Archers thread #155: Cold Comfort Farms! The rural sagas continue. Discuss The Archers here.

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

FILL THE OLD THREAD UP FIRST! https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4902507-archers-thread-154-cider-with-fat-rosie-meadow-rise-to-candleford-or-the-darling-horrobins-of-september-get-your-rural-saga-fix-discuss-the-archers-here?page=10

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed, and of course we are always delighted to welcome back former or occasional listeners/posters. We don't all agree on all points, although we do mostly try to be civil about it. Most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you'd like to hear more scenes in the abattoir, or other unusual views.

Spoilers: not on this thread, please! We don't wait for the omnibus to discuss the weeknight episodes, but we do try our best to avoid cross-contamination from www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-join-us-here, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

For newer listeners, lurkers or those who just have no idea what we're talking about, @DadDadDad has created this useful thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3557323-For-Archers-fans-a-guide-to-acronyms-on-the-long-running-discussion-threads-and-any-other-meta-thread-questions-you-may-have - BOOP point for him! (See thread for explanation.)

Lots of lively discussion about Brad's university aspirations and the Open Day on the last thread. Do you want him to end up at Felpersham or do you want him to spread his wings and go further afield? Where will Mia go?

Will this thread see the end of Rob, or do we have many weeks more before his long overdue demise?

What's going on at Grey Gables? Are they running into financial trouble? Will we hear from Roy, who I had forgotten was working there until he was mentioned the other day? Who are the mysterious 'Owners'? Will the locum GP turn out to be Adil's sister, as we have been surmising since she first spoke? Why's she been conjured up?

Talking of the GP, I'm hoping against hope we're not in for bad news about Jim's mole.

Praying that we're going to get a long and much-needed break from hearing P*p. Not praying that we hear Rob being christened. Who would be his sponsor, as someone commented on the last thread? Harrison? Surely that would be a conflict of interest. Can't see who else would do it locally.

I wonder how Ben is getting on now he's back on his nursing degree? Will we ever hear anything about Lily's course, or how Freddie's getting on at the abattoir?

So many questions! Over to you for some answers and boundless speculation.

Durham is nothing like a huge metropolis, most students who consider the size are put off by how small it is. It is a very small city centre (about a 15 minute slow walk from one end to the other), and a small population. The population of the entire city is smaller than that of an average London suburb.

Well he said it was in the Top 30....

Yes of course, I know George turned 18 a few months ago because he is only weeks older than my DD - doh! I remember hearing Emma go into labour.

Was it stated at the time that they were Brad's AS results?

It could be "a fictitious university, loosely based on Durham"!

I can only think in Old Money when it comes to school years. Even though my DC's school years were in New Money.

Durham is small, it was brilliant for this nerd, and many others I met here
I was Very Bright, as demonstrated by my 11+ results, which is why my local authority paid for me to go to a girls' public school, and I ended up here. And here I stayed! All my recent posts about this are based on my own life

Thought by "here" you meant "on the MN TA threads for a moment, @SequentialAnalyst 😂

Durham probably did have a campus feel to Tracey since the Maths dept is among all the other science buildings which definitely feel campus-like. And the colleges might just have felt like residences.
Brad shoudl so go to Durham - small city, college-centric, attracts its fair share of geeks (along with Rahs). And (as DD can attest) excellent employment prospects for mathmos like Brad

warwick Would be a better bet? Durham is quite far and if he’s nervous of leaving home maybe somewhere he can go back at weekends would be better

Agree Warwick would be excellent. But he'd have to be preparing for his STEP exams which are usually included in the offer. It's not just a question of A levels I believe. In fact Durham were also on the cusp of including STEP in their offers when DD was there as a mathematician. Not sure whether that's been implemented yet.
But this is the sort of detail which is probably irrelevant to script writers given they've been careful not to name the imaginary Hogwartian university!

The thing that maddens me about some kids choosing to go to less good unis is that THEY COST THE SAME BLOODY AMOUNT to study at regardless of whether they're number 1 in the UK or number 100. Felpersham Uni will cost £9,250 per year in tuition fees as will Durham.

Living costs can be saved of course if it's reasonable to commute from Ambridge to Felpersham but I don't know if that's doable or what the costs might be. I also don't know which of Warwick or Birmingham might be nearer or if either is commutable.

I think brad said felpsham was top 30, and t19 on some rankings....So a quick Google of maths unis rankings is that this is out of 70 (so top 30 is about half way) with:
1 Cambridge
2 Oxford
4 Warwick
7 bath
11 Durham
19 Belfast
30 Stirling (where Jim taught?)

I think for someone like Brad who is quite shy and doesn't seem to have travelled much in his life, Durham would feel just very, very far away. Maybe the sl is that in realising this, he ends up somewhere not-Felperham but closer by?
Also, as the first Horrobin to ever go to university, a degree from Felpersham would still be great, a degree is a degree after all. I know not all degrees are equal, but it would be enough for Brad to not end up working at the chicken factory or wherever...

I really like Brad, and Chelsea for that matter, and Tracey too now I think about it. They come across as a family that actually like each other.

I haven't listened to the last episode yet... and now wondering whether I should bother! I hate these silly Grundy storylines. As for Brad... hopefully he'll change his mind!

Can’t have been his AS levels as they haven’t been sat in England for at least 10 years

My DD sat an AS in 2017

I was a bit puzzled about that, but I'm reasonably sure that that was what they were talking about. Can anyone with a better memory help?

I'm pretty sure my friend's daughter did them in Sheffield last school year.

Where was the maths course that Brad went away to last year? He didn't seem bothered about being away from home for those purposes, though admittedly it was quite a short course.

.

I'll try again. This is from the school's 6th Form website.

Our expected entry requirements for AS/A Level are 5 x 9-5 GCSE grades including maths and English plus subject specific requirements

It’s quite odd now that A levels aren’t modular - just cruelly inserting extra exams.

Conversion my arse..,,.

No flies on Usha.

AS levels still exist but aren't commonly taken, due to DfE changes. But quite common for Maths and Further Maths candidates.

She'll report that threat too.

Too as in, "as well as being suitably brusque with him", rather than "as well as another threat".