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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I think mine's way too tight to do anything too naughty. But seriously, I am surprised at some who have gone down a dark path now. And they were the really preachy ones at school too...

Your poor parents singingstones! But it is funny now. I'm just too embarrassed to admit my schenanegans. Even if I am 55 now, I still feel like such a hypocrite!

@singingstones thats funny!

@ealingwestmum very much so re not being able to spot who would go off the rails. . The worst one I know is the sahm who used to clearly think she was a better mother than me and others because we worked part time, and didn’t shy away from expressing her view. . As of a couple of years ago, her son was a local drug dealer, I’m not even sure she knows tbh we no longer keep in touch. He’s a nasty piece of work who has been kicked out of two unis (is older than this lot). For respect for the mum I’ve not gossiped about it when I found out but if I’m honest, I did want to!

I think I've mentioned before but there was a nasty, smug mum at my DCs primary school, always having little digs about how much brighter hers were than anyone else's, stirring things up. Last I heard eldest has moved permanently to another continent, second is in a min wage job (fast food) and shagging the manager, youngest is best known at secondary school for selling vapes.

@Cantonet I had endless nosebleeds as a kid and eventually had one of my nostrils cauterised (!!) which did stop things.

Who can predict who will rebel? I'm sure that the other teachers here will agree that sometimes the apple falls in a completely different county to the tree, and siblings can end up as completely different.

DD has, at least, turned her unfortunate experience in Seville into Art. (Spelling isn't her strong point and this is only a draft...)

I love these stories - I remember there being much glee when there was a terrible biter at our work's nursery and he turned out to be the son of someone very senior. Nothing to do with his parents of course and just one of those things, but everyone loved it nonetheless.

Really like the art @PhotoDad ! Very heartfelt

You've reminded me of another one. When I did my placement year, towards the end a summer student started in our department, her father was on the board (FTSE100 company) and didn't we know it, she was at Oxford and didn't we know that too. Anyway she disappeared one day and it turned out her DF had been caught in flagrante in the office with a female colleague and had resigned. She never came back either.

Thanks @crazycrofter and @Monkey2001 although it's a different story now. Had a phone call from her last night feeling weird and tingly so I stayed on the phone with her and it seems she was having some anxiety issues but we couldn't work out the cause so think it was late nights, early morns and not eating familiar foods.
This morning she calls me halfway through a lecture as she felt so overwhelmed and sick again so left the room. Her lecturer came out and got a first aider to check her and he said he wasn't worried about her (I am obv) as she'd had porridge for breakfast. She finds the busy lecture rooms intense and overwhelming so we'll have to overcome that. Her 6th form was tiny (16 students) so this is a huge change.
I hope it's just a blip but not sure what to suggest. We're visiting again tomorrow. We suggested we pick her up tonight for a weekend home but she said she didn't want to as she doesn't want to worry her flatmates 🙁 She's had lots of student support though which is lovely.

So sorry to hear about DD's nose bleeds @Cantonet, poor love. It's reassuring she has her boyfriend there.
Also sad to hear about DS's knee @285NeuerNamen, that's gutting for him. Can he still go and support the football team?

I love how your DD gets her frustrations out on paper with her art @photodad. I love that piece although how awful she got her bag nicked 🙁

Remind me what course your DD is doing @mummyinbeds? How funny she has a primary lad on the course.

Anne I’m sorry to hear of your DD’s set back. I know very little about how to manage YP’s anxiety in today’s educational settings, but it must be naturally, so overwhelming when coming from such a tiny 6th form previously.

Hope, together you formulate a workable strategy tomorrow 🤞

Oh I'm sorry to hear that @AnneOfCleavage . Are her lectures recorded at all? Could she watch some of them online to pace herself better?

How is ds doing @Piggywaspushed ?

I was reminded how intense and crazy year 1 is by dd earlier - her best mate has just started at Newcastle after a year out and dd said she's not had much chance to talk to her as the friend is out every night and only free in the day, when dd is now having to study!

Thanks @ealingwestmum, yes it's a huge change. She's a girl who likes her routine and a fair bit of peace. @crazycrofter yes she has Moodle to look back on every lecture fortunately.
I found a fidget key ring (peas in a pod) so I'm bringing that tomorrow so she can ground herself by fiddling with that under the table. She finds it hard to concentrate in the room as it's busy and quite warm. Today there was only 30 students but next week all 97 are together so she's dreading that.
She starts placement next month for 4 weeks Mon-Wed then classroom theory every Thurs and Fri so that's more change and even busier weeks.
She'll get there but it'll take time. She has some rescue remedy drops that she'd popped in to her first aid box so took those last night and today.

Yes I've been thinking of your DS too @Piggywaspushed and hoping he's had a good week and you too as I know it takes it out of us too when our YP are struggling.

@AnneOfCleavage DS has some anxiety issues. He finds it helps if he has an escape route. As long as he knows he can leave without a fuss he's generally okay. He went to a pub with close friends over the summer and was fine until some old friends from school turned up and he couldn't easily leave. He ended up having to bolt out and threw up in the street.

DD is studying International Relations and Global Development. One week in and she's planning her semester abroad for the start of year 2.

Hi AoC, hope your DD is OK and coping. It's all a big adjustment, especially when excitement wears off.

I think DS is OK. He's been out and about to a few of his usual things. The latest annoyance, on top of a poor wifi signal is phone reception is poor so when he phones, it keeps cutting out. DS1 had this for a year in Lincoln and it is ultra annoying. Because DS2 gets annoyed about this it's hard to gauge what mood he is in otherwise iyswim.

