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

Thanks for the new thread @OrangeSpicedBun. Like "Happy new year", not sure how long to keep saying that!

Sending good wishes to all with health ailments and worries for self and for family members. No real news here. DS doesn't have exams, only essays - 4x2000 words due over the space of two weeks. We didn't see him much after the Christmas period as he was head down working on them. Now back in Notts and think all's ok - he's a "no news is good news" type.

Curious about your son's placements @Shimy - a friend's son is really struggling to find anything for his (compulsory) year in industry. Any tips?

DS safely delivered back to Nottingham. He seemed a little upset when I left him, possibly due to the chaos of his house from the calm of home. Before he left in December we cleaned the kitchen (the washing up took over an hour) and tidied the living room a bit. Last night the kitchen was a biohazard, dirty pots and pans on the coffee table (I assume they'd run out of plates), Christmas tree still up, bins overflowing etc etc . The five girls he lives with were all upstairs, screaming and shouting and apparently watching Love Island. He does love his housemates and he isn't the tidiest in the world but they are difficult to live with. I'm sure it will be fine when he's used to it again.... Meanwhile, DD was complaining that someone had left crumbs by the toaster in her kitchen and that the four boys she lives with don't know how to use it clean a toilet 🤦

@blinkbonny What type of placement is your DF's son looking for? DS was looking for a Industrial/corporate placement as he is studying a Business degree. I understand it is different for e.g 'clinical placements'. It's your mention of 'Compulsory' that's making me do a rain check before i give any tips as DS's isn't necessarily compulsory.

A word of advice for any of the DCs with part time (esp zero hours type) jobs, keep records. DD works in a pub, it was struggling financially last year and the company that owned it sold up. DD was TUPE'd over to the new owners, but she has received liquidation papers for the former employer, asking if she is a creditor, i.e. owed wages, holiday pay etc. She is sure she was fully paid, and so OK, but we have had a discussion about understanding your pay period as well as pay day, arrears, keeping a note of hours worked, payslips, contracts etc, just in case. She has batted this all off and won't show me anything but hopefully all is OK. It was quite sobering reading through the financial report on the business, basically screwed by covid then COL. In my day these type of jobs were paid cash in hand from the till at the end of the shift, or end of the week, it's all different now.

Wow, that hadn’t occurred to me @EffortlessDistraction . Ds said the other day that money seemed to flow into his bank account so easily these days 🤣 What he meant was that he keeps being paid more than he expects - I think because he hadn’t expected sick pay and he keeps doing an extra 15/30 minutes at the end of the day!

Ds failed his driving test again 😩 and is really annoyed. He’s done no revision for this afternoon’s exam, because of focusing on driving, and when he decided just now that he should probably do half an hour, he discovered he couldn’t actually find his revision book 😩

On the plus side, despite not having an ADHD diagnosis yet, dd is in the DSA system and will now have extra time, rest breaks and a small room 🎉

@mummyinbeds your ds’ house sounds grim!

Oh dear! @crazycrofter sorry to hear the disappointing news especially as he focussed on that at the expense of his exams. Hopefully it will be one of those where the the last 5mins of studying really pays off.

Out of interest as ds2 will be looking to sit his this yr, is there still a massive waiting list to book driving tests or have things now gone back to normal?

@shimy I haven’t re-booked yet, but when I last booked in Dec, the earliest I could get was June. It’s worth paying for one of the cancellation apps. I’ve done that twice now and it works well.

sorry to hear that Crazy.

Ds1 phoned to say he'd sat his Audit paper and it went very well, so that good, and now has 5 weeks of lectures. But at nearly midnight the night before the exam a water pipe in the house had burst so they'd all had to go to other peoples houses to sleep, and he'd sat the exam in shorts and sliders because that's all he had.

@Shimy how are you doing?

Crazycrofter Thanks for that. I see nothing has changed then. I'll give DS a head up.

Oblomov23 Not too bad thanks. I'm moving about more each day and getting stronger and healing well, I'm only 3 weeks post op so still sore and stomach doing strange things. I think what's impacting me more is actually the trauma of it all, i thought i was a gonner!

I concur re cancellation apps. DS uses a website rather than an app which also worked a treat.

