Thread 39 - Covid Cohort - Our Adult Children Now Post 18

[CinnamonOrangeCremeBrulee]

This is a support thread for our young adults post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting, and their results ( or life updates for those who went into work or have had results earlier). It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, uni vs employment please don't within this thread.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue. We were previously on the secondary board and then further education, now we shall be here in 'Parents of Adult Children' gulp

Our DS/DD may continue down various pathways ( employment, apprenticeships, higher ed). Be warned there might be lots of 'Uni Freshers' chat this time of year. My experience is that everyone is welcomed wherever, whatever their child is doing we have some in work, gap years , apprenticeships etc too. Lots of contributors with different experiences and always sympathy and support to be had !

More hair tearing out last night, finally found the places for uploading photo and passport pic to find that it said please do this by 3rd Sept, luckily I had a good photo of his passport from our holiday (I took photos of all of them before we travelled) and a good, recent head shot so we tried to upload those, the system crashed 🤦‍♀️. Checked back this morning and it had all gone through.

DS seems fine, thanks, crazy. We’ve forced a couple of phone calls out of him, but getting any detail from him is hard work.
He says everything’s fine; his dorm mate is nice but untidy, and he (DS) is worried he hasn’t managed to do any laundry yet. 🤣

He has an audition in London tomorrow - we’re driving down to pick him up this afternoon, so we’ll have chance to grill him more in the car on the way.
I miss him; the lack of daily chat about inconsequential things is the hardest bit, and seeing the back to school photos at his old school made me choke up a bit this morning.

Aw, it’s hard to lose them earlier than you expect @Alsoplayspiccolo . But he’ll be back for half term in no time!

As, he sounds good though Piccolo. It really is the general chit chat isn’t it that when not there, it’s silence is deafening :(

@Alsoplayspiccolo I'm glad your DS is settling in, and sorry you're missing him. I'm wondering if my DS's absence for most of the summer will actually serve me well - he's like a visitor to our house, rarely here and when he is he is either asleep of doesn't want to chat. 😕

Anyone know if we are supposed to be doing anything else regarding finance? Did all the forms ages ago but are we supposed to do anything else?

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn dd has been the same this summer - I've got used to her being away, although she does communicate lots with me via text and phone calls.

I got dd to log into her student finance account and double check that the loan is showing there with the correct payment dates.

Sort of glad it's not just me @crazycrofter but sad for both of us too.

I've popped on to check, I think it's OK, says they'll pay first installment on 26th September.

@ealingwestmum fingers crossed for tomorrow. Two fab options, but I hope she gets what she wants.

We checked student finance yesterday because the uni portal had DS ticking a box to say it was all approved and I was worried it hadn't updated after he had to change his course code a couple of weeks ago but all fine.

DD’s friend who thought she was in Rutland is now not sure as there’s been some sort of mix up. Dd has booked to move in on the Saturday 4-5 so she’ll be one of the last in. I can pass her useful info from the early starters via @Oblomov22 @heifer and co!

@crazycrofter
at least she's booked in crazy, that's good.

@crazycrofter good that she has booked her slot. What block is she in?

She didn't think she knew @heifer. Where does it show the block?

She had to print out the Key collection Pass - on there is says Room Details, DDs was Room H* so assumed H block.

York room allocations came out today. Anyone else going to York?

Ooh, really @handmademitlove ? Ds is away so can’t get him to access his emails. Damn!

York looks lovely , I need to visit and was hoping Dd would apply but she didnt !

[Sorry not helpful]

@Alsoplayspiccolo good luck to your DS for the audition and lovely that you get some time with him on the journey.

HSBC bank account finally sorted, online banking set up and card activated. Ended up phoning the telephone banking and got talked through how to do it all. Just need to update student finance bank details next.

Still no uni email yet so the DSA computer training has stalled as need Office for some of the software to work.

@heifer @Oblomov22 dd is in A block in Rutland.

Prepping for ARU move-in tomorrow: DW and DS now both self-isolating with Covid. DD has bad cold but testing negative. I'm OK apart from a dodgy foot so I'm limping! So all a little more fraught than we would have liked in the Photo Household for DD's last evening before moving, and no family meal together as we really don't want the travellers to be infected.

DD's plan had been not to take food, and go shopping when she's there... but now we've loaded tins/rice/snacks for a few days in case she's mainly housebound. Luckily one of her friends is willing to do food runs, and we hope that she's recovered before Freshers starts on Saturday afternoon.

And of course thunderstorms are forecast for Cambridge just when we'll be arriving. Fingers crossed, eh?

How did @KingscoteStaff get on...?

Hope all the younger DC have been enjoying their first few days of term. And the teachers!

Gosh...all of you talking about admin. Ds says he's had no more emails from Sussex. So I hope he's correct. He confirmed accommodation and arrival time. I hope that's all he needs to do. I have no one to compare stuff with time, with ds1 there were lots of us on a separate UEA thread.

HSBC all sorted. He's moved some money into the account and done a few transactions.

I'm still nagging, unsuccessfully, at him to put all his clothes in the wash that are strewn all round his room, so I can wash everything, then we can start packing at the weekend. I also want his school books sorted out, they are all over his desk and floor, plus his full school bag, also still on the bedroom floor, probably containing food. Of course he won't do any of it. It'll be left for me. Ds finishes his job on Friday. He's out all day Saturday. So really just leaves Sunday to go through stuff. I'm working mon, Tues and weds. We leave thurs early. We are getting so close now,...I've packed several boxes up in the garage ready to go. I've been collecting pasta, rice, tea, cereal etc. plus shower gel, toothpaste and other bathroom things.

Ds hasn't chatted to anyone in his accommodation online. I think it will only be him there that day as the actual arrival day is 17th. But he has booked early arrival for 15th. He won't mind if it's just him.

DD arrived safely in Newcastle, was met by a lovely 2nd Year Hockey girl (if that was your daughter, say thank you!) and swept off to an afternoon of training and a ‘dress as a fruit’ social this evening!
It’s new and strange, but she’s powering through.

Also cold and wet, so thank goodness for the Big Coat.

How was Cambridge @PhotoDad ?

Got a lot to catch up on. Good luck to those heading off imminently and to the younger DC going back to school.

We're back from a few days in Iceland, just DS and I. What a fabulous place! DS has a theory no-one could get run down there.

@crazycrofter DS is in A too 😁