2017 seems so long ago, now they're fledgling graduates.

[latedecember1963]

4 years since A Levels and the wait for August and confirmation of where our chicks were about to fly the nest to.
It's been 4 years that has sprung a few surprises along the way, not least this lovely series of threads.

Oh gosh @Needmoresleep, that is terrible about the 17yo

Yes, scary stuff re the 17 yr old. I suppose that's the thing - you really don't know how someone will be affected until they catch it. 🤨

Scary about the 17 year old. A 24 year old teacher at the school where I’m a governor caught Covid just before Christmas. It was hoped she would be well enough to be back after half term but she has now been signed off until at least Easter.

It is horrible for people.
On my son's booster jab not appearing he says he had misread the NHS covid app and in fact he was looking at the wrong thing. I hope he is right as on Friday afternoon he had a lovely time with a friend as the studio audience in something in London and he needed to show the app for that which he was able to do and he may be going back to Cyprus again (where he went with friends in summer 2020 during the pandemic). It is 2 weeks before his final law exams which are mid June so I think it would be better if it were after when he will never have another exam in his life (unless there are resits) but he thinks he will manage losing one of the 2 weeks off for revision before the exams. I was married with a child and a house and working full time in London and a qualified lawyer at his age (23 as unusually I graduated in law aged 20, married at 21, had our first child at 22 and finished my law 2 year training contract at 23) so I am not going to interfere.
He always says he loves exams and enjoyed them over the last two weeks more than the law course even and said he does his best revision work at the last minute which seems very unwise to me. He also keeps saying he did very well other than in 2 of the exams which is a hostage to fortune really. We shall see on the various results days.

Son has just had e mail from his university saying they are now having in person graduation ceremonies in June for all those whose ceremonies were postponed due to covid in 2020/21....so looks like we will have to dust off the glad rags and book a short break to Scotland in the summer!
So happy for him as he'll be able to see all his classmates for first time in over 18 months and it will bring closure to his Uni experience
He also got his very generous welcome bursary for his grad scheme job paid into his account yesterday , so he's on cloud nine! (especially welcome after having just done a 12 hr shift doing stock take in his current minimum wage job!)
Eldest daughter is still stuck at home as she's been unable to return to her teaching job in China as was in a holiday home when covid first struck 2 years ago....she's desperate to return but no luck year as borders still closed and no visas being issued....we have a friend who is competing in the Winter Olympics and she's off to Beijing in a few days but will not be allowed out of the training camp at any time apart from competing and has to return home immediately after her event

DD starts a new six month placement today in a pleasant market town. A friend's family live there and they have dogs so DD is manoeuvring her way into dog walking. Like others on the thread, DD is much more settled and enjoyed the last six months. Apparently it is better on wards when you can actually be useful.

She says that turning up at a new placement feels like the start of term. Who will she be sharing with, where is the supermarket, do they actually make beds that small. I guess with F1 and F2 she has a few more years of this.

There are some indications that she may be allowed to do her elective abroad this autumn. She had applied to London with a fall back in Bristol, but it might now be back to the drawing board. I had a sneaky Google and there are a whole raft of places with beaches that you pay to go to, but sadly in Covid problematic places like Asia and Australasia. I have a medical contact in Russia who had previously suggested that DD go there, which would be really interesting. However the news from the Ukraine looks bleak. There is something in the city her brother studies in. I am sure he would welcome little sister...not.

I am so looking forward to longer days and warmer evenings. We are due to go on a short break to the Canaries at the start of March, following the success of our trip to Guernsey in the autumn. Here's hoping that there are no new variants.

DS is on a new placement too Need but in a hospital walking distance from his uni house so he's in a nice social phase on his course without any stress of revision and plenty of time for socialising. Unfortunately one of his house mates failed the exam for a second time, so has to retake the year and will be out if he fails again - I think it's been a bit of a shock to them all that their place at med school can disappear even 4/5 years in.

We also know a 15 year old who has been terribly terribly affected by suspected long Covid. It's more than a year on now and the lad (who was bright, active and sporty) isn't expected to be well enough to ever go back to school. It's had a devastating effect on him cognitively as well as physically, socially and in every other way

I hope everyone and your dc who have international plans manage to get where you hope to go and dodge Omicron. I personally think we should still be taking Covid seriously and will probably be one of the last to ditch the mask in my crowded unventilated office. As someone said, we just don't know how it will affect the next person.

Haff, lucky him. DD has finals in four months time, so a busy placement with revision on top. She is getting quite nervous. She is good at the practical stuff but as a dyslexic tends to under perform in exams. I briefly glanced at the current medic applicant thread and saw that your other DS has interviews. Fingers crossed!

