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

4 more sleeps until both DD and DS are home!

5 more sleeps til I pick up DS. He already has plans for Saturday and Sunday nights out.

16th for DD coming home but I did see him at the weekend.

DD finishes on the 16th but we’re not picking her up until the 20th, for reasons. 14 week term … she refuses to figure out the dates for the other terms, so she’s getting her money from us equally loaded across the terms, when she would have had more this term.

Can I ask - those whose DD/DS have signed up for 2nd yr accommodation - if bills included how much is the fair usage cap?

Those bills not included - how much are you budgeting for weekly or monthly?

DDs contact has arrived and it stated bills included but there is cap is £10pp per week on average! For me that isn't bills included at all. Especially as it's £150pw in Nottingham.

Having a look online it seems £10 was low before the price hikes! In a house of 4 that is only £2080 pa for bills and anything else over that they have to pay.. thoughts?

@heifer the tenants in DD’s house who showed them round had been in the house 3 years and they reckoned bills cost them £10pw per person - but presumably that’s really based on last year’s costs as we haven’t had winter yet. I was thinking £20 pw

@Heifer of course you are right, £10/week cap is not bills included. I hope it is a really lovely place! Including £10 in the rent is the worst of all worlds as there is no option to shop around. Some landlords get kick backs for tying tenants in to expensive contracts, so it is worth reviewing the books when they get them. It is disgraceful that people can prey on 18 year olds in this way.

DS reports his lecturers turned up in 'early modern fancy dress' to lectures today!

😂 piggywaspushed. I’m on campus today and there’s been graduation ceremonies going on in the Great Hall. It’s all very grand and formal so I couldn’t work out why the orchestra were playing Come on Eileen when I walked past earlier?!

Yes, DS said that's why they were dressed up!

@Piggywaspushed Early modern? Ooooh, I hope that they had wigs!

I think fancy gowns and hats...

I loved helping out at graduation ceremonies at Chi but I used to get hyper emotional for some reason, so I didn't usher ceremonies.

All the sons and daughters dressed up in gowns with their parents... and the colourful gowns of the academic staff , really lovely occasions. I've never sat through a ceremony though (been on the info /ticket desk). Didn't even go to my OU degree ceremony (lockdown etc).

DS1 has a date for his graduation ceremony (if you recall, we had traumas in the summer related to a failed module). It's in Lincoln Cathedral but he doesn't want to go...

Sorry to hear that Piggy. Do you think he really doesn't care or could he have imposter syndrome after the summer trauma? Not everybody wants to go to degree ceremonies though. Is he doing a Masters this year?

They make me feel emotional just walking past @OrangeCinnamonLatte 😂 Aw, he should go @Piggywaspushed . Or at least hire a gown and mortar board and take a photo! How’s his masters going?

Dd has managed to get a first in her first piece of assessed work, despite her lack of focus and pulling an all nighter to finish it! She’s one of those annoying people who can party hard, and still pull it out the bag when required! She got offered the warehouse holiday job, and said the people seemed really nice, so she’s happy about that too.

Well done to mini Crazy!

The master's is not a roaring success but its a means to an end.

I don't think it's imposter syndrome. He hates any ceremony.

Aw! Iove graduation ceremonies (mine, i hated). Just looking at all those young graduants with relief and hope for the future written on all their faces & their proud parents makes me well up a little. I think young piglet should be encouraged to go because he'll look back in 10 yrs time a tiny bit of him will wish he had that cheesy photo & gown. Something to show the future children.

Our news is that Ds has spent the day viewing houses. He sent me links to 5. I was at work so I looked at them about an hour later, 2 of them said unavailable, so they'd already been viewed and taken off the market before Ds got there. He said 2 were really awful, run down, mouldy etc. the third they liked but said it still had a bit of damp. The last one they viewed looks amazing online, Ds said it wasn't like a student house, they all really liked it but it was £160 each per week. The other one was £129 week. Neither included bills. All the properties are an hours walk from the university. The 2 they liked are near bus stops, but almost a mile from the train station (quickest and cheapest route to university) Anyway, they decided they'd go for the cheaper property. Ds said they'd called the agent back and says yes. But I haven't heard from him again. So I hope they did call. That's one less thing to worry about if it's done.

Ds has decided he's got adhd. Though maybe not the "h" part. All his school life the teachers have said he takes so long to get his work done. He's been telling me it takes him much longer than anyone else to write essays because he gets side tracked so much. He always has music or football on while he works, so I told him to switch all devices off, he said then he will realise he's looking out te window fiddling with an object. He now wants to get diagnosed so he can take medication to help him concentrate. He's managed for 19 years...so not sure it's worth pursuing. I am a bit anti medication too, unless it's really needed. He had a job lined up over Christmas, but he has 4 essays to do, he said he can't do both.

I am picking him up Sunday. He has a mate going to stay with him Friday, the mate is at York university.

Well done to your DD, crazy. She sounds like she’s taken to uni life like a duck to water.
I saw the uni’s posts about the winter graduation ceremony, but DD didn’t mention seeing anyone in gowns…or fancy dress!

We got an email from DS’s school at lunchtime, informing us that term would end at the end of the school day, due to high numbers of illness - students and staff are suffering from Strep A, scarlet fever, a flu-like virus, and a virulent d&v bug.
So, all the various concerts, parties and house Christmas dinners cancelled and all boarders to go home ASAP; we’re driving to collect him tomorrow morning.

Ha!! Notice they didn't mention Covid there... it's like a code of silence! That'll be the 'flu like virus'...

I hadn’t spotted that!
The school had previously said that they were discouraging students from testing, but if they did test and were positive, parents would be asked to take them home.

Tbf, I’ve got a few friends with flu symptoms who have tested negative, so something seems to be doing the rounds.
I’m just praying d&v misses us!

My sister had Covid last week and DS's piano teacher has it now. Feels like there is a lot of it around given that a lot of people are not testing even if they have symptoms.

@Alsoplayspiccolo it is lucky that you are able to collect at short notice! Sorry you are missing out on the Christmas concerts, it is a wonderful part of being at a musical school. The impact of Covid just goes on and on. 🙁

Piccolo this is so sad. Covid/flu/strep A ruining yet another year. I wasn't expecting this.

Golly piccolo, they must be going down like flies to shut early like that. I hope piccolette is well.
my DS had an awful streaming coke which was not covid last week - and I’ve got it today. Eurgh.

im very excited about DS1 coming home from California in just 10 sleeps! Haven’t seen him since mid August!