Urgent

[Karenola156]

Hello everyone,
I’m hoping for some advice.
I’ll be travelling abroad for three weeks from 25 July. My daughter is 17 (she turns 18 in October) and would prefer to stay in London because she’s preparing for important exams and wants to continue studying.
I don’t feel comfortable leaving her home alone for three weeks, and unfortunately I don’t have any family in the UK who can help.
My maximum budget is £1,500.
Does anyone have any suggestions for safe, supervised accommodation or programmes? I’m open to:

• Residential study programmes
• Boarding schools offering summer accommodation
• Any other reputable options anywhere in the UK (including Scotland)

From July 25

A 17 yr old should be able to manage. Is there no one who can check in on her.

Leave her at home. Get a shop delivered with food no booze each week and hire a cleaner (less to clean and more to check), make sure she has numbers of people locally.

I left home at 17

These are good ideas

Also a Ring doorbell

a lot of the comments are about ‘can’t she manage’ but I know when I left my 17yr old fir a week whilst I was abroad last year, it wasn’t at all that I thought she couldn’t manage, my worry was that if anything horrible happened to her/she got ill - she didn’t have a single family member in the same country to be with her. As it happened, we went, and she loved the freedom. And nothing happened.

you say that your daughter 'would prefer' to stay at home - if you aren't comfortable with a 17year old being in charge of your home for three weeks (assuming she'd be alone), then tell her she can study whilst she's away with you?? or find a friend she can stay with for a while. Plenty of kids leave home around 17 to go to uni (I'm in Scotland, and I did) but if you don't feel she's responsible enough and there's not a support network around, then tell her she has to go with you. and what is she studying for over summer??

Lots of opinions here, but very few people answering the ops question.

Probably because for £1500 for 3 weeks there aren't (m)any.
What do you think could work?

My DD can't manage - so she has to come on holiday even if she doesn't want to.

This might not be what you are looking for, but the YHA will allow 17 year olds to stay in a private room if it is a hostel that is staffed 24hrs. My thought would be to try for 3 separate weeks as I don't know what the hostels are like in the summer and in major cities, they may not be that restful. The rooms are nice but basic. I have, however, stayed in the more countryside style places and have found them fine in terms of noise etc.
For week 1 and 2, London Thameside looks to fit within the budget and meet the company's rules on age/room.
The Cambridge hostel also has some availability at a similar price and plenty of library and study places (i.e. in town) if she were also to fancy some days elsewhere. I have stayed there and found it fine.

She should cope alone but make sure she knows how to get help in an emergency.

Meant to say - if this is appealing, then she should join the YHA for a year and book as a member, as members get discounts on pretty much all bookings and for that period it should be worth it.

Why don’t you feel comfortable leaving her?
A lot of these options will either be expensive or not conducive to quiet study.
What does your DD want to do?

A nanny to look after a NT 17 year old 😳

Because there isn’t anything. Residential or live in childcare for a 17 year old isn’t a thing, especially on a budget.

OP has three choices in reality - go without Dd and put as many safeguards in place as possible; go and insist Dd comes too; don’t go or cut trip shorter.

Offer the £1500 to her friends' mums to have her stay. One of them will bite your arm off for that money.

I went on holiday to Ibiza for 2 weeks when I was 17. You can certainly find residential study camps, but they are more like £4,000 for 2 weeks: https://www.summerboardingcourses.com/prices

While this sounds like it could be quite the adventure, for a 17 year old that isn't trusted on her own, it seems a bit foolhardy. She'd be in new environments with a lot of strangers. The 24/7 staffing doesn't really provide supervision of the individuals staying.They aren't going to parent her. If she's poor at decision making it seems like this sort of environment would enhance risk, not mitigate it.

Why don’t you trust her?

What are the important exams? If it’s A-Levels or Highers, they don’t start until May next year.
does she not want to take a bit of a break from
studying?
or even pick up a summer job or something that might help support future College applications?
not the point of the thread but you don’t want her to burn herself out?

She's 17. Let her stay at home and revise in peace.
Unless there is some back story or additional needs I dont see the issue?

This is a good idea.

You would be very lucky to find any residentials at such late notice.

For the majority you needed to have signed them up months ago ( I looked for my own child)
Plus most are for the year below her or younger trying to persuade them to go to uni.

I assume she won’t be going to uni in September?
Else I would suggest contacting them and seeing if there’s anything on.

I’m a bit confused as to how she won’t have time to study whilst abroad but will when doing a residential in this country.

Can she not come abroad with you but just stay in the hotel?

If your area is unsafe then perhaps looking to get her a caravan or hotel in the uk in a safer area?

I did RSPB and concordia.
https://www.concordia.org.uk/

And British Council. But these were full time, no time for study.