Current Oxbridge students - continued again...!

[Panicmode1]

Think the other thread is full....!

https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2025/04/01/oxford-university-to-abolish-classics-degree/
Excellent 😁

I typed a post last night which seems to have disappeared this morning.

@AsTearsGoBy It sounds like a perfect day, congratulations to all, especially the bride and groom.

@Malbecfan as Days and Juja said, it's lovely having people pop back onto the thread to update, I like having the news on what they are all up to.

April Fools Day @JulesJules ?

The "students" they quote are called Lira Fopol and Flora Spoil 😁

A quote from the piece which I sent to D1 (who did both History and English) thought she would find it funny:

'A second-year history student expressed his concern, saying: “People make fun of degrees like History and English for being ‘useless’ all the time, and we usually respond by pointing out that ‘at least we’re not doing Classics’. Who’s going to be our scapegoats now that Classicists are gone?” '

In general I thought the April Fools this year were pretty poor, but I thought this was amusing, also liked Concorde popping up on FlightRadar, happened to see that as I was checking on D1's delayed flight.

Congratulations to your DC @AsTearsGoBy - it sounds like a magical day!

And huge congrats to your DD too @pepperaunt

I hope you hang around @Malbecfan - it wouldn't be the same without you. I too love hearing about all of the 'life after Oxbridge undergrad' moments and achievements.

So sorry to hear about your relative @PermanentTemporary .

DS turned 21 yesterday - where DOES time go. He's matured so much in the past year - the horrors of last summer's awful behaviour seem to be behind us and he seems so much happier in his skin. His lovely GF has been staying with us this week too, and it's wonderful to see him enjoying life and love 😊

@Juja How very exciting for your rower and good luck to them for what I assume will be decided in a couple of weekends time...

Still here, and thanks for the lovely messages above.

DD completed the marathon despite being unwell for the 3 days before it, so her time wasn't quite as good as she would have liked. Seeing her in a couple of days, so I'm looking forward to that.

The most exciting news is that following the submission of her thesis and the teaching job, she received an email from her college inviting her to become a Bye-Fellow. I had to google what it meant, but she would continue to be associated with the same college and do some supervising for them, get some formal meals and the right to book rooms etc. I will no doubt get more information when I actually see her. It was nice to see academics whose books are referred to reverently by my teaching colleagues being named by their 1st names only, including a head of a large department on the message.

@pepperaunt that is wonderful news, congratulations to her!

@PermanentTemporary I'm sorry to hear about your parent / PIL.

@Malbecfan I don't think there's a strict rule where you get chucked out once they've graduated? Your DD's PhD course seems to have flown by. And lovely bonus to receive that invitation from her college.

I was pleased to read in the news today that the STEM SMART programme has been found to be effective. DS was one of the student mentors for the first cohort.

It's a bit of an adjustment (both for him and for me) no longer having the long university vacations, but he's planning to take a couple of weeks off over Easter.

Fabulous Malbecfan! Heaps of congrats to DD1 :)

Congratulations to @Ironoaks and @Malbecfan for your respective DCs achievements - you must be very proud.

Just wondering if anyone else's DC are involved in the races this weekend? @Juja? And how do you cope with the tension?

@DownTheStream yes DC2 is a 'spare' - so not expecting to race unless there is an injury / illness - they had there own shorter race yesterday on the Tideway so we went to watch and took the spares out for lunch. A really happy day for our DC who hadn't expected to get this far as it is their first year in the squad. Spares even now are still busy land and water training as they have to remain on top form.

The last few weeks have been very tense for everyone, of course now more so for those actually in the boats but the last two weeks has been particularly hard for those who didn't quite make the boat. It is the first time I've given any thought to athletes who have done all the work and just miss the cut but still accompany the teams as spares or don't even make it as a spare - competition to be a spare is quite fierce too. Heartbreaking for some as differences are marginal between athletes.

We have friends and contacts who are in the main crews. But we are a rowing family. The links are through DS2 though who is a US based rower.

@Juja that sounds great. And the ‘spare’ experience will stand him in good stead if he trials again - nothing like doing that course as a side by side race, there’s nothing else remotely similar surely.

Someone I rowed with in the C university squad many years ago has made it into the Veteran boat race on Saturday. Feeling very proud of her, though I have no right, I have done a total of about 3 years’ club rowing since leaving C in the Jurassic era, and am not fit either. She only ever stopped training while extremely pregnant or having radiotherapy. Tough as they come. Unfortunately I’ve decided not to go and watch this weekend as am feeling desperate for some downtime at home.

Ds isn’t trialling but is excited for the summer bumps as there are several of his college members in the squad overall so there should be strong crews coming back for May. His late dad didn’t trial either but was Head of the Lents even further back than me. I guess that makes us a rowing family too.

Oh @Juja I think the spares are amazing - they've been working just as hard as everyone and keeping going even now. It is an incredible achievement and you must be so proud. But also so heartbreaking, and must have been tough to watch as a parent too...
We are definitely not a rowing family and this is the first year my DC has been involved. We're all on a steep learning curve! In Jan I decided to book an AirB&B in case they got in - with a v small deposit - and glad I did... we'll be going up tomorrow. But getting nervous just thinking about it.

