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 guess some might not be 18 yet :-) But could buy after starting university when 18 maybe. I bought one on Amazon and had to pay by credit card to verify my age.

I think some places were not selling to under 25s? There were definitely difficulties reported anyway

I wondered about a cook book as someone mentioned on here. I think son would probably not use it and just google instructions/recipes on his phone probably. However a small cook book gives ideas.

Anti histamines also I had foegtton

And sliders - or similar! Son pointed that out - for their feet going to the bathroom.

Many shops won't sell knives to under 25s. They are also very difficult to get delivered to halls, as ID is needed on delivery.

If space is at a premium, Dunelm, M&S & John Lewis do click & collect for bedding etc. in most uni towns for moving in day.

Congrats to all. I have older uni kids so just come on to say don’t worry about pans etc. I mean buy them cheaply / get them from charity shop but bear in mind you may not get them back or back in good condition. Rice cookers or airfryers are great if the uni allows them. Send stuff that you won’t mind not having back or with foil burnt into them. Cleaning products, laundry tabs, washing up liquid / sponge are needed. Use old tea towels. Check the size of the bed before you buy duvets etc. Some have singles, 3/4 or doubles.

I live in Newcastle and agree it's an amazing city! Good luck to all those starting there (and elsewhere).

DD went to uni with minimal supplies, and bought what she needed once she'd seen what was provided, from local charity shops etc. Obviously that isn't possible on remote campus unis, but for city ones it might help with transport!

Air fryer? Recommended apparently. I like the idea for easy cooking rather than living on junk. I don't actually own one as prefer the traditional way of cooking in the oven and hob. Only thing is it's a shared kitchen and what if everyone brought one?! I guess it's something to think about later.

Going to wait til he gets there and sees if anyone brings one / wants to share one / buy one as a group

@PhotoDad That's such a coincidence! Will your DD be in Paris as well? Perhaps they'll meet up! Or is her HF elsewhere?

May Inask what kind of art school she did? From your username, I'd guess photography?

I know it’s nice to buy new stuff, but do bear in mind that in shared kitchens, other people may well use and lose your DC’s stuff/burn their pans/ drop their crockery, etc. It does happen, so buying at least some secondhand stuff or taking things from home you can do without makes sense.

DD will be starting her Law degree and has already been buying herself what she needs although I think she vastly overestimates the size of her uni room. She has a PT job and took a gap year and has transferred to work PT at the town she’s studying in and will transfer back during the holidays.

DS barely took anything but the essentials including cleaning items when he started uni but has amassed a large amount along the way. They all use and wash up their own pots and pans. Some bring them back to their room others have no need it all depends on their flat mates in halls. DS had decent flat mates and most his closest friends were made through joining societies.

When DS got to uni it turned out the kitchen had induction hobs so had to buy new pots and pans from Lidl which luckily happened to have some.

Always induction hobs in halls.

She will be in rural Germany, so quite a different au-pair experience from your DD! She was very into photography when she was younger, and in fact I initially joined Mumsnet in order to answer some questions on cameras which is why I picked the username.. But she settled on illustration as the focus of her art course.

I think DD has airfryers in her halls which is useful. I am going to send her with liners for the airfryer though as I know washing the drawers up will not be high on any students list of chores 😂.

oh air fryer liners are a great idea! How do you all know what to get? Are you sent a list from Uni about what equipment they have or is it worth just getting the obvious stuff and waiting to see what's in the room/flat?

just checking in from previous thread. Dd is off to Bath to study psychology. The day after results my dh and I went on holiday and left her to celebrate at home so I’m hoping the house is still standing when we get back and she has done everything she needs to do so far.. I’m guessing not a lot if still waiting to hear about accommodation?! Looking fwd to the adventure, it’s so lovely to hear about everyone’s dc and their journeys to uni.

Just checked the pans I bought DS and fortunately they are suitable for all hob types....phew!

@Onthesofawithmydog, congratulations and well done to your DD! DS’ GF is heading to Bath too (not psychology). You are brave but also wise to escape the house for celebrations, at least you avoid the noise! DS has been non-stop partying since the results day, I think he’s in training for freshers’ week already! He is starting a job today so that’s going to be quite an abrupt change.

We are still waiting for accommodation, I don’t think Warwick even close the applications until the 18th. We don’t expect to hear until late August or early September.

We’ll wait to see what halls he is allocated before deciding on the pans etc. If it’s not induction then he can have our old pans (we’ve upgraded to induction recently and kept the old non-induction pans for this reason). Otherwise we’ll need to buy something. @manywanderings, would be interested in your research on non-stick pans without nasties! Important to us too but the ones we’ve got are expensive. Good to know that the Lakeland ones are nasties-free. Anywhere else you found that’s reasonable?