@mummyinbeds an escape route is vital I agree. She likes that you don't need to ask to leave the room for any reason you just get up and go.
Your DD's course sounds super interesting and great she's planning her semester abroad already.

@Piggywaspushed that all sounds very encouraging to hear. Long May it continue. We have same issue with phone signal too and it is irritating when every 5th sentence or so is cut off and FaceTime is glitchy.

It's a sunny day so should make the drive to visit her today pleasant.

Just catching up, hello everyone!

@AnneOfCleavage I hope your DD starts to feel better soon. It's difficult knowing with these things how long it will last before it settles.

DS is at that stage of applying for placements now and it's tough out there. He's done a few video interviews which he was quite nervous at and had a few rejections which is a bit deflating. We are just encouraging him to carry on and the right thing will come. I wonder if anyone here is applying for Industrial placements too? wishing everyone luck.

Sounds positive on the whole then @Piggywaspushed ?

@shimy I've heard that it's hard to get placements. Do the uni help at all? What sort of workplace is he looking for?

Dd had been thinking of a placement, but she seems to have decided on a masters in OT after her degree now, so a placement would just defer things further. She does somehow need to get some relevant work experience before she applies for OT though.

@AnneOfCleavage her course sounds full on. I hope she can manage all the change and intensity.

@crazycrofter The uni careers helps with CV's but that's all. They have to find it themselves. he's interested in Consultancy or Business Analysis but I've told him that's twice as hard. How do clinical placements work (assumed from the O.T masters) i somehow thought the uni had arrangments with local clinics and just allocated them, is this not what happens?

@shimy her current degree is Psychology so placements aren’t necessarily clinical and they’re optional - graduates go into all sorts of areas like marketing, accountancy, law etc. There are also some NHS placements but not sure if they’re paid. For the OT masters, the placements are an essential part of the course so those ones will be arranged by the uni.

DD is weighing up placement versus master's. I'll encourage her to apply for placements, but if she doesn't succeed, it's not a disaster. I suspect it depends on subject!

@crazycrofter I assumed they'd have to do a clinical placement for Psychology . Every day is a school day! They're like gold dust. Wishing your DD and @PhotoDad 's DD best of luck with their search. DS is doing a business course so I think getting that work experience under his belt is quite important. He also plans to do a Masters but preferably after he's been working for a few years in fact it's a requirement for some business schools.

@Piggywaspushed , being annoyed re wifi and phone line is probably a positive sign? if he was feeling low would he be more meh about it?

DD been without wifi for over a week now, they tried to sort it out themselves but virgin turned them away and where told to get agents to contact them. Agent are calling daily apparently, but Virgin are being very slow. I've paid £20 for 75 GB of data for DD but told her she needs to make it last as was using 10gm a day! It would help if she could stay in uni longer and use their wifi but we are back to her coming home (lenton) as soon as she can and watching some lectures online if a big break between. She is at least watching the lectures at the scheduled time so is up to date. She said she is finding it hard coping with the face to face 2 hr lectures though so wonder if it's those she is missing.

DD had always planned on a 3 yr degree with no placements or Integrated Masters, but wants to do a clinical scientist masters later. I realise now that was a great call as there is no way she could cope with organising or going on a work placement during uni. It has to be 1 thing at a time. She is saying at the moment she wants a year out after degree before starting on Masters and financially she may need to as we won't be able to pay for whole years maintenance, happy to top up loan as present but not fund it all. Although if she can get on the NHS Clinical scientist training then that is fully paid 3 yrs working and Masters degree but very few students accepted each year so she will need a plan b and probably c. Although having another 2 years could easily mean finding something else during her course that really interests her. She has loved the cancer modules but there aren't any more in yr 2 or 3, and also loving the gene modules.

Really sorry Nottingham seems to be really letting your DS down @mummyinbeds it must be so frustrating, absolutely no need for it to be so hard for him, timetables should just be there.

It's interesting hearing about the new freshers starting and their experiences. Goes to show just how different it is for everyone.

DD seems to be really happy, got asked to go along to the medics hockey session which she loved so I think she will train with them (wants to stay playing for Beeston HC on Saturday) but may play some Sunday matches with medics. I warned her about the social side (all medics hockey teams I've come across have been crazy, always the loudest and most fun at festivals) but she isn't really interested in that, just wants to train another night kind of thing. She is enjoying going out to the pub with her house mates and bf is staying over every 2nd or 3rd weekend so she seems to have found a good balance this year. She doesn't want to come home at the moment as doesn't want to be unavailable for hockey (really enjoying it). Our hockey club is actually playing against Beeston in a few weeks time so we are going to go along to watch, see her house (only DH seen it) and then go out for dinner before heading home, will be lovely to see her.

I've got yet another chest infection, still waiting for lung test - waited 3 months for hospital to tell doctors they don't do them anymore.. Been given anti b, steroids and an inhaler.. Apparently should be cleared up by Monday..

Hope all ok and here's to keep finding new hobbies (I still haven't and house still isn't decluttered)....

Hmmm.. not sure. What I mean is I can't read his tone. If he sounds a bit down on the phone I can't tell if it's just a bad signal and annoyance about thta.

He hasn't been out with housemates at all yet, which is OK, given how unpleasant they were. But I'm not sure it's much of a life hanging around in a small room on a Saturday night and then being woken up by them all rampaging in at 4 am or whatever. I know his next door neighbours are noisy too.