Thread 23 Covid Cohort Stepping Into Christmas, Tests, Mocks & Interviews

[OrangeCinnamonCocktail]

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting. It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, please don't within this thread. Please also be sensitive when responding to threads about grades.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue.

Our DS/DD may go down various paths (such as employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will most likely find us within the Further Ed board.

Previous thread

@20newnames/ DS / Engineering
@Alsoplayspiccolo/ DD / English + Film
@AnneofCleavage/ DD / gap year? Primary Education
@BlueMarigold/ DD / Biology
@cariadambyth/ DD / History / Southampton, Bath Spa, Warwick, RHUL
@collywobble/ DS / PPE, Economics / Lancaster (AAB)
@crazycrofter/ DD / Child (?) + Mental Health Nursing
@Decorhate/ DS / Economics + Politics
@Delphigirl/ DS / Oceanography
@DoggerelBank/ DS / tbc sciencey
@ealingwestmum/ DD / Middle Eastern and European Studies
@EerilyDisembodied/ DS / History or Environmental Management
@estherfrewen/ DS / History / Birmingham (ABB), Cardiff (ABB-BBB), Warwick (AAB)
@EwwSprouts/ DS / Biology
@Fiddlersgreen/ DS / Journalism / Bournemouth (104 pts), Brighton (BCC), Cardiff (ABB)
@Fruitygal/ DD / Biology
@Hattifatteners/ DD / Vet Med
@Heifer/ DD / Biology
@Hopeful201/ DS / Medicine
@Horace123/ DS / Classics / Edinburgh 34/665
@icanbewhatiwant/ DS / History + Philosophy
@Isthisjustnormal/ DS / Comp Sci
@JustHereWithMyPopcorn/ DS / Law
@KingscoteStaff/ DD / Medicine
@Knickerthief1/ DD / Child nursing / York
@Monkey2001/ DS / Medicine
@mummabear74/ DD / Environmental Science
@mummyinbeds/ DS / Law + French Law / Birmingham (AAA), Kent (AAB)
@Nard75/ DS / Maths
@NCTDN/ DD / Liberal Arts
@Oblomov21/ DS / Accountancy / Southampton ABB
@OrangeCinnamonCocktail/ DD / Music (uni)
@PaddingtonPaddington/ DD / Music (cons)
@Piggywaspushed/ DS / Social sciences / Birmingham (AAB-ABB), York (AAB-ABB)
@ProggyMat/ DD / Classics / Bristol (BBB), Edinburgh
@SandyBayley/ DD / Medicine
@Seeline/ DD / Liberal Arts / UEA (AAB), Kent (BBB), Nottingham (AAA)
@Shimy/ DS / Business + Management / Birmingham (AAB-ABB), Loughborough
@singingstones/ DS / Neuroscience
@Volterra/ DS / Maths
@whatsnext2/ DD / English joint hons
@Wheresthebeach/ DD / gap year? Marine Biology / Southampton, Portsmouth
@whoamitojudge/ DD / RyanAir cabin crew training
@Zebracat/ DD / Liberal Arts or Anthropology
@ZittiEBuoni/ DD / tbc applying next year

Thank you so much for all the well wishes. I've passed them on to DD and she feels v loved. DH has cancelled her Tuesday's interview and they were fine about it. She's just done 1.5 hrs of History lesson and is about to go into her next lesson then rest of the day clear to sleep.

Dogger I think each Uni and Primary Education course ask for different things. One asked her to do a 4min presentation, another asked for a P E age appropriate book to discuss with the other student group as part of the interview.

Just heard DH cancel the Wednesday's interview successfully too so phew.

Well done on the Sainsburys job crazycrofter's DD.

I don't know why the lines change on the UCAS form re PS Disorganised but we did encounter something similar and just mucked about with it on word and copied and pasted in UCAS a few times and voila eventually it worked. I do think paragraphs play a part though. 3995 characters is what we ended up with in the end too I believe. Fingers crossed it works tonight. It's very frustrating though isn't it. School really should be helping him.

@crazycrofter - if you are on The Student Room there is a really helpful Lancaster year 2 mum on there who posts a lot of advice and answers questions. Lancaster is a small city which DS wants but I'm not sure if you are from a much bigger place if it would be too small

Sounds good AofC.
Hope you are doing ok Orange.

@crazycrofter - I think her user name is ghostlady www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=157

Ghost lady is great!! She’s also on MN (not on this thread) but I won’t out her as she hasn’t used the same name so obviously wants to avoid the link. She’s written some pieces visiting lots of unis - recently with DD2 and Chester uni.

