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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Just waved my Sixth Former off to school!

86 replies

Horsemad · 05/09/2013 08:03

How on earth can he be in sixth form?! Doesn't seem five minutes ago since he started Reception and I was wondering if he'd cope as he is a July baby!

Good Luck DS1, work hard and enjoy!

OP posts:

Abra1d · 05/09/2013 08:05

I share your awe! Mine went back on Tuesday, and the little boy of almost five was suddenly a young man in a suit.

Just hope he doesn't enjoy the freedom of the common room too much and gets on with some work during 'free' periods.

Original poster

Horsemad · 05/09/2013 09:08

It goes so quickly doesn't it Abra?

I can't get my head round the fact that if all goes to plan, he'll be off to uni in 2 years!

OP posts:

RussiansOnTheSpree · 05/09/2013 09:28

Me too. Well, I didn't wave her off because I'm away in London for work. But I rang this morning to say good luck etc and got growled at (par for the course! She's not morning person. Neither am I.)

She's only just 15! Seems so young. But she's really looking forward to it.

TheOriginalSteamingNit · 05/09/2013 09:29

Mine's already fed up of hearing about how it will be All Hard Work and Taking Responsibility For Yourself from now on already (went back on Tuesday).

And still getting used to choosing what to wear everyday!

cory · 05/09/2013 09:43

Mine too went off for the first time today. She is in a show all week, so will going straight from college into the dressing room- full go from 7 in the morning to 11 at night. Bit of a step up from somebody who has been out of school with chronic pain and anxiety and had only just got back to half days at the end of last term. But she seems quietly confident- even though she does have a rotten cold and was struggling to breathe during the opening performance last night. Shock treatment for health anxiety I really do begin to believe we might finally be out of the woods.

Abra1d · 05/09/2013 10:28

I sometimes think that a bit of a shock to the body helps it shake things off, cory.

Needmoresleep · 05/09/2013 10:38

I keep seeing mothers taking very very small children to Primary school. One tiny girl was skipping her way to her first day. I felt quite envious.

RussiansOnTheSpree · 05/09/2013 11:22

Cory - I think mine will find it challenging to fit all the homework she is going to get in with her current schedule - she has show rehearsals every Sunday afternoon (all afternoon) until half term, rehearsals for a couple of things where she will be in the pit orchestra, and some individual performances lined up all before November. And of course there's practice. I think what she calls her 'star trek time' will have to be drastically reduced. Possibly to zero. I also think its a Good Thing she has finished GoT (twice) over the summer because I don't think she will have time for recreational reading till probably December. Luckily she loves all the subjects she is doing and doesn't regard doing shitloads of 'extra' work for them as a chore - a couple of her teachers used her as an example in induction week of the level of effort and 'extra mile-osity' (that;s DEFINITELY a word) that they will now be expecting from everyone. So at least she is unlikely to experience culture shock in terms of what's required - but it will be demanded now rather than her choice, which might take a bit of getting used to.

If she complains at all though I'll just point to her little sister - she is in all the same shows as DD1 and she's doing the same number of music exams this term PLUS she has panto rehearsals and a ballet exam. So DD1 can't really complain - most of us don't get the amount of 'star trek time' we'd like in this life!

MrsDavidBowie · 05/09/2013 11:27

Yes mine went back on Tuesday and is fed up of endless assemblies. No lessons this week.
And the drama of what to wear every day!

RussiansOnTheSpree · 05/09/2013 11:30

Also, Cory - I'm so pleased your DD is on the road to recovery now. She must be an exceptional young woman to have coped with all the challenges she's had. :)

RussiansOnTheSpree · 05/09/2013 11:31

My DD is just waiting for the cold weather. She has a vast selection of BIG WARM uniform compliant jumpers and cardigans she can't wait to wear. She reckons this will be the first time ever she hasn't been in danger of hypothermia at school! I'm quite jealous. And also now several jumpers light in my own wardrobe since she's pinched them all!

TheOriginalSteamingNit · 05/09/2013 11:34

Mine's saving up for a furry-collared coat in Urban Outfitters - I just hope she gets there before the first snow

RussiansOnTheSpree · 05/09/2013 11:36

Mine has pinched my navy hooded Roxy coat. It's all lovely and fluffy inside. It's the warmest coat I've ever had. And she claimed it. :(

This of course means I'm free to buy a replacement from UO when I'm in NYC next week, so it's an ill wind.....

Although I do sometimes wonder whether I am, in fact, too gimmery for UO now. :(

RussiansOnTheSpree · 05/09/2013 11:36

Next month not next week. Wishful thinking.

HormonalHousewife · 05/09/2013 11:38

I had the same thought on Monday.

Those years have just flown by, never to come by again.

On the clothing front, thankfully she has to wear a business suit as uniform so the angst of what to wear everyday is removed. That said finding the 'right' suit was problematic in itself.

RussiansOnTheSpree · 05/09/2013 11:42

I think schools that demand 'business suits' for girls are nuts. Many of the girls (eg my DD) wouldn't be able to find ones that fitted them. And in the actual business world most female executives don't wear suits! I don't think I have seen one woman in my office wearing a suit this morning except for the receptionists who are forced to, it's their uniform.

TheOriginalSteamingNit · 05/09/2013 11:47

Daughter making the most today of what looks like being the last of summer in a ludicrously short skirt, but it's very pretty and flippy, and actually she looks really nice. I just hope she is the last to walk up any flights of stairs.

I like lots of things in UO, but also suspect I am too old for it.

Oh and to an earlier post - I too keep feeling pangs of envy at mums walking little be-plaited and gingham-ed girls to school!

RussiansOnTheSpree · 05/09/2013 11:49

I love UO. But their winter clothes are less screaminginly edgy than their summer ones, for sure!

HormonalHousewife · 05/09/2013 11:50

Exactly Russians

Try finding a flattering suit for a size 6 who moans that their stomach and waist is sooo tiny that that these flipping trousers wont stay up

DH ended up asking all the young and well dressed women (who all wear suits btw) where they shop.

TheOriginalSteamingNit · 05/09/2013 11:52

Yes, I love the blouses with the lacy collars, and there's a nice little black and white skirt I like, too. It is my and the dd's conclusion that only in very exceptional circs does anything in UO cost anything other than £48.

(shit, we are meant to be talking about sixth formers, not shopping. This is where I go wrong as a mother).

RussiansOnTheSpree · 05/09/2013 11:54

Nit We need a Changegear.

TheOriginalSteamingNit · 05/09/2013 12:00

Our dds would now be in the sixth with 'that dreary lot' (Ann Marlow and Gina French), not doing pot and not being interesting to Miranda. That's quite a thought.

mumslife · 05/09/2013 12:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Abra1d · 05/09/2013 13:22

Is Changegear a clothing shop or something you can apply to a 16-year old's brain after the summer holiday to make them a bit more, erm, active?

RussiansOnTheSpree · 05/09/2013 13:26

It's a front for drug smuggling.

In a book.

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