Thread 41 Corona Cohort - Autumn Adventures of our Adult Children

[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 !

previous thread

Is this a new thing Piggy? Why the heck are lecturers working post 5pm? Seriously when did this become a thing? And why? One day his 6pm is the only lecture that day. The other time he's got 3, first thing, then lunch, then a late one.

I didn't even know that Uni's now did 6pm. (old codger).

I had evening lectures almost 30 years ago

DS has 9ams most days, Weds pm off and every third Thursday pm off otherwise it is pretty full on. 6pm finishes on Tuesdays and Fridays. Lectures start next week, I think he may get a shock!

I must ask DS. Did see a timetable but he wasn’t sure if it was the final one or not. He only had a couple of hours free at one point in 6th form so it would be too much of a difference, evening lectures would be though.

Good luck it to the new starters this weekend 🍀

DDs timetable changes most weeks but has 9ams everyday and Thursday is till 9pm as it includes rehearsals. On the up side Friday afternoons are free so she fits in DSA mentoring and computer training in that time.

Had a good chat with DD yesterday and she’s managed 2 weeks away. She said it’s still overwhelming but this week was easier than the first week. She’s made a few more friends and joined a couple of groups. She’s had her first lesson with her new instrument teacher and really enjoyed it.

So today is 1st October and I’m determined to clear up one room in this house today…

Morning all and best wishes to this weekend's starters.

@PaddingtonPaddington I blitzed our bedroom last weekend and it feels so much more relaxing when there is less clutter.

Good luck to everyone moving this weekend.

I haven’t seen a timetable from DS, if I ask I’ll be told I’m interfering. He did say he finishes early on a Friday so that’s good for coming home for a weekend or going to Manchester to visit his best mate.
He won’t commit to any visit date and seemed shocked when I suggested we might like to see him before Xmas, especially as it’s DH birthday at the start of Nov

For interest (art school is a bit different to lecture-based courses) DD's timetable is one full day and two half days of classes each week. But she is expected to do the same amount again on her own (and has been doing so far).

They are shown a new technique each class and then have to practice it before the next session, bringing their work along. She loves that approach! For the last two years she's been doing art whenever she could and her other A-level work had to squeeze in the gaps. (This was, ahem, reflected in the exam results, but she got where she wanted to be, right..?)

Good luck to everyone moving today!

DD has only had part of her timetable - hoping they release the rest over the weekend. We have a long weekend away booked in October half term and are hoping DD will be able to join us for some/all of it but much depends on her timetable. I know universities don't have half terms, but we are still constrained by the dates as I'm a teacher and obviously we have DD2 as well.

Re-boot starts (officially) today! I'm focusing on clearing a bit of clutter at home and tackling one room at a time. I'd love to blitz the lot all in one go, but one weekend won't be enough!

I have started walking to work 3 times a week to try and get a bit of fresh air and exercise. I've always cooked from scratch, but I'm in a rut with recipes, so I'm going try something new every week. Hopefully all this will give me a bit of a mental boost (and if I were also to shift a few pounds, that would be a bonus).

@HarrietDVane reading week might coincide with half term - have you checked university term dates on website?

I did a big tidy last weekend as we had friends coming over, still have loads of pictures from in law move filling out sitting room. Was great to make sitting room nice again.

DS's reading week is two weeks after DD's half term but happily his school have invited them back for a certificate presentation evening during reading week.

DD’s timetable has at least one 5-7 lecture, I think two. Definitely Monday and possibly Friday. We knew this was a thing from the open day, as well as how low the contact hours are. I did English at university so it’s quite familiar (low contact, not the two hour lectures into the evening!) but DH did maths and is quite surprised by it.

We’re going to see her today! Got a bag of stuff to take - badminton racket, tissues, loo, roll and a folder, as requested, plus some other bits.

She has reflection week in October, and plans to come home. We’ve suggested she get the train down and we take her back - she’s pleased as she’d assumed it would be train both ways. It feels like the girl we dropped off the weeks ago would have assumed we’d drive both ways, or would have asked us to … maybe I’m underestimating her though.

Can anyone recommend a heated airer? It would help me in my quest to keep the heating off for as long as possible.

@singingstones I have an Aldi one, website says they will be back soon.
www.aldi.co.uk/easy-home-heated-airer/p/713313545173201

I've got a Lakeland one, they were on offer a few weeks ago. It's the biggest one, it's very good but we have got it in a bit of a confined space (DS's room between desk, window and wardrobe) and it's a bit awkward reaching through to put the stuff on if you have short arms so make sure you have enough space, ideally you want to be able to get at three sides of it.

Also the cable is very short (maybe 1.5m) so you need to locate it near a plug socket.

Or get an extension lead

For the last two years she's been doing art whenever she could and her other A-level work had to squeeze in the gaps. (This was, ahem, reflected in the exam results, but she got where she wanted to be, right..?)

substitute art for music and this was Ds during his GCSES!

Good luck to all doing drop offs today! 🍀
I’m hoping to leave at 11am- that’s if DD stops dragging yet more bloody stuff out!
We’re staying overnight and I’m taking her into her college tomorrow morning- first time either of us will have seen it ‘in the flesh’ so exciting times 😂

Best wishes to all those settling in this weekend!

Do you rate the Aldi heated airer Monkey2000? A friend offered me hers the other day - but the reason she was getting rid of it was that it took up a space for something not that great. Maybe she got a dud one though...

mummyinbeds, another one with a year 13-er - what subjects and unis are your dd interested in? Dd2 wants to do Music, maybe with something else, and has Bristol and Birmingham top of the list currently. I haven't seen an equivalent thread to this for that year group (and not sure I'd want to join it as I might be at my limit for trying to remember different posters and what their dc are up to).

Dd had to go back for further blood tests yesterday as she had borderline high levels of bilirubin and haemoglobin. But the phlebotomist was only able to get 1.5 vials of 3 so she's got to go back AGAIN next week. Apparently she has the slowest blood of all time!

Sorry, Monkey2001, I shaved a year off you

Has anyone else got a y11 child? I'd love to find a thread like this one for DSs year.

Which college, @ProggyMat?

And, @NCTDN, my DS is in Y11. Let me know if you find a thread or we could start one! Although, like @ZittiEBuoni, I find it hard enough to keep track of just one set of DCs.

@ZittiEBuoni I've never found a group for DD's cohort and don't really want to. I like this one. I just hope people don't mind me asking year 13 questions occasionally 😁
DD wants to study some combination of human geography, global development and international relations. There are some great sounding courses out there but the front runners at the moment are Sheffield, York and Kent. She's finally moving away from her initial criteria of must have a beach.