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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think it Is it a feasible proposal that a school might consider allowing a currently pregnant Year 12 the opportunity to repeat year 12 next yeara currently pregnant currently pregnant year 12

542 replies

redhilary · 21/10/2021 20:07

I have reposted this thread from chat due to limited traffic.

Is it a feasible proposal that a school might consider allowing a currently pregnant year 12 girl the opportunity to repeat Year 12 next year.

OP posts:
Whinge · 30/10/2021 09:52

Finally, my best friend will be a brilliant surrogate mother, to her Daughters young child.

And now we know why the poor girl wasn't allowed to consider an abortion or adoption. Her mum wants to play pretend mummy with the new baby. Angry

I really hope someone is able to get the poor girl out of this toxic situation and give her guidance and support to help raise her child.

YouJustFoldItIn · 30/10/2021 09:56

Your best friend-an alcoholic who argues so much with her teenager that she wants to move out-is an ideal surrogate mother for the baby? Really?

This confirms my suspicion that your judgement is wildly off when it comes to these people.

Exactly. Good enough to care for the baby, but not a good enough mother to risk leaving the DD living there while she continues her A levels at the grammar school. Hmm

It's like 'Here, friend, you take charge of this inconvenient baby who doesn't matter and that's getting in the way of my ambitions for your DD, and I'll remove your DD from your care and influence because you are making a hash of it..'

If this doesn't demonstrate clearly that the OP's priorities are way off on this, then I don't know what does.

Alarae · 30/10/2021 10:04

OP - do you happen to live in Thanet? If so, I can understand the reluctance to attend a FE college as its very much obtained a stigma of the 'stupid' route as due to the sheer numbers of grammars in the area its only 'the bottom' (i don't endorse this view) which goes there.

I think your GD just needs to explore her options, ignore outside perceptions, and think what will be best for her and more importantly, what will actually work. Obviously it would be great if she could continue where she is but realistically, will the pressure of a Grammar Sixth be realistic to deal with along with the pressures of a baby (irrespective of the fact it may be looked after by her mother when she's in school)?

I think you should encourage her to be flexible in her thinking instead of determining a plan which she may not be in a fit state to follow when it's time (baby brain is hideous).

Absolutely nothing wrong with getting all options available to discuss with her. Just try and scope the conversations to be more exploratory and non committal and supportive at this stage as you don't know what her mental state will be when the baby is here and if she will actually be in a fit state to restart next September.

DumplingsAndStew · 30/10/2021 10:14

@redhilary

Did you say that your goddaughter's mother isn't working right now? Why is that?

youvegottenminuteslynn · 30/10/2021 10:21

I also don't want her feeling mentally unwell and unable to get out of bed like I did from 18-22. I was on disability benefits for all that time in my life. I do not want my Goddaughter to go through the same.

So this is massively about projection, that’s clear.

For the record my 13 year old DD2 year has got her first after school, detention due to my eye been taken away from the fact she has not been doing some homework tasks.

Eye off the ball = your own daughter starting to struggle keeping up / being motivated and yet you want to add a huge life change to her plate.

Goddaughter always tells me things before her mother, hence I was the first person she told what had happened and that she was pregnant.

You relish this role so much it comes across as so self serving I’m afraid. You get a kick out of something that undermines your friend and keeps distance between her and her mum.

Goddaughter, believes studying with my two DDs will enable her focus on study to be enhanced hugely. DD1 will also (unless the sky falls in) be starting her A level study at the same time in September with probably the same chosen subjects of English/Chemistry and History. This has to be a benefit and a shoulder to cry on, if Goddaughter is struggling or does not understand a particular A level topic.

I bet she fucking does! Of course it would be a benefit to her to have free tutoring and a shoulder to cry on. No benefit to YOUR OWN daughters though!

We are very lucky to have a two Bedroom 'Granny' flat with a Kitchen/Dining and Living room in our garden. The girls my two of the Brady Bunch ( I call the four of them that, because over the years they have all been so close and are 'sisters' if not blood one's) want to decamp and live in the Granny flat. However, what an opportunity for Goddaughter to have Supervised Freedom, living between the Granny Flat/ Main House and her mothers home.

