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

That sounds a lovely idea.

Does sound nice.

That sounds lovely @KingscoteStaff - are most still at home then? DS starts back at uni that day, we are taking him back on the Sunday.

Ds2 loves football. The rest of us aren't interested really. I spent many a Saturday standing watching him play football or sitting in the car while he did training. Poor ds3 almost always had to come too. He was only little and hated the hanging about. Dh and ds1 like the F1 so they watch together. They don't really get on with each other so don't say much. I like equestrian events but no one else would want to watch here.

DH loves F1. DS loved it when he was younger (to the point of complete obsession, we couldn’t go out during a race as he would spend the entire time pestering to watch it on a phone app, drove me mad) but has completely lost interest now, its weird how that happens. DH is another one who has obsessions that last a couple of years and then fade away, his latest has been mountain biking, he has been out constantly for the last couple of years including right through last winter but I can see it is fading away now.

We're not a sporty house at all but I love watching loads of sports - rugby and cricket at the top of my list, but they're not often on mainstream TV. I refuse to pay for sky, and to be fair I would probably just spend the whole of summer watching cricket if we did!
DS likes the rugby, but not really anything else DD not really interested in anything apart from occasional bits of the Olympics.

DDs school emailed parents about a month ago with details of certificate collection, to be forwarded on to students.

DH and the DS's also love Formula 1 but not I sadly. Years ago, DH decided to get us both tickets to brands hatch. He was all hyped up about what the atmosphere was like and just how much I was going to enjoy it. He bought me an expensive pair of binoculars too , I was very excited and looking forward to it. We got there and the opening display was great, I was truly amazed at how fast the cars raced past, infact so fast that I could barley blink and they'd gone. DH joked this is where the binoculars come in .

10 laps latter and I'm beginning to flag. Is this what a 'fun' day out is all about? my arms are aching from holding up the binoculars and to honest I just really didn't care whether the team waiting in 'the pit' and how fast they were changing the tyres etc. Next thing I know, big German bloke behind me taps me on the shoulder and asks if he can borrow my binoculars as I've fallen asleep. I happily oblidged.

It was a very silent ride home and felt very sheepish if rather annoyed at myself. I just can't seem to like these things.

They all seem to start the next week - or some even the week after! Is that the 3 term v. 2 semester difference? Poor DD has to go back up on the 10th for her first set of exams and she’s definitely the odd one out amongst her friends.

Big sport watchers of rugby and cricket in this house. Useful initiators of communication with students too - ‘What a shocking display!’ tends to get a reply, while ‘How’s that essay going?’ remains determinedly unread!

No one watches rugby or cricket here at all. We do have Sky Sports, DS has it on a lot for football and darts (he uses the Sky Go app on his ipad to watch at uni). I follow both of them too although we prefer club to international football and haven't watched much of the world cup, whereas DH only tends to watch internationals. DH says the F1 coverage is superior to Ch 4 too.

We are lucky in that we all love hockey - DDs boyfriend has even just started playing again, so we all watch locally, on television and go down to London to watch internationals every year - just looking at tickets now for June for all of us.

Today is DDs 19th Birthday - she has said she will get up around 11.30am to open presents and I am to wake her if not apparently. BF coming over later. Then tonight her friendship group of 10 will meet - and also Mums too (separate do coincidental) We are meeting early evening then DD and friends will go off an hour later to their do (pub and Hicktorys for a meal). It's the first time the groups Mums have all meet together despite them being friends since reception (5 of the group) and the rest since year 7. We've all meet each other in smaller groups but never together so Im looking forward to that later.

Talking of going back to Uni - Nottingham folk especially, when are your DD/DSs going back? DD has 1 exam on 24th Jan and said she will go back for that just before and then come home again until 29th as timetable doesn't start until 30th Jan and she thinks no one will be around properly until then? I think most student will be bored silly at home until then...

Do you know if they have to go back to register in person to get the next loan payment (due 16th Jan).

@Shimy I don't think I would have enjoyed it any more than you tbh.. I think I would like the atmosphere for bit then novelty would wear off and I would be done.

