Thread 50 - Covid GCSE Cohort - New Year of Adulting

[OrangeSpicedBun]

2024 here we are... our young people are still getting used to adulting and we're still doing that adulting thing ...it's tough !

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/4922401-thread-49-covid-gcse-cohort-the-nights-are-drawing-in?page=10

I know! He says the body adjusts but I can’t see how 🤣

I’m hoping it puts him off, but he’s spent £2900 on this bike and I’m not sure how much he’d get back for it. And his friends have bikes so I think he’d feel he was missing out.

@crazycrofter oh no!!! Hopefully no fracture in the end

I thought you all might enjoy a post I've just made on the Year 10 thread.

Have to tell you about the utter bodge I've made. What a twat!

What texts /books are your dc studying for English? (This is for year 10, so 1st year of GCSE's - it wasn't that along ago that we were all in that very position!!)

Ds2 is doing 'Macbeth' and 'An Inspector calls'. I get an email from school that they have limited number of tickets for London Macbeth, starring Ralph Fiennes. Thinking he wouldn't get tickets I checked out prices, asked a couple of other mums, told ds2 to ask his closest friends. So angry with myself I left it so late, the tickets get sold out, not £30, not £85, some £108, some £260+.

I've got 6 tabs open. I'm looking at all places that have Macbeth. David Tennent is no longer doing it. My friend says her dd saw it in Guildford last week but that's now finished. Bugger. I'm looking at Fiennes Macbeth in London, Macbeth in Guildford expired, Brighton, Farnham and finally found one in Wimbledon so booked that for £22.50 each. Result.

I also had inspector calls 3 screens open, looking for that aswell. finally found one in London that I'll book tonight.

And I'm buzzing around, flitting between tabs, trying to do too many things .... accidentally had 'the importance of being earnest' open. And then accidentally booked it by accident, what I thought I was booking 'An inspector calls'. What a twat. Non refundable. So decide to go with 2 friends. Do you think they'll notice that I booked 2 tickets for 2 x under 16's, and 1 adult? Angry? Because I've spent £77 by accident!

I did study Inspector Calls myself at school and love it. "A handbag"? But I am so cross I accidentally booked them.

You can all laugh!

Anyone else done anything as stupid

@Oblomov24 Oops! I am envious of your theatre diary! Though still traumatised by DS doing GCSE An Inspector Calls, it just was not his thing. I did Macbeth and The Importance of Being Earnest back in the day but have never seen the latter at a theatre. Enjoy.

Whoops @Oblomov24 ! Hope it’s worth the accidental money!

Still waiting for orthopaedics to ring ds and tell him whether he’s fractured his wrist or not! In the meantime he’s watching sci-fi classics at the cinema in Brum the next three nights which means late pick ups from the station- it would be so convenient if he had his bike!

Thanks Crazy and Sprouts. I do feel like a right Pratt.

@Oblomov24 - we took DD and DS to see An Inspector Calls just before the first lockdown kicked in. Must’ve been the end of February 2020. DD was doing it for drama GCSE (which her school let her do instead of English Lit). DS subsequently did it for English Lit GCSE, and wouldn’t have had an opportunity to see it due to ongoing Covid shit. We’d also booked to see Dial M for Murder a few weeks later - I think we finally got to see that (in masks - having produced Covid passports) about 18 months after originally planned.

Oh @Oblomov24 🤦‍♀️. Once DD and I decided to go to see Annie, starring Craig Revel Horwood as Miss Hannigan as we are Strictly fans and though he'd be great in the role. Didn't read the small print which said CRH was not playing the role on Saturdays (it was December so obviously he was doing Strictly 🤦‍♀️). Guess what day I booked. We went anyway, Lesley Joseph played the part and was brilliant but I did feel so silly.

Talking of shows, have any of you seen Abba Voyage? We went last week and it was BRILLIANT!

I'm actually very impressed at your toggling ticket skills Oblomov! I'm not a big theatre goer myself as DH normally moans (I do love the ballet though). Thought I'd treat DD and me 18 months ago with tickets to A Little Life. Oh my god, I needed to take another mortgage out. And nearly 4 hours, I'm just not built for that kind of endurance.

@Oblomov24 my DD2 did the exact same two last year! An Inspector calls was shown at our local theatre and we also saw a cheaper version of Macbeth by a group called GCSE revision Macbeth where someone would come on and explain each scene in plain English.

Thanks for the tip Blue Marigold, I will look out for that aswell. My friends dd who went to see the Guildford version last week said it was poor. Another mum said it was New age, woke. She said I'd missed a curveball, because it was a ‘modern adaptation’ that began with Lady Macbeth pumping breast milk and some type of shrine to a baby in the corner. There was audience participation and ceiling disco balls. All very odd. She didn't think it’s helped her daughter's coursework one iota! Ds2 spends more time playing football and x box, so had little interest in dry Macbeth (which isn't the most scintillating Shakespeare choice let's be honest), so a plain speaking version could suit him best,

Oh dear @Oblomov24 !! I love An Inspector Calls. We had a visiting theatre company first year of secondary put it on in school. 1978! My DS wanted that for GCSE but got History Boys along with Macbeth. He wasn't happy but grew to enjoy it in the end. He hated Death of a Salesman for A level.

