Thread 38 Covid Cohort, After Results Day

[CinnamonOrangeCremeBrulee]

ALL our children are heroes of their own stories, they have thrived through a once in a century catastrophe and they will succeed

This is a support thread for our young adults post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting, and their results (life updates for those who went into work or have had results earlier). 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 Sept?

Previous thread

www.mumsnet.com/talk/further_education/4613457-thread-37-covid-cohort-2020-results-thread-heroes-of-their-own-stories

All the way into town to sort a transfer to a student account, only to be told we had to do it online!

He still has loads of money stuck in a kiddy savings account though which they didn't seem to be very clear about!

@Seeline

my son was at UEA too, Paston House - there are no supermarkets within walking distance - he used to have Tesco delivery every 2 weeks and then top up with milk etc at the campus shop when needed - there is usually line of supermarket deliveries going in every day

For everyone else re: the uni balls, I would check with the individual uni's (maybe on their Student union facebook page?) but as far as I understand from my 3 DS's who all went to different uni's they dress as if they are going to a nightclub, they are not black tie

Our student loan issues for them both are now looking sorted. DS’s now shows on my account and DD’s does too. No idea how they failed to link DS’s to me having emailed me to say I needed to support it but all’s well that ends well (hopefully).

@278Newnames some of the prices are steep and and I know where you are coming from.

Trying to keep up.
Ds1 announced yesterday he had lost his Nottingham Uni password. I told him to ring them today. He told me I was stressing him out this morning.

I‘m a bit miffed with HSBC as their student account is for ‘new customers only’ and DS already banks with them. They’ve always been good / easy so he wanted to stay but wants student perks. Very short sighted of them - a fine way to push customers to other banks!

Is that the case? My son has banked with HSBC since the age of 11 so if their student account is new customers only he will definitely be moving.

Oooh, I have just re-read and may have misunderstood, it might be haven’t held an hsbc student account before. Sorry HSBC!

I thought it was that they couldnt continue to hold both a current account AND a student account with the same bank according to Martin Lewis' page. So we need to open a new one elsewhere as well as we want to keep the current account.

Thanks @heifer! I think other than bank account, I’m going to focus on moving house these next two weeks and not worry too much about uni stuff. There’s also ds’ GCSE results this morning and dd suddenly faffing as she hasn’t got a tent or a rucksack for Reading! Hopefully we’ll have a couple of weeks to pick up stuff before she goes.

Dd is taking all her clothes except shorts. I’m not looking at course books before she goes, she can sort that out when she gets there! I think she prob needs a small clothes airer and maybe a new rug as hers is a bit manky. Are there any other essentials I’ve overlooked (for catered)?

Ds’ GCSE results are this week not this morning!

I just had to dig out DS’s student finance letter and I noticed for the fees loan it’s showing as £9,000 per term but I’m sure his email from Leicester says £9,250 per term? Do we need to make a whole new application?

@Fiddlersgreen per term? 😮

No ignore me, it’s per year of course!
and we just logged into his student finance account on the government website and it’s showing correctly there so we’ve printed that out instead. Sorry!

That would be because he was going to Cardiff - fees £9k in Wales.

@Seeline I can’t seem to find any photos, but from what I can remember Crome Court is the newest of the 3 blocks (Barton, Hickling and Crome) but the rooms are very similar. However, Crome doesn’t have any shelves above the bed and there’s no built-in storage under the bed, but there is room for plastic storage boxes with lids. I measured the height when we got there and drove to the local ASDA to buy some to go underneath. There’s a small wardrobe in the room plus 3 coat hooks on the wall opposite the shower room, but I also bought an over-the-door coat-hook to hang on the outside of the shower room door and a couple of small table lamps. My DS also took a fan with him as it was pretty warm for the first month or so. A lot of the girls had fairy lights which they stuck to the walls with Command strips. Feel free to DM me if you think of anything else.

Thank you @Cafeconleche that's really useful - I'm sure there will be queries in the next couple of weeks!

Ah that makes sense @Monkey2001 I hadn’t realised the fees were different. At least the student finance updated automatically once we change the university

We've had a productive day here. Dd was engaged in writing a packing and shopping list. Then when we went to LIDL for some stuff for tea and we managed to pick up a few bits from the list. Dd is now cooking tea, a recipe from her student cookbook.

That'll probably be it for this week, I'm working the next few days and the weekend. Dd is volunteering at a guide camp Friday-Monday.

DD has joined several WhatsApp groups and has made contact with some flatmates.

We're off to watch the Hundred cricket tomorrow at the Oval so hoping that the rain can hold off for another day!

We are going to the Hundred at Lord's on Wednesday!

DD also cooking tea from new cookbook! (To be fair she often did, and in fact this is her own copy of our go-to cookbook.)

She did online registration today and found she'd been awarded a small merit award for getting good A level grades! Unfortunately it's a discount from the fees rather than cash in hand, so it will all come out in the wash with loan interest, but it's the thought that counts.

We went last year @Piggywaspushed and had a really good time. First time I had got the kids to come with me - I normally watch test cricket.

What did your dd make @PhotoDad ? And what's the cookbook out of curiosity?

Dd hasn't done much cooking at all during a-levels. She's got a reasonable understanding because I love cooking and food so plenty of exposure, but isn't very dexterous so needs to practice. She did a good job with a simple pasta dish from the Nosh book that could definitely be a meal she makes for herself.

Wow! From the uni?

DS has stayed with Nationwide for his bank account, it was all fairly straightforward apart from having to read endless sets of T&Cs over and over. I think it said they would send him a new card but his old one still works.

We had a successful visit to the RAU today, booked in on a campus tour a few weeks ago. Arrived early and walked into town and back. There weren't many on the tour so it was easy to ask questions and we were shown DS's actual room. It is such a small uni its more like a college in feel.

Then went to Ikea on the way home. DS is in catered halls so didn't buy kitchen stuff but did get duvet and pillows, laundry and waste paper baskets, more blue bags, a clip on desk lamp and a few other bits.

@cantonet not sure which stage you are at with DSA but of its either the approval to have the assessment or the approval of the assessment report do check the SFE portal. Our attachments didn't go through first time when we applied.