Thread 42 Corona GCSE Cohort - 👻Creeping it Real for Oct22

[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 advice to be had.

previous thread

Touché 😄

How are all the Freshers flu sufferers today. DS is sounding so much better at last. He's going to a Law Society drinks thing this evening and then clubbing. His freshers week starts now 😁

Mummyinbeds

I think DS is now coming down with the lurgy, spoke to him briefly earlier and he sounded poorly and said he thinks he’s coming down with flu.

Recommend the recipe with condensed milk. Game changer for me.

Ds messaged me that he's now got scaffolding outside his room and it's really dark.

I'd sent accommodation an enquiry form. Re reducing meals to 17 from 19. No response. So now booked a meeting.

Oh no @JustHereWithMyPopcorn the flu is certainly doing the rounds. Hope he recovers quickly.

Beginnings of a cold here too!

@mummyinbeds did you let her steal your glory or did you

claim it back ?

It's great that your DS is feeling better and out on the tiles tonight - hope he enjoyes it.

DD says she is feeling better now which is good considering she doesn't seemed to have slowed down socially yet. She is coming home this weekend and have to admit to being quite excited by that. I am trying to be cool and not expect too much from her as I know she will be out and about most of the weekend. She is texting me daily (usually asking for things/info) but it's something. Said she is looking forward to seeing me on Friday night and that we could watch tele together (our past chatting time) then asked if could she invite her boyfriend not yet a boyfriend over after that which I agreed to. She won't actually get home from Nottingham with DH until around 11.00pm so assume we will only watch 1-hr of tele together but it's something. We will watch her play hockey and then hopefully she will eat with us Sunday before DH drives her back.I am learning to accept she really doesn't want to call or facetime at the moment, but does seem to want to text.

I really don't know much of what she has been experiencing or how she feels about uni yet but hoping she shares some info at the weekend - I don't plan on asking much, just being with her and letting her talk if she wants to. If needs be I will revert to our agreed system when she was in junior school and she used to tell me off for asking her too many questions when I picked her up (if was usually after the first question of what did you ahve for lunch)... The agreed system became me asking her how was her day out of 10. That way at least I knew if there was a problem or not. Most days were about an 7/8 occassionally 4 which meant something happened which she usually told me about later that day or that week. I might ask her for scores out of 10 for Rutland, the Biology course and social. That basically covers everything without her having to go into detail.

Hope you have a nice visit @JustHereWithMyPopcorn and that your DS isn't poorly.

@Oblomov22 Go you - who do you have a meeting with? online I assume? good for you. Now if you could arrange for a lovely discount for the rest of us too that would be grand (despite me not actually getting around to moaning about it officially myself)...

@Oblomov22 does he know why there's scaffolding?

Yes NCT he got an email to say maintenance. No idea how long for though.

Yes, only online meeting. But at least it's something.

So glad he's out mummy.

Piggy, BlueMarigold, boxcar, can you help with accommodation payments, please?
DD hasn’t arranged her direct debit payment yet, but she can’t see any kind of statement of account; all she has is a statement of total cost, which doesn’t include the deposit that’s already been paid.

Is there somewhere on the accommodation portal that shows what’s been paid and what’s still owing?

The portal is awful.... it's so confusing. She needs a Direct Debit form. I can't remember how we got that. Give Living a call. Thry are really helpful.

Found you all! Very belated thanks for the 'new' thread. Hope all the DC are doing ok.

DD is settling better now that lectures have started, and seems to be making some friends. Her accommodation is still far from quiet but she seems to be making the best of it.

@Takeittotheboss
Thanks for the accommodation advice.

Have any of you ordered a digital railcard? Ds has just told me his railcard is about to run out. Last year I used my Tesco points and had a card sent through the post. But as Ds isn't here I wondered about trying a digital card. If anyone has ordered one....is it easy enough to get it to Ds? Is it just a case of forwarding an email? Thanks.

@Alsoplayspiccolo We went into the accommodation portal & set up the direct debit there. We did 3 payments. No option on when it goes out though - the first payment is due beginning of November. The direct debit is set to DD’s account as we’ve gone for max loan (also from Wales & given we have twins to pay for that’s the best way of managing it for us).

Railcards, yes, I do digital ones and it is easy enough for someone else to load them onto their phone but you do need a passport type photo as part of the application and photo id for age restricted ones. I seem to remember just taking a photo of DD's passport photo and using it for hers.

@EerilyDevilled thanks. I have his passport photo on my phone as I had them emailed to me. Also his year 13 photo. So I have a choice. I'll go for it then. I just wondered if it will be easy enough to forward it. Thanks again.

Thanks, Piggy and boxcar.
Ive found her a link for setting up a direct debit, but can’t find any sign of a statement of account.
She is en suite accommodation, with the difference between the cost of that and a standard Tim being credited under DSA. However, no one has told her exactly how much that cost is, and all that’s on the portal is the total annual cost of her room; no mention of the deposit being paid or the DSA credit.
She wants to know what her weekly budget is, but has no way of working it out!

DD did some laundry yesterday :-)

Ds and dd both have digital railcards.

There is an offer at the moment for new Trainline or Trainpal customers

🙌😄