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

Eek @ealingwestmum that sounds like a nightmare! We’ll be buying our next house with the proceeds of this one plus mortgage but will they go back anyway?! I’m not so worried about our purchase at this point, I just hope our buyers have a less OTT solicitor (but indications so far are that they’re very thorough!). Still hoping to complete by 31st August…

I hope it’s just ours Crazy. They couldn’t even get their heads around us purchasing the new property via equity release (but we will still live in our house!). I could just about understand some of it had we been buying the flat with 100% savings, but 85% is mortgage remainder savings (and help). God help the younger generation cobbling together deposit funds.

This is a big, well known firm btw; and one that is supposedly expert in new build. Big fat lie.

So sorry to hear of ACL Beach.
And Ds1 to A&E Monkey.

I’m so sorry about your DD’s injury, Wheresthebeach. She must be completely gutted and you must be heartbroken for her - I can only imagine the hours of training it takes to get to elite level, only for it to be taken away by injury.

Monkey, DH was really unwell with a virus that became a chest infection last week. His oxygen levels went down to 94%, which wasn’t nice, so I can only imagine how awful your DS feels.
I hope he’s well enough to come home soon.

I plan to have a huge declutter once both DCs have left, including the loft. DH has had to clear 2 close relatives’ houses in recent years and I have a horrible feeling much of it was just shoved in our loft, to be sorted at a later date. My motivation is my DM’s house move a few years ago - she had to live with my brother and his family for a year, so her belongings went into storage, (effectively being moved twice, at great expense), but after she finally moved into her own home it quickly became obvious that she should have had a better clear out; she’d paid to move and store things such as an ancient free guide to London’s West End…even though she’d moved to North Yorkshire!

Gosh @monkey sorry I missed your post ...I will definitely get Dd a pulseoximeter for her kit too she is asthmatic.

The covid seems to be withdrawing from battle now. I'm so tired,can barely speak and keep getting my words muddled but woke up joyous at getting more than four hours sleep last night.

Just had a nice little chat with Dd planning for results day and beyond. She has her clearing list but hopefully we won't need it. Realistically we think Southampton will let her in as long as she gets around her offer and certainly not less than a B in Music for which 'something must have gone very wrong'. I'll just be the one keeping the faith in her in the household DH can be Captain Doom / Hindsight. I've even bought her a little music related charm for results day. It was quite cheap of Amazon but rather pretty .

I'm probably waffling as I can't speak. Dd has a job to check with her Docs that her vaccinations are up to date - Meningitis and MMR they don't seem to be showing on her NHS app. Is it terrible I don't remember 🤔

Agreed no more purchasing of clothes until her room is thoroughly decluttered. Anyone for a BuildaBear wardrobe complete with a selection of outfits on hangers, also the little shoes? 😀

I'm feeling mildly excited for results day for her now, she's not worried so I've convinced myself there is nothing to worry about. 😉

My DH has 3 ACL rebuilds. My brother’s early professional football career was taken out by an ACL at 18, with my mother then dissuading him from with famous midland club’s offer to go to uni instead. He wanted to be one of the first Asian footballers, when there weren’t any. Still not many now I don’t think either, parents in our culture back then did not rate football.

Still reeling for you beach, especially after this week’s sport.

I’ve taken the day off work for both DS and DD’s exam results days. Have booked myself a haircut for a level results day in the afternoon - am hoping this isn’t a tactical error and that I won’t be needed to help DS in some way or other.

Looking at my increasing grey hairs I convinced myself results days was in one week and two days but my grey hairs will have to stay for an extra week….

That sounds like a nightmare @ealingwestmum I honestly don't think we could do that. I have all my tax paperwork for 10+ years as that's when I started having to do returns but most of our savings is in ISAs and I haven't kept all the records in such good shape as they aren't involved in the tax returns and I regularly move them to get better interest rates and haven't always had online banking for them. Virtually all our savings is from PAYE or from dividends in DH's business but it would be very hard indeed tracing each ISA back now.

Sorry not been around for a while.

gosh @ealingwestmum 15 years of bank statements?! We will be first time buyers at some point soonish hopefully, I don’t know how I would provide all the things you’ve mentioned!

so sorry to hear about ACL injury @Wheresthebeach must be devastating for her, fingers crossed for a full recovery.

wishing your DS a speedy recovery too @Monkey2001 must be weird not being with him.

we are barely seeing DS at the moment, he sleeps all morning (I’m at work anyway) and then works or sees his girlfriends in the evenings.
i think I need to make a to-do list before he goes off to uni, providing he gets the results of course!

• open student bank account


• make list of things to purchase for student room (once accommodation confirmed)


• i read something about a meningitis vaccine for students - do I/we need to arrange this?


• teach him some more meals to cook!

Am I missing anything?

It was me ...to check up to date with all jabs should have had one meningitis and two MMR I think..

Also ...get together docs needed for uni registration e.g passport , loan confirmation letter etc.

Cancel subs for home e.g Gym?

Can't think of much else...probably tired

Re vaccines. So long as your DC had everything offered through childhood, they don’t need jabs. I looked into it with DD1. I think the meningitis is a catch up to those that avoided MMR and didn’t complete the single doses.

Sorry. Catch up not meningitis.

The Men ACWY was offered to teens 13-15 at school in U.K. . If they missed it they need it before university.
Obviously Covid jabs too. DD has only had two so will arrange the booster before September.

The Meninigitis jab our lot don't get is Men B. Some parents are paying (approx £220!) privately to have these jabs. My understanding is toddlers now egt this one. It's not a common form of meningitis in teenagers but there have been some cases in universities.

The routine Men jab that our lot will have had is ACWY.

www.ox.ac.uk/research/what-meningitis-b-%E2%80%93-and-why-don%E2%80%99t-older-children-get-vaccine

We paid for our two to have the extra meningitis jabs a few years ago (they do give them to babies now but didn't when they were born) and for DS to have the HPV ones as they introduced it for boys about 3 years too late for his age group. They had all the others on schedule.

This has reminded me though, DS gets the flu jab and was in group 6 for covid so had his jabs early which means his booster was last Dec and as he still hasn't had covid I'd like him to have another if he's eligible, must look into that in the autumn.

ED and Fiddlers, I really hope mine was just way over the top. It really shouldn’t be as hard as what we just went through. Still not been cleared.

Thanks all for the reminder on vaccines.

Missed the link, but it looks like we’re up to date on all thankfully. £220 is huge.

The MenAWCY vaccine was first given to sons dc's in my oldest ds's year. He's 21. I couldn't find out whether he'd had it or not as not all schools did it. The nurse at our health centre confirmed it in the end. But ds2 will have had it as it was routine by then.

That paperwork for the move sounds annoying. We moved in 2018 dh had just sold the farm, so has savings. No proof needed but I guess as the solicitor had done the farm sale she knew where the money was from. I'd better wash dh incase we move again. We do plan to downsize one day.

Thanks for all the vaccine info, will double check DS is all up to date, I’m sure he is

Meningitis B is on the increase apparently, now higher than before the pandemic, but still very rare. They do need to know signs and symptoms and not assume it's "just" covid.

www.gov.uk/government/news/recent-increase-in-group-b-meningococcal-disease-among-teenagers-and-young-adults

amp.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/19/meningitis-b-cases-rising-students-england-study

Sorry @icanbewhatiwant but your typo made me laugh - better wash dh in case you move again! Can’t have him moving house without a bath 😂

@crazycrofter ha ha. Warn. I was quickly catching up on here whilst walking the dogs. That'll teach me for walking and typing.

I laughed at that too! 😂

I found another typo...it should say vaccine given to some dc's. I've written sons 🙈