Gosh @mummyinbeds I bet your DS wishes the only mess being just crumbs by the toaster from what you've seen of his house. Sounds difficult esp if they're using his stuff. Are both your DC staying with the same housemates and accommodation for next year?

@crazycrofter Great news re DD's getting in the DSA system and fingers crossed DS has done enough in his exam today. I'm so sorry about DS's driving test - weather has been pretty windy today although I don't know where you are and if that was a factor - but I hope he gets another at the next convenient time.
@Shimy I can recommend the Testi app. I used that to just book any date (6mths seems to be the norm when re-booking) then I kept moving it forward as better dates came in. Did that several times and only had to pay one payment to get the app. I think the waiting list depends on area but cancellations come in all the time.
Re what you just said about your trauma last month, that will take time for you to recover mentally as well as physically so give yourself lots of time. How very frightening for you but I'm so so relieved all went well with the op 

Eek to the burst pipe @Oblomov23. Was it an online audit paper exam? Well done to your DS for being so calm and I hope Uni take all that into consideration when marking it. Also hope the landlord / lady gets it sorted soon. We had one during the early summer of 2020 and it caused mighty upheaval because we couldn't get it sorted too quickly because of social distancing etc.

Hello, checking in. I hope no one’s been blown away in the storms? It’s blowy here and the cats are windswept.

DD has loads going on. She has her assigned university for her year abroad - she’s not accepted by the uni, but her home one only puts forward one student per place, so something has to go very wrong before you don’t get your assigned choice. It was her first choice, but also one that only takes one student - some take two, one takes six. So that’s a little terrifying.

She also has a job offer for the summer, in a language school, subject to references. Don’t know where yet, her three preferences were our home town, or London (two in London). I’ve looked belatedly at Glassdoor for the company … I don’t have an account so can’t see detail, but decent scores pulled down by 2.9 for work-life balance. I think like the US camp it’s not the kind of job where you get that!

On top of that she’s gone from not cooking to ‘oh look I made toad in the hole’! A welcome development, and I like the recipe request messages I get from her ☺️

Hi @shimy, thanks for the reply. He’s doing Psychology + Business at Aston. Apparently the industrial placement year is required but the uni doesn’t help you find one. I tried to pull in some contacts to help but it didn’t work. It’s third-hand info so might be sketchy but if you have any tips I will pass on!

@AnneOfCleavage fortunately DS should be abroad next year although he would've still chosen to live with them. He has no idea which his kitchen stuff is anymore - it's a total free for all. DD will be sharing with one of the boys next year. He's actually housetrained and good fun. She hasn't seen two of them in the last two weeks (they are definitely in the house) and the other one is rather strange. Nobody speaks to each other and it isn't quite the experience DD was hoping for. Luckily she's made loads of friends on her course and societies.

It's a bit blustery here at the moment. Not as bad as Aberystwyth according to the BBC news just now. DD is out clubbing - on the pier 😱

@DontCallMeBaby the first meal I ever made now DH at uni was Toad in the Hole. The kitchen door swung closed as I was carrying said meal to my room and catapulted it all over him 🤣

@mummyinbeds omg 😂 nothing says ‘be mine’ like a shower of sausages in batter …

@AnneOfCleavage Thanks for the app tip, all noted.

@blinkbonny If it's an industrial placement has he registered with places like
Gradcracker - Careers for STEM Students
Work placements | Prospects.ac.uk
Graduate Jobs & Industrial Placements (brightnetwork.co.uk)

If he registers with them and sets his filters to his preferences, he will automatically get daily emails with all the lastest placement opportunities.

Has he joined any societies at uni and does he have an office? (employers like to see evidence of leadership qualities) any work he's done outside of academics will help (voluntary work) What are his extra curricular activities these are all the things that will make him stand out .

In addition to the above, DS did lots of online assessment practice with timing, & interview practice. DS's uni also provides case study practice, there's an app that universities have to purchase called 'COACH', I hear it's fantastic and really helps them with tackling the case studies some of the big employers include in their recruitment process.

