Corona Cohort Y12 into Y13, braving the storm of the third wave

Seeline yep I know that from Dd1’s flatmates symptoms! I would be extremely surprised if she has it but the back of her throat is a spectacular mess and I need to try and eliminate covid as a suspect. I would love a GP to look at her throat like the good old days - what’s the chances of that now?!

Oh Zanda - what a pain. Apparently the Delta variant is appearing more like a cold/hayfever in youngsters so definitely right to get her tested. Fingers crossed for a quick result.

Did a drive through pcr test this morning with Dd. Hopefully we’ll get the result back ASAP. She’s never had hayfever before but is so bunged up/headachy/dizzy, just like hayfever. She’s started really coughing now but no high temp nor loss of taste (can’t smell well due to being bunged up). LFT negative. Sent a very apologetic email to the school for any disruption. I need to identify what it is and I know if I say she’s coughing pretty much continuously to drs or school the first port of call would be getting a pcr done. It’s a pain.

I’ve managed to book DS a driving test in York for 30th November - am hoping we will get something sooner but good to know we have got something booked in!

Thanks Blah, yes he only decided on a subject about a week ago! I think he has no idea what uni might be like, so can't see the positives, and is fearful of the big change. We're going to visit some uni cities in the summer and I might see if I can get his older cousins to chat to him when we see them in the summer, they all had a great uni experience which set them up for good careers. He has another year to get used to the idea and could also defer if he doesn't feel ready so I'm sure he'll be fine, but it's just getting through the next few weeks / months of sorting out a UCAS application with a kid who doesn't want to think about it!

It's so easy to get it wrong. I would spend a bit of time quietly doing some research yourself, how to write a personal statement, how to apply etc so that if he does start showing an interest then you are prepared and ready to support him. Also look into alternatives to uni.

Kicking myself tbh for not realising earlier, he doesn't find it easy to talk about stuff like that and I just thought he couldn't be bothered 🤦‍♀️

Thanks Everso, that's reassuring. I will shut up about university and wait / hope for that moment to come as poor DS is getting it from all sides. He's had the same group of friends since reception so I guess it's not surprising that he's sad about the end of school.

@Bovrilly that was mine until a few weeks ago. He's stayed at the same school for 6th form and loves it there, when they didn't go back in Jan he was really upset as he felt his precious remaining time there was being snatched away from him, then everyone kept banging on about "what are you going to do when you leave" when he simply wasn't ready to think about it at that point. Also the school were urging them to attend these online UCAS events which he found overwhelming and difficult to navigate by himself if I was at work. There was a turning point somehow a few weeks ago, a youngish teacher gave them a chat about how amazing his uni experience had been which has opened his eyes to the possibilities a bit more.

Yes i think you're right Shimy. I naively thought he would be really excited (I am excited for him!) but he just wants to pretend it's not happening
I expect school is getting on his nerves with constant talk of personal statements too.

I think sometimes we underestimate how big a change it means for them. They’ve been in the same school for the past 7yrs with all their friends, some who they went to primary school with and suddenly they are looking at leaving that all behind but not only that, leaving home.

Some are really excited and looking forward to all that independence and adventure but some haven’t quite got there yet mentally and emotionally. They like the familiarity of home and friends and don’t want all the talk of ‘Courses’, ‘Uni this and that’, accomodation etc

I think for those feeling this way, they have greatly lost out on the gradual mental shift to putting their future (for the next 3or 4yrs) into perspective by being able to attend ‘in-person open days’. It’s a real shame.

Are everyone's DC fully engaged with the whole uni thing? I finally persuaded DS to look at some courses today as they have some UCAS sessions coming up at school, but he just doesn't want to talk about it and was uncharacteristically snappy this evening. He did apologise and said he doesn't like thinking about university because he doesn't want everything to change 😢

They both sound lovely. MIL had a gorgeous big old ginger who acted very much like a dog. He was also caught living partially at a neighbours house when he was spotted in a portrait said neighbour painted and exhibited at an open house/ gallery type affair

We have an 8kg hulk of a cat. He attacks you when you dare to push him off to rescue your dead legs when he’s sat on you for too long. The best way to avoid this is to start writing on a piece of paper. He leaps off, attacks the pen and sits on the paper to prevent further writing. He occasionally eats homework, with A-Level revision flashcards his speciality dish.

She is gorgeous. her big hulk of a brother was cuddling some teddy bears at the time!

Every time DS attends and Open Day or webinar she settles in to have a watch.

@piggywaspushed what a beautifully coloured kitty

@NCTDN Ds’s school doesn’t do AS’s. What they’ve done is internal school exams (mocks) which will be used for their UCAS predictions. Mocks at ds’s school ended 2 weeks ago.

[quote Monkey2001]@Heifer too late for York now, but for Manchester DS could not watch live so I did a screen recording. It is very easy on a Mac, sure it must be possible on a PC.[/quote]
Thanks @Monkey2001 I will take a look next time.

Ah, that makes sense, thank you Piggy. I guess that grading process may unravel this year with such a variance on approach to TAGs. Either way, anecdotally, Y13s I know with they had just sat their A levels, though I know rising rates now may have impacted even more negatively. No win really.

and this one

www.opendays.com/#&slider1=1&slider2=1