GCSE Summer 2020 - Thread 11 Carry on Corona Cohort - Starting New Terms and Settings

@FoolsAssassin so sorry to hear your DS is struggling, it’s such a change for all of them but even more so for him moving out of home.
My DS’s friend is boarding and also finding it tough.

@estherfrewen sorry about the positive result! It’s bound to happen to us all.
I had a nasty cold last week but no fever or coughing but now wondering if I should have tried to get tested but the symptoms didn’t match 111

Haha @estherfrewen, great timing on the order - at least something has gone right this week!

@Monkey2001- tomorrow's Sainsbury's order is twice as big as it was originally!

@estherfrewen hope he gets through it quickly and does not pass it on to the rest of the family. I imagine you feel like a rabbit in headlights working out how you will feed the family when none of your household can go out now! Thanks for sharing.

Oh no Esther - my DD had the same last week but couldn't get a test because of not having the right symptoms, also we really thought it was just a cold. What a nightmare this all is.

The Zoe App said to get one and someone else at school was positive. The highest temp reading was 37 5 but he often runs high - always has. He actually sounds like a cold now - bit snotty!

My colleague has it. Completely asymptomatic at time of testing.

Oh wow, so he doesn’t have the cough/fever/loss of taste? Ds had achiness, headache, slight sore throat last week and had a day off school. I just assumed it was a cold or other bug. I didn’t think you could get a test without one of the 3 main symptoms?

He started with sore throat and headache sunday night. Nothing else. We got tested yesterday so could prove he didn't have it! Boy were we wrong! He says like a bad cold really. Would have been at school tomorrow without the test...

Oh no @estherfrewen, what are his symptoms? Hope he doesn’t suffer too badly

Oh esther, hope he's OK! What are the school doing?

Oh Esther, so sorry to hear that.

Well that didn’t take long. DS positive test today. Off yesterday and today since symptoms started but thought it was a cold....

Not been around much lately, so apologies for being late with for you, Fools.
Such a hard situation to deal with, given the circumstances. I hope you find a solution soon and as painlessly as possible.

DD is loving her new school, which is more than we could have hoped for. She said tonight that she’s had to turn from a social caterpillar into a social butterfly, talking to lots of different people. It’s lovely to see her so upbeat and more confident; I think changing schools has meant she’s been able to be herself, rather than have to compete with her more confident friendship group in her old school (they are all lovely, but DD was happy to be thought of as the shy, slightly off-the-wall ADHD girl, against her more mature, sophisticated, worldly friends).

One thing we’re slightly concerned about is the lack of homework DD appears to be getting. Definitely no stress here, and she doesn’t seem to have been pointed in the direction of independent work either.

DS's lessons are all about an hour (vary due to rejigging of timetable to allow for staggered breaks etc). He has 4 lessons per week per subject and 9 study periods a week (but can come in late/go home early if they are first/last thing). His lesson are very unevenly distributed though, and luckily for DS, he happens not to have any on Friday afternoons so can come home early.

I think the 4-5 hours per week self study per subject is about "normal"?

He had a fire drill during maths, so missed most of the lesson, so the teacher has put the work online for them to do independently. DS has taken one look and requested my personal tutoring services (which is a worry that he's struggling so soon, especially as he normally hates me trying to teach him stuff). Should say I'm a maths graduate but not studied this stuff in anger for over 20 years!! Might have to look for an actual real tutor ...

Strange how timetables vary. DS doing 4, but had at least 1 free every day. Seems unusual for FM to not get a full timetable allocation, and it is a big class (24). Bit worried about how they will get enough work done!

Ds has his crazy 2h 40 m hour lessons so he has 2 free slots a week basically (plus another one as they are not doing form time)

It's not a great deal but he seems fine.

DD has 4x35mins frees a week (although 2 are supervised study periods rather than 'free'), one double of study skills/PSHE type stuff and one double of PE. She gets 8 x 35mins per subject each week. THe EPQ is covered in the study skills session at the beginning, but the vast majority is done in their own time and finished over the summer. She is also expected to do about 4 hours per week per subject HW/self study!!

Thanks. I have asked current school to ring me. He’s doing online lessons today as still not hugely well which is not helping. But at least he is doing something whilst we try and work out the way forward.

DS is doing 4 A Levels and has 5 free study periods in Week A and 7 free study periods in Week B which averages out to 4.5 hrs per week.

Sorry to hear it’s not going well @FoolsAssassin Ds is doing 4 subjects (4th is FM). They have 30 periods per week, 6 per subject, so 6 free

@FoolsAssassin Sorry to hear it's a struggle. Hope you find a solution soon.

DS is doing 4 incl further maths. He has 3.5 hours per week for private study in the school day (not boarding). Stays behind for sport practice two evenings and an AS which is not taught at all in the school day another.

Thank you all very much. I think we are going to try to relax tonight and resume to tomorrow,. I feel pretty rubbish and no position to make big decisions until have slept.