Year 13 -2025/26 - Support, discussion and looking after each other - thread 2 - exam time

@gingercat02
That’s good to hear.
DH was initially undecided about the course but after going for an open day with DD and discovering the high levels of employability attached, he has changed his mind!
Due to the financial element of Uni, employability is now so much important than it used to be.

Hi all,

Just trying to keep up with everyone's news! Lovely to see how they are all doing. We 'escaped' the heat by going to Edinburgh this weekend but for the alternative reason of my eldest DD running the marathon (and I stupidly agreed to do the half marathon 😂) on Sunday. Although not as hot as down south it was awful to run in. I finished, DD did amazingly well too. We have walked/run and climbed Arthur's seat so are well and truly worn out (and a bit sunburned).

Now home to DD2 who has been revising all weekend and looking after the cats whilst we were away. She is doing ok, happy with psych exams so far, on track with chem revision but wobbling now on bio. Still time though, first paper not until next week. I expect many more wobbles in the next 2 weeks but we will get through them!

Hope revision is going well with everyone else, or that much needed downtime too.

@Ventress glad you sorted things with your DS, I must have missed the minor car damage post too. I just resign myself to this happening numerous times whilst DD is inexperienced, I try to not to worry too much, as long as it is a small bump not a big one!

@temperedolive prawn mousse sounds fab! Talented girl, mine can just about manage pasta 😁 which is what she will survive on at uni I'm sure.

Finance wise we are paying for accommodation, DD will have a loan for fees and minimum living costs. She most likely won't be able to work much as her degree progresses (medicine) so not relying on that for her income. Just resigned to being poorer for 5 years more 😂.

Thank you, @Ventress - she really is a remarkable cook. She made a prawn mousse for a party I had a few weeks ago and everyone was asking me for the recipe, and I had no idea. I can't cook like she does!

DC finds the heat really hard to take, couldn't face a dinner with ILs and wider family due to the heat and is trying to sleep in the garden tonight.

Re uni financing - they are taking out tuition fee loan, we are paying halls/rent. Not looking forward to that as I've been enjoying having the disposable income since we paid off mortgage, which I know is a massive privilege. I feel we should pay living because we can afford to at the end of the day, even if it means cutting back on some things, and also I feel guilty we didn't financially plan and save up, but then we couldn't really as DH's career and income has been so unstable the past 12 years, but at least we keep some debt off their back. For 'fun money' they'll need to get a job, like my niece did - we'll cover them until they find something, but it won't be loads. As they're in London I have suggested they start looking during holidays to see if they can have something lined up for start of term. There is a cafe/community centre where they know some people and think they might be able to get paid shifts.

@wonderstuff we are also in negotiations with DS about what we are funding while he job hunts only under negotiation as he is coming up with jobs around house he could do for money.

It’s super hot! Dd is still managing to revise, she’s a trooper, she took Friday to Sunday off, so is having some balance. Thankfully seems weather will break by Monday, heatwave during actual exams is never fun.

@Tebheag dd will get the minimum maintenance loan, I’m planning to pay her rent, and she can fund everything else. She is taking a gap year, and we’re currently negotiating on what she gets from us then, I’m currently funding a transport + lunch allowance, but feel that can’t continue too long after she’s out of education, she has a job but only earning about £30 a week at the moment, she claims she’s too stressed to look for anything else until after exams. She has some savings and a small inheritance which was to fund her learning to drive (two tests failed now I expect there’s not much left). I’m not sure what’s fair.

Think I have added to the spreadsheet - yet another Historian, this time at St Andrews to add to the mix. First paper (Crusades, her favourite) she ran out of time so is now stressed about the others. Art at least is in the bag and she is very happy with her mark. Similar to a couple of other posters, she may well change plans last minute and do Oxbridge but I do worry that that might not go down well with St A as she would reapply there too. It’s so hard to know what to suggest, and she’s my youngest of 3 so I do feel fairly well informed.

The Nutrition course is really good at Leeds, we take dietetic students from Leeds, for their NHS placements. There is a lot of overlap in the 2 courses.

@Ventress good to hear you and your DS sorted things.

@Countrylife2002 wow two jobs I can just cope with one at present.

If you don't mind me asking how much are some of you planning to pay for uni?

DS gf is down for the week so he has taken a couple of days off from studying.
Unfortunately got a couple of rejections s
But is still upbeat as start dates where June and he wanted the summer off but it's practice for doing applications.

Hope everyone has got to enjoy the sunshine at some point.

@Ventress
She will hopefully have a place at Leeds to study Nutrition and Food Science. Fingers crossed!

Happy 18th to your DS @AuntyBulgaria 🍾🍻🎉

I am melting, we all are. It’s already 29 degrees and our local forecast is up to 33!! 😱 there’s no air at all. I wish the boys were young enough for a paddling pool, those were the days!!

Happy birthday to your DS @AuntyBulgaria

@MiniMidiMaxihope you are feeling better soon.

