goes tits up tomorrow, we had today!!

NB- it looks suspiciously like his lunch money, went on……. A Chocolate and Hazelnut cake from Gail’s!! 🙀.., it’s the first time he’s seen one..,, my fears are confirmed!!

@OhCrumbsWhereNow Sorry to hear you have concerns already - hopefully they are just teething troubles. What course is your DD doing?

@SuperTrooper1111
Dd is just wobbly full stop...😔

Dds friend came over today...they had a trip to Starbucks :)
The friend is going in in the same bus as dd and has the same induction days!
So...that's something.
Dry run tomorrow.

The earrings saga was quite entertaining over the years - they're just medium size thick gold hoops, so not particularly exciting - but the running battle was amusing.

DD is one of those annoying kids who manages to break rules and get away with it by making teachers laugh... a skill set she has not inherited from either of her parents.

So... she's already back and I am irritated.

Told that induction was 2 days this week... nope, it was 3 hours and only today (why did I buy a season ticket?)

I also did vast amounts of research and phone calls when looking for our Plan B... one of the reasons we picked this college was they said max of 16 students on the course (question asked to multiple staff on different occasions). And now it turns out they have 48 split into 2 groups. Which I am feeling very anxious about due to how some of the classes are structured. DD's ADHD is generally very manageable, but there are certain sure fire triggers for it to become a major issue and I can see trouble on the horizon.

I have said to give it at least a month and if it's not what we were promised (happily in writing) then I will be THAT parent.

Ugh... why is nothing simple?