Thread 32 - Corona Cohort 'May' the Mumsnet force be with them for their venture to 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 31

CONGRATULATIONS ZEBRACAT !

Thanks for all the pens recommendations.

@mango0 DS's GF has applied for Maths and has offers from Birmingham, Nottingham, Exeter, still waiting for Edinburgh. She had the opposite experience at Birmingham, I think she went on a very early offer holder day with a lot of Oxbridge applicants and didn't like it nearly as much as she liked Nottingham. So going for Nottingham even though she has a contextual offer from Birmingham. Possible Edinburgh insurance if they ever respond and the offer makes sense for insurance.

Your DD really doesn't need the English, so definitely not worth getting bothered about when her other subjects are looking so good.

Year 12 DD and I are taking advantage of half price train tickets and travelling to Aberystwyth for the weekend. Any tips on what to look out for at the uni or in the town?
I'm really hoping the six hour journey puts her off (rail replacement bus service between Aber and Shrewsbury 😭) but she really likes the course there so I need to try and be positive.

@Monkey2001 that's interesting, DD did like Nottingham but the Maths department at Birmingham gave a really good impression of being focused on employability, of being supportive and social and the lecturers were engaging. Whereas she actually almost fell asleep during one of the talks at Nottingham! To be fair, she wasn't 100% that day. Just shows though, the impact these open days can have on their decisions. Funnily DD's offer from Nottingham (and Lancaster) is contextual but Birmingham's isn't.

Oh she's definitely not worried about English, she only took the fourth A-level (ignoring my advice to take Biology instead) in case she didn't love Maths as much beyond GCSE level and then she continued it on the advice of admissions at St Andrews. I thought once she received offers, which were always likely to be based on 3 A-levels for her choices, she might withdraw. I think it's stubbornness keeping her going now.

Thank @EwwSprouts she is very lucky to have offers she's happy with, I know it's been a tough year for our children who are applying to university this year.

I'm enjoying the pen discussion, these are the sort of minor details regarding university/A-levels/Sixth form I've been unnecessarily obsessing over. DD will likely look at me as if I've lost the plot when I tell her I've been reading pen recommendations. To be honest, from the 18 years of parenting, these past two have seen me closest to it. It's been intense at times, and it's all me, DD has been quite laid back. As I usually am, but suddenly this pursuit for 'perfection' for her (not in her exam results, in her experiences) has been overwhelming at times. Maybe it's just wanting to retain some control, in a situation where I don't really have any, that makes me focus on things like pens.

It's interesting to hear there doesn't seem to have been many offers from St Andrews. I'm sorry you DD missed out @GoldenRuby as well, but it sounds like she's very happy with Durham.

I can't believe that in 6 weeks they will have sat all of their A-levels. I'm planning some lovely things for us to do together during the summer (as well as Uni BootCamp - getting DD up to scratch on all of the things she needs to know how to do to live independently) to make the most of having her here, hopefully, it will also stop me worrying about results day.

Hi Mango and welcome. DS has applied for Maths. He didn't apply to Birmingham but I have friends whose DC has offers last year a few they were impressed with Birmingham.

That's good her offers are on 3 A levels , DS has friends where some offers are based on 4 so can't drop the 4th now as would like to. Computer science seems to be causing a lot of grief in particular at the moment as a 4th.

I have just realised that DS will have to most likely physically go and pick up exam results. Keeping my fingers crossed we have moved by then so only a 2.5 hour round trip rather than 4.5 hours.

When’s your move expected to go ahead @Volterra ? We’re hoping we can stretch completion on this house out until end of August.

@mango0 welcome! I also feel I’ve been more involved in the last two years than ever! Not necessarily with DD’s work but in choosing a course and a uni mainly, which seemed to take an inordinate amount of time, headspace and petrol!

i get the feeling dd is procrastinating. Ds probably isn’t doing enough but he does at least do two focused hours a day! Dd has been way too distracted by prom dresses, boy issues, birthday plans, who to camp with at Reading etc!

