GCSE Summer 2020 Thread 10: Carry on Corona Cohort ‘The Next Step''

[OrangeCinnamon1]

Welcome all to the 10th Thread for this year's GCSE cohort - the Corona Cohort!

This is a thread for supporting all young people ( and their parents) who were examined for GCSEs 2020 regardless of the institute they attended or the grades they needed. It is respectfully requested that we are all supportive and helpful to each other.
If you want to start a debate e.g state vs private - please do not within this thread.
Similarly it should be recognised that the grades our children needed/deserved/wanted will vary across the board- we wish to celebrate and comiserate with all. One same grade outcome can simultaneously cause joy and despair for different posters and their families. Please be sensitive when responding to threads about grade outcomes.

Some of us have been here since I started first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. It is hoped this will continue. Going forward we intend to stay on the Secondary Education Board (at least until Mumsnet HQ chuck us out grin ) as from now on our DS/DD may go down various paths such employment, apprenticeships, higher ed etc so we decided not to be exclusionary.

Any new threads should have 'GCSE Summer 2020 Thread # : Carry on Corona Cohort' in title just to make it easier to find. There is no preciousness about who starts new threads!

At this precise moment in time it us 'results day ' most have GCSE results and some awaiting BTEC results .

We are all ALWAYS trying to protect our young people's mental health, which the government claims is their priority...when they talk about wanting students back in schools/college in September popping this here.

previous thread

No uniform at college - DD had been shopping for school business casual, so will be wearing her tops and jumpers with jeans and Vans.

@IheartHarryStyles

Her sixth form has no dress code, even in lower school although there was a uniform you could wear black jeans and trainers with it, no problems with the nose piercing and dip dye pink hair she sported prior to lockdown 🤦🏼‍♀️.

Dd dip dyed her hair blue...should say attempted it ended up a horrid sludgy green colour !

I think our daughters possibly used the same dye @Seeline

Another vote for the Clarks brogues from my DD - she’s in sixth form uniform which demands black shoes with no discernible heel. They are very strict on uniform, including hairstyles - long hair must be tied back, single stud earrings only, no hair dye, no nail varnish. Sixth formers are allowed ‘minimal, natural make up’ - it will be interesting to see how far they push that one!

@crazycrofter the half Teams, half in school is at the large sixth form of a school. Looks same as @ShaunaTheSheep arrangement.

Glad to hear Shauna's lamb has gone for the right course over the comfortable option.

It’s so interesting hearing about all the variances on school uniform, rules and regs. At a time when protesters are in central london challenging the pandemic is not real and ripping journalists’ masks off, I would have thought a college/school would not be so dictatorial in style/patterns etc; for the sake of conforming to a conservative dress code, but the love of rules rule over short term pragmatism.

The blue hair colouring is a real blast from the past. 1984, sitting my first 0 level of the summer and being marched out of the hall by the Head for causing disruption. Yep, from original black, the bleaching process was not kind followed by, in those days, crazy colour blue. I can totally relate to the varying shades of green some of you have now with your daughters

I too hate Ds's 6th form requirement of smart business wear. Seems stupid and ott to me. But by God, that boy looks dapper in a suit. He's got 4. He's insisting on wearing his old (new the week before lockdown) school shoes. I've offered more but he's refused.

No timetabling info, nothing here, apparently it's only told to them on the first day! Why?

Am I the only one enjoying the idea of them in smart clothes? 😄. For the past six months DS has looked like he’s just rolled out of bed, I can’t wait to see him in a suit on Friday. He’s very happy about it too (at the moment!) he was quite excited about his new suits.

Is everyone in for an induction day before school starts proper?

Despite my moaning about the suits, my DS also likes the idea of being super smart.
Unfortunately, I actually can't really afford the 2 suits he has (plus smart shirts).
It will be all the more annoying if the pupils then get sent home to do remote learning until next spring.

Dd has an induction day on Friday - 11.15 to 3.15 so a gentle start. I’m hoping she might get a timetable then! Also, she’s worrying about whether she needs to buy folders and how many. She seems to have had a lot of info about the subjects, study techniques, uni entrance etc but very little practical information.