Yes what an opportunity for your god daughter to have… the same opportunity your own daughters who have proactively expressed they would love. Which unsurprisingly is an opportunity to have some personal space and not be constantly monitored to the extent they are currently. But no, you prefer to see this as an ‘opportunity’ for your god daughter. They will feel someone else is being rewarded for what you regard as bad and disappointing behaviour by the way (sneaking out, sleeping with this boy etc - you don’t approve). Get ready for some rebelling from them.

HoppingPavlova · 30/10/2021 10:23

Your best friend-an alcoholic who argues so much with her teenager that she wants to move out-is an ideal surrogate mother for the baby? Really? This confirms my suspicion that your judgement is wildly off when it comes to these people.

No one missed that. It’s at the point where it’s not worth pointing it out to OP as she is living in la la land and anything that comes in the way of God daughter and A levels will be ignored. That’s how this is working. The welfare of the baby is completely moot to her. The baby will be another addition to the list of people at fault if God daughter does not get the grades OP ‘needs’ her to get and this will be backed by some weird statistics OP has made up but completely believes as it fits the narrative.

So, yes it’s extremely convenient for OP to have the baby out of sight, out of mind for at least 10 hours a day. It doesn’t matter to her that the person looking after it is the same person who is ultimately responsible for the current fuck up. The same person who, supposedly had an emotionally abusive household necessitating the OP having to swoop in several years ago to take the God daughter away as it was not safe for her to live there. The same person who supposedly had to swoop in again and remove all kids in the household due to her not being able to look after them due to alcoholism. The same person who can’t look after her daughter now requiring OP to yet again swoop in complete with cape to save the day (supposedly). Then the baby will come over to her household and have absolutely no needs at all in order to allow the God-daughter to only focus on her studies and achieving what OP needs her to achieve so the OPs plans are not disturbed or derailed. Frankly, it’s all beyond batshit. The crime of it is that a baby who didn’t ask for it is going to be born into this abusive circus.

The OP is throwing her hands up going, how can I do nothing. Any ounce of good judgement would dictate exactly that though. Instead of continuing to undermine her friends relationship with her daughter she needs to step back, wish them the best in this situation and if it’s obvious it is falling apart someone with normal judgement would then flag this to the required authorities so they can get the proper support they need rather than OP meddling and making it worse.

Howshouldibehave · 30/10/2021 10:33

Op, your sole focus seems to be slagging off the school, the teachers, your friend, the dad, the boy and the boy’s family and your sole aim seems to be that this girl gets the equivalent A level grades to YOU. You are missing the point on so many different things, it really is strange.

5zeds · 30/10/2021 12:38

The problem with the set up you are suggesting is that it removes accountability from everyone.
Your daughters do worse at school/get arsey/get pg themselves, not your fault, it was GDs influence.
Your Friend doesn’t bond with her granddaughter/doesn’t gel with her daughter/doesn’t work/doesn’t do well, well it’s all so hard isn’t it and she didn’t ask for it.
The baby doesn’t thrive/develops behavioural problems/learns to play everyone off against each other, what could we expect with a muddle of part time carers.
God daughter fails to bond/fails her Alevels/fails to mend her relationship with her mum/falls out with you, not her fault, baby taken from her too much expected.
You lose friendship/fail daughters/fall out with god daughter because an autistic teenage mother attempting to live in your granny flat trashes your life and giving up makes you deeply ashamed,

Nobody is empowered. All are interdependent and set to fail without it being their fault. Help this young mother build her own life where all are accountable and she doesn’t have to feel grateful for everything to everyone.

Dishwashersaurous · 30/10/2021 12:50

Everything that she is suggesting is to try and pretend that the situation isn't happening.

That the girl isn't having a baby. Therefore she can carry on at school as though nothing has changed.

The mother gets another brand new baby to try again with after messing up with her teenager

But this is ridiculous.

The girl is having a baby everyones efforts should be focused on helping her become a mother

Howshouldibehave · 30/10/2021 13:00

The girl is having a baby everyones efforts should be focused on helping her become a mother

This x 100.

The OP is obsessed with this teenager getting the same (or equivalent) A levels that she herself got, for some bizarre projected reason.

This teenager is pregnant-not because of covid or the boy having a brother in jail but because she was having sex and there was a problem with their choice of contraception.

If she isn’t going to abort the baby or have it adopted, then the focus needs to be in supporting her to raise the baby. Having a baby in your 20s and 30s for an excited, prepared, financially secure couple is still bloody hard and she is only 16! She will need loads of support, and making plans around the baby being away from her from 8-6 every day is setting them up for all manner of attachment issues!

