Year 13 support thread - The End.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Not the end of the threads, just this chapter of life. We'll keep going, don't worry!

However! Not to be used until this one is done

I think it's just beginning to sink in for DS that he's not going to see his mates from school easily again. He's lived with some of them for 7 years and of course because it's a boarding school they live all over the place (mainly London.) By the end of the summer holidays he starts to look forward to seeing them again, And of course that won't happen again

That's tough Derek :( He must have some very deep friendships.

ah, it's tricky isn't it Nettle. It's hard to hand over the reins.

Derek
I can sympathise. Same for DS as most of his friends will be leaving China. 7 in his year are going to the UK to study, but will be quite spread out - London, Newcastle, Durham, UEA etc.

Another one whose friends will scatter far and wide. Hé attends an international school and his friends will be going all around the world to uni.

There is the possibility to meet up back here at Christmas but as in all expat communities there is a natural turnover and Various friends parents are moving back to their home countries or onto a new posting. He is used to friends leaving but je is very aware that in 2 weeks things will never be the same again.

These days they have more chance of keeping in touch than used ti be the case. They might not meet in person but social media and whatever group app the cool kids are using this week makes it easier to keep a group together than one-on-one letters or phone calls. I know it's not the same as seeing them for twelve hours a day but it is better than them vanishing totally from their lives.

It will happen again when they leave uni, I have never met up with the people I shared a house with but I chat with them online every couple of weeks, know what their kids are doing, the name of their dog/horse/yacht. The years where this involved a stamp and an envelope are gone for me now.

I have to tell myself that dd will not be alone in that little room on her first night at uni as she will be Snapchatting her mates. But I'm not sure it is necessarily a good thing in the long run if it stops her jumping in and making new friends (she's not a natural). And if course if everyone else looks like they are having a 'better' time.

Does this worry ever end? (Rhetorical).

It must be hard with friends scattering far and wide immediately. Dd has been feeling a bit flat about it being the end of an era and not seeing friends at school, but at least they're all still here most of the summer.

dd has to travel some distance to her college as do many of her friends. She's going to find it quite tough I think, especially as her boyfriend also lives some distance away and will be working most of the summer, so they will only see each other at weekends.

It is that time whatever their school setting.

DD1 attends the local school but come August their lives are going to change. Those off to uni have the best chance of staying in touch as they will all come home at Christmas with their first term 'war stories'.

The ones who are going straight into work/apprenticeships will have different experiences and available spare time.

DD1 has been advising DD2 to make the most of this summer. Once the exams are over they can do nothing about the next stage so try to live in the moment.

Good advice i think.

DD is a bit flat this morning. Most of her socialising friends have finished already and only one is still around. I hoped she’d planned some fun for when she finished tomorrow but it seems not. I do hope they make something of their post final assembly “not a prom, prom”.

dd is rather grumpy, revising for tomorrow and I had the football onto loud. Oops!

Dd is not revising for tomorrow's exam. It apparently doesn't matter because it's for FM and she messed up so badly in the further pure modules that this one can't fix it (by fix it, she means improve it to an A).

Dd has gone to an orchestra rehearsal.

DS is I think getting excited at the final exams being tomorrow (FP3 and stats). I can tell he's excited because he is grunting twice in response to questions.

A bunch of them are going out after their last exam tomorrow - which is brilliant because DS has been working too hard in general. Be nice for him to have a relaxing summer.

That's tough MrsAD.

I think revision was a mistake today, the prospect of leaving college and the recent stress caught up with her. Harry Potter films and ice cream eventually have restored some good humour.

I don't know how much last minute cramming actually works - is there any data on that?

Don't let the kids get despondent - hard exams have lower grade boundaries

And Harry Potter and ice-cream sounds like the best combination. Both mine are Harry Potter kids - and getting them tucked up with Harry Potter is always restorative.

She'll have seen DS2, then Ms AD! DD refused to go as she was to stressed by exams . I'm not sure your DD's attitude isn't healthier.

DD has tidied her room and is packing for her Italy trip.

I've stocked up on ice, lemon and for tomorrow's celebrations. Also Aldi alcoholic icepops which are rather nice in this weather.

Sorry, meant to say good luck to all the DC taking exams tomorrow before the celebrations!

Good luck to everyone tomorrow.

Don't worry Downey, we are saving a spot for you.

ice lemon and sound like a splendid idea!

Oh good Luck to am for tomorrow.

Thanks Kitten - can’t wait to join you all next Monday.

Ds has 2 of his final 3 exams this week. By Thursday lunchtime he will have 1 left. That is already cause for célébration.

Ds 2 is year 9 and has a geography test tomorrow - looking at the level of work makes me realize how far this kids go in those last 4 years of school!

I had maybe lost sight of that over the last few months.

It is also daunting thinking about starting over and guiding 14 year old ds throug the next 4 years!

Copious amounts of wine will be required.

Yes, she did see your ds2 raspberry. She seems very, very relaxed about this exam tomorrow. Maybe that is healthier than being too stressed, but it's very unnerving for me.

She seems to have accepted that she just isn't going to get the 4As and A*s she hoped for (let's be honest, that is incredibly hard to do for anyone), and is now saying she'll be fine with Bs she won't, she'll be devastated! Her uni offer is unconditional though, so she won't lose her place because of lower than expected grades. She may well lose the scholarship money, or some of it, but I suppose she'll just have to make do with less money.

Perhaps we need to merge their approach and get the ideal attitude MS AD.

She won't lose all of the money. And where she is going is very cheap to live.

DS1 didn't manage the 4 - he got a B for Further Maths.

Good luck to those with exams this week.

Keep on keeping on...

Mrs Awesome

That's great and much power to your DD's elbow. It's a relief that the exams don't matter. Where did your DD apply?

Good luck to all the other mathematicians tomorrow.
Dd has done some work but also fell asleep this afternoon.
I don't know how she is feeling as all I get is a shrug when I ask.

DS came out with the line "I feel that I ought to be revising, I don't know what to do with myself". Alien abduction is still the only answer.