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

That’s awful @Shimy , how unsettling. It’s weird as i read about an eerily similar scenario on a Facebook group I’m on just this morning - although that person was in the States.

Hope you enjoy the graduation ceremony @Piggywaspushed - end of an era!

Urghh @Shimy it is probably all mouth, but how horrible.

Oh shimy, how unsettling. I hope the police help you out.

Graduation was a bit crap. It was so cold. DH never gets cold and he was shivering and miserable. 7.30 is too late to enjoy a graduation. We just wanted to get home. And dropping DS off at some party , we got stuck in a dead end street with no turning point. Much shouting and panic followed.

Oh well.

There was a very wide range of parental and family attire from very smartly dressed to jeans and trainers. Not sure the huge numbers of crying babies helped. The cathedral is a lovely setting but it's huge and acoustics are not great. However, there were big screens rigged so we could see the stage but you felt detached from events.

What a shame Piggy, on such a celebratory night, to be so frozen.

Sorry to hear such unsettling stuff Shimy.

That must have been terrifying @Shimy . I hope you've heard the last of him

So sorry to hear your DS's graduation ceremony didn't have the ambiance one would've hoped. I was a bit surprised of the timing, 7:30pm for some of the reasons you mentioned not to talk of tired children attending the ceremony but thought perhaps some just do it differently and it works. The main thing is your ds has completed his studies and you were able to witness it. Hope your dh is feeling better? I wish DS well with his work (education?).

I’m sorry the graduation didn’t live up to your hopes @Piggywaspushed.

@Shimy thats scary and a reminder to be extra careful. I hope the stress lessens soon.

@shimy. As if you haven’t already had so much to deal with, that’s batshit crazy, does he really think he can threaten people into giving him work? I always think big occasions are a let down , Piggy, it’s that feeling of being a unit to be managed. Our girl is home for the night and promised to walk the dogs with me. They have their legs crossed.But I think I just heard something stir… she’s applied for a job evaluating AI data, she assures me it’s a real job,I’m so untechy that I really dont understand. It would be good if she got it though. We can’t really afford to support her over the summer.

@Zebracat This is what i don't understand. He must not have any customers. I would like to report him to whoever is in charge of the site because he is still registered with them and no doubt collecting people's details and contacting them for work and he is a dangerous man BUT I'm worried he will know straight away it was me. I'm speaking to the police this afternoon about it anyway so I'll let them know my concerns about him.

Hope Piggy & family are alright after yesterday's freezing experience. It was very cold yesterday.

Glad you've got the police involved @shimy. That's a shame @Piggywaspushed - it's been particularly cold this week for the time of year, I bet they usually have quite a warm evening in mid April.

Dd got back safely from Rome in the early hours. The second AirBnB was much better than the first and she really loved the city.

Hi all, I've been a bit AWOL lately so just catching up with all the birthday woes (only DD cares here but she forgot Mother's Day), scary tradespeople and freezing cold graduations.
I've had my head in a tangle of bureaucracy. I'm currently trying to decide which is worse - The Ghanaian High Commission or Toulouse University. I've done the Ghana visa application for DD three times now and it doesn't get any easier. But, at least that's in English. Applying to a French University with a DS who can't concentrate for long enough to translate the fifty options of his parents socioeconomic standing has taken three attempts so far. He hasn't taken the French proficiency test yet. That's another headache. We have discovered that the test can only be sat 4 times a year and it's over two days, in central London. The next test is after the Uni deadline (who only gave us 2 weeks) And then you have to apply (via a long stupid form) to book an in person appointment to collect the certificate, 5 months later. Nottingham have provided evidence of his proficiency but this isn't good enough. It's a good job DS is at home to sort all this out. I think I might have to move to France with him next year as his PA.

Gosh! @mummyinbeds The whole french thing sounds like multiple intricate loops to the jump before Toulouse uni. I do hope your DS manages to sort it all out on time.

How has your DD found Ghana? I think the last time I read about it she was going for the 1st time.

@shimy the French form filling is a nightmare. I won't get started on Brexit !!!

DD absolutely loves Ghana and is hoping her degree leads to some sort of NGO work there. She is going back to work in the same school again but it's more about the village community who totally embrace the volunteers. She knows 'everybody' and feels totally at home there (despite the poor sanitation, power cuts, no WiFi, malaria, typhoid scares....) And, Aberystwyth uni have awarded her some Taith funding to help with costs - thank you Welsh Government 😁

So lovely to hear your DD thriving Mummy. Much sympathy on the french bureaucracy for your DS. All of DD's course people have opted for Morocco for their ME semester. We together, decided that the uni website in french only was just too much to fathom, so she went for the easier (?) option instead where at least the blurb was in english.