End of June Crazycrofter . Am so worried it will fall apart, you hear so many people who lose their buyers at the moment. Fingers crossed for us both.

Welcome back @mango0 - yikes 6 weeks and we're all done? That's sent a shiver up my back.

DD's last day of school today. Gone in with teacher presents (kids seem to have got together for presents and cards which is nice). Bit of a shock to realise this is end of school, last time I pick her up from the station and all that.

Yikes. End of an era.

Eeek, six weeks 😱

The fact all the messages are in bold is really putting me off and making it all harder to read.

just testing actually setting bold - it seems to be exactly the same!

@Volterra oh dear, I haven’t heard those stories 😱 Hope yours goes through smoothly 🤞

It’s definitely the end of an era. With dd off to uni and our move meaning ds can walk to his new school, I’m looking forward to no more station pick ups!

Yesterday DS decided that a good use of his time would be learning all the world's countries on some online test.

Next level procrastination.

Sorry Crazycrofter*, I didn't mean to worry you. I'm sure most go through with no problems.

@ChristopherTracy DD did that in the first lockdown. I've never seen her so focused 😂 She had to type them all, spelt correctly, within 15 minutes. She actually did it and it improved her typing no end. She's great to have in a quiz team if a geography question comes up. She knows the flags and capitals too.

DD likes the Papermate Inkjoy pens, and still uses her Parker fountain pen for longer written pieces. She is allowed to use a keyboard in exams, but generally just dies the for the essays. She says it's too complicated to format the short answer questions so hand writes those. I'm just hoping everything actually gets included/ put together when sent off for marking.

DS finished school today, ahead of GCSEs starting on Monday.
I knew it would be emotional, but I’m actually a bit heartbroken; the 5 years he’s been at the school have been the happiest of his school days and I’ll miss being part of such a warm, supportive community. 😢

DS finished school today too. I feel weird about it. Sad and happy at the same time.

We officially have two weeks left until study leave but both DC have said this afternoon that they want to stay home and revise from now on (when not in exams), so unbeknownst to me, today was their last proper day!

They will be in for exams for 16 days between them over the next six weeks and then I will never have to iron a school uniform - bloody pleated skirts - again 🥳

I'm not too sad, it's a good school but I have slightly fallen out of love with it since DS's grade prediction drama (although he still loves it) and feel that both DC are ready to move on. All energies going into hoping that they get what they need in August now.

@singingstones I can't imagine what it's like to have twins. I'm traumatised enough at the thought of one going away in September

Oh sorry to mislead, not twins, DD is Y11 and leaving school to go to sixth form college. But still no more pleated skirts hooray

(Funnily enough DD and I have just been wandering around upstairs planning how we will use the space when DS goes - she will probably be more disappointed than him if he doesn't get his grades 😂)

Ah that's not as bad, though two lots of exams to contend with.
I think there is someone on here with twins isn't there?
DD has put in her accommodation requests, though Bristol say that 1/5 don't get any of their 9 choices!

NCTDN, I don’t have twins (amazingly, as I’m a twin, my mum is a twin, and DH’s mum was a twin!), but we have GCSEs and A levels AND both DCs are leaving home in September (DS is going to boarding school for 6th form). 😢

Oh for the love of God they've done 'end of school' reports. Talk about emotional! Each teacher writing about memories of the fun they've had, inside jokes, endless praise...Now I'm all teary...sob. She's my only so it will be the dog that gets all the attention now!

@NCTDN I have twins.
But one ended up repeating 6.1 due to school demanding only A's in their As1's.
So this year I have one doing A levels, one re-doing As levels & one doing Gcse's.
So it's not the end of an era here.
I will cheer when it is because child 4 will be the death of me 😯
And ds1 is highly grumpy & arrogant these days.
Where's my nice boy gone?

Oh blimey Y11, Y12 and Y13 all at once sounds tough Cantonet, as does Also having both moving out at the same time. I hope you have something nice planned for you and your DH in October / November that you can look forward to, Also!