Fledglings 2026 - support, discussion and looking after each other

[ComingInByAnsible]

A thread for parents of Year 13 leavers as they go on to universities, apprenticeships and other new adventures.

DS is off to Warwick to study PPE.

I get not wanted to be the last one there, is there anyway the friend could bring her early on the Sunday?

@MamOfTwo I shall search out that thread. Thanks.

Added a digital meat thermometer to the kitchen list :-) He can take ours from home and I'll get another one - they're not very expensive. Just to make sure things are cooked properly!

Son not only is taking PC but two monitors as well apparently......

I have just rewatched Eskimo day. It’s so funny and a real tear jerker just now. It was made the year I went to uni. Does anyone remember it? Sadly not available on any streaming, I have an old DVD and I think DVDs can be found online. It’s about Cambridge interview day but is really about leaving the nest and parents worrying about their kids becoming independent.

@manywanderings you are expecting much more than I am on the cooking front. I imagine DS will live on pasta and noodles 😂

@ArchitectureMum, somehow I have never seen Eskimo Day, even though it came out around my uni days too. Maybe because back then I was the one leaving rather than being left behind. Wish it were available to stream, or perhaps it should be due for a remake?

@hels71, hope it works out with taking your DD, train sounds like a good option in the circumstances along with taxis either end and posting some stuff separately to the halls. Hope your recovery is going well and DH recovery too.

@bibliomania, your DD sounds amazing, well done to her on being so well organised. Hopefully the packing stress works itself out as she makes progress with the packing. I am sure all will go well with the drive, and good luck with the job interview!

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn, great that the decision is made and your DS is getting more positive! The halls app sounds like a great idea. Hope the excitement continues to grow!

@Tebheag, that’s great news about the A and Tesco! Hope an apprenticeship comes through for him soon - is he looking for a specific type?

@manywanderings, I haven’t thought about a meat thermometer, good idea!

Heart ache here as DS’ long term relationship has come to an end, and a school friend and family are missing in Nepal. I am glad DS is working at the moment and has tons of uni stuff to sort, as this keeps him busy and gets him out of the house. Hard to know how best to support him as he’s not ready to talk yet, and I am worried about him going off to uni sad. At least that’s still four weeks away.

Wow, that's a lot for your son, @ComingInByAnsible . Hope there's good news about the school friend and family (and all the others missing).

Just catching up.. @JustHereWithMyPopcorn so glad your ds is feeling more positive. We have moving in date for 20th so I thought plenty of time to plan… went to IKEA and Dunelm yesterday and honestly I felt like a cliche.. so many students and parents! IKEA had no mattress toppers and had run out of colourful cutlery. Dunelm only had the most expensive single Dorma mattress topper for £60 left, and had also no colourful cutlery! You realise how many young people up and down the country are doing the exact same thing! Anyway, we managed to get most things and a few more bits which we can get on Amazon. We have left things like a rug to see what the actual floor space is like as hard to tell with the floor plan. I feel like this next three weeks are going to whizz by.

hello! can I join? DS is off to Bart's/Queen Mary in London and move in date is 12th - and I'm seriously freaking out. Not so much about the move in, but about missing my first-born!! His room is currently looking abit like a charity shop back room, with bags and bags of random stuff (all new! which has really scuppered my big plans to renew my linens and kitchen equipment!!). He says we won't need to bring much and he's quite minimalist. Given that no one has ever seen the room 'live' (everything is on website and all previous open days and offer holder days did not include accommodation, I'm slightly concerned about the state of said accommodation.

I think I've seen @bluefineliner from our other thread - Hello there! :)

@ComingInByAnsible your poor DS, what a horrible time for him. The situation in Nepal is just horrific, I really hope his friend and family are OK and just out of contact rather than anything worse. 💐

@Onthesofawithmydog we have bought this one. We’d already got one for my older son’s bed about a month ago (after he moved out and took the mattress topper with him!!) but this one seems pretty good so far. It’ll probably go flat eventually but it’s cosy now.
https://amzn.eu/d/06Cev4VU

With some nagging DS has now sorted his bank account, registered with the Uni GP, got a dentist appointment booked before he leaves.

We have a moving in slot booked, train ticket bought and uni kit of basics ready for delivery so it's there when we get there.
He just needs to sort his student rail card and do watch some induction videos for the uni/course. He also wants to sort his gym membership.

There's so much isn't there!

