Thread 52 - Covid GCSE Cohort - Autumn 24 - Start of Uni Yr 3

[Oblomov24]

2024 Autumn, start of year 3 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.

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That looks v nice @Oblomov24 ! Well done to your DD @EternallyDelighted .
got a message from DD in Peru! Sounds totally happy 💕. No mention of the rucksack so I assume it found her.
DS1 is on his first business trip… to the Labour Party conference! Getting a regular stream of texts when he meets someone interesting. V pleased to have had a brief chat with Ed milliband who sounds like he was kind to him.

That’s a lovely update @Delphigirl. Both clearly thriving with their respective experiences. Your boy is getting tremendous exposure so early in his career, exciting stuff!

That flat looks ok @Oblomov24, not so sure about the road name 😱

Well done to your DD @EternallyDelighted

@Oblomov24 that apartment looks very nice!

Good to hear your DD is happy @Delphigirl

Funny hearing about people going back, DS1 has been back since the beginning of August and I haven't seen him since. 🙁

Good news here, DS2 literally just passed his theory test retake. 😀

Yay, well done to him @JustHereWithMyPopcorn

Now to the 🚗 pass line @JustHereWithMyPopcorn , well done to your boy!

@Oblomov24 your ds's apartment is lovely. DD's is a damp ridden hovel in Whitechapel with Somalian gangs hanging around & a dodgy Italian landlord. Dh is really upset & worried after dropping her off the other night.
Especially as we are paying a fortune for it. They all relied on their friends to pick this property as most didn't attend the viewing. Well they've learnt a hard lesson.
Ds2 has passed his test first time 👋🏼
Taken at 7.15 am 😫

Well done on all the theory and driving passes!

Thanks all, just a 6 month wait for a test date now..

@cantonet congrats to your DS2 and at such a horrible time too!! That certainly trumps the theory test! 😄

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn Ds hasn't managed to book a test yet. His instructor only uses one test centre and there are no vacancies there for the foreseeable. To be fair, the other centres nearby are the same. Joys of living in London I suppose.
He has only had 3 lessons so far, but we are wondering what the options are in terms of using a different centre and doing it in one of cars etc. It's a bit early to make decisions yet.
I know there are apps that book cancellations, but with the Instructor being a one-person operation, booking without consultation will lead to problems too. And no-one I know has had any success with the apps anyway.

Well done re first time pass @cantonet - not easy these days - and to theory retake @JustHereWithMyPopcorn . Oh dear re DD’s flat @Oblomov24 , I hope it works out. These places often look worse on day 1 than after they have made them into a home. Fingers crossed for her…

Ps Paris coat sourced (with extra long sleeves for spider-like DS1) and DH will pick up tomorrow (in London, not Paris, sadly!) 🤣

@Seeline I went on and not a single test centre in about a 40 mile radius had an available date. So I booked one in a less built up area for early next year and have now registered on a rebook site for our local test centre and keeping my fingers crossed..

Well done to DS2 @Cantonet but sorry about DD's house, that does sound worrying.

I'm not sure when DS will be ready for his test, he says his instructor hasn't suggested booking it yet but I'm worried that with stopping lessons again after this week he will slip back again, I think next summer is most likely. I keep saying to him to ask her but he hasn't done, I wish I could speak to her myself but I really can't. Tempted to get him to book one for next year anyway, he can do it in my car as he's been using that for practice. I need to brush up on the approved way to do manoeuvres as that what he needs most practice on now and I don't know what's what, youtube here I come.

That’s a great start to the week @Cantonet 🚗👏

i am not surprised at the concern of your DD’s flat, the taking advantage of students and tenants is outrageous now, it really is in desperate need for reform.

@EternallyDelighted tests around here go in seconds and you're waiting six months for test dates to be available hence me booking anywhere now and then looking for a cancellation near here for around the same time. It's madness.

@JustHereWithMyPopcorn yes, 6am on Monday morning seems to be the way to go. Just had a look for what information is needed, really not sure whether to go via instructor or just alone, also whether he needs any reasonable adjustments for SENs, a friend has had a nightmare with the bureaucracy required for this for theory tests. He really just needs the examiner to not speak too quickly or deliver too many instructions in one chunk. Maybe I'll start a separate thread.

We had to drive to Chippenham for DDs (many) driving tests. A good hour away. Madness.

Have just had amusing call from DS at the Labour conference.
“Hi darling, how’s it going?”
”Disaster. I’ve had a serious disaster.”
“Oh no, what’s happened?”
”I’ve been vox popped by Owen Jones. I don’t know how I let it happen”.
🤣🤣

I had to google both OJ and what vox popped meant @Delphigirl 😱

i feel SO old!

🤣

Cringing for him @Delphigirl !

Gosh so much to has been going on here. I cant go back over all the news but it all sounds good. Congrats on the driving test pass @EternallyDelighted .
DS has just completed his second week of training which he says was interesting, i think he enjoyed the 1st week more than the second, more socialising. I'm cautiously waiting to see how things pan out at his placement as he has said he most definitely does not want to go into Tax as a career and he feels really fidgety and distracted (diagnosed adhd) when he goes into the office where everyone has headphones on just staring at their computers.

Ah, it was @Cantonet with the driving test pass, my DD finally managed to get a job though. I am tearing my hair out a bit about the driving though, they really both need to be doing it at this point, DS is part way and DD hasn't even started. I'm going to be taxiing forever at this rate.

DD has split up with her boyfriend (her choice). They’d been together for a little over 2 years (she met him before uni, he moved to Cornwall for a year, but is now back home). She’s a bit sad. I hope she doesn’t spend her final year chasing boys.