@KingscoteStaff that sounds the best cert giving event mentioned - I wish DD s could have been like that - DD and friends feel it's as it was planned so no one could go.. Their year group wasn't liked by SLT apparently. Just one more kick in the teeth for the girls really. DD was at the school for 15 years and left hating it. Loved her individual teachers though and very appreciative of what they did for her but hasn't got a good word to say about the school (last 5 years especially - (new head)...

Right had better be off, got to go and pick up a bouquet of flowers for DD (balloons and banners haven't arrived - so will use a mix of left overs from previous years) ..

The DS’ and I love watching football and try to see “our” team as much as possible. DH isn’t into football. Both boys used to play and as much as I enjoyed watching, I don’t miss the long, early morning journeys to stand in the freezing cold/wet.

Haven’t heard anything from the college regarding A level certificates, had forgotten they will need those so will ask at the start of term. DS goes back to Leicester on 7th and has big essay due on 9th.

DS2s school did email about collecting GCSE certificates but the time slot for collection was during the school day so DS was at college! They haven’t replied to my email asking when/how he was supposed to get them.

Happy Birthday @Heifer DD!

Hope she has a lovely day Heifer

We watch a lot of football in this house - in fact I watch a lot of sport full stop. DS seems to have developed an odd liking for American football as well.
So after a lot of chat I have found out that he does have people to live with next year but they have been unsuccessful in finding anywhere at the right price and so he is resigned to having to get a job in Sept if over 140 a week. Sensible.

A vast amount of food is being consumed.

Football and cricket in this house. DH was a very talented footballer and cricketer in his day so 'courting' consisted of me traipsing around after him and learning how to score cricket. I still remember being phoned up by someone from his village team who declared 'We're in The Balloon, he's scored a ton and got a jug in so come and join us'. No clue. None whatsoever!

DSs are chips off the old block in sporting obsession. DS2 and DH are sitting watching cricket now in fact and going out to MK Dons later. DS is odd about his football as he doesn't really follow England - much more tribal with his team. Couldn't have cared less about England in the World Cup and adores Messi. He is a style purist.

DS1 likes F1 and went to Silverstone in the summer but didn't enjoy it. Took him 6 hours to get out of the car park... he gave up county cricket, though, because of the toxic public school boy attitudes.

To be fair , some of my best memories are sport - seen Usain Bolt and Oscar Pistorius run , sang 'Oh Jimmy Jimmy' and experienced the Barca earthquake when Messi scored!!

DS is odd about his football should say DH.

We are all indifferent to sport on TV, DS1 watched a couple of matches with his house at university, but none of the rest of us watched any of the World Cup. A big sporting event is a good opportunity to go to quiet shops and events for us!

@Fiddlersgreen when you get the certificates for DS2 remember to scan them just in case you need them for university applications and can't find them - currently a few people panicking about medical schools needing to see them.

@Heifer A happy birthday to your DD. Wishing her a lovely day.

@Monkey2001 good idea, thank you I will do that

@Comefromaway - one for one of your musicians? www.facebook.com/GiffordsCircus/photos/a.696079173784325/5831161380276053/

Loved the formula 1 recollections. I love watching cricket on tv but the live game is so far away that I can’t see a thing. And it lasts for ever. And whites look great from a distance, but like a jumble sale up close. But Eubank and Lewis were boxers , not wrestlers!
Things are going well here. We are going to a pottery painting cafe this afternoon, need another elf!

@heifer happy birthday to your dd! My dd is back on the 15th for her first exam on the Monday. She’s got four more exams after that and she hasn’t mentioned coming home again.

DS thinking of doing the J1 work USA thing next year - anyone else? He of course might be far too late as this is the first I have heard of it.

DS1 and DH love watching the sport but mainly football which seems to be permanently on. I'll watch the international stuff and the odd Liverpool game but that's it. DH and I like to watch the cricket, I only got into it from DS1 playing but he's kind of gone off it now and doesn't play anymore. It was a real shame as it was the only sport you could go along to in good weather and sit and have a G&T!

DS starts back on the 16th @Heifer I think he has a couple of exams that week.

@Shimy ha ha. I'd be like that if I had to sit and watch racing. I have been to a local circuit and found it very boring, thankfully I didn't have to stand around for long as I went to look in the shops on site instead, there used to be a huge toy shop there. I've been to classic car displays with dh and ds1 too, they spend ages looking at the cars. Boring.