Thread 45 GCSE Covid Cohort - Bunnies bouncing into Spring

[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

@crazycrofter - this year was really cheap at about £4.8k - next year nearly £8k

Wow @craggyrat thats ridiculous!

Gosh Craggy, that’s a substantial leap.

Eww, one never goes hungry on a night out with DD, especially at 3am with leftovers 😂

Good grief Craggy, that's ridiculous.
Ealing your dd pie looks delish.

The work/study balance thing is tricky isn't it. I worked during A levels and every summer during my degree (third year was a placement so I worked from June of y2 to Aug of y3). Also in the final term, we did our final exams in Feb and full time research project after that which allowed plenty of time for part time work. But never in term time or the short holidays. We had a pretty full timetable it being a science degree.

DS also has a fairly full timetable, which isn't the same every week. Then he's fitting in his two DSA sessions and driving lessons and sorting out his placement has been a lot of effort. Evening work would theoretically be possible but there's no public transport and walking across and then out of town late on your own isn't a great idea even in the sleepy Cotswolds. Weekends would be the best bet but limit coming home. To be honest I think he's running at capacity, with having autism.

That’s true @EasilyDirected and I think my comments are more applicable to low contact hours subjects and young people without other issues to contend with. Also, those at city universities and/or living in an area with lots of work when home. Having a driving licence will also open up more holiday work opportunities so it’s definitely worth prioritising that. Ds isn’t 17 til August but loads of his friends seem to be driving already (rural area so more important) and he’s chomping at the bit to get started! He says he’s taking his theory test on his birthday if possible 😂

It won't suit all DC and definitely takes some organising, but tutoring is another option that provides flexibility and can fit into a student's schedule with lower contact hours. DD is super organised, which I think comes from years of swim and music hours on top of her normal schedule. She found it stressful at first (the prep, reading, researching exam boards etc, and dealing with demanding parents!) but now finds that she can scale that across her GCSE but mainly A level students, once she's established individual needs/gaps.

Lifeguarding has dropped here too Craggy due to not maintaining the training, but thankfully she has her L1 coaching and front desk duties back at her old school and club, so can get some work when back home, though this summer we will see very little of her due to her au pair block followed by a few breaks, all self funded.

The cost of TCD vs UK unis is now beginning to be more transparent as we near the end of Y1, just in case any of you with younger DC are considering Ireland as an option, if they qualify on the CAO points for their preferred course. Obviously there is no UK student finance to fall back on, but they are treated as EEA and therefore do benefit from home fees. This year, tuition was a reduced 2K EUR, next 3 years 3K EUR per annum. Accom and cost of living is high - I had budgeted it to be circa London accom costs, though the monthly 330£ living allowance we pay her is lower than what she would have got on minimum maintenance here, but as we also pay her accom (9K £), she tops up her living costs through work/savings.

The net result is that she will come away debt free due to us paying, or which she is very grateful for! but will try (though a very, very long shot), and sit for their scholarship exams next Jan 24, which will give her free tuition, campus accom and evening meals across 5 years (if they stay for PG). No one on her course got one last year, and they need to obtain boundaries of 1st across all papers to be awarded.

Apologies if of no interest, but I do get asked in RL as apps can run in parallel to UCAS so pls ignore if it's never been a consideration!

That’s really interesting @ealingwestmum although irrelevant for me personally! I hadn’t appreciated tuition fees were so much lower. I can see that if you’re planning to pay fees and maintenance anyway then Europe becomes very attractive. Not sure if we qualify for EEA fees elsewhere in Europe though?

you’re right Crazy, we don’t qualify elsewhere in EU. And non EU students don’t quality in UK, hence to increased interest from them to study in Ire vs UK’s international fees!

Tutoring wouldn't work for either of my two unfortunately, DS lacks the people and organisational skills, also the academics TBH, he scraped his GCSEs and 2/3 of his 6th form subjects were BTECs, no demand for tutoring for those. DD has the academics but is excruciatingly shy, wouldn't even consider training to be a swim teacher although she's been w club swimmer for 10 years (she's leaving the club next week, sadly).

Dd did 11 plus tutoring for one girl back in 6th form, which paid quite well, but we're no longer Birmingham and I'm not sure how many take the 11 plus round here as the comprehensives are good. I think there's probably more call for science/maths/languages tutoring than my dd's A Level subjects - Psychology, RS and History! But it is a good idea if you've got the right subjects and are organised.

