Thread 44 GCSE Covid Cohort - Countdown to Christmas & New Year

[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

Cut and pasted from previous post "The rent is £2383 per month but the first payment is £6050 plus a deposit of £1,250. This all seems like a lot! Is this what everyone else has had to do? Any advice most welcome!!"

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn This is DDs

Weekly cost of £600 (£150 each)
Deposit of £1200 (so £300 each) to be paid now.
1st payment due 1st August is for £6000 - £600 already paid to hold the house) - so £1350 each
2nd/3rd & 4th payment due October/January & April is for £8400 (£2100 each)

Hope that helps

Zara, and other stories, and Reiss are popular with my dd1

Thanks for replying @Heifer that sounds very similar so I guess it’s standard. Dont think I have a choice but to sign up or he’ll lose the house.

DS has been a mix of thoughtless/rude and friendly chatty since being home, you never know who your going to get at any given point. Not sure when he plans to go back to uni but he showed surprise at his friend going back on the 5th so I guess he’s happy to be at home for a bit longer.

I haven’t seen any signs of revision for exams yet despite my regular suggestion that he might want to make a start on that…

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn DDs is also £150pppw paid in 4 instalments through the year of £7600 / £1900 each.
£2600 deposit paid so £650 each. I'm only a guarantor for dd.

Thanks @NCTDN the forms were all online with no way of changing or challenging that part that I could see. Also, because DS left it so late to forward to me, I’ve not had a chance to do any questioning. I’ve taken out the guarantor insurance to give me piece of mind but hope that I don’t have to test the quality of that insurance. 😬

I've not got guarantor insurance. Should I have?

Dd has paid her £300 deposit and I’m pretty sure they signed a contract when they met up with the landlord for a chat but I haven’t had to sign anything. I don’t actually know whether she has to pay monthly or quarterly or what so I’d better find out!

After a few issues dd has been fine. It was tricky at first as she was coming back to a new home in a town she’s never lived in and we were in quite a bit of chaos. She still hasn’t got a bed but her room is looking better than it was and I think she’s getting used to the house. Still spending loads of time in Brum though, so I’ll be glad of a break from the station pick ups! She has five exams starting two weeks on Monday, loads of lectures to catch up on which she missed whilst working at Wollaton Hall and she starts a new job here next Wednesday! But she doesn’t seem stressed.. Out today, working a shift with Festival Staff tomorrow, going to London on Monday…

@NCTDN I wouldn’t have if I was only acting as guarantor for my DS but he’s sharing with four other people and I am a joint and severally guarantor. I don’t know these other lads at all and don’t trust that one of them won’t cover their rent or cause damage. I am a worrier though.

@crazycrofter keep your head down, maybe her landlord is asking for guarantors.

Hi all. Good to read your experiences. Our girl seems a lot better, although she was a bit down today. She’s joined in with everything, she’s eating really well and sleeping. We get her up at 9 every day for a dog walk, and she can see that is helping. She’s been working a bit every day. I do have to prompt her for the work though. She’s done a short piece of work and almost finished an essay. She has 2 more pieces which have to be submitted by 3rd Jan.
We are going away tomorrow for 2 nights. So it will be interesting to see If she copes.

Ive got an idea that there will be another crisis in a week or so. I have thought of asking the question, but then told myself to just enjoy the calm. I have to be very careful not to give advice, got quite skilled at making it her idea!
Still dont know if she will cope at Uni.
I put on 2 kilos over Christmas. It could have been worse. But I am looking forward to normal life resuming. I think we have 3 weeks before she goes back.
I have been Ill with , I think a chest infection. Starting to recover now though.

Sorry to hear you've been unwell Zebracat, similar chest nastiness here.

It's so difficult when you have a more vulnerable child like your dd and you want so much for them but you have to temper that with being realistic about their challenges. I think back to a year ago when I still dared to hope dd1 might manage to get to uni and try independent living and think I must have been deluded.

We got the letter about PIP yesterday - she's been granted the enhanced rate for both day to day living and mobility and it's brought home how disabled she really is. CAB told us it was rare for anything at all to be granted without 2 rounds of appeal, but she got it straight away. We were visiting my brother and family today and went to the shopping centre in their local town. Going to the moon by rocket would have been as realistic for her as getting the bus into town by herself.

But she's happy and enjoying life. She was so excited about spending her John Lewis voucher on a crochet hook and some wool, can't wait to see the results...

@NCTDN I'm going to take out the guarantor insurance at the end of June. At the moment the only risk is someone pulls out. Fingers crossed they could round up someone from somewhere. When the risk becomes damage I want cover!