I feel uncultured! I only did Eng lang O level not Lit as did DS with GCSEs. So I am not familiar with any of these set texts. I have no idea what An Inspector Call is about. DD did do it for GCSE and the school went on a trip, she is doing Macbeth for A level and college took them to see it at The Globe at the start of y12 but she said she couldn't follow it at all. She is also doing Pride and Prejudice I think, at least I have read that one.

Don't worry about it ED. You're missing nothing!! I do like The Importance of being Ernest - Miss Haversham : "A Handbag". And An Inspector Calls is quite clever when you think about it.

But these entitled kids. No idea how lucky there are. I never went to see any plays when I was at school. and here's me trying to chivvy an uninterested ds2 along, trying to help him and he has very little appreciation. It's not me sitting in the GCSE English you know!! I'd rather not go and sit and watch Macbeth, Thank you very much!!

All this trying to help / chivvy ds2 along when he's completely uninterested in anything. As I said, It's not me sitting GCSE English you know!

I think I'm spreading myself too thin. I think I need to take care.

this morning I found some Christmas Brie in the back of the fridge. The stink was so bad, it made me feel ill!!

🤣

@EffortlessDistraction Loved Abba Voyage. Still don't really understand the technology but had a great evening. So good we've persuaded ourselves that pushing the boat out for Mamma Mia the party is justified when we have a cluster of birthdays (including a big one) in the summer.

@Oblomov24 We went on a school trip to see Anthony & Cleopatra at the Nottingham Playhouse. We hadn't read the play at that point and all the character were dressed in plain black with minimal scenery so following it was difficult. We were seated not far back and unfortunately the lighting gave us a great view of Kate O'Mara spraying spittle. Some of the boys were invited not to watch the second half...

I had a very strange English teacher for my O levels who refused to do the 'usual' stuff. We did a collection of short stories by random authors, a collection of ballads for poetry and a Midsummer Nights Dream. We saw a special production of that combined with a workshop which was good. The collection of stories and poems were a nightmare as we had to know each one in as much detail as a single book and be able to compare and contrast each one with each other and find common themes etc. With little help from her...
Hated English 😆

We ended up going to Brighton to see a production of Noughts and Crosses for DDs drama GCSE which I really enjoyed. Her study of Hard Times for English though was not enjoyed by any of us!!

We went to see Hamlet in Stratford once. We had the cheapest seats right at the back - a very hard bench & after 3 hours in of a numb bum we walked out 😁
It was interminable!
I seem to remember it was over 4 hours long.

But I did see a brilliant production of The taming of the shrew in the Royal Exchange round theatre with my school, which started very dramatically.

This is exciting, reading all your literature school trips. Schooled abroad so didn't have any school trips but my year read Romeo & Juliet for GCE's.. DS1 studied Inspector calls and enjoyed it so much he asked me to read it too. I loved it. Kids nowadays don't know how lucky they are, I'm totally with you @Oblomov24 .

Oooh I've met my people. I love a theatre trip.
Went to see a role reversal showing of The Taming of the Shrew in Stratford upon Avon back in 2019. Gorgeous theatre.

DD studied An Inspector Calls and Jekyll and Dr Hyde so we went to see those plays at local-ish theatres. She also did Blood Brothers for Drama GCSE and The Curious Incident of the dog in the nighttime. Both great shows.

We've booked to see Mean Girls in July and A Chorus Line in Aug both in west end - can't wait. Saw Legally Blonde a while back too and Hamilton last year snd Heathers the year before.

Would hate a bum numbing bench too @Cantonet.

I remember a couple of years back we went to see Jersey Boys (Frankie Valli musical) in Leeds and someone was in our seats and they wouldn't hear that they were wrong as we were clearly jumped up whipper snappers trying to pull a fast one. My DH mentioned that we had turned up on the wrong week to see a show years ago so could we ask what seat numbers they had to which the man said belligerently unhelpfully "These ones". We then showed our tickets and he then showed his as he was confident he was still right and he'd turned up a day early. The wife was so embarrassed so we suggested they ask the foyer reception if they could still watch it if spare seats available which they did luckily so we got our chosen seats back and obv didn't crow about it. Funnily enough a row behind us had a v drunk woman badly singing along so I kinda wished we'd got new seats 😂

We mainly go to musicals, DD and I usually go a couple of times a year, once about now for our birthdays and once for Kids week in Aug but she's too old for that now. I have started going to local productions with friends too, we have some very good local theatre groups, we saw an excellent production of Evita recently.

DS1 was in lots of school productions - Joseph, Wizard of Oz, Les Mis, Guys and Dolls, Beauty and the Beast, The Wiz, Midsummer Night's Dream, which made him quite positive about theatre. We took them to The Snowman when they were very young and it made a real impression. We have seen other shows, but mostly musicals for the family trips and a bit of comedy, other than A Curious Incident, which was brilliant. I remember seeing an Inspector calls in my early 20's when I had time and money and lived in London. I am sure it is all a lot more expensive than it was when we were young, but productions are also more complicated and impressive. DH and I sometimes go to higher brow stuff like Shakespeare and Chekhov, but it is not so entertaining! We are going to Pirates of Penzance in a few weeks, a friend of DS's is in it, so that should be fun.

DD was in a musical theatre group for years, she did Joseph, Bugsy, West Side Story, Oliver, Wizard of Oz, Annie, probably more. Fabulous experience.