Year 13 2024 - General support thread part 2

[Rollergirl11]

All welcome as our young people head in to their last full term before the summer exams. Between UCAS applications, receiving offers/rejections, learning to drive and taking driving tests, revising for mocks and sitting them the pace hasn’t let up for our DC.

This thread has been a lovely supportive and immensely helpful place to talk as we guide our DC’s through this challenging time!

Old thread here https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/further_education/4851165-year-13-20232024-general-support-thread?page=40&reply=132323436

Thanks everyone. Currently in Kuala Lumpur with DD before flying onto Borneo in a few hours.

Well done on finishing A levels and hope everyone enjoys the summer holidays and gets the results they want. Final maths went fine and glad over.

Good luck re step Ithink I am sure your DS will do well.

Thanks, well done to everyone who has finished, hope your young people have enjoyable summers and a chance for some R&R.

I did feel a bit annoyed when the weekly newsletter from sixth form arrived declaring that "the last exam has finished"!! DS just wanted to chill this afternoon after Chemistry this morning but hopefully he can find the energy for some last minute prep over the weekend. As others have said I have appreciated the supportive atmosphere of this thread, thanks all.

to you all. What wonderful weather for our young people now they’ve finished - the opposite of Sod’s Law!

Oh wow @Penguinsa you're doing the trip DS (DC2) would love to do and which we’ve talked about - enjoy and please do report back!

DD had her DSA needs assessment and it went v well. My prep had included looking on MN in Higher Ed, where I saw a v helpful post by @Jaxx about, amongst other things, Brain in Hand which we’d not heard of. It meant that I’d already had a look at it and made a note to raise it, so when the assessor did I could assure DD I thought it’d be helpful to her.

And… I crossed posts with @IThinkIMadeItWorse , sorry your DS still has more, ugh. DD’s were over a full month but thankfully finished last week. It’s hard to keep momentum going when there’s a long time period.

We finished on chemistry today. She told me to leave her alone to chill today and she'll hang out with me tomorrow. Looking forward to spending the summer with her!

Good luck to your DD for Monday @IThinkIMadeItWorse. Hope you and your DD have a fabulous time on your long awaited trip @Penguinsa.

I have 2 school leavers in this household now. Seems hard to believe. People tell you at the start of secondary that it flies by and it really does. Within that time we have had a global pandemic, an ADHD diagnosis and Anorexia to battle with. It’s been tough but we have got through it. I’ve been anticipating semi empty nest syndrome come September when DD goes to uni so I applied for and got a job at the DC’s school. So whilst I will no longer have children attending our ties are not severed. A new chapter begins for me also in September! 😃

It’s hard to believe that this thread has been going since our DC’s started in Year 10. It has been a real godsend and a thoroughly supportive space. I will keep an eye on when this thread fills up and start a new one so we can discuss results and any other business.

Enjoy your summers everyone! ☀️🌅🕶️

Thank you @Rollergirl11 and good luck with your new role at your DC's (former) school.

DD has gone off to see Taylor Swift today. Up and out by 8.15am. Unheard of except for on school days (previously). Spent all of yesterday making bead bracelets with her besties.

She's counting down the days 'til her holiday. She's complaining that she's not got enough social things going on over the summer. I pointed out that she might be wise to book in more shifts at work while she's got a lull in her social calendar but that didn't go down too well!

I only found this thread recently so have been a reader rather than a contributor, but just wanted to say well done to all the DC who have made it through their A levels, and all you mums for your DC through them. These are probably the most stressful set of exams they will ever have to do. Hope everyone gets the results they need!

Hope the step goes fine Ithink and glad exams are over and can enjoy the summer and hope everyone gets results they want and well done for getting through them.

Thanks Writer and Rollergirl. DD and I are currently in Borneo and have WiFi at the moment. It's been a lovely break and seen orangutans and sunbears in Sepilok today, staying at Sepilok Nature Resort. Just back from Kinabantagan river where we had several boat trips and saw orangutans, pygmy elephants, crocodile, probiscus monkeys, other monkeys and birds in the wild. Hotel there had 600 wooden steps but amazing. If you want any details Writer just PM me. Would recommend though 2 flights to get here but pretty good value after flights. Flights are pricey but we had Air Asia credits from 2020. Also went to Agnes Newton Keith's house. Few pics from Sepilok and ANK house.

Thanks @Penguinsa he thinks it went quite well this morning, I'm very glad he is now done!

Your holiday pics look amazing, what an adventure. I'm looking forward to our family holiday in July. I have just realised that result day is seven weeks on Thursday and I'm sure the time will just fly by.

That's great Ithink I think with maths it's easier to tell how you've done, and so hopefully that means his in to Cambridge. DD gave me exact estimated percentages for each of the maths exams but the essay ones she had a best guess but less sure. Have a lovely holiday.

Just been to dinner here with DD whose eating was so impressive the waiter asked her what her name was. She is thin but very active and can eat like a horse. She ordered herself a pizza, a portion of chips and a chocolate cake with ice cream and a fruit juice immediately on entering then later called the waiter over for another fruit juice.

