To think someone born in 1968 is not ‘nearly 60’?? RUDE!!

[EvidentClyburn]

We left school and did our CSEs in 1984 - note no O Levels/A Levels or 6th Form - dear Mumsnetters

We came of age in 1986 - Hand of God - Mexico World Cup etc etc

Harold Wilson was PM when we were born

only CFs would call us ‘nearly’ ‘60’

Blimey, that means because I was born in 58, I'm nearly 70

But you are. You are 57-ish. Definitely nearly 60. Sorry!

Noooo, I'll be nearly 60 in 2028 the month before my birthday 😂

Born in 1960 - Also did GCE’s and sixth form (and CSE’s which I believe were very new! )

I know where you're coming from OP, the years have flown and we are still young inside.

The 80s were the best. It's incredible how long ago we were teens.

We are 60 in 4 years and DH keeps making comments about a joint party or a big holiday. I just tell him to F off, he's 3yrs 11months too early 😂

Born in '68 and yes am nearly 60. I don't look anywhere near but that's down to genetics. Although my neck is starting to age. Face and body not so much. Meh I'm still here. I can wear a scarf ☺️

It's a matter of mathematics- you are 57 or 58 in 2-3 years time (which is a tiny proportion of how long you have been alive) you will be 60.

I was born in 1978, and, albeit I was born in Nov and therefore am still 46, I sort of think of myself as nearly 50. I meant I’m nearer 50 than 40!

I have always had a terrible tendency to round my age up!

Well it’s 57 so it’s accurate to say nearly 60.

I don’t understand why people get so offended by the ageing process. Would you prefer lie and pretend you’re young?

We are nearly 60 but it's a privilege that has not been bestowed on all that we were at school with.
We did O levels. I think it was a transition period for public exams.
And we had to study Orwell 1984 for English Lit O level, of course. A radical original thought from the exam board might have been not to study that for those doing exams in 1984. Though it will help when grandchildren ask when you did exams and you have a memory lapse. 'Same year as that book about your brother finding something big' will guide them.

1984?

You had to be there

1969 and constantly surprised by how old I am. But the 80s were a fantastic
decade and all the cool pop stars are over 60 now

The school my son went to, only 5-6 pupils each year passed 5 GCSEs and above. 1990's.

Yes!

🤣

Wow - but realistically, several school had/have these sort of stats

I was born in 1968. I did O levels.
I’m nearly 60.
O Levels were more academically demanding and were aimed at higher-achieving students.
CSEs were introduced (in the UK, in the 1960s) for students who were not taking O Levels; a Grade 1 CSE was considered roughly equivalent to a low O Level pass (like a C grade).
Anything lower than a CSE Grade 1 wasn’tseen as equivalent to an O Level at all.

I did a mixture of O levels and CSEs in 1974.

"Why didn’t you do O levels or A levels ? I mean it wasn’t compulsory, but most of my friends did."

To quote an MN saying, "Did you mean to be so rude?"

OMG, seriously, did you really mean to be that rude? I really don't know if you're being serious or just trolling?

I am sure that most of your friends did. But, so what? That just means that your particular group of friends were particularly brainy.

I took my O levels and CSE in the summer of 1981. If you have a look at the figures from back then, 53% of pupils got at least one O Level or Grade 1 CSE.

But that means that 47% of pupils didn't. Around 10% of pupils didn't get any qualifications and 37% got various CSEs below Grade 1.

"Why didn’t you do O levels...?"

So, in 1981 almost half of all pupils did not pass a single O Level or Grade 1 CSE.

I don't know if it was the same in the early 80s but in 1974 when I took mine you could leave school after your 16th birthday so anyone born before Easter could leave then and not do any exams. I stayed on to do my exams, not sure when this changed

Ha! Sorry to say it, but you'll be 60 in 3 years time - so you are, technically, nearly 60! I had my 50th birthday last year and it still shocks me to think that 1980 was 45 years ago! Also, something I've realised now I'm getting older, the popstars I loved back in the 1980s were only ever 3 or 4 years older than my mum and they're all pensioners now - what the heck is that all about?! Seriously, just looked up Bananarama and Keren is 64 (looking bloody great on it!, but still...!).

Mind you, another realisation I had the other day is that 50 and 60 are nowhere near as 'old' as they seemed when my nan was those ages! We certainly don't dress or act in the way that 'old' people seemed to back in the day!

So is a 17 year old nearly 20

Fair enough get what you’re saying - I think it’s a different developmental stage from 57-60

its like people saying - is my newborn nearly 3?

When I was 67 I was nearly 70. At that point in the count the years concertina. A child of 7 is not 'nearly 10' , but and adult of 67 is 'nearly 70). At least that's how I see it. Rude to be commenting on people's ages though.