GCSE '18s (20) - half term beckons!

[mmmz]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/further_education/3355907-gcse-18s-19-new-beginnings

If any of your DCs (or you!) are interested in Japan and Japanese stuff, there's a whole calendar of events happening - most in London but in other cities too - and mostly free!
www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/japanuk150/events/oct18.html

Terf thanks! I'll definitely mention this to DS1.

Really impressed with Warwick today, even though we have nothing to compare it to yet. Maths degrees all flexible with wide choice of modules which ds liked.

Sorry about yesterday, and thanks for all the kind words.Have picked myself up again, a break will do me good! whistle sorry if I scared you, but it's reality to say working anywhere in the NHS is not for the faint hearted! I'm sure your friend knows what they are getting into.

Yes DS (and both parents) really impressed by Warwick and preferred it to Durham.

Just have to get our heads rounds the living arrangements post first year.

Glad you enjoyed Warwick!

I had a long chat with DS this evening. It started with him asking who Germaine Greer is...
Apparently his tutor group was discussing no-platforming people and that it was wrong, and a gobby lad piped up "apart from GG, who is full of hate". (She was no-platformed at Cambridge due to trans issues.) so I explained who she was and why feminists were being pilloried just now. He was aghast at it all and it led into a really useful discussion about unions and people power and Stonewall and cowardly politicians and lobbyists etc. Stuff he thought I was too old for 

I have since been binge-watching Lewis on Netflix (I never watched them originally because I couldn't bear Morse not to be in them) and drinking red wine.

Hope everyone's enjoying half term!

We've got another week to go before the half term break...

DS1 is at Warwick. First year is great, everyone is on campus and there's a great range of accommodation from big ensuite rooms down to cheap basic rooms with 16 to a kitchen. DS loved it and made loads of friends from his kitchen.

Second year was tougher. Accommodation needed to be sorted in Nov of 1st year so you are chosing who to live with when you've only known them a few weeks. His house group fell apart with people swapping houses and one leaving uni at the end of the year so he ended up with 2 friends and 2 complete strangers. Friendships change so much in the first few weeks, it takes time for real friendships to become established and less than 2 months in was too quick.

3rd year better so far, as back with friends in a big house of 7 but both his friends from last year are on their year abroad.

He lives in Coventry which is less posh than Leamington but cheaper and closer to the uni. Has friends in Leam, though. Slightly more than half live in Leam but it's a bit of a trek each day.

I have been surprised how many have dropped out or changed uni. It seems like a much bigger proportion than back in my day. DS knows of more than 10 friends/acquaintances who left in the first year.

That does seem a lot who leave/change? Do you know any reasons why?

1. The proportion of school leavers who start university is much higher than it used to be. It used to be that only the most academic or most ambitious attended university. These days the cohort of freshers will include some young people who are ambivalent about the idea and/or not really academically suited to higher education.

1. Most young people starting university will have to repay their tuition fees and living expenses. If you're not sure higher education is for you, it's an expensive experiment.

I suspect the experience (of university) is not what it used to be, even for those who would have been academically able enough and motivated enough under the old system. You can't move the IQ boundary from 1in12 to 1in2 without changing the pace and depth of teaching and the experience of being in the company of others who are all more than averagely able too.

Having a well educated population is valuable but does it outweigh the cost (to the state and to the individual) of gaining that education? It mustn't be paying off yet because otherwise there would have been no need to try to recoup the cost via raised taxes.

Also, I feel really sorry for those 19 year olds who were taken advantage of by the universities who took their money when they were only 18 and must've known that the odds were heavily against them being able to finish the course and then get their money's worth through accessing a more rewarding career.

It's immoral to take advantage of the vulnerable that way.

Personally I think it's all an ingenious (and thoroughly wicked) political ruse.
The country had very low youth employment. Solution? Keep the youth at school and Uni. Result? Far better unemployment statistics and a global reputation of having an educated workforce. Problem? How do you pay for this eduction? Solution? Get the students to borrow the money and make repayment linked to earnings. Result? Student debt and a covert increase in tax.
The extra political benefits are

1. It appears that more students from poor families have access to social mobility. Reality is that many are poorly advised and end up with a degree that opens no doors. They end up with a job that they could have done with GCSEs 20 years ago. Those that don't get get the grades end up in exactly the same position as 20 years ago.....unemployed. Those with good grades go to the better universities doing more highly regarded degrees and end up in the better paid jobs - exactly as before.
2. It enables regional mobility. Kids who leave home for Uni at 18 are more likely to move location for work. No need for 'super investment' in economically deprived areas

....I could ramble on for a while, but I will stop hahaha

Those who dropped out were for a few reasons. One dropped out after 2 weeks because she was homesick. She transferred to a local uni so she could live at home. Two or three hated the course and preferred to transfer unis to do a similar course rather than swap to a different one at Warwick. A couple struggled with making friends and were lonely. This happened to to one girl who was in a kitchen of 4 and didn't gel with the other 3. Another girl had stuck with her school friend and when the school friend dropped out found that she hadn't made any friends of her own. One lad stuck out the whole first year then transferred back to his home country.

