Thread 25 - Covid Cohort - Christmas Trees, No Omicron Please!

[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 posts 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 goodwill continues.

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.

Orange Cinnamon (Head Monitor )
Previous Thread Found Here

@Horace123 so sorry to hear that. It is incomprehensible to me that a young man who was clearly making a success of his life should feel so desperate. Hope people are able to get some distance from the emotional turmoil they must be feeling by getting away at Christmas. Yes, hugs to all out DC if they will let us, even the grumpy, difficult ones - maybe especially those. 😢

That's lovely news @Delphigirl.

@Horace123 - these things can hit hard even if you aren't terribly close. Sad news.

DD's teachers just seem to be assuming TAG's now. Telling the kids very openly that there's no way there will be exams - which at this point is opinion only but I fear they are right. DD really wants exams so she gets 'proper A levels'.

Oh blimey Horace that is devastating 😟

Well done to so many more, sorry can’t namecheck you all but great offers and health news.

@Horace123. So sorry.
We have an offer! ABB for Liberal Arts at Warwick . So so pleased.

Well done to all with Notts Biology offers!
Good luck to all who have had or yet to have Medicine and Vet Med interviews!
@singingstones- you’ll have to ‘wave ya magic’ over our list!

Congratulations @Delphigirl!

@Horace123 I am so sorry to see this. My heart goes out to this poor man’s family x

Oh zebra great news! What uni?

And just seen delphi. Also fab-u-luss.

Congratulations on all the offers and hi @HibiscusIsland - welcome to the stressed out but friendly thread x

@Horace123 that is sad news. Makes my problems seem trivial.

I don't know whether to go to my mums or not. Ds1 has told me he's too weak to eat or do anything. He says he can't even cough anything up as he's too weak. I said he must insist he sees a gp tomorrow. He said he is far too weak to drive there. So can't go. He makes me cross leaving it again all day, he should have insisted on an appointment today. He says they won't see him. I think I'll have to stay home and phone them myself.

It is great to hear all the offers. I hope Ds gets some before Christmas.

Lots of teachers off with COVID now and DD has one subject where the kids are self teaching as no one left in the department of 3 - teachers sending work in while at home quite unwell which I think is admirable and dedicated but unnecessary- quite worried about one great teacher as kids said very poorly.

Also having parents sending kids in to DDs class when siblings are testing positive on LFT and awaiting PCR results. If your siblings are friends and spend the weekend hanging out together and one tests positive the other one will be infectious. The DC wasn't wearing a mask in class (until DD gave a very heavy prompt) and guess what today they have a positive LFT and symptoms. DD not impressed - the disease is highly infectious and airborne - we are nearly 2 years into this...is it really that hard?

School attendance stats were out today. Workforce figures are a concern and I think many of us are seeing this. Over 2% of secondary teachers and leaders off with confirmed Covid on Tuesday of last week. Pupil attendance sinking too. Holiday needs to come...

My DS2 lost a very good friend to suicide earlier this year and is still struggling with the loss when alone and time to think. Going to try and get counselling after Christmas to allow to process better. People have to be so desperate to do this - so so sorry for him and his family left behind.

@icanbewhatiwant if your son feels this unwell he needs to seek medical attention. What is wrong with him? what symptoms? Can you go and review things - is there breathing difficulty?

Great news on the offers @Delphigirl and @Zebracat!

Sorry to hear things are stressful at home in various ways @icanbewhatiwant and @Nard75. I hope there’s an improvement in attitude at some point soon - but maybe they just need to move out/go to uni. It often seems to bring about a big improvement in family relationships.

Really sorry to hear @Horace123 news, specially so near to Christmas, how awful 😢

@icanbewhatiwant can DS1 go home? I think it is horrible being ill in a student house. Sorry it looks like your trip to see your mum will have to be delayed.

Congratulations on offers @Delphigirl, @Zebracat, sorry if I have missed anyone.

@icanbewhatiwant my kids are pretty stoic so if they said this I would class this as extremely serious and be driving there to take charge. (I know my siblings child feels like he's dying with a sniffle so wouldn't take it as seriously so only you can gauge if his description is accurate) If he really has no strength to cough then he doesn't need a GP he needs A & E - I assume he's PCR negative or has he got COVID? Have you seen him on FaceTime to gauge how unwell he is? Does he have housemates and what do they think? Does he have a temperature and what are his sats like? Sorry for all the questions.

The saddest, most tragic news, Horace, I'm so sorry. Poor lad and his poor family.

icanbe, that sounds very worrying. If he's too weak to see a GP, he definitely needs to be seen. Can a friend take him to out-of-hours? I'd have a low tolerance of anything that is making him so weak he can't cough; it could be pleurisy, which might turn into pneumonia.

Zebra, that's fantastic news! Warwick!! Well done to your DD!

@HibiscusIsland

OrangeCinnamonCocktail Bristol, Southampton, Warwick and Surrey.

I think Bristol and Warwick are notorious for late offers am afraid. I do know Southampton promise a reply within x number of weeks. But yes get her to check emails. Might also be worth a stalk on the student room threads?

Congratulations on Plymouth, Delphi! Is it a favourite contender?

Terribly sad news @Horace123 .

@HibiscusIsland my DD applied for biology snd has had 4 offers but waiting on Durham either way which is often Feb time.

What are the other 2 unis and are they all biology? What are DDs predicted grades? When did the form go off from the school?

I think Bristol and Warwick are normally late in the new year. Southampton was 3-6 weeks for other friends.

Thanks for the new(ish) thread, OrangeCinnamonCocktail.

Very sorry to hear Horace123's sad news.

DD had her first online RS lesson today - she felt quite weird about it at first and was very anxious the night before but says it went well and helped her understand the topic being discussed, so yay.

Just back from the school Christmas concert and was blown away. Very impressed by the music, dancing and drama pieces but most of all I was mesmerised by DD dancing her solo. Not seen it before and she wore this specially bought lyrical style dress and I was spell bound watching her dance. She was late to the party dance wise as only started in year 8 as they do dance as part of the curriculum from year 7 and she loved it so we enrolled her in a dance school.
She can't do splits, or lift her leg by her ear etc but she has natural poise and since starting ballet a few years back is so elegant. Lots of compliments from parents who we don't know and we are so proud.
Her poor knees are all red and sore from flinging herself about as it was very energetic with stag leaps etc.

How did your DD's solo go Orange? Bet it was amazing.

So sorry to hear about the sad news Horace

How did the interview go Monkey?

Well done on all the Nottingham offers and other offers too. It's really going some now just before we break up for the holidays. Happy Christmas indeed.

Wonder if the F2F interviews will happen next month for DD. Some are online and some F2F but that could all change. If she hadn't got Covid or had mocks these last two weeks she would have had 4 interviews under her belt this side of Christmas but hey ho.

[quote Fruitygal]@HibiscusIsland my DD applied for biology snd has had 4 offers but waiting on Durham either way which is often Feb time.

What are the other 2 unis and are they all biology? What are DDs predicted grades? When did the form go off from the school?

I think Bristol and Warwick are normally late in the new year. Southampton was 3-6 weeks for other friends.[/quote]
Good news fruitfully
She applied to Notts, Warwick, Soton, Bristol, Surrey
Predicted grades are AAA, which is what she got in her year 12 summer exams. GCSEs were 2 x9 and 8x 8.
She submitted the form to the school a few weeks ago. I'm not sure exactly when the school submitted it but dd said they have done. She's revising at the moment and I'll wait til after her exams to check with her