Well done to all DCs who are through the exams, @IThinkIMadeItWorse hope that includes you now?

It's been a long hard slog for sure...odd to think DS will be doing it next year. He had a brilliant holiday with friends although got a tummy bug on last day so spent last night of holiday in hotel room watching Bulgarian tv while friends partied! Still not through the bug. He has two weeks of school left.

@Rollergirl11 predictably based on your info there was a fine on checking out for broken mugs which the boys are sure was fabricated but paid in order to get passport of lead booker back. Cash only of course...

Thanks for sharing the photos @Penguinsa it looks incredible!

@Rollergirl11 meant to say well done getting the job! We live next to DS's school & I'd love to work there...after he's finished though...

DS has started clearing his room. Fortunately our recycling gets collected in a couple of days. Considering so much is done online now he has still managed to generate a huge amount of waste paper! I think it's going to take a while before the room is really fit for human habitation again but at least he's started!
We're off out for a family meal to celebrate the end of the exams tonight as my elder son got home from University yesterday. He's done well in his second year exams so a double excuse to go out!

@legosnowqueen that sucks! Hope it wasn’t too much! The reviews I saw said that many youngsters in Zante had been scammed out of lots of money by being shown fake cctv footage (that wasn’t even them) and preying on the fear of the police being called and missing flights to make them pay up. It’s horrible isn’t it that some people use naivety and inexperience to scam them out of money.

Thanks ref the job. I think DS would have throttled me if I’d started working there while he was still attending but thankfully I won’t be an embarrassment to him. 😂

I’ve hardly seen my two for the last week. Glad that we finally have some nice weather. ☀️🌅

DD's prom tonight. She is currently doing first level preparation, then there is gathering at one friend's house and going to another one and then onto the venue. I think! I am taking her to first friend's house and have said I want to see as many prom ready girls as possible 😃

Glad it’s still sunny here - much nicer than a rainy prom would have been.

Hope your DD and friends have a fab evening. It's good to have had a break after the exams. DD's was last week and they were all too exhausted to enjoy it.

Hope your DD enjoys prom tonight @MirandaWest

My DS has his on Saturday. He is currently on holiday with friends so the house is very quiet and I’m getting a taste of what it will be like when he goes to uni in September.
Also loving the sunny weather, although I notice it’s a lot cooler from tomorrow onwards.

@MirandaWest - hope the Prom is epic tonight!

Thanks Lego. Glad your DS had a good holiday.

Enjoy the proms those DC who have them.

Flying back to Kuala Lumpur from Borneo with DD today after a lovely rainforest breakfast here in the tropical gardens. Been wonderful for DD and I to do this adventure together. She goes on holiday with her boyfriend to Kefalonia on 4th to an AI place, think she will do a couple of days punting tours work inbetween. Then more punting work after that. She did the May Ball fireworks one the other day. Went to orangutans, sunbears and RDC in Sepilok. Will just be overnight stay in KL as want to get back to our lovely boys ASAP.

All of DDs friendship group met before prom and they nicely tolerated a few mums taking many photos! It’s only about a mile from here as the crow flies although there’s a river in between!

Hope your DD had a fab prom @MirandaWest! I’m with you on being able to see as many prom ready girls; it’s really lovely seeing them all dressed up and dazzling.

@space99 how have you fared with your DS being on holiday this week? DD goes on Sunday and I am ever so slightly apprehensive about it. Mainly because DD is a bit of a worrier and is not the most resilient of DC’s. Everything will be fine if all goes to plan but if something goes wrong I think she could crumble a little bit. Fingers crossed that there are no incidents!! Probs doesn’t help that the last holiday she had DD got salmonella and had to be hospitalised for 2 days, only being discharged on the day we were flying home.

Prom is not until next Friday here, which is just as well as every evening this week has been swallowed up by rehearsals for DD's last dance school show at the weekend. In joyful news she passed her driving test on Tuesday (at the 3rd attempt) so now has a summer of independence to look forward to.

Have just seen DD - prom was good :) They went out afterwards and some of them stayed over but DD got picked up by DH at around 1. She felt she'd got it right in terms of when she came home in terms of how much sleep she had and she seemed quite perky and told me many things!

@Rollergirl11 DD and one of her friends are going to Barcelona on Sunday and coming back on Thursday. I'm quite glad that the temperatures look like they will be mid to high 20s rather than 30s when they are out there.

She should be back in time for voting but has appointed me as proxy in case she's not. She's taking voting very seriously and has been looking at all the literature we've been receiving!

She's got a choir concert on Saturday with a final rehearsal tomorrow evening.

DD has already cast her postal vote as she'll be away; she's on route to the airport now. I'm determined not to worry all the time! But like @Rollergirl11 's DD, mine was ill on the last holiday, has bad luck with travel and is fully expecting some adverse effects of the sun. Really hoping all goes well.