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Secondary education

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

2015 university open days

398 replies

hellsbells99 · 07/06/2015 17:37

So, following on from the year 12 thread, here is our open day visits thread!

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Needmoresleep · 12/06/2015 14:59

Also for some places the coach can be a viable option, eg London Oxford, which leaves from Victoria and lands you in the centre of the City. Much cheaper.

bruffin · 12/06/2015 15:07

DS used the megabus to go to Lancaster for about £10 from London for his offer day, but we live very close to london so can use london transport to get to Victoria.

ISingSoprano · 12/06/2015 15:32

Megabus will be great to get home for weekends if dd actually goes to Sheffield but it's not terribly practical for the open day.

Dunlurking · 12/06/2015 17:09

Narvinectralonum Exeter is looking favourite atm so ds may have to brave flybe if he gets in. Hope you persuade your dd to try it for your imminent trip, against her better judgement!

SecretSquirrels we had planned to ditch the Durham Open Day on 22nd, so think it's going back in the schedule. Thanks for the warning.

eatyourveg · 14/06/2015 09:35

Despite the incessant rain and the humongous puddles all around the campus, I really liked Hull yesterday. Ds looked rather fed up and when I asked him why he said it just makes having to decide that much harder.

Sheffield Hallam on Friday seemed to offer lots of exciting and high profile opportunities for the subject but just didn't rock my boat at all. I hope ds is not influenced too heavily by the sales pitches.

bruffin · 14/06/2015 09:44

Eatyourveg
you should have seen the state ds got in when he had to push the button to decide.

SecretSquirrels · 14/06/2015 09:53

bruffin push the button
Love that phrase. I had that at every stage with DS1.
Him "I've got plenty of time until midnight"
Me "You've had months, what if the internet breaks?".

I just know that DS2 will be ten times worse. As a small child he was known to cry with indecision over a choice of sweets.

Sammy3 · 15/06/2015 22:01

We're starting open days this weekend and it is a busy one as DS has a Bristol open day on Saturday and then going to Durham for Monday. As it's quite far away from us (and I'm the taxi), we're going to do a self-guided tour of Newcastle on the Sunday and stay in a travel inn. I think he's only got 2 other places he wants to see. One is thankfully near to us but that and the other one aren't till autumn sometime. I'll be interested to see if anyone else goes to Bristol/Durham and posts their thoughts here afterwards.

MorvahRising · 15/06/2015 22:01

We're off to Bath on Thursday. We're intending to drive and I can't decide whether to try and park on campus, or whether it's likely to be jammed solid and therefore better to use the park and ride. Does anyone have any idea? I need to be back for something in the evening and it's a two and a half hour drive, so I'd rather be able to drive straight home from there.

Leeds2 · 15/06/2015 23:12

DD and I are also off to Bath on Thursday, Morvah, but going by train. DD then going to Bristol with a friend on Friday. All her year at school have these two days off, specifically to do Open Days.

hellsbells99 · 15/06/2015 23:23

We went to Bath last year with DD1 and parked ok on the campus.
Off to Manchester this Friday with DD2 and a Cambridge class on Saturday, and the the following week, it's Leeds followed by Durham. We are going to Sheffield in July.

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MyVisionsComeFromSoup · 16/06/2015 08:22

anyone doing Warwick on Saturday? DD and her friend are off by train (7.20 start Shock).

Re Bath, if you're parking on campus and arriving from the east or south, use the A303/A36, and turn left up the steep hill just after Limpley Stoke (on the A36) (there's a bridge over the river on a junction, straight after that). Up the hill, right at the mini roundabout, and you drive past the uni entrance without having to negotiate the centre of Bath or any of the main roads in. Has saved us many many hours of queuing Grin.

MorvahRising · 16/06/2015 12:03

MyVisions thank you so much, that's fantastic! Have noted that down.

hellsbells will definitely try the campus now.

Leeds2 we'll probably pass like ships in the night!

Leeds2 · 16/06/2015 13:49

I bet there will be a lot of MNetters from this thread at Bath and Bristol, or their DC at least, Morvah! If I knew what the MN scarf was, I would wear it!!

Dunlurking · 16/06/2015 18:31

Another one here wondering what the mumsnet scarf is. We're at Warwick saturday and Durham Monday. Think mateysmum is going to Durham Monday as well. Wondering if we will overlap at Liberal Arts talk!

