Another path ....... the journey begins

[chopc]

Hello @321zyx @AvocadoPlant @bendmeoverbackwards @BigWoollyJumpers @Braveheart35 @calculatorqueen @ChimneyPot @Dobbyisahouseelf @Eastisup @jano69 @Majaso12 @MidLifeCrisis007 @NCTDN @Notagardener @OnTheBenchOfDoom @Parsonage63 @Pumpkintopf @Peaseblossum22 @quest1on @Peaseblossum22 @SATSmadness @SeasonFinale @Tenpastseven @Vargas @Xenia

Apologies for anyone I omitted to tag

But they are not all In Bristol are they? Some are in Bath and apparently some in Weston Supermere, York has people in Hull and St Andrew’s has people in Dundee , apparently some Exeter students are in Plymouth . This is not the experience that students or parents anticipate and I expect that the uncertainty is causing problems for financial planing in the universities as well.

It goes further , some universities are reporting that they simply don’t have enough teaching rooms to accommodate the larger numbers nor the staff to teach them.Morale amongst academic staff is at an all time low, the hours are long and the pay low, the USS is a basket case, there is a huge issue with precarity and temporary term time only contracts and a mental health crisis amongst students . But yet more and more keep being admitted, you could raise the grades to 3x A* for some courses and there would still be an over supply at some universities , including Bristol I suspect .

Wow @MidLifeCrisis007 that’s amazing and what a drive for you! Massive well done to your ds especially after all the stress and driving somewhere unfamiliar. It would have been a depressing drive home if he’d failed. Celebrations are definitely in order 🎉

Dd also has her timetable, 9 hours/week, mixture of lectures and seminars. It’s what I would have expected for History. When I was at uni, we were very jealous of arts students who could get up late. Us chemists had 2 or 3 lectures most mornings, 3 tutorials per week and 3 afternoons in the lab. Plus work from lectures, practicals to write up etc.

@MidLifeCrisis007 you experience made me think of the film Clockwise with John Cleese, definitely one for the 21st speech 😁

@SeasonFinale
I do wonder whether contextual grade offers may be made a bit higher. Some at Bristol for example go from A*AA to AAB. Perhaps they will be AAA offers instead?

Interesting that you mentioned this, I've just looked at Exeter History for 2022 and although the main criteria has stayed the same AAA, contextual offers have moved from BBB to ABB

Doesn't seem very fair.

Thanks for all the congratulatory words folks! Yes, I'm sure this story will get told many times by DS over the years! And probably more by me!

Throw into the mix that he's never had a lesson with an instructor or been to either Winchester or the Isle of Wight (although he has sailed around the latter in the Round The Island Race) and you realise what a coup it was! Oh and did I mention he did it in an orange Mini with go faster stripes?! (I nearly killed DH when he bought it!).

Thankfully the Mini doesn't fit his bike in.... so we'll need to take my car up to Durham tomorrow. I didn't fancy being his passenger 2 days after him passing his test! In fact I'm rather glad he won't be behind the wheel again until December!

Dd just passed her driving test this morning - finally! She only had 1 minor and the examiner said how well she did in a difficult situation, again with a bin lorry and a car behind getting impatient! We didn’t tell anyone she was doing it this time, not even her instructor and her dad took her in her brother’s car.

@Majaso12 oh wow - great news!! Congratulations to your DD

@Majaso12 bravo! SO pleased foe your DD! What a high note to go off to Uni in!

We can finally just concentrate on her going to uni now!

@Pumpkintopf - I was nagging DS to get all his fancy dress outfits ready for freshers week. He said - if I don't have something - who is going to miss out? Me! (As in him)

As much as I want everything to go smoothly- it really is up to him.

So pissed off I left booking the meningitis B jab up to him and it didn't get done though ...... missing out on a freshers event is one thing but this is concerning health :(

@Majaso12 wonderful news , love the sound of the mini @MidLifeCrisis007 I had a red mini for my 21st birthday ( an old type one) and have always wanted another but somehow it’s never seemed right . Is your ds planing to take his car, ds has a polo but I am planing on using it at home when he’s away , we live somewhere with barrow old streets and it’s great for parking

It’s been such a difficult Summer except for dd’s results and her getting into her first choice uni. My niece who has 4 young children caught Covid at the end of July and was on a ventilator for 4 weeks and family were told to prepare for the worst. She came home from hospital this week.

That's amazing @Majaso12 . Can't take anything for granted - make the most of here and now. Despite doing this I can't believe how quickly time has flown by and my first baby about to fly the nest

@Majaso12

Dd just passed her driving test this morning - finally! She only had 1 minor and the examiner said how well she did in a difficult situation, again with a bin lorry and a car behind getting impatient! We didn’t tell anyone she was doing it this time, not even her instructor and her dad took her in her brother’s car.

Yay, well done to your dd @Majaso12

Oh my goodness your poor niece @Majaso12 how incredibly stressful for the whole family. Who looked after her dc?

Her husband mostly and my sister did help out as well. One of them has severe autism so must have been very difficult.

@Majaso12 so so pleased for your DD!! That is absolutely brilliant, well done to her.

@chopc you're right, I know you are - but I am getting very mixed messages from DH. One minute it's 'you need to step back let him do it' the next 'you don't seem to be on it as much as you would normally be'. Can't win!

We didn't organise the meningitis jab either. Is it still worth doing in your opinion? I know you said the jabs have to be spaced out...

@Pumpkintopf I feel your pain. I am on son number 3 and it’s a difficult tightrope to walk . If I hear ‘we’ll cross that bridge if we come to it’ or ‘it’ll be fine’ one more time…….. dh thinks I over plan and control but some things just need doing and he will be the first person to complain if something that needs doing has not been done . Sigh

We didn't organise the meningitis jab either. Is it still worth doing in your opinion? I know you said the jabs have to be spaced out...

Didn't you DS get it at school in Year 9 as the three in one booster?

DD's boyfriend was sent on a wild goose chase as he wasn't sure he had it, his GP said he didn't, then when he went to get it, they said it was on the national system and he had it at school! DD definitely had it at school as part of the booster. She remembered it as it was quite traumatic for her, and she had one in each arm at the same time.

@MidLifeCrisis007 - Congratulations on DS passing, and you on your commitment. DD not even really keen on going to the next town, let alone the next several counties!

@Majaso12 - Fantastic news.

@BigWoollyJumpers @Pumpkintopf the one our DC would have had routinely is Men ACWY. The Men B is only given to babies on the NHS. There is a second peak between 15-19 years hence I wanted DS to get it.

Tbf he booked twice but twice boots messed up his appointments .......

Am confused about the Men B chat as I thought that was done and dusted as babies. Is doing another round of it a thing? It doesn’t come up on university advice lists.

@Revengeofthepangolins I don't think it was around when our lot were babies

Ah. That makes sense. Yes, looking at DS1’s record he had Men C as a baby, not B. Bother.