Thread 26 - Covid Cohort Hoping for a Stable, Successful 2022

[OrangeCinnamonCocktail]

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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.

Well done Ealing, what's fab offer.

AofC, have you considered talking politely to HoD? Because the fact is she's had little teaching and she's basically been let down. Why aren't 'they' stepping up to the mark to address it. I rang HoD re my concerns for ( I phrased it more subtly-) new incompetent teacher, last month. I'm still glad I did.

I have parents evening next week. Mocks not till end of Feb.

Great news on the offer @ealingwestmum!

Fab news ealing!

I've PMd you AoC.

Hi @Alsoplayspiccolo DS is booked on to a Birmingham offer holders day. His info said to book Law rather than Law and French Law. He got the same message about the joint course not being available.

Congrats ealing on the McGill offer, that's a very exciting one!

Sorry to hear of the wobbles around mock results. They have still got loads of time and now that proper exams look likely, they can treat mocks as they would normally, a chance to practise and make all the mistakes when they don't matter. DS is over his pre-Christmas mock results and alarmingly is now completely confident of getting what he needs but I'm not! He vaguely mentioned there might be more exams in February but wasn't sure

The good news is we have found our way on to a Nottingham offer holder day.

well done @ealingwestmum I think a lot of us will be looking at sub par mocks which is a real worry. DS seems to swing between maturity and getting work done and then completely uncaring.

Hehe Monkey I wish. The days of big pay rises and bonuses are long gone as a now self employed creative! Totally agree on moving continents is not going to be easy. She’s got lots of thinking ahead.

Thank you everyone for the good wishes.

Re the ‘they were meant to be hard’, this is so tough on them. To think it’s business as usual and churn out that mindset of pre 2020, forgetting that confidence building is what’s needed from now to May is crushing for this year group.

@ealingwestmum congratulations!

Crazy few weeks with everyone in the house bar DD applying for jobs (so no time to breath or do MN) and DD sick with abdominal issues across the 2nd mocks last week so did some, didn't do others. (Very stressful! So I get the teariness and angst - nightmare) She's now a lot better so more investigations ongoing for her health issues but she's got a couple of 18th parties coming up, plus the NEA Geography to finish and 2 offer days in the next couple of weeks so I think revision for actual exams is not going to start until 1st March.

Thinking of getting a large wipe board on wheels to support her as she likes to talk things through - seen one in IKEA but wondered if anyone has any recommendations?

@Fruitygal we have a magnetic white board which is brilliant as we can stick reminders there as well as planning, shopping lists etc. Not a wheely one, it is on the wall, but was one of those random LIDL special buys.

I have got sticky whiteboard wall paper that we can write on.

Congrats on the McGill offer, @ealingwestmum.when are you likely to hear about any financial support?
So sorry to hear about stressed students. I just hope we can all learn to live with covid, and that some terrifying new variant doesn’t come along to stop us in our tracks,so that exams happen and they can leave all this disruption behind.Our girl had a small group session with her form tutor , who is lovely, but uses her as an example of a model student to the others, and cautions her against working too hard. She really doesn't, mostly she’s lying on her bed or playing Minecraft.I Told her to have a word and ask her tutor if she wants her to have friends. I don’t think she will get the marks she’s predicted, but it might be better to know that than be asked to perform out of her skin on a really demanding degree course. I would, of course, love to be proved wrong. It’s her anniversary of4 years with us on Sunday and she’s got really excited about it. She wants to make a cake and all watch a film together. She has come such a long way.

@Fruitygal. My thought abou5 the large whiteboard on wheels is that in our house it would have a very long afterlife as the thin* you tripped over when you needed something out of the garage. Small is beautiful!

@ChristopherTracy, @Zebracat @Monkey2001 - she wants it big to write out the krebs cycle and carbon cycle dependent on the subject etc; - We have a fairly open plan house and a spare room which she uses as a study so happy to purchase and then donate to local school afterwards. maybe we are crazy but she's the last one and this has been a crazy couple of years so I am up for anything.

Exciting news - Looking at booking a summer holiday in Europe - early July when things are cheaper, DD is planning inter railing with a couple of friends ....and school have said they will have a 6th form prom/formal/ball/party!?!?!?

Congratulations on the Macgill offer @ealingwestmum: I spent my GAP year in Canada, and it's certainly a friendly country that welcomes you in: a great opportunity and option for her to have on the table!
We

I get so cross with the the 'make them hard to make them work' mock approach: everything (which isn't loads!) I know about behavioural economics and current psychological thinking suggests that actually people tend to do well when they think they are doing well - making people feel they have a mountain to climb really isn't motivating! In fact - I was just listening to a Derren Brown podcast talking about what happens if you give two sets of people anagrams to solve - all in the same room, and you put your hand up when you've solved the anagram: the 'administrator' moves through the anagrams fast, so you don't have much time and you put your hand up when you have got the answer. But what participants don't know if 1 set has easy anagrams, and one has impossible ones. Except the last anagram that is the same. Those who've had the easy anagrams are much more likely to solve the last anagram because they believe they will: those with the impossible anagrams loose confidence, get frustrated and don't believe they'll solve it so they don't. It makes me really cross that schools haven't figured that basic fact out: most people are motivated by doing well and achieving: and doing well and achieving makes people do well and achieve!!

Sorry: rant over ;-)

@zebracat: I love the sound of the four year anniversary plans - hope you all have a lovely time! DS has a blackboard wall (one of those stick on ones) - might be another option for you? He does bit diagrams on A3 paper and has those on his wall too :-)

I am trying to holiday plan too @Fruitygal: like loads of us on here we've got the double whammy of GCSEs and A levels and I think we are all going to need a lie down! Hard to plan at the mo with all the uncertainty of restrictions. Any good recommendations? I'm ideally looking for: somewhat warm but not BOILING; interesting birds/animals, or even better snorkelling (I'm thinking non-Europe); if poss a bit of culture and French or Spanish speaking countries...

Morocco is lovely if you haven’t been Isthisjustnormal. Bit of everything, culture, language, history, food and climate without being more than 4 hours ish away

Or Turkey, but add somewhere beautiful like Kas for the scenery/water!

Is this just normal. Costa Rica?

Have pm'd you back @Piggywaspushed

Lovely ideas from DD @Zebracat. Have a lovely day on Sunday.

@Fruitygal Cyprus is lovely, and I also second Morocco or perhaps Tunisia. We quite fancy doing some cities: Salzburg, Bruges, Amsterdam etc.

Our summer holiday is booked. Just us and ds3. DH won't go abroad. Last time he went was with his ex-wife in 1980. He went on a plane then and said never again.

I wanted to go somewhere like Wales, somewhere different we haven't been to. But he only wanted to go to Cornwall, half the country were heading that way last year when we went to Devon. So I'm sure it'll be the same this year as we have to go in school hols. It must be nice to go a bit earlier for those doing exams as they finish slightly earlier (unless parents are teachers)

I can only dream of all the places I'd like to go abroad. Ds1 is planning to go away with his uni mates after graduation, but I think only in the uk. Ds2 is thinking of going to Norway with mates after A levels. He's never been on plane before. I hope they'll be ok if they go. That will cause me worry anyway.

Oh, another young person in DS's year has taken their life 😞

Oh how awful @Piggywaspushed

@icanbewhatiwant Norway is an interesting choice! Does he know that although it is really beautiful, everything is horrendously expensive, particularly alcohol. My godmother went to visit friends and was shocked that a sandwich was over £10!

Oh Piggy, that is awful. So sorry to hear.