Welcome @MyGreyBiscuit , yes our ‘play room’ (really need a new name for that now my DSs are adults!!) is just a pile of things! DS’s accommodations has one typical photo of a room in his halls and then I found one more on one of those student sites that review accommodation which looked entirely different so I don’t know what it’s actually going to look like.

@AuntyBulgaria we have done the dentist, bank account and updated SFE with his new uni. I’ll get him onto the dr registration today if I can. He’s currently full of cold which I am desperately trying to avoid!

I think we should update our list of where the DCs are going, anyone here going to Notts?

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn @MyGreyBiscuit there is definitely some room roulette to contend with. My DS is in a hall that in all the photos show the nice sparkling new room with small double beds and large kitchens. I know he's not in there as he has the standard room in the old part with single beds. But there are no photos of these as I imagine they are small and pokey!

We have a Panda mattress topper at home (for my bed) and DS (being Mr I don't mind most of the time) actually requested for the same topper for his single bed in halls! so it's in my hallway now, not opened because we won't be able to take it to halls otherwise!

All getting a bit real now, isn't it! DC move-in date is 18th (was not expecting it to be a Friday!)

I was wondering what your expectations are for contact from your YP/how often you will contact them? Obviously different for all and will evolve into what it is but would be good to know other's initial thoughts.

Definitely getting real! DS has his move in date confirmed (20th Sept)
I think we're nearly there. Bedding arrived yesterday and all the basic kitchen stuff is done. We'll do a B&M trip for random bits and pieces (so will probably end up spending a fortune!)

@ComingInByAnsible so sorry to hear what your DS is dealing with.

Well, my girl is nearly at the end of her first week at uni. They start earlier in France. She’s happy so far: loves her flatmates, though the accommodation is a little scruffy. She’s already had many hours of lectures as they do crack on over there. She arrived in France on Sunday and had her first lecture at 8am on Monday! Social life seems good. I think crunch point will be when exams start. She has serious midterm exams in October/November and her ranking in those will determine what options are available to her for next semester.

At least they are not as harsh as some European unis. My niece is at uni in Switzerland and after their first term’s exams they throw out 40% of the cohort!

Sorry to hear about DS relationship guess there will be quite a few kids havibg conversations vefore going to uni.

So sorry to hear about the person missing hope they are found soon.

Edit.
Thank you DS is looking at finance or business.

Her move in date is the 12th. Fresher's week doesn't start until the 21st. Not quite sure what they do for the week in between.....
Hoping we can manage everyone the train. It's bad enough with clothes, pans, bedding etc...but she also needs PPE and tools!!!

DS just got himself a tesco club card apparently meal deals are the way to go!

Loving all the posts about uni prep. Hadnt realised how much needed to be done.

Tesco meal deals are a go to here for lunch at school or a midnight snack on the way home, I often find random Ben and Jerry tubs in the freezer on weekend mornings 😂

DH and I were just discussing kit (DS is in Leeds)
We have cutlery, pans, crockery and pint glasses set aside as we upgraded things.
He will need bedding, towels, laundry hardware, some more kitchen kit (grater, knives, small mixing bowls, fridge/freezer storage)
I'm sending him with a big shop of non perishables too. We need a trial run around Aldi too as I do online shopping so he has never done a "big shop", living in the city centre the nearest supermarket is quite a bit away, but he needs to realise he can't just use convenience stores

@ComingInByAnsible so sorry to hear about the Nepal tragedy and really hope the people you know are found safe. And the relationship breakup sounds tough, although in some ways better now rather than later so he can get used to it before going to Uni and then he will have a fresh start. My DC's GF is going to Uni overseas and is leaving today. Think DC is going to be pretty sad this weekend. They are adamant they will stay together but let's see what happens.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn our 'playroom' got renamed the 'gaming room' a while back but not sure what to call it now that DC is leaving home! Don't think DC would be too pleased if it was redecorated quite yet.
Good idea updating the list of where everyone is going as I haven't been able to keep up. It seems there have been a lot of changes this year. My DC is going to Warwick and is now really excited despite it not being what he had planned initially.

@AuntyBulgaria you and your DC sound highly organised, well done for getting everything sorted!

We have only bought one thing so far (a kitchen box from IKEA) but have 4 weeks before the start of Uni which seems later than a lot of other universities. Dc has got the student account, 2 vaccinations, been to the dentist and got his student rail card. Still needs to download Unibuddy, buy a laptop and lots of things for his room.