Thread 27 Covid Cohort Snow or Like Spring? Let's Do This Thing!

[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 found here

@Delphigirl Californian sunshine sounds lovely. Especially on a gloomy day like today.
We finally have some good news here. DD got an offer for Vet med from Nottingham last night, AAB.

Fantastic news @Hattifatteners, what a relief! And presumably that's achievable? I assumed vet med offers would be at least AAA. The granddaughter of friends of ours is applying and she had a rejection from Nottingham straight away, with no interview, despite 3xA* predictions.

@EwwSprouts it's stressful isn't it, but presumably his method has worked ok for mocks?! Dd actually asks me to have her phone when she revises but ds doesn't. His method is to work for 20-30 minutes then have a break, so I guess there's no point him handing his phone over! On the plus side, he's very disciplined about timing himself!

Thanks for the new thread @OrangeCinnamonCocktail
Great work, as always, on our list @singingstones!

Amazing news, Hatti, many congratulations to your DD.

@Shimy Towel alert Christy towels half price in Tesco.
Also the teal bath sheets @OrangeCinnamonCocktail highlighted on last thread are now only £2 each!!

Whoop! Well done to your DD @Hattifatteners!

@crazycrofter Yes, AAB is very achievable. DD is predicted AAA and I think in a good day she should be able to get A*AA. Both Nottingham and Surrey have a standard offer of AAB after you have jumped through all the other loops. DD didn't apply to Surrey. Apparently too close to home.
DD and I are very relieved

Wow, amazing @Delphigirl!!

Pleased to hear about your DD’s experience day too @OrangeCinnamonCocktail

Amazing offer for vetmed @Hattifatteners!!

Your DS made me laugh @singingstones, he sounds like a lovely young man going round with the chocolates this morning. I’d be mostly amused too, it sort of has to happen sometime I think

I am very happy that DS has finally filled his final application slot before the deadline!! He has applied to the Uni of Nottingham but for the BEng as it has lower entrance grades than the MEng and the first two years are identical and it’s easy to swap between them once there. Presuming he gets offered one of Bath, Durham and Warwick it would be an insurance choice (again if he gets an offer 🤷‍♀️).

I hate the fact that the best unis for engineering wait so long to offer, it’s quite disconcerting.

Oh, DS’s school says they should be doing 5hrs of work per subject per week to include homework. As DS has 4 subjects that’s 20hrs which is quite a lot as he has fewer free periods too.

There is no suggestion of actual ‘revision’ times but his mocks are after half term so we have agreed on school hours for half term (he has some catching up to do).

@Hattifatteners Super update!

@crazycrofter Yet to be proven. Mocks are the last two weeks before half-term.

That’s lovely new @Hattifatteners. A friends DS is at Nottingham for Vet and very happy.

Brilliant news Hatti.

I know it's been asked before, but 18th birthday presents. DS's is coming up, No to cars, tattoos, watches, posh fountain pens. He'd like an apple watch which is fair enough but I was thinking of something a bit more permanent. Any other suggestions? He will need a new laptop but hoping he'll get that via DSA.

[quote Hattifatteners]@Delphigirl Californian sunshine sounds lovely. Especially on a gloomy day like today.
We finally have some good news here. DD got an offer for Vet med from Nottingham last night, AAB.[/quote]
Yay @Hattifatteners! Well done your DD!!

@ExtremelyDetermined - DS got a leather messenger bag that takes a laptop from his grandparents - it is by Rowallan and was about £180. It is lovely - got an eye on it myself!

I hadn't really thought about the 18th as requiring a bigger, more permanent present. Is that the norm? So far, dd has asked for a ticket to see Harry Styles which isn't at all lasting?!

DS will be getting £1,000 from us for his 18th, same as his elder brother. (Our usual birthday budget is around £200-250 so a significant uplift). DS1 put it towards a car and with that, money from others and some savings got a nice first car.

This DS doesn’t plan to buy a car as going to uni and thinks it’s a waste so it will go into his savings I guess. It will pay for a holiday or something in due course probably.

My parents bought DS1 a nice designer watch as well as money as a keepsake. This DS already has nice watches so not sure what he’ll get. The traditional cuff links/ tankard are no longer relevant I don’t think. It’s difficult to think of something else suitable so also watching for ideas.

Been thinking about your DD Hatti all this week as the medics have been progressing through the hurdles. Well done to her!

@ExtremelyDetermined has he stopped growing? If so I think this is the age boys start a jacket collection which will keep them going for the next 10 years. What kind of jacket depends on the kind of kid and what he’s got already. Anything from a smart blazer to a wool baseball jacket to a leather jacket to a sea-worthy waterproof or something else casual but nice. Something he likes but couldn’t afford to buy himself.

@22Newnames you make my £100 for 18th seem a small amount now. I was also meant to be paying for train tickets for him and his mate to go to Manchester to watch a football match. But the game was cancelled. That would be about £150 I'm sure he had something else too, but it wasn't much, as I can't even remember.

He has a car, though it's not officially his, it is for him to use, no one else uses it. He could have done with a new phone for his birthday or Christmas. But he says the one he has is fine. I had it 2 years, then passed down to him when I bought new. He's had it almost 3 years. He's waiting for me to change mine again and hoping I'll give him my newer one. He will need a laptop for university too. But ds1 bought his own with money from his summer job. He also bought his phone. So I feel Ds2 should do the same.

Heartbreaking news, Piggy. I have friends who are on suicide watch with their children. Incredibly difficult, but at least they know the risk is there, I suppose, so they can try to do something about it. DS's school has had a couple of suicides in the last year too. Just hideous for everyone involved.

Ds 18th is soon too. He’s getting a festival ticket. I’d like to get him something to open on the day too but have no idea what so far. There was a thread somewhere on 18th presents which was a bit of an eye opener in terms of how much money some people spend...

We bought him a very good laptop at the start of the first lockdown so not that. I’ll ask if he wants a watch. I think his sister had a piece of jewellery & his brother wanted a new phone. His CTF will be maturing obviously too plus family will be looking for suggestions.

So sorry @icanbewhatiwant, it wasn’t meant to be any sort of comparison. In retrospect I should have been more vague.

The difference is that we haven’t bought our DS’s cars or anything apart from for birthday or Christmas. They get pocket money but very rarely do they get anything else from us outside that or birthday/ Christmas. DS1 got my old phone as his was stolen but otherwise they wouldn’t automatically get anything like that from us.

Apologies again.

I don't think we got anything particularly special for my DSs 18th birthday (I think the fact I can't remember sort of proves that!). I know he didn't want a party. I think he probably had a new phone, but it wasn't anything fancy. He knew he would be getting all his uni kit later that year - and he did get everything new rather than hand-me-downs.

I think DD will probably want a party but that will be difficult as at the end of July most people are away. I think she will be due a new phone too.

I asked DS yesterday about 18th. He had no ideas. I think 18ths used to be jewellery and keepsakes but maybe not so much nowadays.

I would get him a euphonium but because the school music teacher left in disgrace , it would seem no one knows he has his current one!

Current laptop basic but fine. Car out of the question. No ideas really. Not into gigs etc.

I got a dressing gown for my 28th..

DM insists she got me Tiffany earrings but that was 21st.