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

Wheresthebeach so sorry about your DD, the physios are right with playing the long game but it must be so frustrating for her when she was at such a high level.

Not buying anything until after results day here either when we know where he'll be going and find out if catered or self-catered.

DS is currently on a lads holiday in Spain, I have been getting the daily "I'm alive" texts I requested so far but today imessages aren't delivering to him and I suspect he may have lost his phone last night as i hasn't updated its location since 2140. Thankfully he took an old phone out with him. I have messaged one of his friends who may or may not reply (I know he hasn't replied to his mum the last two days!) just trying to check if he is ok. I'm sure he probably is but would like to know...

It's a bit different for DS re buying stuff as his offer is so low there is very little chance he won't meet it and also he moves in on the 11th Sept so a couple of weeks earlier than many. He doesn't want to take too much though as he thinks it will be easier to manage without too much clutter. He didn't take much to boarding, just essentials.

Hope you hear from him soon @272Newnames

I haven't bought anything yet either. Don't want to tempt fate. Like reading the ideas though, definitely going to do the emergency box.
Hope the Scottish Highers have gone ok for anyone getting results today. The BBC headlines about the grades being lower has made me feel a bit sick even though we always knew it was going to be the case ☹️

Ps hope you hear from him soon @272Newnames. I was demented when mine went off interrailing for a couple of weeks. Tracking seemed to make it worse for me!!

@272Newnames fingers crossed you get a text! Dd rang me at 11.45 last night to update me on boys they’d met at this festival with funny names 😂 I thought something must be wrong for her to be ringing me so late!

I can’t think of much to buy other than the airer. I think dd will just take current bedding, cushions etc and some old mugs/plates as she’s catered. She doesn’t seem fussed about getting new stuff.

Oh the joys! Just received a penalty notice for my car. I want driving it. It was for when DD2(18) was picking other DD(21) and friend up after midnight and driving in a bus lane! She didn’t know 🙄it was a bus lane as never driven there and DD1’s friend directed her that way so they are now arguably over who should pay as. One thing’s for sure, it ain’t me!!

• I wasn’t driving
• arguing

@Benjispruce4 That's frustrating! Is it a straight fine or are points involved?

No news as yet, I'm sure tracking probably does make it worse @Sallyingon

I haven't bought anything yet. If DD doesn't get her grades, not sure what she will do with insurance having been withdrawn. She was sooo picky about the original courses she applied for, and Liberal Arts isn't particularly common so not sure clearing will be an option.
If she does get the grades, her course starts on 19th Sept, so not long to get ready.
We don't seem to have spares to take. If she took her bedding it would have to come home with her every time, which would mean I would have to collect her every time, which I'm not going to do.

@Seeline yes even the liberal arts courses on clearing are still really high grades. I'm hoping that because DDs insurance is in clearing, it means there's more flexibility on grades.

Just a straight £35.

@Benjispruce4 we had that too - DS went through 2 "bus gates" 1 minute apart. We have paid 1 and appealed 1 (on the basis that to go through the second one you had to have been through the first, so it should be 1 fine) and shared the cost 50:50 and DS is paranoid about studying the roads and feels that it makes him less aware of genuine hazards. I hate the fines which do not have a good reason - why do you need bus lanes after midnight anyway? I only support the concept of bus lane fines when traffic would affect the speed of public transport.

A UCAS expert on The Student Room has done a great post about results day, what things mean and what to do, it is well worth a read - www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7234549

This is from the post linked above:

On results day in 2017 (2018 and 2019 were similar, 2020 and 2021 were weird):
58% of applicants were unconditional with their FIRM
5% were unconditional with their INSURANCE
1% of applicants were already unconditional with a clearing choice (Scottish/IB/reapplicants who had their results)
15% of applicants were in limbo waiting for a decision from either their firm or insurance.
22% were in clearing (either because they had no offers initially, didn't accept an offer initially or both their firm and insurance had rejected them).*

By the end of Clearing last year:
62% of applicants were unconditional with their FIRM
6% were unconditional with their INSURANCE
6% were unconditional with a CLEARING choice
5% were still in limbo (these are usually international students who don't bother sending through their results or cancelling their applications)
0.1% were unconditional with an ADJUSTMENT choice
21% were still in clearing (because they decided to take a gap year or are international and had a place in a university in another country).*

So about half the limbo UCAS people end up with their Firm, about half find a place through clearing and a smidge end up with their insurance.

Very interesting stats @Monkey2001, will go and read the post. I didn't realise you could be in limbo awaiting a decision from your firm or insurance, I would have hoped that they had made their decisions by then.

We are not even looking at clearing until the day before for a more realistic picture of what may or may not be available. Hopefully DS should get into his firm, or if not his insurance. The looking at clearing will hopefully be wasted time but I wouldn't want ot get there and have no idea just in case.

DS is absolutely fine, he texted DH to ask if I was getting any of his messages (which I am not), and to let me know he's ok. No hangovers and no tattoos apparently

@Monkey2001 I’m amazed that the percentage is so low for insurance choices. I guess pre-Covid first choices were more lenient about dropped grades or more was available in clearing so less need to have a very safe insurance that you liked.

@NCTDN 🍀!

@singingstones I don't have that one 

Possibly a bit premature but i've added a new thread for when we are ready
New Thread

Very interesting figures @Monkey2001 ,thanks for posting them. Someone we know had to wait for around a week for Bristol to accept her as it was vet med and she dropped a chemistry grade. Another got stuck in limbo where she had the grades but firm choice hadn’t accepted her due to some kind of weird error and another got rejected as exam board accidentally sent her previous year’s maths result instead of the resit.

After a slight panic where I couldn’t find them, DS’s GCSE certificates and also passport plus red book are coming in car with me instead of removal lorry. I have coloured dot sticker for each room and DS and DH look at me sideways occasionally as if I am losing the plot. I could well be !

Chip shop chips and bubbly 🍾 is a good move in tea @Volterra !

That is what we do when friends and family move too!

Excellent idea!

@Volterra well done! I think you said you are moving into rented, so presumably don't have the usual stress of having to sit in a van until completion. Have you managed to move everything out of the house? I could not begin to imagine moving, we have so much STUFF!!!!

That’s interesting @Monkey2001 as i had thought the firm would simply say yes or know within 12 hours.
I’m home on results day as I work term time but DH not. I’ve asked him to take the day off so we can share any fall-out.😬

Bubbly and chips go so well together but don’t forget the mayo!