Thread 46 - GCSE Covid Cohort , Searching for Summer Solstice

[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

Is ds taking his driving test again this summer @Piggywaspushed ? It’s a relief when that’s done and they can at least borrow the car if need be 🤣 I quite enjoyed having dd to do the late night station pick ups for ds over the summer! It’s such a pain having to go out at 11pm or later!

*over Easter not over the summer!

Congratulations on the first year’s first @DontCallMeBaby ! And on the landing a job for your DS2 Delphigirl

Yes DS2 is but he won't have car access even if he passes.

Ds2 is pleased that all his mates have returned from uni over the past few days. It has only been him home. So they've all gone to pub in the next village this eve. our local pub was killed during covid. Ds decided to do the driving, so he can't enjoy a drink. I did offer to collect them.

Ds still needs to return to Brighton with his flat keys to hand them in and collect the last few things. He doesn't want to go down there now. I knew this would happen. He has 3 weeks until they are due in. So I am hoping he will go soon.

As I've said before Ds works at a place called openfield in the summer, it is where the crops get taken during harvest, ds1 worked there for 3 summers. They had trouble finding staff this year. 4 of ds's mates are also working there as he messaged round telling people there were jobs going. Talking of job replies...I have been applying for jobs for myself for months as I'm fed up with my job. I'm not qualified to do anything much really. Some jobs I like the look of but I'm not experienced enough for, but I apply anyway. But I rarely hear back from any of them. They could at least say no thanks. I'd say I hear back from one in ten jobs on average.

@Piggywaspushed to be fair, dd has limited access to a car as we’re a one car household! Not sure what will happen when ds passes too - he’s 17 in August. Dd is insured with Marmalade on our car, on the pay per mile option, but you can only have one of those per car. Fortunately they can both walk or cycle to their jobs if need be.

There are lots of pubs and cafes here, Costa and the like need you to be 18 but the independents employ younger teens. Also lots of garden centres but they all have to be driven to. No fast food places apart from Dominos and traditional takeaways. The pub DD os working in is about a mile away but she finishes at 9 as she's doing food service only so can walk back if its daylight, it's a safe area. If she's still there in autumn one of us will pick her up or meet her. We are going to have to take DS back and forth to his summer job but it is only about 7 or 8 mins drive so can fit around our work. For both of them they have only ever managed to find work through personal contacts though, applications or walking in and asking hasn't worked.

DD started her part time job the day after she left year 11, working in the cafe at a local country park. It's a five minute drive or a 40 minute walk away. She contacted them as we were coming out of lockdown in the hope that they needed staff.
DS worked in pot wash in a pub for a while (hated it) and then last summer and Christmas worked at Centre Parcs collecting and delivering linen to the lodges. He really enjoyed it but its not enough hours for this summer. Again, its a five minute drive or a free staff mini bus from our village. I'm hoping he can get a warehouse job this summer. He can use DH's car as we both work from home most days.

Congratulations on the first @DontCallMeBaby !

Still waiting to hear on Yorkshire Show here which would be so handy as we live on the walking entrance road! Definitely got lifeguarding and mow has offer for town centre Starbucks we share a car so he can drive in if necessary but bike probably easier for parking

Today's wildlife photo - I'm at the allotment digging and unearthed a baby slow worm, there are lots of them here

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a slow worm! Our hedgehog was out yesterday evening but sadly no photos. Moves too quickly when I scatter the meal worms!

We put the hedgehog food on the edge of the patio, leave the outdoor light on and sit quietly waiting for them. They turn up most nights at this time of year, I think they hear the rattle of the food going down.

@DontCallMeBaby Brilliant news. Well done to her.

@Delphigirl Talk about hitting those parenting goals!

I'm picking DS up from the station in an hour. I thought he could help me this week but apparently he's already booked as unskilled labour at his sports club. I am in favour of a bit of multi-generational community work though.

Not seen a slow worm either.

DH has a wildlife cam and thinks a hedgehog has taken up residence in a hedgehog box he bought.

Ds1 has chosen to get baptised again, in a couple of weeks, Sunday night. I've booked a hotel near Nottingham Uni, near to the church, for my mum and me. Dh and Ds1 can't go. I'm now trying to book a late lunch and struggling. I've looked at : The worlds service ;Iberico;The Castle pub; Turtle Bay; Sexy mama. None seem quite right. Plus we need a late lunch.

