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

You got a letter Sprouts? The whole system is wierd. Not enough for self catering?
Is your dd still thinking Dur? Which SC college?

At Nott ds1 admittedly catered is 6.3, so less minimum 4.5, is a shortfall of 1.8 before we've even started.

I think £415 pm is the gap between the minimum and maximum loan this year so that's my planned DD amount.
I am thinking / hoping it will feel less than that because of no school lunches or buses and reduced grocery (and takeaway!) bill.

@Oblomov22 catered for £6200? That's amazing!

£415? Christ.
How we will all handle the financial stuff is varied.

I daren't tell Dh it's that much. We are still talking about all of this and how to handle it all. Dh and I are contributing towards accommodation cost, the shortfall, at the beginning. And then a small DD each month. Ds1 is saving hard, has a few thousand saved over the last 2-3 years, and earning a lot atm, working 5 or occasionally 6 days a week atm. His pay packet this month was more than one of my part time jobs! Plus he's already arranging part time jobs in Notts. I do expect him to work part time and pay for quite a bit of his living costs.

I know it was donkeys years ago but I often had 2 or 3 part time jobs all the way through Uni.

He mentioned last night using his CTF to pay for any shortfall. I told him that must not happen. That we will manage one way or another.

DS1 was OK for money until 3rd year when he has suddenly blown it all, including half his savings....

We'll pay accommodation and DS will get his loan and hopefully a bursary. If he gets a job, then fair play to him. DS never managed to get a job all the way through uni. Am getting a roasting on another thread cos no one believes me that it is vvvv hard to get jobs in some areas but it is definitely true here, unless the DC drives, and has access to a car--or knows the right people at the local businesses!

We pay accommodation and DS lives off his min loan. Worked fine for the first year when lockdowns limited spending, but has got a p/t term time job this year in a chain coffee shop which seems to pay well, and he gets loads of free food! He's in Bristol and jobs seem plentiful.
Where we are in S London/Surrey borders PT jobs are very limited. Most are filled by Mums etc. We don't have local cafés, just chain stores where you have to go through central recruitment. We don't even have pubs in our immediate area. Despite being in London, out here public transport isn't great, and I can't see the point of DCs having jobs that I have to take them to!

Good point - lockdown did reduce spending options a lot!

See, this is the thing that lots of MN posters simply don't get about the jobs market. But they would tell you to move house!!

Good to know that there's jobs in Bristol with their accommodation all being eye watering! However, dd has been advised not to get a job at first until she knows the workload that her course entails.

DD’s loan covered accommodation and bills and we gave her £200 a month which was about £100 extra than before as our food bill went down and water. Last year that wasn’t enough really so was sending extra every so often so needs to go up this year.

Was hoping to have completed on either our house or my Nan’s which I have inherited a share in by the time term starts as currently have 3 sets of utility bills and will be both at university which was never planned, don’t think either will be through by then, DS has been allocated minimum loads but hope it will go up a bit when they process our financial details. Depending where he goes it will be unlikely to cover accommodation this time around and I am thinking we’ll have to pay him about £350 a month.

I was just reading about the Surrey Town I grew up in @Seeline , two of the big retailers have moved out in the shopping centre (surprised me😦) and apparently barely any pubs / restaurants anymore. It was fine for jobs when I grew up ..30 years ago..
Can imagine it's rubbish now. My sister's kids have had issues, the same bus routes run we used to use but the journey times are extortionate and unreliable. It just all sounds like so much effort.

Out of not in.

There’s loads of jobs in Birmingham @Piggywaspushed so ds2 should be fine once he’s here. It probably makes more sense for them to work in their uni city doesn’t it, as they spend longer there?

Kids round here work in supermarkets, pubs,restaurant, retail, McDonalds, local sports clubs etc. Public transport is good though which makes a big difference.

There are limited job options here (medium sized market town 10 miles from anywhere bigger). Several supermarkets, a few pubs, restaurants, coffee shops, high street shops. No fast food places apart from Subway. Very limited seasonal work unless you can get to one of the lavish out of town wedding venue type places or garden centres. Public transport limited especially in the evenings.

A friend who runs a pub says staffing is a nightmare now. He gets any number of students applying but he can't find experienced, full time or permanent staff for love nor money since Brexit and he needs a layer of those in between him and the casual staff. People who do want to make a career in hospitality are attracted to the chains instead as more prospects / management training schemes / apprenticeships etc.

@NCTDN this is a very popular option for student casual work for events in and around Bristol, you can pick the shifts which suit you - thewaitinggameltd.co.uk/ Your DD can sign up to their database without any commitment and see what is offered.

Thanks @Monkey2001

Yeah,not much seasonal work here either . Clarks hire for the summer.

I think he'll try to get a job in Birmingham but tbh, I think he'll live within his means. Birmingham SU and good for jobs apparently but stiff competition!

Lots of seasonal work down here but trying to get DS well rested so hopefully can finally get his medication stabilised and with a move imminent it hasn’t really been a good time to look for jobs. Once we have moved and he is wherever he ends up and meds stabilised then he can get work. He is getting a couple of small inheritances which will help him through if needs be though hoping he can save them.

DS was at a gig in local pub last night (the one where he’s done a few gigs) and didn’t get a drink (due to cash flow issues ie I have stopped giving out money) and one of his friends said he should get a job. One of the main people who work there said he can probably get some shifts there if he’d like so hoping that works out. He knows the people there quite well anyway and it would mean he’d get to watch more gigs so could be good.

Ds1 wants a job for 5 months as he's going to NZ in Jan. but every job he's applied to say no. I've told him it's not fair to apply for a graduate type job then leave in Jan. so he's applied for packing jobs, a restaurant job, driving jobs. Nothing.

Ds1 had almost full loan for university. It was enough. But he was in Norwich, that is a cheaper place to live than some places, first year was £170 week, he had a refund for the third term first year due to covid. Then spent a large chunk at home year 2. He still had rent and bills to pay. Ds2 won't get so much and cost of living in Sussex will be more. I have saved some money for all 3 dc's. Ds1 didn't need it. Ds2 definitely will as he's intending to go to USA year 3.

I don’t think we’ll be able to afford to top up to full loan. It so happened that for various reasons (dh home educating ds, then dh studying) we’ve only had one income until the last year or so, so we’ve never been able to save. Now dh has a job so dd will be getting minimum loan from year 2, but we’ve got to move to a more expensive house and area. Dd knows she will need to work either term time and/or holidays and she’s ok with that. I’m worried about energy bills if she goes into a student house in year 2 though 😬

@Piggywaspushed did your ds1 get through to his uni in the end? Does he know if his resit will affect his final mark?

With DD1 I got a wake up call a couple of yesr ahead after listening to colleagues with old kids. We started to put money away each month. We paid the shortfall in accommodation, all three years and £100 pm for food in years 2&3( catered in yr1)
DD worked hard before uni and had saved £3000 . She worked every holiday she could bar Covid period. DD2 doesn’t have anywhere near that but has £1700 CTF incl child savings. Luckily she has 4 pub shifts this week and I’ve urged her to save as much as she can for Freshers week.

His resit affects whether he passes his degree or not!

If he passes the resit he gets a mark of 40 which means a 2:2 (annoyingly he only needed to actually get 45 before to get a 2:1).

If he doesn't pass, he fails his degree....

Yes, he did talk to tutor in the end. Not massively helpful but at least there has been contact.

Eek that’s quite high stakes then! Good luck to him 🤞

@Piggywaspushed fingers crossed, can imagine your stress levels 💐It doesn’t seem to get easier does it.