Oh wow @DownTheStream I can't imagine how nervous/proud etc you must feel!

And @Juja what an amazing experience for your DC and I imagine mixed emotions being a 'spare' - I've been watching this year's Boat Race 2025 on You Tube and it's such a brutal process - to even be in touching distance is super impressive.

I'm sad DS isn't rowing any more, tho he may for Mays - my brother was a big rower at school and I spent many an exeat ogling the lush rowers watching races and my uncle got blades for his college - but we can't pretend to be a racing family!

@DownTheStream - how very exciting for DC to be actually racing at the weekend. Many congratulations to them and to you for keeping on top of the roller coaster of emotions. The TV crews were all getting set up yesterday so I imagine it will be chaos by the weekend.

Enjoy the weekend - it will be an amazing experience.

@Panicmode1 Fortunately DC is very chilled as they hadn't even thought they'd make the spare pair- it is harder for the other spare who was in the Reserve Crew until two weeks ago then an injured Blue recovered - and someone shifted from Blue to Reserve then this spare moved out. What surprise me is how late the final places are decided.

For my DC they've had the real privilege as an undergrad to train alongside Olympians and GB rowers.

@PermanentTemporary my DC is convinced that Bumps are still the best - they are treating all the Uni Squad training as great prep to improve their College Crew of which they're Captain. They will have two from the squad and one ex Blue so all looking hopeful for Summer Bumps.

How is everyone? DS has his first exam tomorrow so hoping to talk to him later. He's been sounding calmer than last year, and basically stayed in C over Easter to work, so we've barely seen him since Christmas.

Still no job for DH...it's not a fun jobs market for senior marketing professionals it seems.

Good luck to your DS in his exam @Panicmode1 and to your DH in looking for work. At my work place we’ve all been through a collective consultation and a lot of the comms team have gone. We now apparently have to do this ourselves but no training or guidance on how.

Took DD back yesterday. She has four weeks of teaching starting Thursday and then two weeks of exams. Then a week of amateur dramatics and then May week.

hope everyone is doing well

@Panicmode1 that's rubbish. It's a tricky market but job searching generally is so bad for how you feel. I assume he's talking to recruiters? I've become a huge fan since being with dp - his daughter's boyfriend's mother [complicated] has her own headhunter firm and is a kind of recruiting witch - focuses on her local market and I've seen her find exceptionally good fits for several people recently. I hope something works out soon (and if you are anywhere near Reading, which I don't think you are, PM me for her company name).

Ds is all right I think. Dissertation deadline and small number of Part II exams approaching rapidly. Thanks to the thread for prompting me to get him to find out about 4th year finance. He's focused on rowing selection for the college Mays first boat right now.

Thanks @PettsWoodParadise - hope DD's exams go well when they come. DS is also counting down to post exam hedonism including his May Ball!

@PermanentTemporary Thank you - sadly we are further east, but I wish DH had someone as fabulous to help - so many of them talk a big game and then ghost. He has networked, spoken to recruiters, had interviews (very few - but 'between you and one other' when he's got there :-( ), had endless coffees and chats but it's just SO tough out there - only 7% of his industry is over 50, which is mind-blowing. He doesn't feel ready to quit at only 52 (and we can't afford him to frankly with two more heading towards the end of 6th form!!). Starting to regret turning down stupid money for him to go to Saudi a while ago....I have however got a new CS job, starting in late summer, but although it's paying significantly better than my current salary, it's less than a third of what DH used to bring in. Trying not to panic....but, well, given my username, I'm not very good at NOT doing that 😂

Wishing all of the DCs luck in their exams - whatever stage they are at.

(I'm also trying to get DS to do his 4th yr SFE application as we can apply for more help this year given the circs, but he's just so in the zone I don't want to pester unduly!)

Good morning,

good to see people's updates. Although our nestling's wingbeats grow stronger by the week, DS still had to be taken back to C for his last undergraduate term; sorted in double quick time yesterday. Out at 1.15 and back home to unload dishwasher by 3.30. Left his reading glasses behind, though and I am busy proofreading a paper for him today. What is is it with mathmos, punctuation, tenses and consistency? They really need to get better acquainted.
Obviously Finals in June and then 1 May ball. He's been selected for the Varsity tennis tournament in late June so he is v. content - but a little apprehensive otherwise, as well he might be. Apart from that it is our 23rd wedding anniversary today and we are looking forward to o/h's 60th birthday bash in London next Saturday - DS will be there for that.

Happy anniversary @Clemenc0 and DH!

Good luck to all those with DC with exams looming.

DD1 is currently in Manchester with her bf as the bf has just run the Manchester marathon (sub 3 hours!) They both did a park run yesterday and befriended some people who invited them to a running club there tomorrow. They are staying in my DF's flat so are spending a couple of days being tourists, even though DD knows the city well. She's coming home at the end of the week, which I am really excited about. Her job starts on 1st June although she doesn't have any actual teaching until the autumn - lucky sod!

Happy anniversary @Clemenc0 - I hope you've had a lovely day celebrating - and with another celebration at the weekend- enjoy your celebratory week!

Just spoke to DS - he seems ok although apprehensive about tomorrow's first exam which he anticipates will be the hardest of the 9 he has to sit...