Thread 47- Covid GCSE Cohort - Summer's running away from us!

[OrangeCinnamonLatte]

...it will be Christmas before we know it.

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). 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 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/parents_of_adult_children/4792342-thread-46-gcse-covid-cohort-searching-for-summer-solstice

Fingers crossed @JustHereWithMyPopcorn !

Fingers crossed, @craggyrat, sounds very joined-up.

Great article, @Piggywaspushed!

Just back from London ourselves, where we met some visiting American friends and did mostly museums and galleries plus had some excellent food. Their DS is in "our" cohort, and it was interesting to swap stories about university life, which is very very different in many ways!

🤞 Justhere

Good different or bad different PhotoDad?

@ealingwestmum Just... different. Having to take such a wide range of courses, not specialising so earlier, living in shared rooms as standard, everyone fully catered and on campus (where he is)... all things which we all knew about "in theory" but it was a fun conversation to see him and our DD both slightly shocked by how the other's system worked! 😀

I get shudders at frat and sorority picking stories, food clubs (selective again on your popularity), initiation antics etc etc. We were pursuing US as an option at one point, but a number of factors put DD off, with Roe v Wade overturn as the final mail to withdraw.

DD is actually a dual national (she was born when we were working in the US) but didn't want to go there because of the political climate amongst other things. Actually she's considering giving up her US citizenship, ironically because it makes it a real pain to travel there. If you're a US citizen, you have to use a US passport (a hassle to renew, it has to be done in person) and technically she has to file US tax returns even if she is permanently resident elsewhere. But renouncing US citizenship is hugely expensive!!

Yes, ours have to be so much more independent! I like the fact that they don’t specialise so early, but there is an element of repeat in year one on some of the course options if exemption not obtained. I do like the lib arts approach though.

DD’s US peers at TCD struggle (at first only) with the vagueness of assignments; they are used to be taught and tested more frequently, often by multiple choice tests and like to know EXACTLY what to study for. These are students that are either doing full degree or their year abroad/semester with her cohort.

I think of UG a bit like secondary school in the sense of entering at 11 will feel very different to school life at 16/18. There is a vast behavioural change from 18 to 22, and there no drinking to 21 (but potentially higher drug use) is a different dynamic too. I am of course generalising, but with many years of observation via DD’s swim club and my own US family.

Ah yes, the dual passport. My family are now a mix of passport holders, the younger niece/nephews aged 30ish are considering their options on how to exit US life, but UK is a distant memory and has its own challenges!

Blimey, my grammar and eyes are shocking this morning!

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn Any news? We're away and obviously can't wake DS up. His Blue Castle says 'can't provide a decision '. I'm none the wiser if this is due to the failed law module or the missing French module. I have no idea if the missing French marks are due to the strike - he has marks for 3 out of 4 assessments for the module so surely a final mark can be determined 🤔. I have no idea about any law resit . I hate not knowing what needs to be done.

@mummyinbeds so the latest update from DS just now is that they haven't made a derivative mark for Public Law nor marked them and won't be able to do that before a date in August that I can't remember - maybe 4th? So on that basis they are allowing first years waiting for PL to progress to second year. But he also said something along the lines of they progress until they have a mark? But I'm sure I must have misheard that because that doesn't seem right?

There was nothing about if you had failed an exam though, which isn't helpful. Or rather he couldn't see anything about that, doesn't mean the info isn't out there.

I also hate not knowing what needs to be done but DS is being very cagey about letting me look.

True story : I have been stripped of US citizenship.

The shame.

How frustrating @JustHereWithMyPopcorn , doesn't seem to have provided any clarity for you yet. And frustrating that he won't let you look, I fully understand that from him but if it's anything like our house I seem to be able to look far more thoroughly than DS!

Thanks @JustHereWithMyPopcorn DS's Public Law was marked and he passed. It was Contract he failed and I can't find any information anywhere of what to do. His French submission has a return date in October!!! That's no use to anyone.

@mummyinbeds can I ask, who marked his Contract law exam. DS's also failed this and looking at the comments and marks for each paper compared to his Tort which was also marked, there is a notable difference in the harshness of the marking. We have just been looking at it now.

I'm still trying to find info on the resits and have access to his Moodle now...

@283nouveauxnoms Not clear at all, but having now read it myself, my interpretation is that they will let you progress and then just tell you your mark later just so you know.

I agree about knowing where to look, it's me that's just found the feedback!

Oh Piggy, I'm guessing that's your mum related (rhetorical), I don't think you're missing out on much in this current climate...

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn it was marked by RB. No constructive comments at all. In fact quite abrupt and rude, almost as though they couldn't be bothered to mark it 🤔

@mummyinbeds hmm different person, but equally unhelpful. I've done a bit more digging and the website on resits says it says if you have one fail you may not need to resit. The PDF that crazycrofter posted ug-regs-flow-chart (nottingham.ac.uk) shows how many credits you need and what grade (percentage) is the minimum to pass. if I'm understanding it correctly, DS should be OK without a resit but he still hasn't had confirmation either way.

Fingers crossed for you mummy and just that clarification comes quickly and they sail through to Y2 🤞

Thank you @singingstones

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn without knowing DS's French mark, it's difficult to know whether he's okay or not. I'm going to have to get him to email someone....

@mummyinbeds I'll DM you.

Hope it all gets sorted @JustHereWithMyPopcorn and @mummyinbeds . Dd is frustrated because she knows what she has to sit in August - the five exams she missed plus the failed one - but the website has said since Jan that the Aug exam period is a 2 week period but they’ve not decided on it yet - there’s just been a 3 week window given. Apparently dd has been told she might get her exam timetable on 27 July. She’s very impatient to make August plans!