Screwfix has worked out well for ds1. He worked Saturday and Sunday here, all through A'level's. they transferred his job to Notts. Then manager agreed to drop it down to 1 day anytime ds wanted. He's not working easter, because we are on holiday in Portugal. He'll work the summer term. Then he's off to America for summer. Paid placement in London autumn term. He won't be back to work at screwfix till Jan 24. Manager says this is fine.

We give him very little money compared to some families. I feel guilty about it. But, He says he's fine.

My ds doesn’t work during term time but during the holidays he goes back to his life guarding job. They’re really good to him and they put on competency/ training sessions for him as soon as he’s home so he can get straight back to work.
He only does a few shifts a week but it’s his socialising money during the hols. He has a lot of uni work to do so I wouldn’t want him to spread himself too thin but to be honest he has a really good work ethic and he organises his time very well.

As for money, we top up his loan to make sure he’s fine while he’s away but while he’s at home we don’t give him money. We still buy him some clothes, pay for his phone, I’ve got him on my car insurance etc. He gets free gym membership as a perk of his job so all he really needs is beer money and to save a bit for his holiday with friends this summer. He’s also very happily coming away with us on our family holiday in July!

Thankfully his rent will stay the same for the four years of his degree and it’s actually very reasonable. @craggyrat That’s an eye watering increase and would definitely necessitate a rejig of the budget.

Hi all ,

Just dropping into catch up !

DS has had a nice reply from college. He is top of the waiting list for a move to cheaper band and shorter contract so that’s good. Otherwise they may reduce what he has to pay. Find it hard to believe that my child who 18 months ago wouldn’t say boo to a goose is capable of actually sorting out his life but there you go!

Tutoring sounds like a good way to earn if you are doing the right kind of subject.

That sounds positive @craggyrat fingers crossed 🤞

@craggyrat Well done him!

That's great @craggyrat, he's done well to sort things himself.

Checking back in and catching up with everyone’s news.

DD is back next weekend for Easter for a good break. She’s totally exhausted but needs to hand in some work before the end of term and do a technical exam and group performance assessment too so is getting a bit overwhelmed. I’m providing lots of encouragement and support from afar.

@craggyrat well done to your DS- shy bairns get nowt!
Fingers crossed he gets a swop or if not a subsidy from his college to mitigate the huge hike!
DD is very fortunate as her accommodation isn’t banded and she receives an extremely generous discount from her college due to my circumstances.

@ealingwestmum your DD’s pie looks delicious - could do with a portion for my tea!

DD has a Uni friend visiting - from London- and tonight she’s taken him off to sample the nightlife of ‘The Toon’ @ScarlettDarling is your DS out tonight?

@ProggyMat Hope dd has a great night! No, ds isn’t out tonight. He’s at the gym at the min but said he’ll be home in time for The Apprentice!

Sounds like a positive development, @craggyrat, good luck! DD has a similar rent hike but at least it's for a 51-week contract (which is fine for her, she loves the city and wants to spend as much time there as she can, as she knows she'll never be able to afford to live there later in life...)

DD called yesterday, feeling a bit burnt-out. All her friends are stressing over a deadline which she has already met (!!!) and so are busy this weekend. DW and DS are travelling this weekend to a competition for DS's sport, and staying with my in-laws. So, DD is going to join them all (a 2-hour train journey rather than the 3-4 hours to get back home). Her first term-time weekend away! Fingers crossed it goes well, it's a big relief that she can handle last-minute plans and booking trains given her social anxiety during sixth form.

@PhotoDad - weekend away sounds like a great idea for your DD.

@ProggyMat - hope your DD had a good night out

Hope a night out on the toon went well for your DD and her friend Proggy!

DD had her first big ball yesterday, hosted by the MFL faculty, first time seeing her get dressey dressed up. It really is noticeable from the pics how there are so few boys that do languages; she’s really missing them from school life.

Hardly any boys doing Psychology either @ealingwestmum . Dd has always liked having boys as friends - and in sixth form particularly they proved more trustworthy and consistent! She’s got some male friends from Christian Union though.

She seems to be on a mission to make some cash to pay for summer. She asked me to send her pictures of her North Face coat as she reckons she can get £100 for it and she’s done a switch on her current account as NatWest are offering £200. I’m not convinced it will work as she already has a student account with them (and Lloyds current account) but we’ll see!