OR 2022 - We are no longer rejects. We are parents of fabulous offspring who will do wonderful things

[TangoWhiskyAlphaTango]

Wonderful tongue in cheek title thread by he words of @ eightytwenty.

Soooooo our thread started out back in March 2022 when our dc were Oxbridge wannabes. After thousands of posts by their nervous Mums, nail biting, discussing applications, grades, will they get to interview won't they, debates such as private vrs state, the Scottish system, then some got rejected and some had interviews and entrance assessments then much more nail biting and eating and drinking a lot and a loooong wait over Xmas 2021 the remainders were then rejected. Then more nail biting for offers to come in from the competitive Unis they had applied to with some ending up with only one or two options - our Covid Kids had it tough.

Finally May came and their actual A-levels then the brutal wait for results. I don't think I can recall any of our DC not getting their first choice?

Lots of DC off to top Unis and achieving the best grades in the land. My DD is off to Bath to do Politics and IR and I am incredibly proud of her, she is a grafter not naturally super clever but loves to learn and god I am going to miss her but she is ready and so I happy for her 😥

So please carry on our lovely supportive thread so we can see where their journeys take them.

TWAT x

That describes him exactly! He's a great lad.

@Puffalicious as @Stockpot says .. nothing ventured!

Yes to the lurgy! Dd has been unwell all week again but she went clubbing last week I dare not think about all those sweaty teenagers in a small space.

She sent me this pic tonight so she must be feeling better - apparently it is 'Nacho night' 😱

@Puffalicious Sounds like a very fun way to get injured though 😂😂

I hate to say it, but two people on my team have been out of action during the last few weeks with Norovirus. The nacho bar looks fun, but speaking of lurgy…

That what I was thinking!! 🤯😂😂

Hello all! Long time no post!

Jumping in on the course wobbles conversation, DS confessed last week that he hated his course ( policy, politics and economics: there was literally no social policy in it it turned out).

He was told that he'd left it too late ( apparently there was a two week grace period!) but after several emails a kindly lecturer intervened at quite a high level and he is now doing history.

I think he will like it. His contact hours will reduce a lot but he will be fine as he works so hard. On his previous course he had 9 hours in one day!! It was so badly organised.

I am trying hard not to say I told you so...

Good job getting things changed @Piggywaspushed It wasn’t easy, I’m sure! Where did your DS go in the end?

DD went to see bf at Cambridge yesterday. It was nice, but far from perfect. It made her feel content and more settled with St As. I did not see that coming! She found out that it is a slow start at Cambs as well which was mollifying.

He is at Birmingham stockpot.

How does he like it overall? I’ve heard the campus is very pretty.

It is. He seems happy there and has made some friends. It is a lovely campus. Hopefully he'll get stuck into his history now. First lecture 9am Monday!

@Piggywaspushed i swapped to history too (after first year). Had some catch up to do but benefitted from the flexible Scottish system. Hope he settles. 9 h on one day sounds a medic-level-load.

Just took my baby back to the station.😢

It was a reassuring visit actually. She seemed well, on top of her studies, had met a few people, meeting up with friends at different unis reassured her that things were pretty good at St A’s.

Yes, it was bonkers. And he panicked because he felt like this left him no time to do the work.

Great stuff getting swapped Piggy . I hope he settles now.

That's good he could get is sorted @Piggywaspushed . I've just said bye to mine too @Stockpot! :-( x

Just popped up to St A for a few hours so DD could see DS (his pit stop home enroute to the sun coincided with her being away at camp). Still stuffed after a huge toastie from the toasty shack and an ice cream for Janettas. He was clearly glad to be back but conscious he now needs to get on with some work having done done in reading week.

DD came home and did no “study” either just met friends all over town. I think it was good for her.

i hope your DS had a lovely break with friends.

Just posted on our St A thread and thought I’d pop back to see how the rest of you were doing.

@Volterra how is your DS?
@Geamhradh hope strikes not impacting travel home.

hasnt this term flown? We had DS home for a week with what we feared was glandular fever (was going about) but I think in the end it was just a nasty virus. Feel like we’ve seen him more than I expected but not always for the best reasons.

looking forward to seeing him at Christmas. Will be interesting to see if he will find a decent social life back home as he’s certainly done that with bells on this term.

Thanks for thinking of him @Eightytwenty . He’s a little better now amd meds are finally balanced, hope they stay that way . He’s having counselling. We haven’t discussed next year as yet and whether he will want to go back or try somewhere else as yet.

I hope your DS recovers quickly. It is indeed flying by at the moment !

Hi strangers! Lovely to hear from you both @Volterra glad things are getting sorted and your DS is getting lots of support. @Eightytwenty I think there have been a lot of bugs around DD has been unwell a few times now. Time certainly has flown and the term is nearly over.

I had a lovely surprise a few weeks back. DS came in from college and shouted "Mum there is a large parcel on the door step for you" so off I go to the door to find DD standing there with her suitcase - we both burst into tears it was sooo lovely to have her back for a few days. She is getting on really well, throwing herself into her studies mixed with a fair amount of socialising, joined the gym and working at the rugby club. I am very thankful that she seems happy. We whatsapp several times a day so it is like she is never really that far.

Roll on Christmas though to have a bit of QT with her

That is really lovely @TangoWhiskyAlphaTango 😊 Are you still planning to move?

@Volterra No! I have managed to get a job locally (literally based at the top of my road). I have been waiting nearly 2 years for the right post to come up and at last it has. I love where I live now so am very happy to be staying. Thank you for asking x

That’s great @TangoWhiskyAlphaTango -congratulations!

Hello you lovelies!
Great to hear your updates, glad above all that DS is doing well @Volterra .
@Eightytwenty I spotted you on the Nigel thread ages ago, he is at the side of my bed as usual but I've had no time to post on the thread yet.
I visited Bath a couple of weeks ago for 4 days and as @TangoWhiskyAlphaTango knows, I saw MiniTango on the bus 🤣. I was putting DD on the (frankly excellent) bus service that runs up and down between town and campus and spotted her go and greet someone. I then got a message saying "guess who that was? The daughter of your friend who lives in your computer"

DD also very settled, she did say the first week or so after Freshers hadn't been as easy as she thought (not the work, she says that is pretty easy stuff) there were a few teething troubles in the house- one girl has actually moved out now, and they are getting a new student today. But all in all, lots of socialising with lots of different people. I did think that when she doesn't actually message me (we also WA all day on and off) to say she was going out, she wasn't going out. Mwahahha. Couldn't be further from the truth I think. There's certainly not a pub in Bath she doesn't know or an event she hasn't been to.

The strikes- gah. Yes, she's booked on Ryanair from Stansted on the 17th. Train ticket bought months ago. National Express bought the other day. Fingers crossed.

They've started looking for accommodation for next year which I'm not 100% happy about as it's stressy for them and in Bath there's no need, but because "everybody" is already looking so are they. I also think it's way too early to know who your best friends truly are (for example DD is much closer to two of the boys in her house than the other girls) but because there are 5 girls they are all looking (and have possibly found one) together. On the one hand it's good to get it out of the way, on the other I'd have preferred to be sure she's definitely with the people she's closest to rather than living with them accidentally. Oh well. (tell you sth though, the place they've found looks better than my house- gone are the days of student hovels)

Have a lovely weekend all, and let's count down the days till our OR superstars come home!

PS two of my best friends (met in our kitchen first year of university) have daughters applying for next year....pretty glad that's not me! One for medicine at Oxford so no stress there 🤣 @TangoWhiskyAlphaTango how is DS doing with his applications?