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

In contrast DS said that his first maths lecture went straight into further maths A level topics within the first 5 mins. Further maths was not a requirement of the course (engineering) but he said he would have really struggled without it.

He also said that he knew he would have to work hard at another aspect of the course that he had his first lecture on yesterday. I think it was all a bit of a shock to the system after months out of study.

DD only has 8 hours of contact this semester - I think next semester it's 11. But as she is picking modules from lots of different degree courses there isn't a lot of coordination, and she is already finding the amount of reading she needs to do quite hard. The reading required for each lecture seems to be posted the week before so has plenty of warning, but just needs to fit it in. She also has her first assessment in 3 weeks, and a couple of pieces if course work due end of October. The rest seems to be for the end of the semester, so I'm guessing she'll be pretty busy of the Christmas break! Term doesn't start until 15 January, which is a week later than DS - he will not be pleased.

@mummyinbeds glad he's up and out today. I think they have an hour lecture and then a break so he will have time to get some food.

DS picked up his student card on Friday I believe.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn DS answered my text to say the lecture was like A level politics but didn't tell me if he'd eaten. He must have done. He has until 4pm before his next lecture so plenty of time 😊 He did say the library won't have the core books in stock until Friday - has your DS found the same?

I haven't spoken to him today but he said they weren't in yesterday. You'd think they might have thought about getting those in before the start of term!

God You lot are so generous. Dh said ds1 could have £250 per month. That is it. Not a penny more. I could manage on £25 p/w lunches easily. I'll ask him. His screwfix weekend job transferred to Notts is fine, he said they were really nice.

Mummy to want me to ask him to check in on your ds?

@Oblomov22 if you could ask him that would be brilliant. He's only round the same corridor I think. Don't worry if he thinks it's a bit weird though 🤣
I would love £25 a week for lunches. A loaf of bread, some cheese and the rest on coffee and chocolate 😁

Mummy I have asked.

That's roughly the same as DD, and yes I agree I could cope with £25 for lunches, but not if I had to pay £5.80 x 2 for brunch too and all lunches had to be bought on campus. She has three 9.00am lectures so I'm guessing DD hasn't made breakfast and is having to have more for lunch but I'm not sure. Hopefully she will get into a routine of getting up in time for breakfast but that will depend on what time she gets to stop working and get to bed.. It's a hard balance, DD and I will have to go without to top her up to £65, so I don't want her to take the mickey and have lots spare or go out eating meals every week and drinking lots but at the same time I do want her to have enough to be able to join in with others, not have to work whilst at uni etc.

Ds only has 1 x 9am, and 2 x 10am.
I think he likes getting up early and going to the gym and then going to breakfast as soon as it opens.

That kid eats like a freaking horse and I think he's been every breakfast lunch and dinner there is and hasn't missed 1 so far.

But remember he's on the other Jubilee site for his course. So from Rutland, main gym and breakfast he needs to get over to Jubilee campus, he has a bike. And he said the food options were better there.

DS is ill and took to his bed yesterday. I hope he has managed to make it to the first practical today. Meanwhile I am attempting to do a CV for him so that he can apply to Tesco as a Festive Colleague 🎅🏻
He has never had a job before so this is testing my bullshitting skills to the max.

I'm in trouble with Ds. He text me to ask me to post his old Astro turf trainers. He occasionally wore them for football on the astro at school. But hasn't worn them since and said they were small. So I think I've thrown them out. Apparently there is some football thing on this week he wants to try for. He said....now he'll have to go in trainers but he will slip and not get chosen and that will be all on me! I told him to go and buy some cheap ones. I said I'll pay, he's not got lectures today...but of course messages are unread. Knowing him he's asleep still as he was asking me how small to cut the chicken last night, it was 10.40pm and he was just getting dinner ready.

Student loan not in still. I've asked him to check the university has confirmed him on the course. He says of course they have. But I want him to ask.

He also messaged to tell me all his his plasters and bandages had been used as he is the only one with a first aid kit. He said they'd just had a bad incident and bandages needed. He said via text that a lad had badly stubbed his toe and when he took his sock off the toe ripped off. He said lots of blood and it's been bandaged. I text back wth? Is he ok? Ds said it bled a lot. I said really? His whole toe off. Ds replied no his toenail, silly me. He missed off the work nail 🙈

😂 I love the idea of someone accidentally pulling their toe off @icanbewhatiwant 😂

@singingstones dd is applying to Tesco too but she reckoned she needed her passport to prove right to work. That’s not right is it, she just needs to give them her NI number doesn’t she? She did festive work at Sainsburys last year so I’m hoping she gets it.

@NCTDN DS is in catered (dinner only) and gets £300 a month on top of his rent. £10 a day didn’t sound like a lot to me, but he’s managing fine and is in London (although he doesn’t drink which probably helps!).

@crazycrofter it is normal to show your passport to HR now - they have a duty to check if you're legal.

@crazycrofter DS has needed his passport for all the jobs he's had at uni. NI number is not sufficient. Also need it for renting second year property, which may start before the end of this term!!

Yes, even DS's volunteer jobs have needed proof of right to work in the UK ie passport now.

Got my head in my hands after reading the comments about the RAU on the Sloane Ranger thread. Poor DS might not be posh enough it seems.

Poor DD has had a dreadful college day. Realised yesterday she didn't have a textbook she needed in class today (said they had apparently been told but she didn't remember, she has working memory problems). Ordered it Prime to my work which is only 10 mins drive from college as the class was last period, hoped it would come on time to drop off in my lunch break. No it did not, it has just arrived now. She's been messed about a bit over a job and to top it all she overslept this morning and missed the train (she comes with me if she has a class first period but wasn't due in till later today). So she will have been late for tutor group,

ok, thanks all, sounds like she needs her passport with her then! I'm not sure why she didn't take it in the first place, to be honest.

That's good to know about the passport, he will have to remember to bring it home if he gets anywhere with the Tesco job.

If someone hasn’t got a passport then they can also show a copy of their full birth certificate AND a letter/P45/P60 from a previous employer with their NI number on. They have to be original documents.

DS had to show passport for work too, I think it's probably a legal requirement now.

@icanbewhatiwant similar happened with DS astro boots, DH threw them out in one of his garage tidying frenzies, god only knows why because they were in good condition! Luckily he borrowed a pair off one of his friends from school who is at Notts too. If he makes the team we'll get him a new pair.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn I'd paid £2 for these ones from a Facebook group. I have looked on there for another pair, but none this time.

Genuine LOL at the missing toe! DD took her passport for proof of ID. Also, she had apparently missed an email about required equipment, but luckily art supplies are relatively cheap compared to textbooks. Can't believe that it will be four weeks since drop-off in two days' time.

I'm enjoying reading everyone's news of how their dc are getting on. There was a poster here whose DD was working as an air hostess for a while and then moved to something else. I can't remember your username but hope your DD is doing well in her next venture.

Shimy that was @whoamitojudge. I'm sure her dd had moved airlines, and loving it.