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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@Shimy I hope your DS settles into his accommodation soon. What will he be doing?

DD1 started her placement last week and so far she is enjoying it. She is living at home and we are very glad to have her back!

@BlueMarigold You're so lucky to have her home. Glad to hear she is enjoying it. DS this week is away on training and sent photos of his hotel room (probably the sort of place he'd like to live!) he's doing Tax consulting so will be doing some professional exams next yr. Whats your DD doing?

@Shimy she is working for a company that does bat surveys.

wow! now that sounds VERY interesting and different. What is she studying? I'd love to listen to all her bat stories when she comes home, we are a bit wildlife mad in our house.

Oh wow, that sounds amazing @BlueMarigold it would be right up my DS's street too. We went out on a bat walk with the local nature group last year and really enjoyed it.

She’s doing Biological Science. Unfortunately by the time she gets home it’s almost midnight so she goes straight to bed. No bat stories for us.

Is DD our first 21st? On Thursday. She’d like a trip to NYC and some hiking boots…

Happy 21st @KingscoteStaff dd! I think she must be the first?

Great news on the placements @shimy and @BlueMarigold ! I don’t like bats and used to be a tax consultant so would rather be mini @shimy 🤣 but the bat work sounds like brilliant experience!

Thanks @Seeline. I don't mind a bracing walk but would prefer dry. We may walk past each other @mummyinbeds and not even know!

@BlueMarigold Fantastic placement! DS would love that. I describe his summer role as playing in a sand pit 😂He was analysing samples of the north sea bed.

@shimy Hope his placement goes well. I think those professions come with a ready made social life as so many young people training together.

@KingscoteStaff If you don't ask you don't get! Hope she has a fantastic 21st tomorrow.

Happy 21st to your DD @KingscoteStaff

All the placements and time abroad sounds amazing. Would love the bat survey. I've missed a bit as my back 'went' on Saturday and I fainted on hall floor. Luckily DH was there. Now dosed up on high strength painkillers and anti inflammatory stuff. Went to out of hours as was a bit worried after the breast cancer but thry didn't seem bothered. No scans or anything. Slowly improving and can WFH this week but rubbish

DS had a great time at London day interview. A friend from secondary also there who he had lost touch with. He's at Nottingham but now year abroad in Spain. DS heard yesterday he has got through to next stage so that's good. Thry took him for drinks afterwards so he is hoping that's a good sign!

Hope you feel better quickly @craggyrat, rooting for your boy to secure the post, is next part of process the last part?

i think yours is first @KingscoteStaff , mine has hers towards end of this month but I remember there were a couple more Sept babies here. Happy 21st to your DD!

Happy birthday to @KingscoteStaff DD! Hope the back gets better soon, @craggyrat. And sounds like the study-abroad group are all settling in nicely.

DD's term doesn't start for another couple of weeks. She had a wobbly day when she was told off by a staff member she didn't know, for painting on the studio wall; it's an old tradition at the art school, but no tutors were around to back her up and she ended up scrubbing off the painting. She and one of her friends decided to be tourists for the day yesterday, and did touristy things around Cambridge including visiting some of the many museums, and that cheered her up.

Poor craggy! I hope you feel better soon.
I think my DS2 may have been 1st to 21 @ealingwestmum and @KingscoteStaff - his was on Sunday! We celebrated it with dinner on the Thursday beforehand that we were ALL at, which was great - DD1 and DD2 came from London and then worked at home for Friday so I had everyone together for 24 hours before DS2 went back to uni on Fri - as he has a 10 day processional diving course to do before uni starts. So on his actual birthday he dived all day, then had a night dive, then got back to his house planning to have a drink with 2 friends, only to find a surprise party waiting for him! 20 mates, lights, decks, booze, and a cake. He was so touched.

It was funny because DS2 didn’t know his older sibs were coming to his dinner. So when they walked into the restaurant he was thrilled. DS1 only started his working life 4 weeks ago and made a great play of saying “I’ve come straight from the office” and we all hooted. Well maybe you had to be there 🤣

Oh that’s crappy @photodad. Must have been rather upsetting. She can come and paint on my wall any day, she is so talented…

Happy belated 21st to your boy @Delphigirl and so lovely all the sibs came to celebrate. Loving the swagger of you DS1 right now 😂

Im glad your DD picked herself back up @PhotoDad, the rebuff must have felt quite winding.

That's a great story about the party, @Delphigirl!

Here's DD's current work-in-progress, an illustration for one of her own stories.

Wow that is wonderful - and unsettling @PhotoDad ! Love the pool of light, nicely done 👍

Happy belated 21st to ds2 @Delphigirl ! Sounds like he had some great celebrations! Loving the ‘straight from the office’ comment 🤣

Hope you feel better soon @craggyrat . I’m at the dentist waiting for a root canal - dreading it! Just hoping it works as there was some doubt due to the tooth being broken and I don’t want a dental emergency in Corfu!

Well done to your ds @craggyrat - fingers crossed for the next round!

Dd and friends arrived to an awful airbnb in Morocco - everything broken and absolutely filthy. Thankfully they found them new very swanky accommodation, all marble floors and the new airbnb owners have taken them out for Moroccan tea and cakes, so all good I think.

Your DD is getting some early exposure to the good and bad of Airbnb @crazycrofter but glad her trip’s had an upturn, what a lovely new host!

@crazycrofter Did you enjoy doing it? DS seems to think it might be a boring career and hoping to switch to something else when he graduates but he's only just started so might change is mind.

@EwwSprouts It's great to hear there's lots of socialising as that is exactly what DS wants.
@Delphigirl & @KingscoteStaff happy birthday to the dc turning 21! Hoping it brings them all the things they dream of. Delphi i welled up a bit about the older sibs walking in and how thrilled your boy was and equally chuckled at him saying he'd just come from the office! i guess it has a certain ring to it .

@craggyrat I hope you feel better soon, that's sounds excruciating. I just hurt my back slightly before sitting down to Mn, was trying to lift a heavy plank of wood from the floor, silly of me to do. Good luck to your DS! hope to hear good news soon.

@shimy yes I did but of course that doesn’t mean your ds would! It’s quite technical, lots of analysis but also lots of client contact. I was in Private Clients though, rather than corporate.

@ealingwestmum indeed! The new hosts have taken them out for a meal tonight as it’s one of the girls’ birthday today! I’m anxious that they should be reciprocating/tipping them or something 🤔

Good reviews and possibly a token something between all her friends as a thank you, nothing more than that? Sounds like lovely hosts!

@omnishambles glad he’s had a good summer with a good job throughout.

Good luck to him resitting year 2, just try to make sure as much as you can that he is getting support while there (sorry I can’t remember what is/isn’t in place already). I hope for yours and his sake that it goes better. Thinking of you, I know it’s tricky to be at home worrying about them.