SecretSquirrels · 16/06/2015 18:37

The mumsnet scarf is a chiffon animal print and I have one. I once approached a woman at work who was wearing one and had been talking about Lemon Drizzle Cake, I asked her if she was a MNer. She looked at me as though I was mad, she had never heard of MN I have had to avoid her ever since Blush.

I will be at Warwick on Saturday Dunlurkin. DS is doing science talks, I will probably be hogging a table in the coffee shop as I know the campus very well. DS also at Durham Monday but on a coach trip.

Leeds2 · 16/06/2015 19:13

wonders where I can source a chiffon animal print scarf before Thursday

Be very interested to hear what you have to say about the Liberal Arts talk, Dunlurking! Also about both Durham and Warwick generally. had an interview at Durham many, many moons ago, and thought it was lovely.

What animals are on your scarf, Squirrels? Does it have to be a particular one?!

eatyourveg · 16/06/2015 19:47

Here's one Grin Grin Grin

eatyourveg · 16/06/2015 19:49

Actually I prefer this pink flamingos one

MorvahRising · 16/06/2015 21:51

Drat, just been to check my scarf drawer and there's not an animal print in sight. Perhaps we should all carry a lemon drizzle cake if that's a MN thing? Smile

exexpat · 17/06/2015 08:18

DS has done one open day already and has got another four or five booked in the next few weeks (Warwick, LSE, Cambridge, Nottingham, I think) but he is going to them all by himself. He's an independent type, and the young person's rail card is coming in handy, but going by this thread it seems like it's the done thing for parents to go too these days. I'm wondering if it's actually helpful for parents to go, or are you all going mainly to provide transport?

Leeds2 · 17/06/2015 10:08

I will be the one chomping on a bag of Pom Bears!

I am going by train with DD to Bath, Exexpat, so not to provide transport. I am not sure why really, just wanted to be familiar with what one UK uni, other than my own, looked like. She is going to any others by herself/with friends.

AtiaoftheJulii · 17/06/2015 10:56

exexpat it is definitely the done thing - for better or for worse - for parents to accompany their teenagers, especially on the weekend open days. Sometimes entire families (granny, young siblings), surprisingly frequently both parents, but generally just one. There will be other young people there by themselves, but my daughter found it was hard to actually find anyone else to talk to as so many people had their parents there.

She did two on her own (although dh met her for lunch so she could debrief then), and two with me in the end. She is someone who really likes to talk everything over (and tbh just likes to talk!), so she found it quite difficult not having anyone to chat to all day. I knew lots of parents went these days, but I didn't think it would be quite so bad - she came home from Bristol on a Friday evening and said PLEASE come to Royal Holloway with me tomorrow!

She's perfectly independent with the travelling side of things - she did all her post-offer days by herself and was again surprised how many parents were still there (fewer though). But those days were more focused and she could chat to others more easily, so it was ok.

dd2 is going to Newcastle and Durham with dh (they're then going to watch some bike-racing in Lincoln on the way home, so nice weekend away for them), and she came to Leeds with dd1 and me. For anything else it will depend on where and our availability!

It's a bit of a vicious circle. Beforehand I was quite scathing of so many parents tagging along, but once there are a certain amount, it makes it not so great for the unaccompanied ones. It was quite nice to be able to talk about the universities I saw afterwards with some knowledge, but I'm not sure it made any difference to dd1's perceptions of the places, or to her eventual choices.

SecretSquirrels · 17/06/2015 11:06

I'm wondering if it's actually helpful for parents to go
My experience with DS1 was that he went on most of the open days himself, I only took him to one. In hindsight I wish I had gone to more because I would have looked at different things and been able to act as a sounding board. He was only interested in his subject and paid no attention to anything else. Having said that he most certainly wasn't the independent type.
With DS2 I am going on two out of six visits and purely for transport purposes.
Also don't forget that in most cases they can visit again on an offer holder day before they make a decision.

hellsbells99 · 17/06/2015 11:27

With DD1 last year it was a mixture, but with DD2 I think I will be going to all of them (except the 1 closest to us). She is very nervous about the concept of leaving home so I want her to see the positives and feel comfortable on her initial visits. With DD1 last year, when it came to choosing her firm & insurance she did very it very useful talking things through with me - but as she had interview days at them all as well as open days, I did at some stage visit each one. I also feel comfortable with where she is going.

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