Last term of Year 13. Gulp.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Can you believe it?

last thread

All welcome no matter which path your dc have chosen.

I cannot understand cheating for the life of me.

Sorry to hear you sad news nettles.

Learnt today that a friend of my sons took his own life. He lives in another country so am thinking of waiting to tell ds1 on Monday evening as he has 2 Maths papers on Monday and is already super stressed by them.

So sad - so young. We were due to see him this summer.

A reminder that we all need to be hyper vigilant at how the stress of exams can impact their mental health.

Ds2 has asd and anxiety. School work was getting to him and he was finding it hard to manage it all. so before the trip to the dentist for the abscesses I popped in to see our GP with him. He gave him some meds to help. Said he has seen lots of kids at the moment Struggling. Subsequently waking up to the sad news today I thought about how this could be easily any family.

Life can be short.

Downey What dreadful news! Hope your DS handles it well when you tell him, lots of support will be needed I imagine.

Lonicera Alzheimers is indeed a bastard. My nan had it and it was so terrible to watch, it was a blessed release when she finally died.

Downey that is so sad. I hope your DS is able to cope with the news when he gets it.

Tragic. Poor boy. And his poor family and friends.

Downey I am so sorry to hear your news

Nettles and Downey I am really sorry to hear your news.

Lonicera I'm sorry about your MIL. My dad has dementia (don't know which kind as mum doesn't want him tested) and it is the cruelest disease. He has many other medical issues but the dementia intensifies these. It is so sad to see my strong Dad confused and distressed. Wouldn't wish it on anyone!

Anyway back to revision.... been a bit derailed this morning as DD needs to do visa for choir trip to China and the paperwork is a nightmare!! She has to go to London to be fingerprinted etc. Ho hum. As if we didn't have enough to stress around here.

Despite having a perfectly good desk in her bedroom, dd has decided to revise in the dining room and.moan at us all for making noise

DS1 (18) is at his grans studying with a pal.
Will wait until Monday.

Ds 2 who has asd is here so I told him.
Very sad. We chatted about how it is important to express when things are too hard (which he had done yesterday hence the trip to the gp).

Take care all

downey I am so sorry to hear that news. I do hope your ds is able to cope with the news.

Nettles sorry to hear about your MIL and hoping for coping skills for the dcs too.

I am sorry Nettles, I think you'll feel the impact when DH comes home. If he's from a small family there will be fewer hands to do the work, whether the family is big or small he'll have the guilt that he should be doing more. Please tell the exams officer because this is bound to have a disruptive effect on the household.

Gretol You are very welcome. We had to lower expectations for DD's GCSEs. She should have got 9 with mainly As, but got 7 and only one A. However, she's got 2 BTECs that are equivalent to A levels - both D*, an AS level grade E and another BTEC that is equivalent to an AS level, with Distinction. I am over the moon with those grades.

Downey I am so sorry for your awful news. It really does make you re-evaluate things, and makes me so grateful that DD's suicide attempts were unsuccessful.

More and to everyone for the coming weeks of exams.

thank you knitting that is such thoughtful advice, I hadn't thought of it that way. We will see.
Downey that is absolutely awful. I remember reading Norwegian Wood once by someone Japanese at bookclub and thinking yes that is what it was like, it is not just a fiction. that time when you are young you are so vulnerable. And yet most of us pulled through and so will they.
Lonicera what a worry for you. MIL was lucky to have been very compos to the end, I think it is a blessing to dh but he of course just feels the loss, when he was talking to her so recently at her bedside.

But, outside, it is beautiful and Red Arrows just flew over about an hour ago, in honour of the Queen, ds2 was out there with his recording device, very very excited to catch them and know exactly when they were expected to fly past. [was it the Red Arrows? something big and noisy and pointy anyway in formation]

I managed to witness ds1 revising Frankenstein. My life has shrunk down to simple pleasures. And I've sorted out some big piles of science gsce paperwork. 6 more science gsce papers next week.

I am sorry Nettles.

Downey, that's awful. I don't know what to say.