@crazycrofter I’d say Nottingham and Manchester are the closest fit city wise for Birmingham. Lived in Nottingham, good friends with someone who lives close to Manchester and know Birmingham well. Lancaster is smaller but super friendly and DS1 reports he went out with mates there 2 years ago and had a cracking night out! 😂🤣😂 (he was at a much larger city uni but still thought it was great)

Thanks @fruitygal and @estherfrewen, that link is great! I'm sure dd will have a great time wherever she goes, she's just suffering with option paralysis at the moment!

@crazycrofterIs she sure about the degree course or is that still a difficulty too?

I really don’t know! I’m not convinced she’s putting in the necessary amount of thought/research but I’m trying not to interfere. She did say she’d looked at jobs which could follow on from Psychology and felt positive about them.

@crazycrofter we failed in our mission to visit Sheffield a few weeks ago (the curse of Piggy!) because the motorway was closed.

I have literally never been there : we chose it on the strength of the course, really. From what I know the uni is in the leafy part of Sheffield, so nice and safe.

Sandy if you are lurking on here, just a thank you!

@Piggywaspushed @crazycrofter We visited Sheffield with ds1 3 years ago so memories are a bit hazy. However I’m pretty sure most of the uni is close to the city centre but it’s the accommodation which is a bit further out? It was ds1’s insurance, a very last minute decision to add to his application but he liked the course content.

Thanks @decorhate, so it's a bit like Leicester then - city centre is walkable from campus, but halls out in the suburbs? And is Manchester a bit like that too? Whereas Nottingham, York, Lancaster are campuses with halls on site, but then it's a bus ride into town. And Southampton seems to be a bit of a hybrid - some of the halls were really close, others more of a walk away, and town is also a bus ride - but they do get free bus passes in year 1! I think these are the sort of details we need to think about, given that dd likes shopping and going out, so the city centre seems to be important to her! Although of course, it all changes slightly in years 2 onwards anyway doesn't it.

@crazycrofter It’s even longer since I visited Leicester but yes, similar set up I think. I much preferred Sheffield as a city. The centre has been revamped I think & was nicer than we expected whereas what I saw of Leicester was not appealing

York really depends on your concept of walking distances, I think. We never got buses. That said, the new East campus is that bit further away. If she rides a bike, it's really flat and everyone cycles.

I went to Leicester @Decorhate but it’s a long time ago now and I couldn’t really remember the city - but we were all very pleasantly surprised when we went to the open day! New Walk which runs from University Road to the city centre is very pretty and the Lanes round the cathedral are nice. As with all cities, it depends which bits you see! But if Sheffield is nicer that’s great! She hasn’t ever really cycled @Piggywaspushed - her friends are all over the city so not practical. But maybe she could start!

So, DS's EPQ seems to be being 'taught' entirely through the medium of occasional lunch time meetings. He doesn't have a bloody clue what he is supposed to do, and the teacher seems entirely disinterested. Today they were all told off for not doing some time thing they had not been told about and not doing references correctly. The teacher sent out info about references after the meeting...

I can't help him because I have never been one of the chosen ones at school who gets to sit on their arse twice a fortnight with five sixth formersdeliver EPQ.

Strike out fail there!!

Piggy Have they given no guidance at all about what's meant to be in the EPQ or how it's meant to be structured? I think at DS's school they had one meeting to discuss content but don't get the impression there have been any more classes. It adds to the worry if they are left flandering.

@Piggywaspushed That doesn't sound great. I'm in awe of any DC who keeps working at an EPQ in those circs. My DS seems to have a very supportive and organised teacher but he's still managing to make it difficult for himself.

Placemarking as I've stopped getting email updates again...

No news here, dd's MH is bad again and she won't even open her school email account.

Back to lurking and following all your news.

Sorry to hear about DD's poor MH. Is there an underlying issue or is it the stress of A'Levels?

Zitti I’m sorry to hear of the set back; she was making such good progress. But I guess you are patient and experienced to work through the cycle, in her own time.

DD's EPQ was quite self guided, but she did have a tutor who explained the process and advised when needed. Luckily it was all done last year and she received her grade in August.
DD got an interview invitation from Nottingham today

Sorry to hear the sad news @Zitti. MH is such a roller-coaster

Thanks everyone - Shimy, in a way the A Levels are the least stressful thing about it. She continues to study, and enjoy her studies, even when she can't go into school.

But she has ASD, huge social anxiety, probable ADD (but doesn't want to pursue dx right now) and copes with her fears by trying to avoid everything relating to them. Which doesn't work, of course, but counsellor is chipping away with CBT.

I keep telling myself that she'll move on from this stage eventually but we seem to be going backwards fast most days...