Thread 35 - Covid Cohort from GCSE 2020 'What They Did on Their Summer Holidays'

[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. It's all relative!
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 continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will find a thread within the Further Ed board.
Possibly a move to Parent of Adult Children Board in future? Post Results?

Previous Thread

Most of dd and ds’ exams were AQA 😬

@EspeciallyDeIighted You've got the right idea, it's all about the wording. I don't want to put my foot in it by saying he's off to uni in September etc they might just note it on his records and deregister him by end of August.

It was the Psychiatrist at CAMHS that told me but he said he wasn't 100% sure.

@crazycrofter I think most of DS's are AQA as well. I need to check, I don't think its just AQA though think its all of them.

Actually, it is just AQA. Sorry, i don't mean to scaremonger!

Thanks @craggyrat I will suggest that to him.

So how is that going to work with uni places?!

Some kids will have all their results due to not being AQA and others will have some/none?
As if this cohort has not been through enough

@Fiddlersgreen I'm hoping to God the strike doesn't go ahead and they can agree on pay because if it does it doesn't bear thinking about..Clearing won't have anything left, not to talk of the delay in knowing whether you're in or out. It's the students that will lose out ultimately. But I'm hoping common sense will prevail and the education secretary will step in to mitigate even events if the strike does go ahead as it just wouldn't be fair to the affected students.

AQA have this on their website, sounds promising:

^We’d like to reassure you that Unison’s decision to go on strike later this month will not affect schools and students getting their results this summer – we have robust plans in place to make sure it doesn’t.
We’re disappointed that Unison is claiming otherwise, as this is wrong and only serves to cause needless alarm for students and teachers at what’s already a challenging time.^

@singingstones Thank you so much for posting that, what a relief! I sincerely hope they get the pay rise they're asking for.

Hi everyone - I’m sorry I vanished but I succumbed to covid - finally - for about a week then went back to work but remotely for another week and basically slept every single second I was not online working, and for the last week I have no excuse!

DS is interrailing around Europe and having a great time by all accounts. Bratislava today. I have no idea where that is or what one does there, but he tells me the beer is cheap which appears to be the main thing…

@Delphigirl Sorry to hear you've been ill and glad you've recovered well. Your DS sounds like he's having a whale of a time. DS here planning on holidaying in Spain for a week with some mates if they can all get their act together.

Don't forget re strikes that universities get results 6 days before students, the strike would be 3 days, so it would be more likely to affect universities than school dates. I guess the universities could get on with processing all the other board results for a couple of days.

Ooh I hope he does get it together Shimy, I’m sure he could really use the R& R!

DS2 definitely not up for flying anywhere, global warming feeling too real right now. I feel so sorry for this generation.

Not much to report here. I think boredom has taken its toll with DD - she's applied for 2 jobs! Not sure how successful she'll be as has no experience, but everyone has to start somewhere I suppose.

Plans afoot for next week's birthday BBQ also occupying some time.

We haven't flown anywhere for 5 years, DH and DS really don't like flying, the thought of trying to get DS through a flight wearing an FFP2 mask as was the case till recently was too much so we eurotunneled our way to France. DS could claim exemption from mask wearing but them feels more anxious about getting/transmitting covid (he still hasn't had it).

That’s a relief re: AQA strikes!

We went to France recently and took the eurostar and trains, DH hates flying anyway

@Delphigirl I'll let you know if goes ahead

@Monkey2001 I'll mention that to ds2, he's all about halting global warming etc but it doesn't seem to have registered in his planned holiday.

@Seeline DS been applying for jobs unsuccessfully too since the hols started but it finding it equally difficult.

Looks like there might be train strikes on results day, in case that might affect any DC collecting their results..

You do wonder if there is anything else left to have a detrimental impact on this poor cohort of kids! Having fought bus and rail strikes to actually take their exams, they now can't even go and collect their results - assuming other strikes don't stop their results being ready 😡

DD has had to change her birthday BBQ from being on her actual birthday because of the earlier planned strike as most of her friends will need a train to get here.

In Nov 2019 in the week for GCSE and A level mocks at DS's school there was a rail strike and a burst water main outside the maim entrance, caused absolute chaos (it's rural and not walkable from anywhere). The headteacher wrote in his newsletter he could not remember a worse week in his time at the school. Till his next newsletter at Easter 2020 when he had to eat his words.

DD has just one A level with AQA and that’s Sociology. The rest are OCR.

Birmingham peeps - have you seen the post about changes to the way accommodation is allocated this year?
It seems that submitting their choices was a waste of time, as everyone with a confirmed choice on results day will be given an allocated time slot to pick their accommodation, including the exact flat, by the sounds of it; students will fill in their profile (eg social preferences) so that others can opt to share with them…or not.

@Benjispruce4 AQA has said whether they strike or not it will not affect results day so students need not worry about and it's unison causing all the furore.

Results will delivered on time

DSs exams are one AQA, one Edexcel and one OCR I think. I know they’re all different anyway!

I was looking on the AQA website about the strike and saw that when they get their results slip it will have their marks for each paper. Hadn’t really thought about that happening - although I can see it’s useful for knowing whether to appeal a grade or not I can see it giving more stress (especially for Year 11 DD who will be looking at every single detail…)