Thread 30 Covid Cohort, Mad March Hareing Towards Exams

[OrangeCinnamonCroissant]

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 29

I've made this one a little bit earlier as things are so busy, at home and on thread, so please feel free to use up previous thread first

DD still hasn't had her booster. The day the text came to say she could book was the day she tested positive, and under -18s have to wait 12 weeks between a +ve and their booster - the week before exams start... She reacted quite badly to the second jab, so is reluctant to have a week of feeling poorly at that moment in time.

Sorry to hear about Exeter @GoldenRuby. Glad you have a Durham offer & finger's crossed for more offers v soon.

Sending virtual hugs @Alsoplayspiccolo. I really feel for you in a constant firing line from your DD. It's draining and upsetting. Try and keep going for the next 11 weeks, and hopefully things will be better once exams are out of the way.

@crazycrofter I still have very painful memories from the gcse mocks / final grades fiasco but DS seems to have quite selective memory. 🤔

Getting a B for DS would be a disaster as he has no insurance place in reality. I have signed him up for a revision course over Easter which, despite agreeing to at the time, is now furious with me about as obviously he’d rather spend his Easter holidays with his girlfriend.

There’s a nasty sore throat cold doing the rounds, hope it’s that rather than Covid. Actually, I hope it’s not that either and turns out to be a mild cold at worst.

The sore throat and headache were DD's first symptoms.

I have no idea why schools aren't doing study leave - apart form feeling the kids have missed so much school already that they are better off in class trying to catch up.

I'm debating between being brutally honest with the school, v claiming illness to keep her well until exams start.

@Heifer that’s crazy! How can they be in lessons while revising for exams?

@Seeline DS not had his booster yet either. Can’t seem to get him to do it.

@Wheresthebeach ours have pulled it forward to try and minimise the risk of catching something at school prior to the exams.

@crazycrofter yes that's how my Covid started this time around. DS has gone into school today for a physics holiday tutoring session - are other schools not doing that?

Our school doesn’t, I’ve had to pay a significant sum for the revision stuff for DS @ChristopherTracy

Both our schools are doing study leave from about 5th May I think. I can't wait not to have to try to force ds into school. But I'm dreading the exam period. He has 6 the first week.

Ds' school has revision sessions in the holidays but there's no way ds would ever go. I haven't heard of any for dd.

I spent about £80 on revision guides for ds. He has only used the Business Studies one so far. Hope I can sell them on second hand!

@Isthisjustnormal - that's what I'd like the school to do, but they are showing no signs.

@Heifer - in school during exams? That's awful.

@crazycrofter - Gosh 6 in one week - that's rough.

Our school has A levels on the calendar from w/c May 23rd, I thought they started w/c May 16th?

DS first day of Gcse's involves two exams.
I wanted him to do a music retake but that would be the same day making three so thats out.
No study leave here either, but Ds does his own thing.

Anyone heard of Uplearn?

DD says that others have recommended it as really good, but it's rather eye wateringly expensive.

No study leave before half term here.

Just took a look at Up Learn, how can they guarantee an A*/A grade?? Sadly they don't do Edexcel.

Actually dd's study leave starts on 10th May. So ds has a full week and a day off before the GCSEs start and dd has two weeks before her A Levels. It really helps in our case, as both of them travel around an hour on public transport to school, so being on study leave gives them a couple of hours extra to play with. Plus they can get more sleep!

I'm worried about covid too. DS still hasn't had it and his booster was before Christmas (he was in the original group 6 so has had them all early) but now they'll be wearing off. Also they don't have study leave at all unless agreed individually with school but DS will want to be at school. Going to be a nerve-wracking term.

DD (y11, different school) has full time school till 13 May then its up to them whether they come in or not.

I thought it was the norm that schools didn't have study leave until half term these days tbh. DD isn't happy about it as she would much rather be home beforehand - especially during the actual exams - I have a feeling that her attendance will be down that week. She is old enough to decide for herself if she turns up when not in exams..

Is it the norm? Both mine are at grammar schools so maybe they can get away with it.

@Cantonet sorry to hear your ds has been unwell and missed school. Has he applied anywhere for next year?

No idea Just I assume just marketing.

I somehow posted this on a completely different thread. No idea how...

Congrats to all those hitting the button.

I have finally managed to get Ds to fill in student finance online. Those with older dc's...did you sign in to student finance as you did for the older dc's? I'm assuming I can. Dh can't remember his sign in though. Annoyingly I forgot to photocopy our tax returns, so will get a copy from our accountant. I must remember to do them this year, I knew they'd be needed as had to photocopy them for Ds1. But still forgot.

I asked Ds what the envelope was for that has been on his bedroom floor a month, I knew what it was as I'd looked, it was forms that needed signing for his A levels. So we signed them, they said return by 28th March. Ds said no one else has handed them in. The forms would have stayed in his room had I not asked. Goodness knows what will get missed when he's at university.

@icanbe Ds did his finance form on Sunday & his DSA yesterday. He was away at school before, so this was the earliest we could do. He definitely needed help answering the questions but did the DSA by himself. That took him 3 hours for some reason, as DH was having a meeting in the room with the scanner so Ds did it the old fashioned way with a printer/camera & an ancient computer 🤦🏼‍♀️.

@crazycrofter I haven't looked at any other school for ds2. I'm not sure what's happening with his current and he's still recovering. So much so that he can't seem to plan ahead yet.

Study leave starts after half term for us, 6 June, by which time DS will have done 1 exam and poor DD (Y11) will have done 8. She also has 6 in the first week, it's brutal. If they feel it's best not to go in once exams have started, that's fine by me.

Having asked me to do his accommodation application and told me what to put (Broadgate first choice against my advice that Dagfa looked nicer), DS has now consulted his friends who have also firmed Nottingham and wants to change things because they want to be near each other. The friends don't want Broadgate because 5 sharing a bathroom is too many, apparently. So I suggested swapping to Dagfa but it's all booked up. They have come up with the idea of Deakins, which is the wrong side of Jubilee campus (they are all based on UP) and cheapest available room is £7875. So Broadgate Park it is. I'm afraid I couldn't resist pointing out that they could have had Dagfa if he had sorted out their plans when I asked him to. The friends haven't even got their log ins yet. A useful lesson that sometimes engaging with boring admin is worth doing. Infuriating though, because I TOLD him to talk to them about it ages ago, I TOLD him that things get booked up quickly and I TOLD him that Dagfa is nicer than Broadgate Park. Aaaargh.

Just back from 3 weeks away with work (with the odd brief stop over at home) and everywhere is a tip, there's no food etc etc. DH has been ill tbf, I had to dash back from Glasgow when he was admitted to hospital for a couple of days. DD has 9 additional maths past papers she wants me to do with her. Ddog needs a proper walk. Work is still manic. I have 4 weeks of OU study to catch up on before an online exam next week. And I have been called back for further tests tomorrow morning at 0815 after a routine mammogram a couple of weeks ago

So I am in the bath and will be opening some wine shortly.

God @singingstones you've got more than enough on your plate. Good luck🤞 for the appointment tomorrow and you definitely deserve the 🍷 tonight.
Your poor DH and DC's though.

@singingstones hope your appointment goes well tomorrow.

Wine it is @singingstones. Hope the appointment goes well. Sounds like you've a lot on your plate, as my Mother use to say.