Last but not least, is he spreading his applications across different industries? (some are tougher to enter than others). DS was a bit fixated on certain sectors and it took a lot of explaining to get across to him that he might not get a foot in certain sectors at all. Its a bit like applying for uni -Aspiratonal, those you feel are at your level and then insurance. The retail industry is fantastic and very overlooked in favour of more illustrious sounding sectors. DS had to sadly turn down ALDI which offered a fantastic package and i think they are still recruiting for a 'National Supply Chain Logistics Placement'. The pharmaceutical industry also takes on lots business placement students, so also does the car industry -BMW, Rolls Royce, Formula 1.

I hope he finds some of this useful. Let me know if there's anything else you to know.

Thanks @Shimy, super useful for my friend (and for me, and I'm sure for others on this thread)! Thanks so much and well done again to your DS

Ooh I have found you all!

@shimy I’m so sorry you have been unwell. I hope you are feeling much better and can see the road to recovery. @Alwaysplayspicc I’m really sorry for your diagnosis. Big hug. You seem to be having good and fast care so it sounds like you are in really good hands.
my DD’s 2nd attempt to take her 3rd driving test was stymied by storm Jessica. First time was car dying en route. So the third attempt for the third attempt is at 7.25am in a county 2 along from this one on Monday week. I’m just not feeling it, but let’s see. She turns 18 on Sat so high excitement. I have been working super hard (like until 3, 4 in the morning hard) and can’t quite see an end in sight. My latest efforts are all over the press, sad I can’t share them with you for amusement, never mind.
dS1 is working hard on his dissertation and absolutely determined to get a first. Nice to see the focus. DS2 is loving first year uni, has made great friends, enjoying the work, still in love with school gf at uni miles away, but they are making it work. He is v calm and sorted. I miss him!

Blinky There are still lots of opportunities out there so he mustn't give up - I'm copying and pasting an email i received this morning for DS which your son can apply for if he is interested, this came through from 'Bight Network':

Hi xxx

Liberty Global is looking for bright members, like you, to join their Finance Industrial Placement - but be quick, applications will close on the 31st January!

Liberty Global is a world leader in converged broadband, video and mobile communications - they deliver next-generation products that connect 85 million subscribers across Europe and the United Kingdom. If you're keen to launch a career in Finance and have a strong interest in studying further professional qualifications, then keep reading...

Why join the programme?

Work as part of a team on a real project, network with other employees and meet senior leaders from across the business
Build your skills and learn more about what a career with Liberty Global could look like
Receive a highly competitive salary of £30,000 and thrive in a culture that will support you every step of the way

If you want to take your early career journey to the next level then you don't want to miss this! Apply below:

@Delphigirl Thanks for your well wishes. Fingers crossed for DD's driving test. It would be fantastic if she passed just before her 18th so she can really celebrate it all together.

@Alwaysplayspicc I missed that you had a diagnosis and haven't seen the post . I wish you well as you get treatment and strength to go through it all. I hope you are not in pain.

Missing in action for a while, lots going on health-wise within my families but, absolutely nothing compared to what many of you are currently facing. Really wishing those of you suffering speedy and positive outcomes post treatment and surgeries.

I am just recovering after last weekend's storm debacle. DD was on orchestra tour in Glasgow, due to fly back Sunday, finally got her home Tues evening. Not easy rebooking 150 students with variety of instruments. Lots of backing wrong horses by me to return solo and the group dispersed to improve return chances (flights that kept getting cancelled wherever the routing was), back and forth to airport from hostel and £££ later, she was finally back in Dublin.

I have everything crossed Delhi for your girl, and happy 18th to her. I have scoured the online media trying to take a punt on which legal project you are working on. Haven't a clue :))

Thanks @ealingwestmum and@Shimy . Omg sounds like a logistical nightmare @ealingwestmum , I hope she wasn’t lugging a double bass around all the while 😱😱😱

Hehe, thankfully just a violin but still a haggle to argue her way out of keeping it out of hold luggage vs carry on (and paying for an extra seat!) Her first real experience of an exploitative industry that corruptly maximises dynamic pricing in a crisis!

And so sorry for calling you Delhi Delphi. My autocorrect due to trying to book a trip to India this year 😂

So, DS hasn't got the place in halls he applied for. We had no idea at the time that it was a bunfight. Back to square one and panicking a bit. Everyone on Facebook keeps suggesting private halls and single studios. Those people must be made of money.