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 !

Will she get a full loan @Zebracat ? I would wait until she’s heard back from student finance with her amount (it doesn’t take long) and then look at accommodation.

Have you looked at what kinds of bursaries the unis might offer zebra,or if current school does?

We don’t know if she will get a full loan. It seems that people who were subject to Special Guardianship should be classed as independent students, but the options on the application don’t cover it . There are a lot of children being raised by special guardians , but no explicit provision made for them. I think that Kinship Care is campaigning for them to be classed as care leavers, and I hope that will come. Meanwhile, even if she gets the maximum loan, she would struggle, because there’s nothing shorter than 40 weeks at Exeter, so it’s all quite expensive. she needs a bursary, and we dont know yet if she qualifies.
It sounds ridiculous, but she’s not very strong, the years of being really underfed have affected her stamina, and she has asthma, and either trauma or ASD, she’s currently being assessed. She needs a lot of recovery time, so I’m not sure she could manage a p/t job, altho she may have to. I really can’t help. I have only a small private pension. Shes not flexible, really struggles with uncertainty, so this period of nothing being clear is very difficult for her. I keep telling her it will be fine, and we will make sure she has somewhere nice to live and enough money, but I don’t actually know how, yet!

@Zebracat have you looked at this page at Exeter - there is a bursary for care leavers and they don't pay fees, so worth over £30k www.exeter.ac.uk/students/finance/studentfunding/bursariesandscholarships/

Their definition of care leavers may not be the same as SFE and it would be absolutely fine for you, as guardian, to ask the questions and pave the way.

@Zebracat this one might be clearer. I would have thought she should get at least the Access to Exeter bursary. www.exeter.ac.uk/study/funding/undergraduate/support/

I think you should contact this lady:

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If you are considering higher education and need advice and guidance before and while you apply, or if you have any queries regarding what you may be eligible for, please contact:

Natalie Bracher: [email protected]

We had this at school, too, with a boy being raised by grandparents, but not adopted. It's such a black hole in provision. He didn't count as pupil premium , for example.

I agree that contacting Exeter- who seem quite hot on access- would be helpful.

I am not teaching you to suck eggs but have you hard of this?

kinship.org.uk/for-kinship-carers/advice-and-support/education/further-education-and-university/

We have a foundation near us which offers bursaries to lots of students.

This is so exciting Zebra having heard just a little of her journey to this point - I hope you find lots of support for her at Exeter.

I expect you are looking at better info than this on an Exeter portal somewhere but this is just in case, (DS was looking at Exeter for a while):

www.exeter.ac.uk/accommodation/prices/cateredcosts/

There are self-catered options from

Zebra I hope you are able to get her every penny, every available source.

Ds1 has first exam sociology tomorrow, Monday, then psychology Tuesday, business Wednesday.

We've had a huge bbq to celebrate last football day of the season, our team got champions league, and our player shared golden boot, so all good, cheery atmosphere. My chicken kebabs were really good, and ds1 thanked me for all the protein! I've made him a massive leftovers sausage sandwich with onions for tomorrow. 🌭

Good luck to the sociologists tomorrow - it's happening, people! 🍀🍀🍀

We have been celebrating football also - DS's beloved Man City won the league and my beleaguered team managed to stay up. And now he's excited about Notts Forest in the play-off final next week - IF they win and IF he gets his grades for Nottingham, he will have premiership football on his doorstep in September.

Wow, so much care for us. Thank you.
We are in touch with the person at the University, and a meeting is going to happen. Our girl left the care of the LA aged 15.6, but you have to have had 3 weeks aged 16 + to count as a Care Leaver, so she misses Exeters fabulous financial support, although they may offer something. She should count as an independent student, but may not. She didnt see her father for 11 years, but we worked hard to re establish a relationship, so they are no longer estranged, I know others have argued that shouldn’t count, and I shall too. I think her Dad would probably say he’d be prepared to pay but that could put a strain on a new and quite fragile relationship so I don’t want her to need that.
If she gets the maximum loan and opts for the cheaper accommodation, and works in the Summer, I think she can manage, it’s just frustrating that she just misses out on so much, by a whisker, if we had refused Guardianship, financially she would be much more secure. it’s also really frustrating that I’m going to spend the next 3 months explaining this to people who really ought to understand it, because there are thousands of students in this position.and it’s their job.

zebra, that all sounds so tough for her, and unfair. I hope once you start dealing with Exeter directly, things will fall into place for her and she can enjoy uni life without the constant worry about finances.

Good luck to everyone kicking off exams this week - go and smash them!

@Zebracat I thought I'd say ds1 was given almost full loan first year. It was enough to last all year. A friends son was at exeter and paid similar for a single room catered as mine did for en suite self catered. So if she gets the full loan it should be enough first year. Accommodation might be more expensive after first year though. Ds works full time July, Aug and sept. for extra money. But says he didn't really need to spend it, especially first year. Though we do pay his mobile and car insurance.

Good luck everyone - I can't believe it's finally here!

Sociology AND economics for mine. Still upstairs , working. Oh no. Just appeared.

And gone back upstairs....

@Zebracat - crossing our fingers that Exeter see the wider picture and can provide a sensible approach which takes her challenges into account and is rational and flexible. She (&you!) have achieved so much over the last two years, she deserves that extra support to help her fulfil that clear potential.

Good luck to all! DS has had a grumpy old day tomorrow, I think the stress is getting to him . First exam tomorrow

Request for revision snacks. Chocolate covered pretzels🤑and strawberry milk.. she’s now worrying that she’s not worrying, we reassured her that all of us have always loved exams. May have massaged the truth slightly…

Good luck to all those with an exam tomorrow!

@Zebracat If you haven't already research grants specific to the area you live in. There are some odd small ones out there. Our parish council used to advertise one linked to an alms house charity in it's newsletter for those moving up to secondary or university, gave up to £500. I have a friend who is a trustee on another specifically for any young person going to university from within the city boundary.
My favourite is a charity for live in domestic servants in a very small radius. Set up by a man who thought his wife didn't treat the staff well! They had to go back to the charity commission and say we can't give it away as no-one has live in staff any more so they are now allowed to give to those who can prove need.

Forgive my late night rambling 😀

@Zebracat What a funny grant! There used to be website on which one could search for all sorts of grants for various purposes, can't remember where it is anymore. There were grants made available by local people/charities for the most basic things e.g £200 grant for anyone going to university who lives in Wood Green, £100 specifically for a woman over 50 who is embarking on learning the piano etc funny stuff like that but extremely useful.

I’m sure we could swing the live in servant thing, she washed up one day last week…
There’s a Devon bursary, but she had to leave Devon when she couldn’t live at home any more.I will have a look, see if there are any she fits.
Been trying to make sense of the options. Catered looks better value, but they don’t seem to have quiet rooms, and majority are shared ,which she couldn’t deal with. I expect it will sort.

Good luck to all the exam takers today.