Year 13 -2025/26 - Support, discussion and looking after each other - thread 2 - exam time

[SilverBlue4]

Here we go

We are all melting in the heat here. DS normally loves hot and sunny so he’s been enjoying the last few days, but today even he’s struggled. 36C but feels like 45C here in Surrey. I am longing for some thunderstorms to clear the air and give me a break from watering the garden! Glad your DS made it safely home despite the weather and delays, @SilverBlue4. Hope your DS is home safely too after his D of E, @HighburyHope, I can’t imagine hiking in this weather!

Congratulations to your DS on his coaching job, @Fabfabfab, sounds perfect! And fantastic news on the internship, @HighburyHope, well done to your DD!

@Echobelly, your DC travels sound fabulous, as do your own holiday plans!

Hope you enjoy your DA parents event, @MiniMidiMaxiand manage to keep cool. Nice of them to make an effort with the parents.

@Katymaus, great that your DD is feeling more positive and enjoying all the post-exam meetings ups and activities. In a way her sadness to leave school was also a good sign, it means she has had happy school years!

Hope your DC enjoyed their proms, @Ventress, @Lalux, @HighburyHope and others. DS has a graduation type event followed by leavers’ ball on Friday, which both involve parents and are black tie. I am so glad I am in a dress and hope they relax the dress code for the men as it’s looking to be another very hot day.

As quite a few of us seem to have Exeter as firm or insurance, I just saw that they are proposing to cut 150 jobs, and the union say the cuts are mainly in humanities and social sciences. Not great!

@ComingInByAnsible yes I saw the worrying news about Exeter redundancies and feel concerned as it will primarily affect the Humanities. Really hope DC will get his firm, otherwise he may consider clearing. When we went to the OHD at Warwick, they said their History department is growing rather than reducing which seems really unusual. I know Bristol had voluntary redundancies this year and Lancaster and Leicester seem to be in a terrible place too. Not sure aside from Warwick what universities, if any, are 'safe' (or even how accurate it is that Warwick is definitely planning to expand).

Not sure how much longer I can cope with this heat btw, it's 30 degrees currently inside my house. which is south facing with lots of glass...Tempted to check into a hotel with air con but it seems a bit extreme having to do that!

Hope the last few days of prom events go well and are not cancelled. I'm having to seriously re-consider my attire for tomorrow's leaving ball as I have a long dress with sleeves - not sure I will last the whole evening as I doubt there's any air con (think we may be in a marquee). I guess it's better than having to wear a suit though....

@balkanscot

you poor thing, the sounds really stressful! We have have various panics to try to organise an emergency carer for tomorrow so the DH and DH can go to the UCL open day! Then, last night they emailed to say the open days were off!
Oh well. Mixed mind. I really wanted DH to see the the campus and DS see the halls.

apologies for the lack of support for your for their final exams. I was supporting you from my bed!

Oh gosh.so much to catch up on. I hope and your Dc are enjoying the heat

slovokia sounds amazing @Echobelly

as do your dc proms’ how fantastic!

well done!

I haven’t been too well this week and DH has been trying to arrange nursing care for tomorrow but

ucl have now cancelled their open days tomorrow and Saturday! Oh well. No panic on the organisation of care for tomorrow anyway

Sending best wishes @Ventress x

Agree with @Fabfabfab. DS has exeter as his insurance but has always said he wouldn’t accept anywayelse, seems to be UCL or knowhere!

Warwick were on clearance for history last year at CCC.

DC got back yesterday afternoon, sounds like they have a chilled out , fun time.

Leavers' dance tomorrow night at school - I'm got their shoes for it repaired while they were away.

So sorry you're not well @Ventress I hope things get easier soon. Sending healing vibes

@Ventress so sorry to hear you are feeling so unwell this week. It's funny how we don't actually know other, yet I feel a lot of genuine care about you all. Really hope you are ok.

Dc has now finished school and all the leaver's events and celebrations are over. He had his leavers ball on Thursday (with parents invited too!) and it was a really lovely celebration. He then went clubbing yesterday with all his friends and had a great time. Felt a bit emotional seeing him leaving school for the last time but he is ready for his next adventure.

How's everyone else's DC getting on with saying their goodbyes? Any tears? Hope all the holidays are going well!

Oh no, @Ventress, so sorry to read that you are so unwell, sending you every healing wish and thought. Totally agree with @Fabfabfab that even though we haven’t met offline I feel much love and care for you and others on this thread, as well our lovely YP. Hope that now that the weather has cooled off a bit, your body can recover. 💐

I am only now beginning to think more clearly after the heatwave, so grateful for a few cooler days. It’s been busy here with DS’s leavers’s ball, DD’s prom, and DS leaving for his post-A level adventure with his friends (they have just landed in Spain).

@Fabfabfab, your DS’s leaver’s ball sounds lovely and very similar to my DS’s. Ours also involved parents and was a lovely touching event (and yes, pretty emotional too). Can’t believe he has officially left school now! The optician asked him yesterday whether he was in full-time education and he had to pause and think about it as it’s a weird in-between time!

Glad your DC is safely back from the holiday and had a good time, @Echobelly, hope their leavers’ dance went well well too.