@shimy, that's awful, how frightening for you! Its not like its unusual to get a number of quotes for work before deciding on one so very bizarre behaviour. Hopefully he'll back off now the police are involved.

@Piggywaspushed such a shame about the graduation evening, as beautiful as a cathedral is its probably not the best place for a grad ceremony.

@mummyinbeds I think French bureaucracy has a bit of reputation doesn't it? It certainly seems to be living up to it in your poor DS's case. I hope it gets resolved soon for you. Lovely to hear the news about your DD.

DS2 started his GCSEs today. Two day art exam and I will be so glad to have this out of the way!

Bet you'll be glad to get the art done @JustHereWithMyPopcorn . Hope it goes well!

Ds has finally switched on his hyper focus for A Levels and he's getting through all the missed year 13 work, but it's painfully slow! He manages about 2-3 hours a day. His Business teacher was very dubious at parents evening as to whether he could effectively teach himself the year 13 syllabus he's missed - he said if it was possible 'then what would be the point of me?'! Ds wants to prove him wrong! We will see!

@crazycrofter your DS is such a character! Bet he pulls it out of the bag!

Honestly can’t wait @crazycrofter , it has taken so much of his time up and also it will be good to have one gcse down already.

Im sure your DS has the determination to prove that teacher wrong! Good luck to him with his A levels.

Sorry the graduation wasn't as expected @Piggywaspushed - I didn't know that some were evening events. DSs is sometime in July, but haven't got a date yet. Trying to work out what to wear - I live in jeans and jumpers. Don't do posh!
Took DD back today to finish her first year. It's gone so quickly. Fairly exhausted now after nearly 8 hours of driving to Norwich and back. She only has 3 weeks left - no exams, just coursework to be done by then. She's staying on for an extra 3 weeks to take part in the dance show, as well as hoping for a few trips to the seaside 😁

Stressful day yesterday. My car broke down at 8.45 in a really busy residential street near the two main secondary schools in town. Gear box just went with it in gear so DH couldn't even shift it fully to side. Had to get tow truck and be winched up. Luckily it was right outside friends house just as a coincidence and first guy to stop was someone we knew. Tow people were fab - there in 15 minutes but £96 to be winched home- 3 minute drive... AA have now taken it to local garage as realised we had AA through bank account. Doubt they would have appeared in 15 minutes! Find out Tuesday but going to be expensive I think

Ouch @craggyrat that happened to my neighbour last week but on their drive, they had to get it winched and towed, DD and I plus a passer by ended up helping neighbour and winch man push it off the drive first (tight narrow drive on narrow street so it needed to be turned 90° first). Glad you had friends on hand.

My goodness, not a great week for people! (My cough/cold is still hanging around but that's pretty minor in the scheme of things.) DD has finished classes for the year now but has two more weeks to finish her coursework, then she'll be staying down in Cambridge for a while, with no definite plans. DS (in Y12) has just had the big UCAS briefing, so we're about to start the process all over again!

It's only a Kia Picanto as well that's 10 years old but DS drives it when home too. DH has a 12 year old big Toyota as we need the boot space for emptying room in C three times a year! We are looking to trade next summer but probably need to fork out to get mine going.

@EffortlessDistraction people are always really kind like that. It does restore my faith in humanity. We had loads trying to help - workmen from up the road and people coming out to offer us tea or a sit down!

@PhotoDad hope the cough goes soon. Am glad i don't have to do that UCAS journey again... if your DD gets bored send her along to meet my DS in a coffee shop!

I remember vividly that happening to me when my gear box went. I'd only just passed my test so was convinced it was something I'd done!
UCAS round two here as well @PhotoDad I think our boys are looking at similar things for engineering?

Glad to hear the community not letting you down Craggy, it’s amazing how vulnerable we are when a car breaks down in a stressful location.

i hope you are seeing off your prolonged cough Photodad, the infections hanging around this year have been awful. DD sounds like she’s been smoking 40 a day, with hers, she assures me she hasn’t but the cough is nasty.

She finds out mid this summer whether she’s managed to secure the 6 week internship same location for summer 2025, bypassing AC assessment. Fingers crossed, she wants it too; would be such a bonus to not have to apply for roles on her year abroad. At least the imposter syndrome seems to have diminished, many people she met there working in tech related roles did not come from STEM/business related study backgrounds.