The CDE of University Life (2019/20 cohort) - assignments, flat-hunting, Halloween and the end of their first term fast approaching

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Previous thread - Obvs the end of term is looming sooner for some than for others? I guess the Oxbridge posse will finish by the end of November or just into December?

Hope they're all safe. So hard to tell on a Friday night when a fair number will be out.
((hugs)) to anyone with students there.

Please remind your students to get out even if they don't think it's a real one.
Having been in a hotel fire (well 2 actually!) you'd be amazed at the number of people who think they'll just get dressed and there's no hurry. On one of them there were still people having to be chased out of rooms half an hour after the alarm first sounded.

My god that's terrifying I hope everyone is safe.

What an awful thing to happen. Hoping everyone is safe and accounted for. Do all student halls have on-site wardens of some sort?

It keeps preying on my mind. We are seeing DD today and I will talk to her about it, and make sure she is able to grab her essential stuff (medications) if she has to make a hasty exit.

Thank goodness it didn't happen in the middle of the night.

Terrible thing to have happened. Hope everyone is ok.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/nov/15/fire-crews-battle-blaze-at-bolton-student-housing-building

The fire in Bolton is truly shocking, from the reports at least no fatalities or serious injuries thank goodness. According to the Graun report in the link 40 - yes 40, not 4, - fire engines attended the scene which gives a sense of how serious it must have been.

Phew so glad nobody was seriously hurt

Awful! Lots of families anxious I'm sure. Very much hoping that those initially unaccounted for were simply out on a Friday night & dossed down at a friend's.

Note how the comments are that they didn't all respond to the alarm because they didn't believe it. Our DCs MUST know to not ignore, no matter how many times it's just Alex in flat 7 who forgot the toaster again!

Really awful - how scary for everyone involved Hope all students take note.

Not all halls do have wardens /24 hour porter , famously or notoriously depending on your outlook Bristol has no wardens and this was one thing that occurred to me when We looked st the accommodation. , it was a rabbit warren and the students seemed very vague on things like security etc

The other thing about student accommodation is that there are often extra bodies or people staying elsewhere so accurate numbers must be very difficult to obtain

@Peaseblossom22, there are loads of halls in Bristol - DDs city centre one did seem to have a warden when we moved her in IIRC and not rabbit warren-like.... But this was 2 years ago!

DS last year had to point out that requiring key card EXIT was a fire safety nightmare in his brand new accommodation. It was changed. But it shouldn’t take an on-the-ball student to point that sort of thing out.

Surely there were fire exits? That’s illegal @Lancelottie

@Peaseblossom22 - the thing about accurate numbers is a very good point, virtually impossible I'd say. From r4 just now not all residents yet accounted for - fingers crossed that simply a case of being out on a Friday night or gone home for the weekend.

Some of the quotes from students around alarms not heard, not working are a concern and need to be properly investigated.

boys3
Someone posted on the other thread at 1am that everyone was accounted for and I thought that was unrealistic.
I would be surprised if there weren't some people who had gone home or gone off to their mates for the weekend and hadn't even picked up that there had been a fire, hence not checked in. I'd bet there were students out in clubs at town who just stayed out and bedded down with friends and are only just getting up.

Reminded my dd about getting out even if they think it's a false one, and she says they get into trouble if they stay in, which is good.

DD went to the nightclub you mentioned Zanda and hated it. She had a panic attack and went to the quieter end later. She won't be going back. It was too crowded and she hated the "music"

Gin oh no! My Dd certainly isn’t really into ‘heavy’ clubbing so sounds like she needs to avoid a few others too. Luckily, as we’ve said before, there’s loads of other stuff going on in Newcastle so she just has to find her crowd. It always calms down a bit after 1st year anyway.

Gin My dd and her friends decided in the summer holidays they better try a nightclub once to be sure that they did really not enjoy it.
They concluded that they were right.

God the Bolton fire looked awful. I'm glad everyone is safe. Though the upheaval for the students will be difficult finding new places to live - losing personal items in the fire!

I'm here in Manchester with DD. She's on better form than I expected - still a lurker lower key and muted. But her fellow 'rejectees' and her are looking at houses and making plans for next year. And she is making plans to go out next week with different groups of friends. Plus pals from home have been in touch to support her. She has also found that a few people are having rough times too with their housemates too. We are now in our hotel room and she is singing along to Enchanted on TV.... we are going to a comedy show later.

DD has found her crowd, and has made some good friends. They socialise a lot, but generally in their halls as a lot of them have a lot of work or don't have much money. They have Chinese food night or a curry night, watch Netflix etc. So I am not worried on that score. DD is excited about their year 2 house share, and will be sharing with 3 from her current flat and 4 from the flat opposite.

They are ditching the skanky ones who never clean up after themselves.

Great news about your DD Bouledeneige - sounds like it's working out for her.

@Ginfordinner it sounds like your DD has made good choices with her friends and is doing well despite her illness, which is great.

@Bouledeneige, glad your DD is getting support and has found a group - it will all work out in the end.

DS had a great night in Newcastle and will be going back - he found DGodDs mates a lot more on his wavelength than many he has encountered at Durham. E also caught up with a friend DDs age, who is at a different college at Durham last week whivh he really enjoyed too.

He's got another footy initiation tomorrow- apparently they had to give their Personal Statements in????

And they are no further forward on house finding for next year

Gin good to hear about her house share - sounds like she’s made some good friends there.

I debated about whether to get a glass hammer today for Dd after the news about the fire- anyone else?!

I'm just thankful that DS lives in a brick built cladding free block of flats. Not sure about a glass hammer but he is 2 floors up so wouldn't be exiting that way without help. Those poor students in Bolton. Do we know what caused the fire?

They had to replace cladding in the block next to DS after the Grenfell fire it was identically clad. His was not. A toaster in his flat set off the alarm, staff were there very quickly to check up on them. There is a system in place that registers individual alarms. That cheered me up. He has only had one full fire drill, then alarms every Tuesday. I suspect there may be another full fire drill in the very near future.