Xenia. When do your DS' get their results? It will be good to have the exams over.

I hope the recent and not-so-recent job starters are enjoying themselves.

Needmore, the twins have their results from those important January core exams around the end of April (they can resit any they fail in August but hopefully it won't come to that). They have 7 or 8 exams this term too but those are in subjects such as solicitors' accounts, wills and probate and you only have to pass and the mark does not feed into your overall result so hopefully those might be okay.

I am glad to hear those doing medicine are doing fine. I probably said much higher abroad in his day my brother did his abroad bit in Australia which was wonderful (but that was in days before covid so none of the issues arising from that and travel problems etc).

On graduations the Bristol email is now out where students can click to book the tickets they need for guests etc and order their photos and their gowns etc My twins did that yesterday - these graduations are in April. I also also booked ua night in a hotel before the graduation that is the early one as the twis are not early risers so we will drive over the night before and I booked lunch after each too including a very late lunch after the 1.30pm graduation which I hope we can get to

DDs email has come for Bristol undergrad graduation - it is early morning on the Wednesday which is not great for her as she is working so she is thinking not to bother, but is v disappointed as she obviously had friends on the course.

Nooo....she should go! After all the pandemic problems this is her chance to say goodbye properly. Her bosses will understand.

And you need the photos for mantlepieces.

DD's grandparents have quite a display. Except DS has now had three graduations (though the second masters in the US arrived by post because of the pandemic) and DD will have two. They are trying to dominate. DD even suggested (jokingly) that we should get a larger photo of her graduation so it would stand out on the GPs mantlepiece.

Ooh, your DD needs to go @bigTillyMint, it's such a nice event, she won't regret it.

DT’s are still not convinced it is worth a trip back to the U.K. for their graduations. Neither are the least bit interested. They have both kept in touch with their Uni friends and some have travelled over to stay with them.

I think they are both in the work mode now (although both still studying whilst working full time) and see their degrees as in the past.

I was surprised my twins were so keen to go to the Bristol graduations actually as so much time has passed but they were (and they are still students so do not have jobs to work it around and hope to meet friends there too). I am sure loads of people will not be going however and I already in summer 2020 took pictures of them in my gown and hood as a kind of type of graduation picture anyway

DS1 (taught MSc Bristol 20/21) has had a message from a friend to say that their graduation may now be in April, rather than July, as they were previously informed. He says it's not much more than rumour at the moment , but it did make me wonder whether - if true - it means that a significant number of those due to go in April have decided not to attend.

MF, that is possible. Although the first hotel for the April graduation that starts early in the day seemed unable to take a booking my second choice had space (I just booked a 3rd room there today as my daughter plus her new baby are going to come the night before and attend as well now). Even more surprising I got our choice of restaurant for both graduations in April of the twins whereas I expected they might have been fully booked. That might be as I was booking the day after the Bristol email so quite early but I still suspect not that many will attend. My BA son's morning is with more other subjects than I expected although that is nice as it included his flat mate and friend and his twins' girl friend too - all graduating at the same time. A pity both twins are not in the same week in April nor same session however as we have to do all this 2 weeks in a row.

@MarchingFrogs, DD thought her MSc graduation would be April (as usually that time of year. Plus confused by initial email which didn’t clearly say BSc) so emailed Bristol and was told it would be July, so it looks like that’s the plan rather than people saying they wouldn’t attend.

@Xenia, that’s pretty gruelling

Glad to hear everyone is getting on well.
DD2 has had an email about her graduation for Leeds University for the end of March. She is very happy but just hoping some of her friends will be going too as it will be 20 months after the event!

@hellsbells99 Dd just heard too - hers is only 8 months late! I think quite a few of her friends will try to make it as long as they can get time off - they will all have just started a new rotation.

@Carriemac Were you aware?

@Decorate DD is definitely going (assuming she can book the time off) and she has just text me to say a few of her friends are going but 2 are away travelling. She says it is £51 for gown hire. I think I had better book a hotel! I hope your DD and her friends will be able to get the time off.

Luckily Dd already has the necessary days off as she is working the weekend before! Premier Inn is booked!

neither of my DSs have heard form Leeds - both should have graduated in 2021. I wonder if they have given their contact details ?

More excitingly , I've got a graduation date for my own PhD ceremony ! Weill he two years late but as I've never graduated before ( had 3 month old twins and a 2 year old when I should have gone to my masters grad other ens if the country) I'm excited!

Congratulations @Carriemac - hope you enjoy your day!

Congratulations @Carriemac!