Year 13 2024/2025 - support, discussion and looking after each other - continuation from year 12 thread

[elkiedee]

I've just realised that the year 12 2023/2024 thread is full - oops! - last message on 16 August - don't know if someone started another continuation thread but I can't see it. This coming year DS1 does A levels and university applications, DS2 will be in his GCSE year.

If there is a thread already started please let me know.

@Monstermunchy Liverpool is an amazing student city.Ds was there for 2 years. If it's the Mpharm one I assume LJMU which is fab, uni of great too but there is some rivalry. So cant be to unbiased! Dd off to lancaster hopefully, all done for accomodation requests but still struggling a bit with grades. EPQ back as an A so that's helped though!

@jamimmi yes Liverpool is fab. It’s Liverpool uni actually - MPlan - he’ll be happy there or Sheffield

My MIL's funeral has been arranged for a day when DS2 has an exam, so he'll not be able to attend the funeral. He's OK about it, and understands it just wasn't something that my FIL would be thinking about when it was booked.

I've messed up the student finance by forgetting to include my eldest as a dependent(!) so I need to contact them and see what I have to do. I don't know how much difference it will make tbh but as DH included him on his bit I need to find out. DC1 will be 20 in September and just finished at his specialist college (EHCP etc( but he's unlikely to get any kind of employment. He gets enhanced PIP.
Sorry for rambling on my brain is in overdrive this morning 🙈

Good luck to all

Condolences on your loss, @PennywisePoundFoolish. Good luck to your DS with his exams.

Sorry to hear that @PennywisePoundFoolish but good that your ds understands - it’s a tough time for you all

Sorry @PennywisePoundFoolish that is so tricky. We have not done finance yet!

So sorry for the loss of your MIL @PennywisePoundFoolish . Thinking of you all

Sorry for your loss @PennywisePoundFoolish. Wishing you and all the family strength for this tough times.

Good luck to everyone with exams over the next few weeks. Nearly there...

Any one else got Chemistry today? We had the practical last week. This for ds is a resit as he did AS but did not get what he wanted.

Thanks for the condolences

Good luck to your DS @mumonthehill I hope the exam goes well

DS2's first exam is the 22nd May as he's been exempted from doing Biology practical. He has quite bad Essential Tremors that get worse with his anxiety, and spills stuff everywhere(!). A shame, as he got a lot of enjoyment out of Biology, but Maths was always going to be the degree subject for him.

Good luck to all our young people

Good luck to your DS for chemistry today - and everyone else with exams this week.
Here, the first exam is May 20, further maths - getting closer!

Good luck for chemistry - my ds has his first this morning - geography

DD has her first written exam on Wednesday. She seems remarkably sanguine about the whole thing (hope not overconfident).

My DD has first exam tomorrow, I’m honestly not sure at the moment she will even be able to do it.

she has managed to get into a few lessons at the end of last week but only managed half a lesson yesterday.

it’s the worst paper of her worse subject first (still has high prediction but is not confident in that all)

I sway between thinking that’s bad because she’s dreading the first one but then it
if its not as bad as expected hopefully that makes her feel better for the rest whereas if she had an ‘easier’ one first that she found harder than expected that would set her on a downward spiral that they will all be bad.

she told me yesterday that a boy at one of the local grammars was found with a phone in his sock during economics yesterday.

Has your DD been ill or is it anxiety, @Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky? I hope she does make it in – once she gets in there she may well find it goes better than she expects.

@Changes17we are assuming it’s anxiety it came on about 3 weeks ago. She is very hard on herself so I think the pressure of exams and the worry of going to uni has caught up. She did have a sickness bug around 3 months ago which she hasn’t had since she was about 7 and I think that has fed into it as well, it may have been the trigger.

Sorry to hear about the anxiety, @Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky. DD has had anxiety at different times over the years and it is very difficult for everyone. I guess at this point you just need to focus on getting through it. One thing that DD finds very helpful when anxious is to make herself feel physically different which tends to lead to her feeling mentally different too. Obv difficult in an exam, but these are some of the things she uses to get past the feeling - hot bath, physical exercise, running her wrists under very cold water, sucking a mint or something else with a strong taste, eating ice cubes, sniffing an essential oil she likes. I'd definitely recommend as much physical exercise as you can fit in, and early nights. Getting enough sleep really helps.

In an exam, your DD might try the 5-4-3-2-1 (think of 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste) exercise to try and get back into the moment instead of worrying about things that might never happen, and this page has a few other techniques too: https://www.healthline.com/health/grounding-techniques#soothing-techniques

Hi, can I join? Wondering how many others were on the GCSE support threads 2 years ago and can’t believe how quickly the time has gone? Ds starts his exams next week, he seems very laid back about it all and I think I’m more nervous than him. Sorry to hear that some are struggling, I think the pressure at this point takes its toll, especially if they have hopes set on certain universities. Good luck to all

It is an anxious time @Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky - and a time of change as well. That sounds like very good advice from @BonjourCrisette.

@HippyChickMama welcome back. I also have a fairly laid back DS - and also just hope he’s doing enough!

DD went a bit nuts at times over GCSEs with doing too much and fretting. But she too is quite laid back this time. I can only hope that means she has cracked the whole exam thing rather than being too relaxed!! Fingers crossed, eh?!

Ds said chemistry went quite well which is quite a turnaround from when he sat it last year! He did say some of the year 12's found it a bit hard. He is so over school, but goes on study leave on Friday.

Maybe that’s it for the laid back ones, it’s only been two years since the last big exams and then regular mocks. I kind of wish ds was doing a bit more, he has a fairly high offer for his first choice university and really wants to get in. Apparently, they’ve done nothing but revision and practise questions since Easter though, so who knows?
Ds was more anxious about GCSEs and we found that the rescue remedy pastilles helped him

Sorry to hear things are rough @Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky . It's a really tricky time. One saving grace is that there is a finite end point - stressors sometime can be easier to manage if you focus on the fact that by x date it will be a thing of the past.

welcome back @HippyChickMama - DC1 also has a really high offer for her first choice uni, and could probably do with knuckling down a bit more. Every time I put my head round her door and she's arsing about on the internet it worries me.

glad things went ok today @mumonthehill. Nice to start exam season with a positive experience!

Thanks @BonjourCrisettei have sent that link to her. I picked her up from her gf’s house tonight and she seemed quite calm. Her gf had come across a t shirt in the charity shop with a hamlet quote on so she was wearing that when I picked her up. It’s safe to say Hamlet is not her favourite 😂

I have been wfh last 2 weeks to drop her to school every day as she’s too worried to get the bus - I have a meeting tomorrow so must go in. I’ll be dropping her about 7.30 so I can get there in time.

Sending positive thoughts for tomorrow @Fluffycloudsfloatinginthesky . That exam will be over forever before very long.