Year 13 -2025/26 - Support, discussion and looking after each other (new thread from y12)

Lovely to hear of all these applications going in and offers coming back! Exciting times.

Parents Evening and driving test coming up this week……

@AuntyBulgaria he’s gone for integrated masters computer science/software engineering. He’s done Comp Sci at both GCSE and A-Level and he loves it. His second choice is robotics and AI engineering at Warwick. He’s put Exeter as his back up plan. Plus Bristol and Bath in the mix too. But UoB is his 1st choice for course and distance (we live up the road from UoB 🤣).

@KellySeveride my DS got a Birmingham offer about 10 days after submitting his form so your DS shouldn't have to wait for too long. Which subject has he gone for?

Whoop we have an offer. Leeds Beckett BCC

Lots to catch up on here. Hope your daughter is better @JessyCarrmeningitis is awful
That's terrifying @GirlsInGreen hope you're on the mend

Just popping in to say DS has submitted his UCAS finally. I have been nagging him for weeks but it’s gone in today 🙌🏼. Now just to wait for offers. I hear Birmingham are pretty quick so fingers crossed as that’s his top choice.

@JessyCarr i hope your dd is feeling better soon. When I was at uni a student died of meningitis when we were in halls, he was over from America, must have been just awful for his family, apparently he went to the medical centre who thought it a hangover and advised paracetamol, a few hours later he was in hospital. I don’t remember if dd had a meningitis vaccination, I expect she’d know. Life can take scary turns sometimes.

hope your dd is feeling better @JessyCarr

I had dd vaccinated for men b when she was 8. I’ve seen a few stories recently and already have her booked in for a booster over Xmas, I thought she needed a fresh double set but Boots says no, just an optional booster. Will see what they say when we go in person.

Meanwhile we’re having quite a stressful time over here with Oxford interviews and the like. I shall be more glad than ever to reach the Christmas holidays! Thank goodness no mocks in Jan here.

Checking in - sending positive thoughts to @JessyCarr, @GirlsInGreen , @Ventress and everybody else dealing with all the things.

DD has completed her mocks (no results yet). It has meant that history NEA has taken a backseat which is a bit of a problem as a deadline is looming with a word count and she has barely written anything!

Oh goodness @GirlsInGreen how scary. Super lucky to have been in a hospital when it happened. I hope you are recovering now
I think DS is trying to save me any worry by appearing calm and in control of everything (plus a smidge of teenage arrogance thrown in). I haven't even been told if he has an Oxford interview. Apparently, it's "need to know" only. Having to keep completely away from him while he has been ill means I can only communicate via text message. I realise it's his way of trying to help and take the "mum work" burden off me, but being the nosy parent I am it's frustrating and driving me crazy!

I hope your daughter is on the mend now @JessyCarr . How horrible for her, and you all. Is she resting at home now? Best wishes for a quick recovery

Thank you for sharing the information and the link. I had been talking to DH about the pre-university vaccinations at the weekend and it is on our "to do" list for the summer.

@GirlsInGreen oh my goodness, thank goodness you were at your work place!! I hope you are well on the way to recovery.
Dose DD up on vitamins and stock up on cold and flu tablets!

DS doesn't seem to be that bothered, it's me that's stressing out. 😂 Although once all his friends start getting offers he would get more concerned.

@Ventress if we could mix the anxiety levels of my DS with the horizontal not botheredness of yours we'd have the perfect mix! 😂

@JessyCarr how scary for you all! So glad she's on the mend and thank you for the warning, I will check DS's vaccine history and look to get that sorted if he hasn't had it.

So much happening! Best of luck to your DD today @hels71 .

DD has been really ill (in hospital) with meningitis. Fortunately it was viral rather than the much more dangerous bacterial meningitis, and she is on the mend now. But - if you will forgive me a public service announcement - it is really important for our young people to be aware of meningitis and its symptoms. The most common bacterial meningitis is meningitis B, which our Y13s have not been vaccinated for as babies because the vaccine was not developed until 2015. (Many of them will have had the MenACWY vaccine as teens, which doesn’t cover MenB, but there was some disruption of this in the pandemic and my DD didn’t have it).

The parents of Meg Draper, a fresher who died this term, are raising awareness of the lack of protection from MenB in this cohort and there is a campaign for an NHS catch-up programme to cover young people born before 2015: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crrerl0pw9do

@hels71 good luck today!

@Lalux hope you are all on the mend soon.

@GirlsInGreen congrats on the UCL offer! Hopefully DD has time to recover before the interview.

@Ventress I so wish DD had the ability to be laid back, it would make my life more calm 😂.

She had a cry on me last night about having to revise for a bio test (they have tests what feels like every week atm!) but needing to concentrate on interview prep for next week. She's been to see her teacher this morning (all teachers have agreed interview prep comes first) who has taken her file off her so she can't revise but told her just to do it anyway with no revision. The results literally don't matter and DD is not really in danger of dropping grades atm she is just an impossible perfectionist!