@Zebracat You're brave. I'm avoiding the scales.

@ZittiEBuoni Sounds like some great advocating skills have been utilised. Well done!

@sazzy5 @HarrietDVane I’m sorry you’re both also feeling sad at the thought of your dc going away again. Less than two weeks to go now, wonder when I’ll get used to it? It’s been so lovely having him home and even though I know he’s having a good time at uni, I know it’ll be a bit of a wrench for him to go again after spending a lovely Christmas with family and friends.

Belated Christmas. We managed to finally have a family holiday abroad (first one since the pandemic) and it was so lovely, in terms of getting away from it all, having some family time, great weather and a much needed break.
@ZittiEBuoni good news on the PIP award.
I’ve just written out monthly cheques for DDs house next year - seems a bit archaic but that’s how the landlord wanted to be paid.
it’s so lovely having DD back, the house is full of music and chatter. She’s going back in a week as term starts on the 9th Jan. I will really miss her again but it will be easier this time as I know she is settled and enjoying it.

We've all had coughs and colds, but have otherwise continued to have a very pleasant break. DD is very glad she doesn't have exams etc. Her classes start up again on the 16th of Jan, but since her Open Return is valid until the 10th, she'll head back on the 9th or 10th (strikes permitting). She's quite looking forward to a few days by herself in Cambridge as friends drift back over the course of that week; she has one small project to do and will get it done then.

Also the repeat prescription all worked more smoothly than I had hoped; she used the web-form for her uni GP but put in the address of our local pharmacy, and it was all fine (she collected the meds this morning). I'm a bit sorry to have nagged her but better safe than sorry!

She will sort out accommodation very soon, she says; there are quite a few in her friend-group and they need to do decide (quickly) who would like to share with whom. At least her finances are in a decent state; she voluntarily showed me her bank balance (to set my mind at rest).

I’m feeling very fortunate DD doesn’t have to find accommodation for next year onwards- some eye watering amounts being posted 😱- which makes the clearing out of her room each term feel like ‘a walk in the park’!
Her college has a ‘fixed rate’ for all its accommodation and DD receives a very generous discount. Next year onwards accommodation will be decided by a room ballot.
She has collections before term starts so is thinking of travelling down on 11th January and I will UPS the rest of her stuff down- she has a fair bit in storage so shouldn’t have to lug a huge suitcase down the east coast line!

Happy New Year everyone! Christmas seems to have flown by. DS going back on Saturday as he wants to go to the history library and sports etc. Been back 5 weeks and it's been lovely

Happy New Year all, may 2023 be as drama free as possible, in relation to the young peeps. Best of luck to the siblings too!

Happy New Year all! I look forward to hearing about your DCs' journeys. I am sure we will see the ones whose egos/sense of entitlement have exploded selling down.

Five weeks @craggyrat! DD will go back up north next weekend after two and a bit … it was three weeks max and Easter looks like two. Still, she’s had time to make a spectacular mess of her room, which she didn’t manage over reading week 😂

Happy New Year, everyone! DD has had three weeks up here with another to go (but only because she didn't have to stay for the last week of term, which was exams/coursework hand-in, due to handing in her coursework early!!!) Looks like two weeks at Easter. And @DontCallMeBaby, my DD has also managed to reduce her room to chaos.

I've been looking at accommodation. As well as private lets and private halls, there are a couple of companies that own houses converted to 4-8 (lockable) student rooms. These tend to have bills included, and I'd only have to be guarantor for DD. Also, the rooms are individually priced (based on size) so there wouldn't be rows over who gets the bigger rooms etc. That sounds ideal, so I'll prompt DD to look at them with her mates!

Happy new year to everyone. Hope you all had great new yrs eve celebrations? We had a 'reflections' time looking at what our goals were for 2022 and how many of those were achieved, why weren't they achieved and what we could do better in 2023. DS1 & DS2 were quite surprised at how much they had accomplished. Some things were completely overlooked or downplayed and some goals had just got forgotten about e.g DRIVING LESSONS!!!!!

We then joined our Church's new yrs eve service online and ended with a celebratory Prosecco.

Happy New Year Everyone. We went out for NYE to see a ska band, and it made me proud to see ds1 and ds2 dancing together, then I danced with ds1. Both are already good dancers, but ds1 has got even better since being in Notts. Really made me laugh.

My Dry Jan started. I always enjoy it. But my main goal is weight loss for my party in 4 weeks.

Happy new year to all! Wishing everyone a year of happy, peaceful & reciprocated caring.