I think a degree is something she may consider much further down the line (she may not) and I’d probably put A levels fairly far down the list of priorities as well. I think feeding, caring and raising a baby is going to take every ounce out of this girl-especially on sleepless nights. Chucking 3 A levels into the mix when she is dyslexic and autistic could be catastrophic for her.

5zeds · 30/10/2021 13:22

What about instead of going back a year, she takes ONE Alevel this year, and the other two In two years time?

YouJustFoldItIn · 30/10/2021 14:00

5zeds

Absolutely spot on. The OP been eager to lay the blame at the feet of pantomime villains for years. In this particular scenario it's 'the boy'. In other threads involving her own DC it's been a variation on the same theme.

Other threads have seen the OP complaining that her own DC are not doing enough homework or applying themselves quite as much as she feels is necessary, so if she's not entirely succeeded in controlling them what on earth makes her think she'll manage it with the godddaughter, who sounds high maintenance and complicated to say the least?

YouJustFoldItIn · 30/10/2021 14:32

I also don't want her feeling mentally unwell and unable to get out of bed like I did from 18-22. I was on disability benefits for all that time in my life. I do not want my Goddaughter to go through the same.

Then stop overloading her with responsibility and the weight of your expectations. It's a one way ticket to a breakdown.

Besides, she's already on disability benefits.

Howshouldibehave · 30/10/2021 20:28

@5zeds

What about instead of going back a year, she takes ONE Alevel this year, and the other two In two years time?
A good suggestion. One that’s sensible, realistic, achievable and doesn’t completely ignore the fact she has a baby!
YearsSinceISawYou · 30/10/2021 20:39

Really, OP.

You are going to let this girl, who defies authority and who sneaks out to meet a boyfriend in order to have sex, live in a Granny Flat.

You want to keep an eye out for your own daughters because, as sure as night follows day, this girl will have her boyfriend, his brother and any other Tom Dick and Harry who wants a bit of fun in the Granny Flat.

If you think that the girl won't be encouraging your daughters to join in, then you really are a bulb short of a chandelier. That flat will be a party hub, full of teenagers doing what they want.

I think you can look forward to a few more pregnancies before too long.

You keep banging on about grammar schools, even quoting your brother wrote at 10 years 3 months- very, very odd. I think most of us wouldn't be able to recall such details from secondary education. You seem way too hung up on it, fixated even.

You're demanding this and that from the school and think you are on a par to argue with them. I imagine they roll their eyes every time you approach and send you meaningless letters to keep you quiet because arguing with you will be like arguing with a marshmallow. It's an old trick and one you've fallen for.

In any event, they know this girl and know that she is far more likely to produce a sibling for her baby than a decent A level at school. If she does, will she still be in your granny flat?

Get over it, poke your nose out of this girl's life-you are doing more harm than good and don't seem equipped to think things through.

I know the above may seem harsh but there is something very off with the whole situation.

You are in for a very bumpy ride.

redhilary · 30/10/2021 20:50

Right, just back in from work and quite a barrage from posters.

My friend has not had a drink for six years , this being from when Goddaughter and elder sister came back to live with her.

When I said 'surrogate' mother It meant during the time when Goddaughter would be occupied studying and/or at school. Does a creche or nanny act as a surrogate mother, when a parent places their baby/young child in the care of either ? So why do you interpret this to mean that her mothers surrogacy, to her daughters child, is only to eliminate a inconvenience for my perceived academic crusade.

Thus, a more caring and naturally inclined maternal mother would be very difficult to find than my friend is and any baby placed in her care is in wonderful hands.

It is extremely important for Autistic people to have plans with end dates to achieve specific things. No matter how big or small if these time scales are delayed/abandoned depression, loss of focus and disenchantment with every part of their life will inevitably follow. Thus, Goddaughter will change her own plan and targets. At the moment her own target is to be in school full time by September 2022.

I cannot, see what is wrong with letting her live in a granny flat in the back garden which allows her to be as independent as she wishes, or be part of an extended family. The two bedrooms in the flat if she wishes enables her to have her mother stay with her. This is Goddaughters home meaning in that circumstance, the dynamic relationship and indentured agency of her mother will change in her favor. For the record it was Goddaughters Social Worker, who first came up with a suggestion about using the granny flat. This, as a Halfway house for both mother and daughter to build back their relationship. Social Services are informed and generally supportive of Goddaughter living in the flat during school term weekdays.