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn I had a brain haemorrhage at the end of October😬 very lucky to be here, I work in a big teaching hospital (non medic) & had just go into work - so very lucky indeed.
DD has her interviews on Tuesday & has just come down with a lurgy🙃 - not great timing, but what can you do?
Will be a relief for your son to get his application in I bet - I know DD said it felt like a huge weight off to finally be rid of it😁

That's great @JustHereWithMyPopcorn - glad your son's form will finally be submitted and he can start collecting those offers!

Get well soon to your DH and DS @Lalux . DS has has flu and went back into school again yesterday. It has been horrible. DH and I both (fortunately) had flu jabs but DS had to miss his as it clashed with the orthodontist. We won't make that mistake again next year.

I would actually like it if DS was more worried about his driving test @JustHereWithMyPopcorn He's so laid back about it he's practically horizontal. I have told him that if he fails he will be arranging, and paying, for the next one.

Good luck to your DD today @hels71 !

That's great @Echobelly hopefully it sets your mind, and your sons, at rest.

Well done to all of those with interviews and offers recently! Coming in thick and fast now

@Lalux hope you feel better soon, everyone seems laid up with it at the moment round here.

@GirlsInGreen Thank you, DS passed his test in May but he was super nervous on his first test and failed, I was just offering a bit of advice that helped him calm down for his second test. Well done to your DD on getting that Oxford interview and the offer from UCL. I have clearly missed a past post regarding you being off work, I hope you are OK?

So finally DS had his application reviewed yesterday, the only thing he needed to do was add his local authority on the form which we had both somehow missed. He has added this and it's back with the school to submit - hopefully today.

Good luck to your DD today @hels71

Good luck to her @hels71

Congrats to all the others on more offers, interviews, driving tests and getting UCAS submitted. It sure is a busy time!

DS and DH both have flu and have been floored by it but hopefully on the mend now.

First interview today!

Good luck to your DD as well, @GirlsInGreen! And congrats to her on the UCL offer!

Lovely to hear all the progress on driving tests, UCAS applications & interviews.

@Muchtoomuchtodo good luck on the driving test same for @bluefineliner @JustHereWithMyPopcorn 🤞

Congrats on the interview @temperedolive exciting times!
@Echobelly wonderful news about the offer - & lovely parents evening comments😁

We're bobbling along here - DD has got Oxford interviews next week & to her utter delight an offer from UCL🥳. I'm still off work - will see my consultant in January, very tired which is rotten - but still managing to spend too much online Christmas😅

Two of DD'S medic pals both have one interview each one at Birmingham, one at Manchester which is a relief. Her dentistry friend not a peep yet - so fingers crossed soon🤞

Thanks @Ventress - teachers all seem very happy and think DC is back on track, but have some tips for staying there. History teacher has stopped setting quite so much work, so evidently complaints worked.

Good luck to the DCs with up coming driving tests, it is usually the nerves that get to them. On DS's second test I stressed the importance of not letting the small mistakes get to them during the test and making sure to focus on getting the big things right. They can obsess over small errors which just makes them panic and make worse mistakes.

@wonderstuff, that sounds like a huge college - those poor staff having to wade through thousands of PSs!

@bluefineliner great news about the second interview!

@ventress I hope your DS feels better soon and that you manage to avoid catching it and all the other viruses going around at the moment.

Did you get the answers you were looking for from parent’s evening @Echobelly? Great news on the 3 C offer!

Good luck to your DD @wonderstuff. I guess the staff must be good at reviewing PSs having so many to do!

Good luck for the driving test @bluefineliner! Fingers crossed for your DD.

DS has his test in February. He is not ready. We are going to get him a few driving lessons for Christmas. He just doesn’t give it any priority. He has also been laid up in bed with flu for a week. He has gone into school today, against my better judgement, but he is worried about how much he has missed. It’s been hard because I have had to stay away from him as I am immunocompromised and can’t afford to get an infection. He did get a priority doctor appointment as a result of my status, so there are some benefits (joke).

Like the pp we paid DS back for his UCAS fee.

@Muchtoomuchtodo Good luck to your DS.

DD has her test a week today 😬. She is desperate to pass has had enough lessons and we've taken her out a lot. She can drive, I am comfortable next to her but it really will be down to luck on the day and her holding her nerve I think. She's done mock tests and failed them for things people do daily once they have their licence but you have to be perfect for that 30 mins. I keep telling her there is an element of luck that nothing bad happens on the day but that even if she fails, she will pass soon enough.

DD got a med interview at Leeds, her second one, which was lovely! It is early Jan and she has her first one at Newcastle next week (two days after her driving test urgh!) so will hopefully be a bit less nervous for Leeds.

Lots of offers coming through for DDs friends, very quickly after submitting UCAS. I feel like we are all running on adrenaline in our house for the foreseeable, Y13 is horrible for them!

Glad to see everyone else getting offers.