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

Sorry to be a pain @Zebracat but I assume you are doing all your physio? My DM had a hip replacement last year after an accident and the physio made all the difference. She also found a silky nightie good as there was less friction getting in and out of bed as it slid better.

Good luck in your recovery

Wow, so much news! Great to hear about the bf being dumped @OrangeCinnamonLatte and the increased confidence. Hopefully it’s all worked out in the end - maybe he’d have ruined her education/teaching course if she’d started it last year instead of music. And she will have learned valuable lessons about relationships.

@Zebracat sorry to hear about all you’ve been going through 😢 In terms of your youngest, I get the impression BCU is a nice, down to earth, supportive uni and very diverse, lots of locals too. Very different to Exeter, but she might actually feel more comfortable there? Which campus will she be based at?

Dd found out today she won’t be able to switch to Psych and Philosophy, which is a shame as it would suit her much better. But maybe a lesson in looking at course details! I just hope she can get her head around the stats/research methods stuff enough to get at least a 2:1.

@Zebracat glad you’ve had the hip done, hopefully it will give you a new lease of life once you have recovered, I know it did for both my DF and DFIL. As for your family, I hope the issues with your older DC resolve, and as for DYoungest, well, it seems she has used up all your reserves and needs to stand on her own two feet now.

@OrangeCinnamonLatte the news we have all been waiting for! Sounds as though DD is in a really positive place now, onwards and upwards for her.

@crazycrofter that’s a shame about the course, hopefully she will make the most of the one she is on.

@Zebracat you really have been through it recently, I hope the hip pain settles soon, I’m not sure how long these take but sending speedy healing vibes. The DC issues sound awful if I’m understanding correctly and I’m sorry for that. 💐

@PhotoDad , thread in FE that you might be able to advise on.

Ta, got it!

Excellent!

I didn't want to chip in in true MN style a la ' I have zero expertise or knowledge but am going to opine'. But are most schools' software Mac compatible?

@Piggywaspushed Some schools are Mac-based especially for art. But if you're using Adobe software, you can exchange files easily enough. (DD actually dislikes Adobe intensely and uses a whole range of other software, which is fine at uni so long as it can produce output in the right format. If she gets a salaried job she'll have to use whatever the company specifies, but freelancers use all sorts of things.)

Pretty sure my school got rid of Adobe.

But I have no idea what that means.

All I know is kids with Macs struggle with Google Classroom.

A Mac is pretty essential for anything to do with music tech, but very few of ds's friends at college had them mostly due to cost. They have all bought them for uni though, not necessarily new ones, often 2nd hand.

Adobe sells a suite of design software (PhotoShop is the most famous bit of it). It has recently moved from buying a licence once, to an annual subscription model, which upset everyone and lost a lot of the education market.

My school uses Microsoft Office for pretty much everything. Don't get me started!

I no longer use Adobe (and DS who used some free Adobe drawing tools on the iPad now hates them after they removed it and he lost all his drawings). I use Bluebeam and have used gimp instead of photoshop but I’m rubbish on both now as I don’t use the software enough.

The annual subscription model pisses me off. Autodesk have been doing this for quite a few years now I’m still using AutoCAD from 2015 because I refuse to pay them annually for minor useless changes. Revit won’t let you back save to earlier versions which forces everyone on a project to be using the most up to date version which is a nightmare for a small practice. Grrrr. Rant over.

@Zebracat Hopefully the new hip will make you feel like a new woman in a few weeks. Your youngest does like to lead you a not so merry dance but at least she has put a plan into action.

@OrangeCinnamonLatte Great news the controlling boy is history. Playing the long game was rewarded!

@NCTDN I discovered this purely by accident. I've been through the mill with bursitis on both sides plus gluteal tendinopathy and it's impossible to get into a comfortable position to sleep save being suspended in the air. One day I fell asleep from exhaustion in my pyjamas and dressing gown and woke up the following morning having slept through the night, the first in nearly 2yrs since diagnosis. My hips also weren't throbbing. The only thing different was the dressing gown! the following night I put 2 pairs of bottoms on (too hot with the dressing gown) and it had the same effect. From then on I've always pulled on 2 pairs to sleep. It gets hot especially in this weather but the alternative is pain and no sleep. I find normal jogging bottoms with a thinner pair of not too tight /slightly loose leggings underneath works wonders.

I can't really explain why it has such a huge effect. It doesn't give that much padding and the weight is the same but some how seems to help. Please try it and report back.

@Zebracat & @NCTDN I also have a Pilates exercise video that I do 4 times a week. It has reduced my hip pain I've had for over a decade so much so that last time I visited the physio he asked if I could tell him what video I used to recommend for his patients because the difference has been so remarkable. I've gone from needing a walking aid to now doing 12 squats a day, no injections but i did had PRP at some point.

@Shimy that's amazing! I need a knee replacement and wonder if it might have the same effect. But I also have bad hip pain which is apparently because of my knee (I'm not convinced) so I'll def try the two pairs thing.

Good luck to those who are suffering! I am trying to resume a bit of exercise over the summer with mixed success (or at least get some steps in). Heading to a colleague's 50th party this evening and will walk most of the way (at least there, a taxi might be involved on the way back!)

DW picked DS up from his concert yesterday lunchtime, then drove all the way to Portsmouth from Teesdale with a completely full car to catch the overnight ferry. They're now making their way to the French National Sailing School in Quiberon (Brittany) for the World T293 Windsurfing Championships (that's the class of board used at U17... everyone has to use exactly the same kit so it's all down to skill). I am following remotely; my contribution was doing all the logistics and bookings, so I hope that their campsite works out OK!

Very best of luck to your DS PhotoDad. I’m not a fan of camping myself but my memories of French campsites are that they are very good!

I haven't had the change to catch up yet - but just wondered how the Nottingham resits where going? Have you heard for sure what's happened yet? Dates etc? There is a poor DD on WIWIKAU that has been marked as failed as she her work hasn't been marked and she missed 2 of the exams due to having GF. She has been told to re the 2 first sits in August although they won't be marked and still would have failed the year, and even worse no one is replying to the parents emails etc. so they have no idea what is happening. What a nightmare.. Really hope you all know what is next now and when..

@Heifer all DS knows is he has to resit the law exam he failed. No date yet. No idea about his unmarked french module. He has marks for 75% of it so I have no idea why they can't derive a mark. His progression just says say no decision possible. Somewhere in the depths of Moodle the French department say students will progress until it's marked and they'll deal with failed modules then. We're assuming all will be okay subject to passing the resit. Not much work going on in that department though 🤦

@Heifer DS got an email today saying he needs to resit one. They’ve told him it will be sometime in the last two weeks of August but not the actual date. Helpful. He has work experience with a law firm organised (got that email today too!) so it would have been good to know the date!

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn the exam timetable will be released week commencing 31st July according to the Nottingham website.

Thanks @mummyinbeds I was about to go and look (again) as DS is useless!

Fingers crossed your DS has a fantastic time at the championships @PhotoDad

Forgive me everyone for letting the side down. I'm taking DS to move stuff into his year 2 house tomorrow and it's a double bed, whereas in halls it was a single. I have bought another mattress topper.

Dd has had a message saying she should check the master timetable to see when her module exams are - but she can’t find the master timetable anywhere . She knows she’s got to do 5.