DD2 (yr9) is not struggling to keep up, more like she is getting bored with the Math's she is studying. The school would like to place her in highest Math's set in year 10 but issues around timetabling prevent this at the moment. DD2 could probably take her GCSE Math's in June next year and attain a grade 9 . Thus, start A level Math's in year 10. this would be unfair on all the pupils who do not find Math's simple, and need all the resources and time of the teachers .

I regularly told my aunt things I had done wrong, before telling my mother. This is a defense against your own shame, hoping the person you have told will brief your mother on your behalf.

P.I.P which Goddaughter and I claim is not a 'Benefit' but a payment designed to help pay for extra costs bought on by your Disability. The reason P.I.P is not classed as a Benefit is that it is not paid in accordance with Income or asset limitations. Nor is P.I.P counted as income, thus not taxable even if someone earns a £Million a year.

However, once you are on Disability benefits, such as ESA it is very difficult to leave them and find work above basic or menial work, especially if you High Functioning Autistic, this is soul destroying and makes life totally hopeless. There is no support available what so ever for High Functioning Autistics Adults ( this makes the closure of Remploy, as one of most short sighted and vicious actions of Government policy over the last 40 years).

Finally, I am not a mythical character who has been lurking about Mumsnet for years under different pseudonyms, enquiring about just a single topic.

OP posts:
LittleBearPad · 30/10/2021 22:12

Nobody is really considering the baby here.

Well that’s been the case throughout. God help it if it doesn’t sleep the 12-15 hours a day OP expects.

The insistence that people hate grammar schools is ridiculous. I went to independent schools. I couldn’t give a monkeys about grammar/comps or indies.

God knows why we need to told who the Brady Bunch are!!

Howshouldibehave · 30/10/2021 22:26

God knows why we need to told who the Brady Bunch are!!

It’s yet another thing in a very long list of irrelevant things in this post that the OP chooses to focus on rather than the baby!

YoureLlu · 30/10/2021 22:45

Bloody hell op I have been lurking all the time and all seem utterly beyond help. Your GD needs to take responsibility for herself and not depend on the lot of you and you need to give her the space to be independent. She is gonna be a mother and the idea of treating someone who’s had a baby as a thirteen year old (who you are way to controlling towards anyway but that’s a different issue) is frankly bizarre. The mother sounds a bit incompetent and you undermining her with your grammar school hobbyhorse isn’t helping. Why on earth you think it’s the job of your own mother or your DDs to be second stringers to the goddaughter is also a complete mystery. The long and short of it is op this isn’t your problem and you are letting this consume you. Get out while you can before baby number 2 arrives.

chocolatecerealcampingbrekkie · 30/10/2021 22:47

The title is a bit long and difficult to read. I guess if the school is over subscribed then they have likely accepted all the new students they can accommodate next September. It's a matter of luck I'm afraid.

DumplingsAndStew · 30/10/2021 23:08

Few questions for you OP

Do you drink?

Are you difficult to converse with IRL, or is this a written thing?

What does your husband think about all of this?

redhilary · 30/10/2021 23:19

I don't drink more than a glass of wine every couple of days. What does am I difficult to converse with mean.

Does it mean I often go against the consensus of the majority and can only see my way , then perhaps. Does it mean in real life, I find things at work for instance difficult and troubling that other people would not lose any sleep over, that would be a definite yes.

My husband just wants to support me, and is prepared to go down with the Titanic if that ultimately happens here !

OP posts:
redhilary · 30/10/2021 23:22

I am also totally bored out of my mind at the moment..

OP posts:
DumplingsAndStew · 30/10/2021 23:24

The difficulty I mean in conversing with you, is your long, rambling soliloquies, most of which seem to go off the topic and have no bearing on the situation. Is this something you do verbally too?

redhilary · 30/10/2021 23:30

I do get the feeling here though that people want me to Crash and burn and end up in a sorry state. This to teach me a lesson in contesting group -speak . Who knows you might actually like me in I.R.L, if you met me, thus be accepting of my particular foibles, which present themselves more readily in my writing.

OP posts:
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