St Andrews

[IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere]

DD has received a very good offer from St Andrews. She loves the look of the course and is very keen to go there. Aside from the course she loves the idea of a small town, has no interest in nightlife as part of the "student experience" and loves the quirky traditions.

Does anyone have any experience of being there and the extra expenses that could be involved such as the extra cost of travel, formal dinners and the like?

We are a low income family in an economically deprived area. She is part of a very small 6th form - 12 in the Upper 6th. Her school is not in special measures but is holding on by the skin of its teeth! They are very keen for her to go to St Andrews but she is not going to be their responsibility!

We will support her as much as we possibly can but I am worried that it will be a lot more expensive than a less elite university.

Any thoughts?

@Alittlewornout - great typo, I imagine your DS doing a cool street dance in to his tutorial!

@Newgirls I wonder if it is due to Prof Stephen Reicher who has been such a vocal advocate of remote working for safety as an advisor to SAGE.

@Monkey2001 that's what happens after a glass of wine!! and knowing my ds it wouldn't surprise me if he did do cool street dance in his tutorial

I think so monkey - too much of a coincidence otherwise

Hi. Been lurking but have a dc at st andrews. I live in England and dc thinks they can come home for reading week and then back to halls after as rules are different in England. I can't see that's possible. Is there a link to explain this? thanks.

@Hercules12

Hi. Been lurking but have a dc at st andrews. I live in England and dc thinks they can come home for reading week and then back to halls after as rules are different in England. I can't see that's possible. Is there a link to explain this? thanks.

That's an interesting question. I think they would prefer them not to go home but in all honestly how can they stop them? I am a student at St Andrews but live in my own home with my family. Currently I am in London visiting other family and as the rules are different here it is all above board. I have broken no rules. I can't see why it should be different for students in halls or flats.

@ApolloandDaphne I think that strictly speaking you are breaking the Scottish rules as you are not allowed to go to somebody else's household, but not breaking the English rules in London. Nicola Sturgeon said that you could visit family for an emergency, but it was not a right under the new rules.

The rules get reviewed 3 weeks from 28/9, which is just in time for reading week, so may change.

My DS (medic) wanted to come home, but is not going to as the guidance from the medical school is very anti-travel. I don't know exactly what they said, but what he told me was that there would be a lot more f2f after reading week and you had to be back in St A or would be required to defer. I think he was worried that if he got stranded self-isolating elsewhere he might end up missing the return from reading week.

I still think there may be a 2 week "circuit breaker" lock-down for the second half of October, depends on what happens to numbers over the next week or so.

@Monkey2001 I am not breaking the Scottish rules as I didn't go to any Scottish household. We got in the car and drove right out of Scotland and only went to my DDs house which is in London. No rules broken. My DH is a stickler for the rules!

@ApolloandDaphne I don't want to get into a debate and am not being critical, but would advise you to be careful as the way it is phrased on www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-what-you-can-and-cannot-do/pages/seeing-friends-and-family/ says you should not see friends and family inside peoples homes.

It does not specify whether that is only in Scottish homes or not, but I read it to mean that people from Scottish households cannot meet in any home. The guidance to students is that they should not go home, and as a large proportion of students are not Scottish, it is safer to assume that includes homes anywhere. There was an e-mail 24/9 from the university saying that people should not go home for the 3 weeks covered by the new rules.

Thanks for the replies. It is confusing and it seems there's a possibility he could be allowed back then if the review allows but as it stands he can't at the moment.

My dd is planning to come home at reading week and prob stay home (or not?!) - I thinks it’s ok at the moment for mental health reasons but I think also factor in the course. So as she barely sees anyone and no f2f prob very low risk but depends on transport home! If a med degree then I prob wouldn’t risk it.

Hi Monkey! How lovely to find you - and everyone else [waves] - here. Great to have people trying to get on top of the rules. My DD (2nd year medic) is starting to worry that she must stay at St A for reading week but that everyone else will disappear, as they did at that time last year. She's fine to stay with some company, but last year was lonely...

There will be plenty of Americans and international students staying and might mean your dd can get in the union, libraries etc?

Hello @hoodiemum great to see you here. You were so right, DS LOVING the course and as much social life as he is managing to get. I had passed on various things you said last year, and when DS was enjoying socialising with Andrew Melville people at the beginning I told him that your DD was there last year and he said he had not realised it was the home of royalty!

I think all the medics will stay, maybe the Bute Society can take over a bit of the marquee when it gets there and have some events.

How are the second year medics feeling about things?

So glad Monkey junior is enjoying it despite the weirdness of everything, and managing to get in some socialising. 2nd years are already finalising where they want to go for 4th year - it all comes so quickly!
DD wants to follow the rules but finds it a lot harder when other people are intent on breaking them. It seems the police are often close at hand to 'remind' everyone, though. Very strange times, but still plenty to be excited about.
Last year even her international friends disappeared at reading week, I think. We'll see what happens this year. Everything changes so fast it's hard to predict much more than a day ahead!

Maybe they all went to explore the uk? That might happen less this year, but as you say, who knows!

Yes, I think the international students liked to go away to visit places in Europe too whilst in UK, nipping over to Paris or Italy as well as UK trips. That will not be happening this year.

Well dd and her bubble just all received emails saying they were in breach of the covid rules for being more than 6 in their own kitchen and not wearing masks!! I am beyond mad they are being fined 60 quid and a misconduct against them. Needless to say they will appeal as this is in direct conflict with what is on their own website and that of the Scottish government. A strongly worded email is about to be sent if no joy I am seriously considering legal advice. My poor girl is devastated not ever had so much as a detention at school. Anyway feel a bit better now I have off loaded to you lovely ladies! It's only Tuesday but I need a wine!!3

Your poor DD alittlewornout. I can imagine her being completely mortified and feeling very hard done by, and I'd be feeling like a mama tiger in your position.

I'll be very interested to hear how they get on appealing. DD is adamant that she has to wear a mask in all communal areas, including the corridor within her household. It doesn't seem right to me, but as they don't have a kitchen it's not a big deal. However, it sounds like there is some confusion within halls about the distinction between communal areas that are inside or outside households, despite the allegedly "very clear" covid code.

@AChickenCalledDaal I know it is confusing but their own rules state you dont need to wear a mask when with your own household in household spaces and the s it govt state dont need to wear them in student communal kitchens. They were them in the communal corridors and down for meals etc. They were in the kitchen and all one household. Yes we will see how they get on but we have the evidence to support it so will go as high as we need to. They are now frightened to go more than a couple at a time to the kitchen.

Horrible for them to feel like that. I hope it gets sorted quickly and someone asks a mistake has been made.

"accepts" not "asks".

@AChickenCalledDaal me too. And thanks so much for listening to my rant, trying to calm down before bake off!!

@Alittlewornout just catching up here . Good luck to your DD, they are in the right and it is poor behaviour from the university to give them this extra stress!

This is from the coronavirus page www.st-andrews.ac.uk/coronavirus/students/

What are you going to do? As a parent I feel I wouldn’t know where to start with this sort of thing (and feel I should be prepared!)

Thank you @Monkey2001 very helpful. Dd has lodged an appeal so will see what happens, I didnt sleep much last night unsurprisingly.