Thread 48- Covid GCSE Cohort - Summer before Year 2 Uni

[Oblomov23]

Summer ending. Year 2 for many at Uni about to start.

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.
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So lovely to hear all the DC updates, those with new homes and beginnings to our returners. It’s unbearable to hear how your DS continues to be gaslighted Piggy, but I hope, with time, he can see that this is less about him, and more about others’ poor behaviours. I hope you find a suitable resolution that works for him.

Monkey good to hear DS2 has settled well but again, it’s a big move from St A’s to M’cr. I remember even as a young working adult finding it a tough nut to crack in the early 90’s but it grows on you. Does he drive, and if so, the snake pass across to Sheffield is a great drive :)

DD’s b’day today. She has typical host nerves ahead of a circa 70 people gathering in her halls tomorrow (she’s been given use of a roof terrace and commons room). I have no idea how I’d even find 5, let alone that number. We really are so different…

Sorry, I meant to add reference to your DS1 Monkey re M’cr but it got omitted.

Happy happy birthday to your DD @ealingwestmum !

Hope your DD has a great birthday @ealingwestmum

Happy birthday to your DD @ealingwestmum .

I hope all the ADHDers are also settling well into their 2nd yr.

Happy birthday day to your DD @ealingwestmum

Happy birthday to your dd @ealingwestmum !

Thanks for the kind words @ealingwestmum , it is indeed a lovely drive to Sheffield, but he has not taken a car with him as parking is tricky and he did not think he needed one. Happy birthday to your girl, they know how to party in Dublin, so I am sure she will have a fantastic time!

Oh @Piggywaspushed I’m on holiday and just caught up. I’m so so sorry this happened to your lovely boy. I wanted to send you a private message, but cant remember how, then I thought, We are all bloody lovely on here so don’t need to. But my girls in Birmingham, also a bit nerdy and really nice, if we could find a way to buddy them up, it might do them both good. You may remember, she has her own flatmate issues! Altho the worst of it has stopped now.

Blimey @Piggywaspushed I did not see that coming. Not one of them apologising is disgusting. So much for the be kind generation. Presumably all the home addresses are on the rental agreement? When DS is in a safe place I would be sorely tempted to write a letter parent to parents setting out exactly why DS has moved out and the boys need to find a new housemate.

@ealingwestmum Happy birthday to your DD. Party on the roof terrace sounds glamorous!

So pleased to hear the new starters and returners are finding their feet.

Sorry, I missed a page. Our girl seems ok now, although she has come home every weekend. Flatmate is constantly and loudly on her phone, but no more sex calls, thankfully. She is enjoying her classes. Don’t think she’s made any friends yet.

In theory, but in reality Eww, with storm Agnes? I’m not so sure 😱

Thank you all for the good wishes for DD.

Ah, that’s a nice idea, a Brummie meet up! How is she getting on @Zebracat ? Is the course ok?

Thanks all - yes, not sure how we get him to meet all those nice people who are out there!

I have told him crazy's reply which he liked !

Happy birthday @ealingwestmum DD! And well done to the new starters!
Sorry to hear the continuing story, @Piggywaspushed. I really hope that your DS can get away from the bastards.

DD is being worked very hard in Seville. They are given strict time-limits for drawings and so are producing endless streams of pieces from 9-7 each day.

@crazycrofter she likes it. Her tutor sent her a really lovely message and arranged an early meeting which pleased her.

Snippet from DD has done my heart good: “we’re watching films in the kitchen and I’m slowly sinking into the sofa”. After a good start last year she didn’t fall out with her flatmates but felt uncomfortable around them so pretty much avoided the communal area. She said it was fine really but it didn’t sound great. So this is a big improvement.

She’s been doing the freshers sports fair today and for someone reason is featured on the trampoline club’s instagram stories wearing a swimming cap 😂

Sounds good @DontCallMeBaby 😊

@ealingwestmum I forgot how far west she is. I'm on the balmy east side and it's still 18deg and we were all wondering why we had taken coats this evening.

That's great @Zebracat - maybe it will work out for the best? I do think the non RG unis sound much more supportive. Dd has never met her tutor, and he didn't even reply to her emails when she had glandular fever and tonsilitis and didn't know what to do about her exams! It's totally sink or swim there.

That's very positive news @DontCallMeBaby !

Barmy southern weather too, it’s crazy how some areas get such swerve. DD has around 4 raincoats, all having to be lightweight and kept in different locations as everyday, without fail, it will rain at some point. But Dublin doesn’t get cold cold.

But she’s totally underestimated the wind factor, which drowns out any ability to hold a phone call outside!

How exciting for your window cleaner Craggy. I’m sure he’ll do much better than DD’s old swim teacher on First Dates a number of years ago. He has 10 kids (Irish catholic), but was so rude to his date with non-stop misogynistic comments, we all watched in horror behind cushions! He wasn’t invited back…

@crazycrofter at Nottingham DD had about 5 timetabled sessions with her tutor that were compulsory (along with about 5 other students). The day after results were published her tutor emailed them all and tried to arrange a zoom meeting for later that day to discuss the results and if there were any problems and to help those who needed resits etc. DD typically saw the email weeks later and was miffed that her tutor was bothering her and trying to see her the same day she sent the email! I pointed out that she was lucky her tutor cared enough to try to help and that just because DD has passed all her modules and didn't need any help it would have been brilliant if she had so to be grateful! So maybe your DD has just been unlucky with her tutor and maybe there will be more scheduled tutorials this year although I know DD said she had less scheduled with her in 2nd year.

It's great to hear about the freshers settling in the various unis. Also interesting to hear about the 2nd yrs moving into their various houses. DD has definitely landed on her feet and says her house is 10,000% better than being in Rutland. As last year I'm only getting texts at this stage, or very quick phone calls if I phone.

It's strange starting all over again as she has been home a lot since March really so it feels like it's new again being just me and DH (and 2 dogs). It will take a bit of getting used to again. I wasn't expecting to feel like this as DD was away a lot on and off over the summer. On the plus side it's nice not having to think about food for DD and I can just focus on what DH & I like to eat.

@Piggywaspushed what a crappy phone call, not what any of us were hoping for. Along with others I had hoped that they would realise what they had done and been remorseful. Really hope your DS can move forward when he is ready and things will be ok again. We keep hearing that uni is the place to find your own people, but flippiin eck it sounds so hard these days. Loved that comment @crazycrofter made and that your DS liked it too, hope he gets the chance to use it - although sometimes just having it in your armoury is enough. Maybe once your DS has gone back and wherever he is living, can invite his friend from Warwick to visit in the near future, give him something to look forward to, having a friend stay etc.

@Heifer that tutor sounds amazing! DS’s last tutor didn’t even make contact when he failed several semester one exams or even when he failed the year!! In fact the last contact was an email in November.

And the director of studies was surprised when he asked for a new personal tutor for his new start!! It was a case of ‘well we don’t usually change but if you Ireally want to then you can. Remind me in September”. Which DD duly did but we await and see who he has, he will meet them tomorrow. Fingers crossed 🤞🤞

@Heifer , definitely not DS's experience with his personal tutor. The only contact was an email in December asking why DS had missed so many lectures etc. DS explained about his MH and that was that. No advice, nothing. No feedback on his progress, no contact about his failed module. He's been allocated a new tutor this year so maybe it's a upgrade 🤔