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

So lovely having DS back. It’s as though he’s never been away! He got several shifts at his old swim school job last week but they’ve broken up now. He’s doing Uni work in a morning and then going out to play basketball on an afternoon. Hasn’t been out in the evening except to swim school Xmas meal. I know he is very sociable at Uni so not too bothered he is a home bird here, which used to worry me. He had never been to a pub or club until October but he has a great social life at college so that’s good. He’s also been to watch footlights and gone to the opera. He loves opera which is alien to us but there you go.

God knows what hours he keeps at college, but he is 9.30 pm bed here and 7.30 am get up. Has totally reverted to home mode. He’s also swimming three times a week to keep fit for next term now he’s on the team.

He doesn’t like hot drinks either and will only drink water at home. He did say for formals though he has the wine, port, brandy and coffee…it’s a very different world, especially as we didn’t go to Uni. There wasn’t much brandy drinking at the OU!

lovely to hear of everyone’s chicks coming back to the nest.

DD been home since Wednesday night as we've already had the "I'm so bored" comment! It was literally 1 evening that she wasn't going out. She has been out every other night (or stayed in with boyfriend here).
I do get it, as I asked her why did she find it so boring? what would you be doing at 11.00pm at uni? She also said she could eat what she wanted, when she wanted - she really fancied an iced coffee apparently (didn't know she drank that) but we didn't have ice - if at uni she could got and knock on someones door. It's having someone available basically 24/7 that she is missing. There would always been someone awake I guess. I was having a lovely time with her home but do understand that it's not easy just fitting back into family life. I did explain I didn't expect her to just fit in, if she didn't want to eat when we eat that's fine - just let me know. She is on a completely different time scale to us. Slept all day and up all night really. She doesn't do that at uni as has 9.00 lectures so it's not even her usual pattern. We had a quick chat and she agreed that she feels better when she has a routine but we will see. She stayed over at her boyfriends house last night so not sure when she will be home. It's her bday tomorrow so I had better get wrapping whilst she isn't here.

Glad to read your feeling on the mend @Oblomov22 and that most of your DD/DSs are home now (or almost).

DS coming home today. Very excited!

Just catching up with the thread and have seen we've moved to a new thread. So sorry to hear about your DD's struggles @Zebracat . I hope coming home will restore her health a little l and help decide what the next step will be.

@icanbewhatiwant Re: B- Vaccine. A family friend of ours in his 50s had to be airlifted last yr from where he was out working back home to the U.K because he suddenly became seriously ill. It turned out he had meningitis B. I think the vaccine is still worth getting even if they are n o longer at Uni. It's quite expensive but I'm definitely going to try and get for both my boys.

Ds1 and I went to church carols by candlelight last night. Tonight we are going to his school for presentation of his A'level certificates.

That's lovely. DS has his too.

He's done 4 concerts since returning. Today's was a hospice and they played at residents' windows so they could listen from their beds .

Eeek! I forgot to collect A level certificates!

Time has flown. DD could get them but I think I made the mental note as she was supposed to be at uni. Oh well, will arrange in new year. DD is enjoying her pay cheques but being sensible and saving most of them at the moment. She’s happy as bf is back.
Sorry to hear about some struggles Hope the holiday helps
DD1 home on Friday. Weird as she’s only home for a few days unlike her uni days.

I havent heard anything about A-level certs <goes to ask DS>

Not heard anything about A Level certificates here. That doesn't mean DS hasn't. I very much doubt his school would have a presentation 😕

DDs school did a presentation along with gcse certs last Monday - when most students were still at uni! I collected hers the next day. She was chuffed as won the PE award and got £10 book token.

School emailed both me and DH re A level certificates, not sure if DD was notified too. I went to collect them on Wednesday when all the snow had turned to ice on the pavements, and it was so cold my face went numb and I struggled to tell the receptionist what I was there for 😂

Also dropped off the last couple of bits of uniform, so that’s it - left the official school group, parents group and PTFA group on Facebook.

DD messaged last night asking what to do about an infected wound on her hand. Me: pharmacist. Has she been? I don’t think so. Fortunately I’m not convinced it is infected, just a bit weepy (she sent me a pic, at my request). Clearly feeling a bit unwell though as she was after us bringing up covid tests before seeing her grandparents … then I had a panic as I thought I’d only booked a hotel room for me and DH for the nights we’re seeing the inlaws, not her …

If I don’t have some spectacular anxiety dream tonight about collecting her I will be ASTOUNDED.

Piggy, ds got the prize for Sociology.

Oh, fabulous!

DSs school don't do prizes these days, it appears!

@Piggywaspushed Playing at the hospice will have been so appreciated.

DS's school is offering a sandwich to go and collect certificates in the first week of January.

DS had a certificate evening in November, fortunately it was his reading week so he was at home anyway. Although the prizes were given out at the whole school prize-giving day in July, he won the BTEC Sport prize. I have never been so proud of him as I was with the sport, he got a pass at Level 2, we were hoping he might manage a merit at level 3 and he only went and got a distinction.

He has cooked dinner, vacuumed and cleaned the bathroom tonight, its good to have him back

DS got his certificate in the post about 2 weeks ago.

@EspeciallyD He's a good'un. Over here I've been having nice conversation with mine, hasn't cooked dinner yet but I've had lots of hugs and we watched footie together something we've never done!

Awww @Shimy . DS and I watch football together, we go to the occasional match too (DH and DD aren't interested). We go with a bunch of my college friends who also have teenage DC, we've all been going together since the mid-80s.

We also watch the darts together and we're all off to the PDC World Champs
later this week, exciting!

I have no idea if dd should've collected a level certificates. The college email address will no longer work so how would she know?!!

We had a slip about certificate collection in with the results in August. Obviously then it was a way off but I remember it was in December on certain days.

@EspeciallyD You know I wish DS and I had a interest shared like that. I'm not even remotely sporty and DS has only just discovered a passion for footie (think he's been watching it at uni with his flatmates. I just enjoyed hearing him shouting and jumping to his feet every now and again. Never understood the excitement around seeing a ball kicked from one end of the field to the other .

I did use to watch wrestling in the days of Chris Eubank and Lennox Lewis though. I think it had a really fun vibe about it - the singing/chanting, Chris in particular was quite the entertainer, Darts sounds fun to and going to watch a championship with ds must be an amazing bonding experience.

@NCTDN Can you call the school (in the new yr of course) and ask? they should be able to tell you exactly what's happening with it. Ours just emailed us shortly after results day to double-check everyone's postal address. Then it came about 2 weeks ago.

Trivia.. pls don't take this the wrong way.....but I did a double take when I saw you wrote 'should've', I'm so used to seeing 'should of', on MN it looked unusual for a quick minute .

DD’s school have invited all last year’s Yr13 in on Monday 9th to collect certificates, have a catch up and to have a free school lunch! She’s so looking forward to seeing the teachers who weren’t around on results day!

@Shimy should of / could of/ would of - grrrrrr drives me mad!!!! One of my biggest pet hates