@gingercat02another one with a summer birthday. Just before results day so hoping for a double celebration.

DS seems finally to be stepping up a gear. First exam a week tomorrow.

DS is a summer birthday I wouldn't have minded him taking a gap year, but he is determined to get started this year. He also has plans to travel next summer.

Hope you are able to enjoy this beautiful weather. DH and I going to take our paddle boards out. DS and friends are going for a beer garden afternoon at 2:30. I have just suggested he should be up. I was mainly grunted at! He has a full week until his next exam and then 9 days to the last one so I guess I shouldn't nag too much.

Happy birthday to your DS @AuntyBulgaria

Happy birthday to your DS @AuntyBulgaria!

We’ve dragged out the portable air conditioning unit that we got two years ago when GCSEs were on, ready to go to keep the DCs’ rooms cooler as both need to be revising. Most of our rooms are south facing so it can get pretty warm. Though suspect DS will head to the library, it’s his favoured revision spot.

Hope you all get to enjoy the bank holiday! I have a rubbish cold, which is really annoying in hot weather!

Thanks @Fabfabfab- they don’t understand this hot weather! Glad your son is feeling better now. Well DS has gone to the gym so he must be feeling better 😊

I think sending our son’s to the library to get out of the hot houses is a very good idea.

@AuntyBulgaria Happy birthday to your DS! Hope he has a really nice 18th birthday despite the upcoming exams!

@Ventress hope your DS regains some energy today. I find they all look a bit paler than usual as they have been inside revising a lot. DC also got a bit sunburnt last week playing a tennis match although seems fine now.

It's so, so hot in our house and I worry DC is going to run out of steam (literally!) and struggle to revise this week. Not ideal the week before three exams...Might suggest he goes to the local library tomorrow as I think it might be cooler.

Hope everyone is enjoying the Bank Holiday sunshine!
@Muchtoomuchtodo enjoy your time away!

Good luck getting that gap year job @SaraCrewe06what does she want to do after her gap year?

dc2’s gap year courses sound amazing @temperedolive. I have been watching Master Chef and some of these contestants are amazing. I’d be thrilled if DS could cook like this!

Good luck to dc1 - she won’t need it I’m sure 😊

Enjoy Eisteddfod @Muchtoomuchtodo. best weather for many years ☀️

happy birthday to your son @AuntyBulgaria!
He’ll get back into the swing of it and nail his a levels.

DS wasn’t well yesterday. He’d coached tennis for 8hours and burnt his neck and arms badly. We went out for my sister in laws birthday in the late afternoon and DS basically slumped at table for the whole time. Which isn’t like him as he’s usually food obsessed, being a sports coach and 6’6”!

DS has been busy enjoying the sunshine. He was supposed to have done some revision yesterday. That didn't happen. It's is 18th birthday today - so nothing today.

It's going to be a challenge to get him back into the swing of things. This hot weather is not helping.

We’re away now for a couple of days at the Eisteddfod. Nice break from revision and then back to it on Wednesday before the exams kick off on Monday.

DC1 is switched in her exam mode snd it's always vaguely fascinating to watch. She's my most academic and she holds herself.to a pretty strict sleep/exercise/revision schedule at exam times.

I'm worried that DC2 is a little bit switched off aside from Art. She's got her job in France secured for gap year and that seems to be where her.mind and heart are right now. She hasn't articulated it yet, but may be having second thoughts about uni overall. She's excited about doing some culinary/pastry courses in Paris next year, so if that's a route she'd rather go down she'll have room to explore it.

@Ventress
Yes and she now needs to get another job to fund her Gap year!

@SaraCrewe06sounds like a great after party 🥳 now a wonderful long summer.

@Ventress
The Prom itself finished at 10 but there’s always an After Party!

Glad to hear that @SaraCrewe06! Goodness 2.30am, hope DS’s is a bit earlier than that’s although no drama is fantastic 😊

Well DS and I have had a good talk. He’s going to work as much as possible this summer, and also finish his level 2 tennis coaching course so the he can earn more per hour and work elsewhere if he wants. All good. I think the penny dropped when DH said we wouldn’t be paying for his gym, phone and Spotify come September!

Thank you @ComingInByAnsiblefor putting the car scrape in proportion for me. I needed that!

Agree with @gingercat02- some downtime is needed this half term. Wish we lived closer to the beach. It’s going to be a scorcher ☀️

Your son will be fine @Fabfabfab. I (personally) think that Durham ask for the A star in offers but less with what they accept in order to avoid being anyone’s insurance choice! For Cambridge the A star is the jumping off point (unlike Oxford who offer on 3 A’s). Selwyn college, for example, start their history offers at 2 A stars and an A!

@Desperatelyseekinglazysusanah, sorry I thought he did Tudors last week. US sounds right up my son’s street though. DS has Cold War next week. Part of the issue with history is that it’s so content heavy and hot on dates. It’s not easy at all. Hope tudors goes well!

Marking place. Thanks for this