25 flights of stairs later (according to Apple Watch) we’ve moved DD out. Had to take a much bigger storage unit than the one we booked as it wouldn’t all have fitted (much bigger because the appropriate size ones were all taken).

Not returned the key though, the office was closed and there’s nowhere to drop off. Mildly irritated with DD for not finding out what to do, but more so with the accommodation. They were very keen to send all kinds of stuff when they moved in, couldn’t they send something in early May explaining how to move out?

She’ll call in the week and hopefully be able to post keys back recorded delivery or something.

Sounds like a nice family occasion @Oblomov23 could you go further out to a nice gastro pub in e.g West Bridgford ?

That is annoying @DontCallMeBaby . DS didn’t have a key, it is all electronic touch pads like in hotels using their student ID card. He said they automatically deactivate the cards on the last day.

Hope you get somewhere sorted @Oblomov23 that is a nice way to end the uni year.

DS has settled back in nicely at home despite it being a building site. Got all his laundry done, he’s been out with a few friends and has volunteered for some shifts in his old job later in the week. Then he starts his placement on Monday. There are boxes of his stuff everywhere but there are boxes of all our stuff everywhere till the renovations are finished.

Good luck with the building work @ExtremelyDetermined , it sounds stressful! We’ve almost got through the internal snagging list on our new house (bought in Nov!) but there’s stlll lots to do outside. I do hate having people in the house all the time!

Took dd back to Notts today after a weekend at home. Just one more exam on Wed and then two and a half weeks of fun before the year finishes! She’s ditched her original plan to come home next week to work! Hopefully she’ll get enough shifts in July and August to replenish her funds!

Thats lovely @Oblomov23 , hope it’s a good occasion for you all.

@crazycrofter DS doesn't want to come home early either, despite finishing last week. He's loving hanging around on the Downs in the evening sun (doesn't see daytime sun) playing football, cards etc. There was even a free funfair last week apparently.

DD returned to Dublin this week, is playing in next weekend’s Dublin festival which gives her free access in return. It’s been nice having her coming and going, not enough time for her to slip into regressive ways due to boredom.

She enjoyed visiting friends at Nottingham and Oxford unis, but did describe Nottingham as like being in a big boarding school (no offence to the Notts DC on here)! I think her friends’ lack of leaving room other than to student bar, eating nuggets and chips from catered canteen and shlepping over a field to get to halls was a stark contrast to life in Ireland, but all are happy in their respective homes so all good. And they have independent living in year 2 so things will change.

We are not religious but it’s lovely to hear DC here have such an engaged life with their faith.

Haha @ealingwestmum I suppose it is a bit like that if you're in the catered halls at Nottingham. Dd does leave campus regularly though 😂she goes to town/clubbing/to church etc. She also hates the catering and can't wait til next year when she can make her own food!

@mummyinbeds enjoying the sun on the downs is part of the attraction of staying on for a while I think! It's dd's birthday on Thursday and she has friends visiting on Wednesday, for a night out. We're taking her for a meal on Thursday and then she has more friends coming on Friday, for another night out!

We drove past her year 2 house yesterday when we took her back and she's definitely fallen on her feet. It's in prime student land, opposite a park and looks very pleasant - and at only £80 a week, it's at least £40 less than all her neighbours will be paying.

My sympathies to all those undergoing building works and snagging challenges. We moved my mum into her flat last Nov and only just got the snagging completed Crazy. It's a conversion from an old victorian bank to 9 flats, and I think the developer was holding out for them all to be sold before mobilising the building guys to finish. Still WIP, but, I cannot believe she only mentioned wanting to move last June and here we are with her less than 1km away. The trauma has dissipated thankfully, she is very happy and it's lovely to just pop in as and when whilst she still retains full independence. Less happy about the constant mortgage rises, but we are where we are, she is in her people watching element which offsets her years of isolation living in a quiet cul de sac on a late 60's estate.

Good luck on those still undergoing end of year assessments in whatever form, no subjecting here to the 24 hour stints that some of yours have had to endure!

£40 a week less crazy?! Wow
DD is loving exploring her city and surrounding areas whilst the weather is so lovely.

Wow, that is amazing value @crazycrofter!

Down in Cambridge for DD to pack her room away and do her share of the cleaning. She's also filled in tax/right-to-work paperwork for her job, and we're going to meet for dinner tonight before handing back keys and driving home tomorrow.

Given that she ended her term by falling out with some friends, it was really nice that as we walked through campus, her phone pinged; another friend (not part of the row) had spotted her and they're hanging out together now.