Class of '18 nervously waiting.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

They've left college, now we are trying not to think about a certain date.

Ursula my goodness, I was just thinking about sea sounds this morning. Remembering the sea beating outside my bedroom window near Wexford as a child, and waking up in the grey light (it was always cloudy for some reason) I was wondering whether now with my noise fixations I would find it annoying, but I don't think so

It feels like August at the moment, so hazey. I'm trying to pluck up the energy to go to the storage place. I also need to buy a new mattress for my bed as it is fraying to pieces. Discussions on how we are going to get said mattress down the stairs without it falling to bits on the way..

Dd is trying to persuade me to buy her Sixth Form outfits with her. I suggested Boden for smart "business" wear. Any colour jacket and skirt but no patterned shirts or denim. Where do I buy a teenager these items, an extremely fussy teenager that only approves of Top Shop and New Look and possibly Urban Outfitters. Perhaps Zara [sigh] I am waiting till after the 23rd in case she doesn't get into Sixth Form.
No uniform for ds2.
We are also discussing moving bedrooms round between ds2 and ds1. And changing a carpet.

okay, I won't come back onto this thread until the storage is sorted.

Lonicera, I actually just googled work experience and the name of the nearest few hospitals and went from there. As she was 17 there was only one hospital that would do it. They arranged everything from there and really looked after her and made it real and interesting for her. She had a dedicated woman that met her and took her to the departments and she could ring at any time, she didn’t need to though as everyone was brilliant. She had one afternoon with a consultant radiographer and he was asking her her opinion on some x rays and really spent time with her. I don’t know if she was lucky or if that’s what every trust do but I’m so grateful to them.

"I suggested Boden for smart "business" wear"

Is this a 6th form in a very affluent area?
How strict is the dress code? The girls at DD's 6th form mostly wore black skinny jeans and shirts/jumpers. DD's jeans were from TopShop as they are the only place that does them with a long enough leg length. She also wore a favourite pair of peg leg trousers in stone.

Dd's sixth form didn't really have a dress code further than "skirts/shorts must be longer than the tip of your fingers when standing", which is still pretty short skirts if you have relatively short arms like DD. DD wore jeans most of the time, from Primark.

My sixth form has a stricter dress code in that it's business wear. Most kids seem to wear "business wear" from Primark, Matalan and New look. It's pretty much polyester central. Boden would definitely look out of place.

We've been away on holiday (in a cottage on the Northumberland coast, and we took mil with us) without DD. We came back to find she's been sleeping in the living room watching TV most of the night because her bed broke and she dismantled it. New bed now arriving tomorrow, but the mattress doesn't arrive til Thursday . I'm also taking the opportunity to have a big clear out, so I've now got a skip sitting on my drive.

What a good idea to get a skip! I think I should have done that.

Wednesday is going to be redecorating one of our rooms day for me. That should keep me out of trouble. Currently trying to untangle all the computer cables in prep.

Oybbk, the skip is pretty necessary because we've got so much crap that DH just "tidies away" so it's not gone it's just hidden. So already this morning a scrap man has collected a washing machine, tumble dryer, 2 metal bed frames and a metal gate. All of those were tucked away under our bed or in the shed. I can still find enough to fill the skip by the time we've got dd's bed and mattress, dd2's mattress (while I've got the skip I'm replacing her ancient mattress too), fence panels, a broken cot (dd2 is 8!!!!), Etc. I'm a bit concerned the skip won't be big enough.

It's definitely taking our mind off the results on Thursday. DD doesn't seem worried at all, but she doesn't necessarily seem confident.

That's quite a bit MrsAD!

dd passed her driving test.

Yay! Well done mini kitten!!!

thethird and kitten sorry you are both feeling unwell. Not really what is needed this week.

I am not sleeping well but not as badly as some so commiserations to those people.

Dd is still apparently calm but does not want to talk about THE DAY. She is happy to make preparation plans though which is just as well as we have less than three weeks between results and travelling up.

I am also still waiting for the results of her PIP (personal independence payment) renewal and am as anxious about that as about the results. If she doesn't get it we will appeal but that is very stressful and will be additionally difficult if she is hundreds of miles away. Not having it will affect a lot of things as well as the actual money.

Thank you Janus. I have been googling, and most of the hospitals that DD can get to specifically state on their websites that they don't offer any work experience. DD did do a taster day at Leeds University last year, but I don't think she has anything signed saying that she did so.

DS is chill central- to the point I needed to check he understood the order of events on Thurs! (Track, etc).

Luckily we are not in the same boat as just about anyone else here as DS is 3rd yr Sixth and doing a BTEC so knows all but 2 of his 11 results, already with enough points to get into his chosen Computer Science course.

I still want to see it in writing, tho!

Well done little kitten! Great news.

Thank you for the Telegraph article. Improved my DD's mood. She has been a bit tetchy this week but we both agreed we just want it to be over now so that we can plan properly.

My sleep has been terrible. Up til 3.30 am most nights as I don't want to turn off the tv /colouring app on my phone. Trying to distract my mind from thoughts of test results and A levels. Got MRI this evening. Think this has been the longest and most stressful fortnight of my life.

Jack Wills any good for jackets for smart 6th form?

Blushah my DD2 who is doing GCSES next summer is interested in doing a computer science BTEC. How did your DS find it applying to uni with a BTEC rather than A levels? Any advice gratefully received.

Well done to your DD kitten

Well done to your DD kitten . DD2 has a new test date in September. Just trying to persuade her that she doesnt need another 10 driving lessons between now and then!

It's an expensive business isn't it Gnome!

Well done Kitten's DD. she will be able to drive you to and from drink

That Telegraph article was reassuring. This year's new format A level geography has been somewhat stressful for DD and her peers, and the teachers.

Good luck for the MRI marmite. Will keep you in my thoughts.

I hope it goes well this evening marmite.

Now there's a thought Lonicera!

Trying to work out what's best to do for insurance now. Clearly dd will be driving before she goes off to uni, but won't be taking the car with her. Really don't fancy paying for a full years worth of insurance at this expensive point if she doesn't need it.

Good luck with your MRI Marmite I'll be thinking of you and sending positive vibes

I think you can put DD on the insurance temporarily with some insurers. It depends who you're with.

@Janus - if it's any consolation, ds will only turn 18 on the 1st day of lectures, so will be 17 for all of Freshers Week! (Scotland and we have different cut off dates, so he's still technically only in the middle/young end of his cohort, even though he did S6, so there will be plenty of other Scots younger than him)

We just have to hope that they get in with a nice group of friends that will look out for each other - and that the values we have tried to inculcated them with will hold true. Not saying that they won't get drunk but that they don't do so too often!

Ds is a keen sportsman so "his body is a temple" so he says - I'm hoping that that will protect him from the worst excesses of Uni Rugby club culture

You can add her to your insurance for a set period of time, e.g., between now and 40th September, OYBBK. Just ring your insurance company for a quote or do it online.

*40th September?

Even if your insurer doesn't let you add her for a short period, there are insurance companies which do standalone short term insurance (although iirc, they're mostly aimed at Learner drivers).

Thanks!
I've had a look and marmalade do adding them on to a car without affecting NCB, so we will get a quote from them. I'll leave it til after Thursday though. No point in doing more stressy stuff with her.