Yes we also were told by Warwick that they are ok financially, @Fabfabfab and @Ventress. Fingers crossed that’s true and that DS gets in. PPE is super competitive and doesn’t tend to have much flexibility on results days unfortunately so it’s going to be an anxious wait. DS had been pretty relaxed because he loves Exeter, but the proposed job cuts have made it a much less attractive option. Cynical me thinks they have waited to make the announcement until most of the 26 starters have made their choices! I suspect both UCL and Durham are fine financially as well though so all should be well for your sons 🤞

< Waving from the Greek islands > 👋🏻

I’m so sorry to hear you’ve been unwell @Ventress I hope you are feeling better very soon, I’m sure the heat hasn’t been helping.

It’s very hot here but there is a strong breeze, a/c and a swimming pool so far more manageable. It was terrible at home before we left.

DS is enjoying his lads holiday, although some more people have turned up from his school and another local school at his hotel so I imagine it’s turning into a home from home!! 😂

Hope everyone is now more relaxed and getting used to not constantly feeling under pressure

@Ventress hope the cooler weather is easier for you. Will there be another open day in time for your DS making his accommodation choices?

Ds and his 9 friends have had a great week in Portugal and are all safely home! Some lessons learned but only minor mishaps that they were able to solve themselves!

It looks as if DS will now be deferring his Warwick place (assuming he gets the grades 😬) as he’s had a fairly amazing job offer associated with his main hobby which will scratch a big itch of his! (pretty outing which is why I’m being vague).

.

Thank you @ComingInByAnsible, @Fabfabfab, @JustHereWithMyPopcorn- sounds amazing! Hope you are enjoying your self 😊
and everyone else. You are completely lovely. I think @ComingInByAnsiblehas it spot on!
I am moving shortly to palliative care. With that in mind, I spoke to my sister, who does doe things in school data , and she said that UCAS are

1. very protective of their data and don’t release it under any circumstances, and,
2. only get it about working days before everyone else and them release them to schools and colleges 2 day’s early.

she said the schools or colleges will do what they can but there’s a disconnect between schools and ucas in the, ucas have the raw scores but not grades and schools have grades!

@Ventress you have carried your troubles so lightly on these threads, and been so caring of everyone else. I hope that the palliative team have their very best care ready and waiting for you, and that come August you will be here basking in pride on results day along with the rest of us. (I know we will all be so proud, regardless of results).

We enjoyed a lovely graduation ceremony for DD this week. She even got an academic prize. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera ready, as there was no forewarning! But what a special (if extremely hot) finish to her school years. So nice to see that others have had lovely celebrations and happy proms too.

Everyone has said it so eloquently already but another one out here who is thinking of you @Ventress. From the small snapshots on here, both you and your son seem such lovely folk.

A successful prom here albeit on the hottest day of the year and DD now in Italy on her girls' trip.

Adding my best wishes to @Ventress - you are so supportive of others and I hope you have enough support around you.

@Ventress sending love to you and DS x

We are now on our family holiday (we headed to Scandinavia and thought we were escaping the heat but Denmark have reported their highest June temperatures too!). Exams seem a long and distant memory!

Glad to hear the proms were enjoyed and that holidays are well underway. @Ventress I agree with everyone else, you’ve been instrumental in the vibe of this thread (and the uni recipe one!), it’s great to have you here and I’m thinking of you and your family.

We went to DS's prospective DA offer holders’ day and it all looked pretty impressive, plus a really nice motivated group of students. He will be gutted if he misses out, but we’re fairly optimistic (touch wood). I can’t see him changing his mind and switching to his Bath offer. So I’ll be keen to hear about others’ experiences post September, hope we can keep this thread going.

@Ventressas everyone else has said you’ve been so supportive of all our DCs. Sending so much love to you, your DS and family.

Lovely to hear of all the celebrations and holidays. DS very much enjoyed his prom and is now getting ready for his holiday with friends on Thursday- in fact he’s just asked me if I will fold his socks for him

@Ventress I had not realised things were quite at that stage, I’m so, so sorry. @HighburyHope puts things so perfectly, sending love and strength to you and your family. 💐

Just coming back on to add my very best wishes to @Ventress and that I'm thinking of you and your family. I'm so sorry you're all having to go through this.

DS is feeling the post-exam blues a lot, and there are friendship/other issues he's struggling with, too. I think he's sad about knowing he'll miss his friends and the life of his 6th form, and he can't yet grasp that there will be other good times to come, but in different forms. He's had a few parties and his school ball to look forward to, but I think he's finding these bittersweet. He's not one for the glass half-full, my older son!

The heat has been horrible for us and I'm still a bit in shock that it's much cooler now. I keep on thinking 'no, we can't do that, it's too hot' and then realising that it isn't any more!

I have trousers to take up for DS's ball so had better crack on with that. Good vibes to everyone who is finding the adjustment this summer hard to manage.

@Ventress thinking of you and your family. Xxx

DD is very much enjoying no school! She is busy with props for 2 shows and has even braved the pub with friends and had a drink..( she was 18 in September) Her prom is on Thursday and she's very excited by it.

She is busy collecting things she will need for Uni...paint brushes, screw drivers etc.....

I'm still waiting for surgery for dodgy mass on lung. Had kind of hoped it would be in term time so a few days off work, but it looks like will be end of July now...

Oh goodness @Ventresssorry to hear your news, palliative care teams are amazing people, so you will have the best care available. You have been a rock on this thread and others. All my best wishes ❤️🙏