Sorry for those who have sad news to cope with, especially Downey and Nettles.
Lonerica I'm also thinking of you as you cope with the gradual loss of your MIL.

DS1 (four exams next week) has a horrible cold which will probably also get passed on to DS2 (five exams next week).

Heartbreakingly tragic news Downey & to have to tell your DC about it too.

Gretol there are a few of us on here with DCs with long-term health issues, so this is the right place for you to be.

DS1 was originally doing 11 GCSEs and predicted A* and A. He managed to take his GCSEs with the rest of his year group thanks to a very supportive school and a modified timetable, but only took 8 subjects and average grade was B.

His health was then stable for most of 2017 and at the end of Y12 things seemed good, but it has started declining again since the beginning of this year. He really wants to go to university this September, but we'll have to see.

ds1 finally seems to be concentrating.
with two days to go till 2nd paper
He told me that Kenneth Branagh's version of Frankenstein was very confusing as it skipped around all the time.. my goodness that doesn't sound like the book does it or even, dare I say "multiple narrators"

He has also taken up exercise today. He ran up and down the garden 10 times (it is 60ft) and then collapsed on a sun lounger. I gave him a book of Rossetti pictures to look at, and he said, Mum!!! I don't want all these medieval pictures.

On the plus side I have watching an amazing documentary about Patagonia narrated by Lancelot from Merlin. Tarantulas stroking each other

Sorry to hear about everyone's bad news, and thank you for the kind thoughts for MIL. DD hasn't felt well today, but rallied round this afternoon and has been alternating biology and chemistry papers all day.

Exams Monday and Tuesday and then a 5 day break before the next one.

Frightening isnt it that all the angsting about subject choice, clothes for 6th form, developing friendship groups, parties, revision etc etc and it all comes down to a few hours spent in the exam hall.

Hardwickwhite I was thinking about why people cheat in exams. I think the underlying motives for cheating in exams are probably the same as for cheating in any other area of life.

Some people will cheat until caught, they dont see the cheating as important. The good old MN classic of a sense of entitlement to the exam result and what the results will bring.

Some people cheat because they panic, revision hasnt gone well, they see cheating as a way of getting out of the situation rather than facing the truth.

Yes Gnome I totally agree.

can anyone recommend any good residential courses for 16-18 year olds, that aren't too happy clappy/aimed at younger children? Last year ds1 was too ill for the one we booked at Uppingham for radio production, and I've slightly lost my nerve on encouraging him to do that one. There are so many to choose from all over the country but ds refused to do NCS and couldn't do Silver D of E so I'm slightly at a loss what would suit him. He's a vocalist but too much singing the wrong sort of music(belting it out) might not suit either...what he really wants to go somewhere sociable and residential like a mini-uni stint with some extracurricular aspect/ like sport. A last ditch attempt at boarding school fun if you like!? Also have two 16 year olds who might be happy to try art/sport/language if any recommendations there for language schools abroad?

we've run out of breakfast (all milk off!!! due to heat) and I've realised dd doesntknow how to turn on the dishwasher. I think the less I do for them at this stage the better really, they seem to have been waited on hand and foot, and apart from going off happily to buy themselves sandwiches and sushi I don't really think they know how to cook a meal or clear the table. Still a bit late to manage those things in gsce week, but I'm now fretting about the holidays

Kitten how are you feeling, I hope the anxiety has levelled off since dd started the exams, you are so kind to us all and don't generally talk much about yourself.

DD did a 2 week residential Latin camp thing last summer - I can't sing it's praises enough, it did wonders for her social confidence and ability to mix and get on with people as well as her independence.
I think though any similar set up would have a similar result.
I'm afraid I don't know details of any others but just wanted to say what a good idea I think they are generally.
I found it on google I think - I was searching for Latin courses (not necessarily residential) but so glad I found that one.
I've been trying to find something similar for DD2 but the only thing she wants to do is Psychology and I can't find anything relevant.

Five days at a festival does wonders for their appreciation of home comforts and a decent loo.

ROFL Ursula

My DD went to a festival and came back very grubby and decidedly pensive. She went to a second festival and came back very grubby and swearing never to go to another. There has not been a third festival ....