None of them dropped out of uni completely though some decided to take a gap year and apply again. Warwick does attract fairly high achieving students so ones who would probably have been in the top 10% or so in the past. I think that now they are paying for the privilege they won't put up with a mediocre experience and are more willing to make sure they feel they are getting their money's worth, maybe?

DS1 chose a very basic room with lots sharing a kitchen. This was for financial reasons but socially it worked out really well. Lots of people to meet up with in the kitchen, bound to be some you get on with. Also, for him, they were from similar backgrounds as had all chosen low cost accommodation and were almost entirely from state schools. I don't know if that was a factor in making friends, but can't have hurt. DS1 wasn't the most sociable lad at school but he's had a great time at uni with lots of like minded people.

I guess I'm saying be careful with choosing accommodation, kitchens of 4 sound great but are usually more expensive and can be quite lonely. Even sharing bathrooms gives opportunities to muck in and gel with your fellow students.

That rings true bpisock and I doubt it was that well thought out it intended but that has definitely been the consequence - I hope you don’t mind but I sent your post to DD who has been debating that very topic 😂

And agree again on accommodation. I have posted before on spending time viewing accommodation on open days and I still don’t think you should pick a uni mainly based in accommodation as most will have a range / and research can be done in line anyway. But once the uni was firmed DD did a lot of research and asked a lot of questions on social media and selected her accommodation choice very carefully. She chose mainly for location and one with flats of five in a small block round a courtyard and and all self catering trying to match up with similar people, thinking that would be more social - she also made a big effort before hand to contact them before hand and arrange things for them to do together in freshers - it’s early days but so far seemed to have worked out really well. She gets on well with the others and has made friends with others on her course in the same block and they are making plans to live together next year. I am delighted for her so far as she had a really bad time pre gcse s. The flats are cheap ones so a tiny room and not an suite but she chose based on things and has been worth the compromise so far.

That is interesting. I thought it would be nicer to have fewer share the kitchen but DS was very keen to have the large number which go up to 13/14 at Warwick!! He is very sociable though.

He has found out Rootes is the party block as it is closest to the on campus bars and night club so is where pre-drinks happens! He liked Sherbourne and Lakeside which were further out, had en suites etc and will be near the brand new Sports Centre. We left him alone to speak to students in the drop in so he could ask those type of questions re clubbing etc without parents around and so the student could answer honestly without thinking they had to say the right thing in front of parents too!

It’s wonderful to have dd home. The house feels right. Earlier ds was playing the piano and she was singing then dh played and they both sang harmonies and it was so nice.

Have a lovely week together.

DS1 made friends quite quickly in his accommodation. I think this was helped by the fact that they share bathrooms (no ensuites in his hall) and the kitchen is shared between 15. It's also semi-catered so they go and eat dinner together in the food court.

Just dropping back in. What a lot of mostly lovely stuff going on, trips, half term reunions, great grades, uni visits.

We have been flat out encouraging DD to finish her bloody coursework for her BTEC. Two big pieces in before half term. Three due in after half term.

DD still loving her course. So much happier than at school. She didn’t eat lunch at school but takes a packed lunch to college, always eats it and has asked for bigger portions.

Pretty good measure of her wellbeing. I cried with relief telling a friend this story yesterday

Peggy that's great that she is enjoying her course.

That's great Peggy

Peggy that's brilliant! Well done to dd. Alexander have a great week together!
I'm going to chivvy DS into getting his folders sorted. I know he'll do his homework anyway but I'd like to see him learn to be a bit more organised! Plus he mentioned something about tests before Christmas before the mocks in January (downside of AS levels!) so at least he needs to make sure he's got all his notes together.

Seems too soon to go to Uni Open days? Only seems like last week that DD picked up her GCSE results. She hasn’t mentioned wanting to go to any so I’m keeping my head in the sand that she could be leaving for Uni in roughly 18 months time. sob

The only reason DS is visiting a couple of universities now is because school won’t release him from Saturday rugby/cricket matches to attend open days, so we are taking advantage of stuff at half term.