Thread 43 - GCSE Covid Cohort ..November 22 Remember Remember

[OrangeCinnamonLatte]

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

Hoorah. 🚗
Mummy I think we should go out drinking. Get a Nottingham scooter home.

Fab news @mummyinbeds ! Congratulations to her🎉

My DS uses the scooters in Bristol. I'm surprised they stop at midnight because I know he and his mates have used them to get back to Frenchay after clubbing in the city centre. As far as I know only one of them has ended up in casualty.....

@Oblomov22 No scooters!!! I now have visions of a bunch of drunk ladies scooting down the M1 🤣

Loving that image! 🤣
Seriously though those scooters scare me aswell, and nothing scares me.

DD hasn't used the in Bristol scorers which really surprised me, till she pointed out at the bus is free and scooters cost money! We did use them a little when we went down to visit. Poor ds couldn't though as he's 15. I promised him that once he gets his provisional licence I'd take him to a place that has them. I didn't realise that as well add a provisional licence, you need to be 18 not 16.

@icanbewhatiwant to wind back the conversation, I can report back that Slimpod seems to be working for me. Went to a funeral today with fabulous catering and had 2 small sandwiches and no cakes - they all looked lovely, but I just did not want them (I used to be terrible at walking past free food!). I have lost 4kg in 2 weeks (I am much more overweight than you!), but they say it is not about weighing yourself, just focusing on going down a clothes size at a time. You could try the free 10 day trial followed by 30 days with a money-back guarantee.

Evening all, I haven’t posted for a few days. Sorry to hear that some of the DCs are really struggling at the moment.

DS has decided to apply for halls again next year (disabled students are entitled to at his uni, he just needs to let them know). He says (and I agree) that while he is happy and coping at the moment with his course and social life and just about managing his DSA admin, he is using up all his mental reserves and can’t take on anything extra ie househunting without jeopardising the other stuff. He also feels that a houseshare would be a step too far to cope with next year when the work ramps up. Meanwhile he has spent a day learning to ride quad bikes this week, I wish I was doing his course!

On the reset front, excellent work @Monkey2001, sorry you had to go to a funeral though. I have been low carbing for the last month and have now lost a stone since DS left (several more to go) - I feel slimmer, healthier and generally more stable (energy levels, mood etc). Going to come out of it slightly this week and have a break for a bit, then go back to it. But I have several meals out coming up, and a funeral which is going to require a 4 hour each way train journey and might test me a bit.

Well done for losing a stone @EspeciallyD that is really impressive! Glad it is making you feel better. I am hoping to make mine a stone by Christmas, and I am urged on by discovering when trying to get HRT that my blood pressure is way too high. Sounds wise to stay in halls rather than rush into sharing with people he does not really know, other people can make life very stressful when there is no "grown up in the room". He can share in his third year when he knows how the people he would share with live!

What is slimpod @Monkey2001 ? We complete on our new house on Monday so once we’re settled I’ll have no excuses not to start the diet! Well done @EspeciallyD !

Ds has had his six-weekly ‘do something daft’ episode this week. I knew it was due as I’d not heard from school for about a month and he’d said last weekend that small town life is a bit boring and he’s missing the city!

I went into his room at 11 on Wed night and he’d shaved the top of his hair off in a ‘Gargamel’ (from the Smurfs film) look! I was so shocked I thought I was dreaming, it was a proper monk look! He was adamant he was going to school like that for the ‘jokes’ but I persuaded him to shave the rest off the next morning- and he promptly got an internal exclusion for a less than no 2 haircut 😱

He was quite upset that he was being punished for something that’s not morally wrong! If only he would think ahead….

@Monkey2001 I did do the 10 days free trial on slimpod. But decided I didn't want to commit to it all. I saw an article about online hypnotherapy on the clear minds Facebook page. So I downloaded a couple of weight loss ones as there was an offer on. I have always said I don't believe anything like that works. But actually I think listening daily has helped. A few pounds off already.

@crazycrofter Slimpod aims to retrain your brain to make healthier choices. After years of "poor choices", eating too much/the wrong things, it uses a nightly podcast to nudge your subconscious to want to do more excercise and make healthy choices. It is not a diet, it is trying to change the way you approach food, so no calorie counting, but mindful eating where you only eat whilst are hungry and take time to savour what you eat and to move more - dance around the kitchen, walk more etc. Seems to be working for me so far.

@icanbewhatiwant glad to hear you have found something that worked for you.

Jealous and seriously impressed Monkey. I seem to be getting fatter and fatter.

Proud mum moment. Ds has a posh formal, parents invited, presentation of A-level certificates evening, mid December. He's just been emailed to say he's been nominated by his teachers for an award. We don't know what it is yet, is it based on his good results, or effort or is it some numpty pencil sharpening monitor award? Who knows what, but it's cool, it's flattering.

EspeciallyD well done too!
Agree for ds, stay put, who needs the hassle of arranging house share when it's just simpler for him to stay put.

Crazy that is mad. Sorry to laugh.

Been avoiding the thread because dd's experience of post-school life is so very far from the norm, but coming back to say that she has impressed me this week by going alone to the GP for the first time and getting a prescription for beta blockers. She is so keen to fight her challenges and move forward now. She is also doing a MOOC about 'Compassion in Fashion' and finding it inspiring.

Dd2 has sent off her UCAS form! Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, Sussex for Music.

Ds has decided he wants to stay in halls next year too as the original people he was going to share with fell through due to one of them deciding to commute.

His current halls are freshers only but there are a couple of privately run ones (the conservatoire actually have a certain amount of rooms at one of them too) so he is going to try there.

@ZittiEBuoni
Please don't avoid. I like to think that we are welcoming enough to acknowledge all sorts, not just the standard Uni lot, but all those on year outs, or other ventures.

I had beta blockers once. I kept going to different GP's talking about excruciating pain. I was in excruciating pain, shooting pains in the middle of the night, which what I thought was possibly carpal tunnel, or something similar. the shooting pains in the middle of the night would make me scream in pain, and a number of GPs were quite dismissive. In the end, one GP suggested beta blockers which stops the pain registry into the brain. and sorted me right out. until I got to the consultant who gave me a steroid injection into the wrist and stopped all the pain. I didn't have any problems afterwards.

Well done to @mummyinbeds Dd on the driving test. A big milestone.
Just been reading that York are changing their term structure wef Sept 23. This will mean an Earlier start date, shorter holidays at Christmas and Easter but an earlier finish in summer. Not sure if DD aware of this as she’s with the bf at the moment. I know when DD1 was at Durham the holidays felt too long. They’re calling it semesterisation. Any other unis doing this?

That's always been in the offing at York benji. Students who accepted an offer last year were told their second year would go to the semester model. Birmingham has semesters but you'd hardly notice, and Bath has done forever I think!

Surrey moved to a semester system when I was there many years ago! There was a weird summer in the middle. I guess dd will have that this year at York.

DS has the semester system at the RAU (if you recall he was one of the earliest on the thread to start in September). It means his holidays pretty well match those of DD at college except he finishes earlier in summer (at the start of her half term week).

Interesting, Oblomov, they must be powerful then! DD's issue is that she feels fine about everything until the moment it happens - e.g. rocking up at the school door. Then - instant panic. Really hoping beta blockers might break that cycle. SSRIs did very little for her.

I've never heard of the semester thing but just looked it up for Birmingham and it doesn't seem to be hugely different from the 3 term model, just in terms of assessment timings.