Continuing Year 13: January 2016

[Needmoresleep]

Only two more terms at school. Let's support each other support our DC in getting through to the end.

Have been dipping in and out sporadically here but haven't written for ages. Dd doesn't start her exams for a couple of weeks. She has an unconditional offer which is looking like an excellent decision at this point - she's doing loads of revision and getting quite stressy, but I fear it would be much worse with grades to aim for! I just asked her if she was having a day off today, and got my head bitten off ...

Leavers' service last night. A day off revision today it seems!

Ds keeps being called in to work at the village shop - his w/e and holiday job. As his next exam isn't until the 8th he's struggling to focus on revision maths past papers

Ellen my ds isn't going for a Maths degree. Is yours? He couldn't make up his mind between History or Drama so is doing Liberal Arts, which allows him to try both in his first year and then chose one to major in for subsequent years. It should have a year abroad and an internship as well, hopefully.

Dd is having her last day at work tomorrow. She has a couple of shifts holiday owing which she's taking this week to go away for a few days, and she doesn't want to work during her exams. And then she's away for basically the whole of July (which means she misses her prom, but her trip is going to be amazing).

dunlurking, liberal arts sounds amazing! Yes, my DS is going to do maths, it's where his talents lie. It would be nice if he made some arts and humanities friends, though. I'm sure they'd be more fun.

DS1 is off in Birmingham today at the Slamdunk festival at the NEC. I think one day off revision isn't going to hurt.

He's never had paid work as yet, but has a summer job lined up doing some software. So his summer won't be exciting, but financially beneficial at least.

I'm hoping four days off revision hasn't hurt. Has just done FP2 paper though & says will do some STEP. Next exam not until 8th.

[Atia] where's your DD going on her trip?

what other subjects is your DS doing BethanKate (besides Maths & FM)?

PM'ed you Bethan, in a moment of paranoia!

Just back from the GP with younger DC and asked receptionist about the meningitis jab for DS1.

She said they've been told to only do students registering for local uni, and that DS1 should register with surgery on arrival at uni and get it then.

She then told me it was because unis were requesting students had the jab. And that it was to encourage DC to register at doctors.

I'vE queried it (possibly a bit irately) and shes asking the nurses.

Anyone else have this?

They are most at risk in the first few weeks of uni according to the NHS own website. It's not universities requesting the jabs it's part of the UK government vaccination schedule.
You ideally need to have the vaccine at least two weeks before you start university, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time
Link
I think you should insist.

Our surgery has agreed to do DD's. Seems silly to wait until you get to uni if the vaccine takes two weeks to be effective. And I doubt fixing a date for the vaccination would be top of many DCs agendas!

I know.

I said all that to the receptionist, while saying I knew it wasn't her fault. She is raising a query, but I think it was to get rid of me. I'll wait a week and email the practice manager.

I'm wondering if she's confused between Y13 and Fresher's catch up, but I ended up doubting myself.

I moved to this surgery because the last one wouldn't give me the Hep B I needed for work, which is a different thread, but contributed to irateness.

DS is having his meningitis jab tomorrow. I rung the surgery and booked him in and they were happy to do that, but don't seem to be calling his year in, you only get it if you request it. Yet a friend's 15 year old was called in for it.

I am a bit alarmed that so many have a few days feeling grim after the jab. DS can't afford to have two days off revision! We are in the throes of a major physics panic here . . . .

My 15 year old (Y11) DD has had hers through school.

I don't want him to have it til after exams anyway, I was just asking about.

Physics here too.

Yes dd had hers in y10 this year with her dtpa booster but the current y13s won't have it as routine , as the schedule changed in the meantime , so they need a catch up. It didn't seem to be an issue when I asked surgery a few weeks ago , I just have to book it.

I got a phone call today to say DS could have it as I'd requested it. So DS is ok. I hope no-one else accepts being told no by the receptionist!

It's given me something to think about other than revision and A levels.

Aaagh, injection rules!

I wanted ds to have a flu jab last winter for various reasons, and the doctor's surgery refused as he didn't meet the requirements, so I went to the chemist who said he couldn't have one there as he was under 18. I offered to pay the GP but the receptionist wasn't having it.

(In the end Boots came up trumps after they'd rung someone "high up" who gave approval.)

Worse for us, as DD will be studying medicine.

Last summer she needed a whole batch of vaccinations for a week's shadowing. (One hospital did not ask for anything, the other asked for everything.) It had to be done quickly and whilst she was at school, and one required a test and then two jabs. There was a shortage of one vaccine, her records were all over the place as school updates had not been entered, a likely debate about whether the GP would charge and the sheer hell of trying to get any sort of appointment, so we took the easy way out and went to Same Day Doctor. Bliss. After school appointments, clear information from a helpful receptionist about what the hospital were asking for and how it might be administered (one should have been a six month course and some could not happen at the same time), and lovely friendly doctors. But expensive. It would have been cheaper to take DD away for a week's holiday. Though arguably worthwhile as DD then had an insight into alternative medical careers in the UK .

The benefits of living in London NMS!
When I was trying to get the jab for DS1 the thing that annoyed me most was not that he couldn't have it on the NHS, I recognise that the budget is finite, no, it was the fact that the GP wouldn't even let me pay to have it done. I ended up taking him to the nearest city where there was a private clinic.

Yes, that was the case with the flu jab. Even a whole suitcase full of money wouldn't persuade the GP practice to bend their rules. Rules is rules. There was much pontificating about finite resources and so on, and yet every pharmacy was advertising flu jabs so there couldn't have been that much of a shortage. Sometimes you just have to take the hit and pay privately because you're never going to win against the doctor's receptionist.

Anyway, ds is sooooooo grumpy with only a week to go now. I think he's working in his room, but one never knows...

Well DS's is done and he seems fine other than a slightly stiff arm. I don't envy your DD needmoresleep having the works.

Further to the physics panic currently enveloping Rising Towers, DS, who was intending to do loads of past papers this half term, has just informed me that there are only 5 past papers for each of the physics 4 and 5 exams up on the college website and he's done them all already! Is there anywhere else he could find AQA past papers with answers on t'internet? He has emailed his tutor but has had no reply. Why didn't he check this before half term? You may well ask . . . . . .

Try www.physicsandmathstutor.com Morvah

Aren't there any older ones on the aqa website?

Glad it's all sorted raspberryripple.

kitkat1968 he's doing Physics & Chem as well as Maths & FM. Is yours doing the same?

Chem hasn't gone quite as well as other subjects this year but he assures me it'll be ok. Aiming for standard Warwick offer so he says it's worth doing the four as gives a bit more leeway if STEP goes wrong or something.

Which uni is yours aiming for kitkat?

hellsbells and atia thank you both! Physics panic slightly abated!