Thread 51 - Covid GCSE Cohort - Summer 24 - End of Uni Yr 2

[Oblomov24]

2024 Summer, end of year 2 for those at Uni.

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 50:

50

Anyone noticed the birds have gone super quiet. It's really noticeable around here, as the dawn chorus is normally so noisy. Sometimes it sounds like it's a jungle out there.
Even the wood pigeon has gone quiet.

@EasilyDefined they are noisy aren't they.

@Shimy dh being a (now retired) farmer has a shotgun, he would have happily shot s fox when we lived at the farm, we knew we had a fox as it ate all our chickens one night, someone forgot to lock them up, dh spent many an evening out there hiding, waiting with his gun. Much to my amusement, as I don't like guns, the fox never came when dh was there. Now we live in the village, he wouldn't use his gun as we have neighbours, it only gets used for clay pigeons these days. He'd quite like to shoot the actual pigeons though, we have so many.

I now have ds2 (on his year abroad in Australia) asking me to meet him and ds1 in Japan in January, during his summer break. He wants me to take ds3 too. I don't know what to do or think. I never travel anywhere, so Japan is somewhere I've never considered. Ds1 and ds3 hate each other, so that's a big problem. Ds3 is going into year 11 so taking him out of school isn't the best idea, though he says it's fine. There are so many reasons not to go, but on the other hand I'd probably regret if I don't. Dh wouldn't come with us as he won't fly. I'd be really worried about bringing something nasty home too, as dh is vulnerable. They were talking about me visiting them in Australia. But ds1's visa runs out at the start of dec. he has decided to travel to Asia now. Ds2 only has dec and Jan. off, so that's the only window to visit.

Lots of thoughts going round in my head now, I've no idea what to do 🙈

You can't take ds3 out of school in January of his GCSE year. Can't you leave him with your DH and just go yourself?
Japan is the most amazing place to visit & you can't say no to this amazing opportunity & to your ds's wanting you to be there. You would have to travel after the Xmas period as it will be a lot cheaper. It's actually my ds's favourite place in the world. They love the food & the culture.

@Cantonet ds3 wants to go. It's either take him or don't go at all. We never travel and this would be an amazing trip. It would mean missing 4 or 5 days of school. He has mocks in December. I can't see that he would miss that much in the first week of January. I might go into to school and ask if they will have finished the syllabus by then or whether they will just be revisiting stuff they've done before, Ds says it won't make any difference if he misses a week.

If mocks are in December I imagine that January will be spent going over them. My ds's mocks were in November and January was all systems go.

@icanbewhatiwant Ds had lots of days off in year 10 (covid/covid isolations/fake covid isolations - don't ask!) and also in year 11 to be honest as he had covid a couple of times then too, so I wouldn't be too worried about a week off, as long as you know what he's missed. Both my kids have always revised from revision guides anyway, especially ds whose exercise books are usually a mess/incomplete!

However, I know most people probably wouldn't do it!

@icanbewhatiwant In which case all go then. Looking back DS2 missed lots of school that year & caught up when he was better. I'd totally forgotten.

I don't know what to do really. Apart from anything else it would cost me a lot of money!

I think it's lovely that your boys want you and your youngest to join them @icanbewhatiwant . Lots to consider I know if you don't tend to travel, but still, would be a one in a lifetime trip to explore with all of them together before grown up life kicks in for the older ones.

If it was my ds in year 11 I'd be using the trip as a bribe to make sure he didn't miss any school in the autumn term!

I'm not well travelled @icanbewhatiwant either and it would terrify me, but at the same time I'd probably be reassured by the fact you'll have your older sons with you and they're more experienced travellers.

I loved Japan! We all went as my DW was there for work for three weeks. In retrospect I wouldn't visit at the height of summer, with a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old, but I still managed to love it.

@PhotoDad I'm not sure it's with visiting in winter though. Apparently it's pretty in snow. But I don't think the plan is to go far north.

@crazycrofter yes it terrifies me too. I've only been abroad 4 times. I took ds3 to France in 2019 with the village twinning group, the time before that was 1995. I hated every minute of flying too.

*worth visiting.

Just got back from an arduous journey to Reading since am to view various rooms to repeat again tomorrow. Shattered doesn't begin to describe it.

@icanbewhatiwant The picture of your dh waiting with his shot gun made me chuckle. In my head, that's me. You poor poor chickens! that makes me even more angry now. Your boys & the travelling plan sounds like a lot and Australia/Japan (long haul) and vulnerable dh. I hope you manage to make the right decisions & to sort it all out and every happy. 'Japan' was the one that got away for us. We had planned to go there just before Covid hit.

@icanbewhatiwant
I'd go. For ds3. 1st week of Jan is nothing.

@icanbewhatiwant back when mine were in year 11 I'd probably have said no to time off but in hindsight I'd go for it. Once in a lifetime and he all that.

Finally, french bureaucracy (at least to get him there) is done. Visa, accommodation, guarantor, insurance, Student GHIC, hotel for the first few nights as couldn't get a slot to check in to student accommodation and a very long Flix bus ride (22 hours 😱) sorted. He leaves on Sunday. I'm so relieved to get through the zillion french application forms it hasn't really hit me that Sunday is 6 days away!

Fantastic mummyinbeds, try and enjoy the remainder of the week now all the hard stuff is done!

Well done @mummyinbeds ! I hope the first few days go smoothly for him!

Well done @mummyinbeds! Sounds an arduous task

Well done, @mummyinbeds!

Hope he has a fab time @mummyinbeds !

@mummyinbeds where is he staying?

So glad to hear it's all be sorted now @mummyinbeds well done for persevering and may it all go well with your lad over there.

Some good new share too, DS finally found a place in Reading today, hurrah!

Thanks folks. We're up North saying goodbye to grandparents, until Christmas. He hadn't actually seen them since last Christmas which is shocking.
@NCTDN He's going to Toulouse. It's an area of France I've never been to so I'm looking forward to a few visits 😎

@Shimy what a relief for your DS too.