Thread 19 - Corona Cohort, Enrolling on Year 13, hopefully NOT unlucky for some

[OrangeCinnamonCocktail]

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I am not sure when I will go back Anne. My HOD is working on assumption of next Thursday. I'd probably be OK with it sll if they trued to reduce my lessons a bit so that's the next conversation.

Taking DS1 back to St Andrews on Saturday. DS2 back on Wednesday and his school has asked for 4 consecutive negative tests, so those start Sunday. He hasn't started on PS yet, although he has the 15th October deadline (medicine), but neither of his choices use it for shortlisting, so it is not a big deal.

Piggy do you think you have some sort of long Covid? Seems to be taking an awfully long time to clear

@midlifecrisis how are you doing now?

Thanks for the new thread, Orange.
DD not back to school until Wednesday. She went to her first 18 th birthday celebration last night, which was at a restaurant and the girl's mum invited us to stay for a drink at pick up. It was interesting to see that it was all girls, and low key, insofar as it wasn't dressy or ultra glam - just a bit group of happy girls, enjoying an Italian and a couple of cocktails. ☺

Thanks so much Orange.

Welcome CatMandarin and Fastforwardtospring!

Oh the house is so lovely and quiet today. Love it, though acutely aware it may not last long, but school has started out in earnest - back to normal timetabling, extra curricula/sports etc...all back to full fat everything!

Hope you get better soon Piggy.
Thanks ealing

Thanks for the new thread and my tagging @Orange. Sorry I couldn't see my name, I'm all of a dither at the moment!
DS has been back since Wednesday, DD isn't back until the 13th. Lots of positive Lfts apparently pre-school start. So they've introduced some new rules...

@Fferny1

Thanks for the new thread and my tagging *@Orange*. Sorry I couldn't see my name, I'm all of a dither at the moment! DS has been back since Wednesday, DD isn't back until the 13th. Lots of positive Lfts apparently pre-school start. So they've introduced some new rules...

No problem. I'm starting to feel a bit of anxiety with regard to Covid and start of term. I just can't see the light at the end of tunnel at moment.

Thanks for the thread Orange, I've just posted on the old one before seeing the link! DS tested positive on LFT this morning, waiting for PCR result now and annoyed that he is likely to miss his first week of Yr13.

Thanks for the tag Orange and also to Zanda for the article at the end of the previous thread, much of it depressingly recognisable.

So .... no jabs for 2 to 15 year olds, unless government overrides JCVI.

Thanks for the new thread @OrangeCinnamonCocktail.

Crazy - DS has ASC, dyspraxia and a language impairment, so we are used to organisational skills deficits too. I would say with the BTECs you do need to hit the ground running, there are peaks and troughs of work but it is very hard to catch up if you get behind. DS nearly got caught out eith the A&P exam, he had put some worksheets to one side for pre-exam revision then when exams were cancelled and brought back in-house a month earlier than planned his teacher asked for them with a weeks notice as back-up evidence if needed that his exam marking was fair. Hopefully that won't happen again. Definitely worth trying to keep tabs yourself with where they are at.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn sorry to hear about the positive result.

We haven't given any thought to holidays for next year yet (GCSEs and A levels here). We struggle to agree on holidays. DH likes beaches, I like sightseeing and so do the DCs,

cut myself off there. Two of us like hot weather, two don't. One doesn't like flying.

Obviously my post should say 12 to 15!

@CatMandarin our list is currently as follows:

Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield, Reading, Royal Holloway, Lancaster, Lincoln, Bangor, Aberystwyth and Oxford Brookes

But we can’t see all of these. Going to see Nottingham in October.

@Piggywaspushed

So .... no jabs for 2 to 15 year olds, unless government overrides JCVI.

I just heard that Piggy, I was wavering a bit about DS2 as he's only 13 but I'd like to have the choice.

Thank you for the kind thoughts for DS on this and t'other thread. he's currently complaining of being freezing under a 10.5 tog duvet wearing clothes. No temperature as such but warm to the touch for sure.

Cut and pasted from previous thread…

Hi All, can I join? I’ve dipped into a thread or two before but not too much. I have DS2 going into U6. He has had a good summer of travel (including 3 weeks island hopping in Greece with friends) and in between trips, extensive tutoring to try and get him up to speed after a disastrous set of end of L6 exams. He has not enjoyed remote learning and it has taken a while for him to understand how to answer to the chemistry and biology mark schemes, but his tutors are complimentary about his knowledge and understanding, and he has certainly put the effort in, so my fingers are tightly crossed for his mocks.
His 3rd subject is geography.

Re universities, he has done a lot of thinking and has decided he wants to study the oceans. So he is pretty set on applying to Marine Geography at Cardiff (BBB), Oceanography at Southampton (ABB), Marine Science at Exeter Penryn (a new course this year) (ABB) and Ocean Science at Plymouth (112 pts). Not necessarily in that order. He will also apply to Ocean Science at Dalhousie University in Canada (he is dual Canadian so local fees). He has been to Cardiff and has real-life open days booked up at Southampton and Plymouth. Luckily the courses aren’t particularly popular and all were in clearing this year so I’m pretty sure he will get offers. He has already done a very good personal statement. Southampton requires an interview but he should be ok. It is getting the grades that is the bigger concern.

Apart from that, he has his 4th driving test booked in early November… sigh…. And his 2nd jab in a couple of weeks… and turns 18 next week! So all action packed. Just need to continue to avoid Covid. He ditched his reading tickets because he just didn’t want to get it before the beginning of term on Tuesday.

That's it , isn't it just? It's the removal of choice that is frustrating.

@Piggywaspushed really sorry to hear you’ve been ill, and hope you continue to get better. @JustHereWithMyPopcorn also v sorry to hear that your dc has Covid from Reading! As it is our local big festival I’m sure a lot of DS’s classmates will be missing early next week for the same reason…

I’m cross about the JCVI decision as it seems just as illogical as so many other recent decisions (school for kids with Covid in household etc). I have a DD going into year 11 ie 15yo and that exam year at the very least should have been jabbed over the summer I think. Now she has to wait until she turns 16 in Jan which seems ridiculous. Every other country is vaccinating over 14s if not over 12s

@Piggywaspushed yep, exactly that.

@Delphigirl it's our local one too, only half an hour away. He had early access tickets so was there for five days. There have been multiple reports of cases amongst his peers this week. I imagine half the year will be off!

Oh dear! DS had full earlybird ticket as well but came back from Greece with an empty bank account. So although he decided not to go saying it was because he didn’t want to catch Covid, I suspect the fact that I wasn’t offering to top him up with extra cash was also relevant…!

Hopefully he had a lucky escape there then!

What an interesting course Delphigirl; welcome back. Your DS’s summer had a great balance of work and play!

I expect the government may overrule but they are in thrall to a few quite extreme groups, so it will be objectively interesting to see how it all plays out. What is noteworthy is that the JCVI themselves were very divided.

I am feeling a bit better today Delphi. Lacking in energy and wobbly feeling but not sick today and have managed some food.