@jamdemic I think they’ve had their fill of joggers, shorts and t shirts over the past six months!

@crazycrofter same here, induction on Friday, DS is just going to take a note book and pen and lunch.

First day is Thursday for DS and he will get his timetable then. He's staying on at the same school so just some extra bits of uniform to get, sixth form tie etc. And a blazer which I dutifully bought only for them to decide this week that they are now optional
Shirts and trousers were all too small so have been replaced but at least his shoes are ok and woo hoo - no more PE! He doesn't play football or rugby any more either so I will hopefully never have the pain of trying to find boots for his huge rectangular feet.

I told ds about all these 6th forms with smart wear. He was surprised too. He's ordered 3 pairs of jogging bottoms from ASOS a few plain sweatshirts, he has a couple of pairs of skinny jeans also bought black Nike trainers and he's done. Boys can get away with a few outfits, I suppose girls would wants lots of different outfits when they can wear what they want. The only rules are no midriff showing or offensive slogans.

@FoolsAssassin That post about masks in schools is just so funny sums up perfectly the reality of what will actually happen meanwhile people are tying themselves in knots about the whole thing.

I need to be reminded that teenagers are quite often selfish wretches and that it’s not personal. Been busting a gut to get things right for this one, particularly because of the results fiasco. Bought her 2 special well done gifts, arranged a treat for her and her friend, spent a fortune on new clothes for college.The silence was deafening. It’s not that I expect undying gratititude, this kid has had some really tough times And she deserves better, but A whispered thank you would have been nice. Now fighting the urge to spend a similar amount on myself. I really hope that schools and colleges stay open. I need a break.

I'm quite liking the idea of DS in smart clothes as well. He's being trying on the stuff he bought last week and he really looks quite different!

I'm both dreading and looking forward to September. The DC need to be back in school, but not sure how they will cope after 6 months away, and from a selfish point of view, as I'm still working from home for the foreseeable future, I am not looking forward to it just being me and DH in the house all day (no disrespect to DH, but he doesn't come in and have little chats with me during the day, like the DC do; it's going to be quite lonely without them.

I'd love some time to myself. DD goes back on Wednesday, but DS is starting uni - first month completely online so not moving onto campus until mid October. DH is working from home for the foreseeable. I always work from home normally and the constant lack of space and quiet is really getting to me now.

@RedskyAtnight I know what you mean, I’m not sure whether I’m looking forward to the peace or not. I’m definitely not looking forward to getting up at 6.40 again. I’ve been rolling out of bed at 8.30 and working in my pyjamas for the first few hours of the day since March!

@Zebracat sorry to hear about the lack of gratitude but its definitely normal with lots of teens! Hopefully she will start to appreciate you more as she gets older. Maybe she’s also anxious about what’s ahead?

@seeline it will definitely be nice to have a bit of peace despite what I said above! Summer has been hard as the kids have wanted dropping off here, there and everywhere, and they haven’t had their usual bus/train passes so my days have been very disrupted. And before that, I felt the constant weight of ds’ online work and whether he was keeping up.

@Zebracat yes, of course that is what teenagers do! DS1 emerged from it during his gap year and has become good company most of the time with odd lapses into the old mode. Some get out the other end of the teenage inability to see parents as human beings earlier.

@crazycrofter it's definitely been an odd summer!!

Thanks for all your help with shoes for DD. Predicably she didn't like any of them... She is going to wear her loafers and see what other people are wearing...

Next week is going to be very odd. No idea how DD is going to cope with going to bed at a reasonable time and getting up at 7.00am to leave at 8.00.. DH is working from home (usually works away during the week) so I am sure he will be taking and picking to start with.

I'm starting back at school too (lunch time assistant in the school nursery, aged 3/4 - Actually looking forward to it , but not to wearing proper shoes! I will also be working from home for my other job which is starting to pick up on the hours, which will mean sharing our office with DH - which I had basically taken over as he was away so much..

Turns out I don't like to share my space and DH types very loudly on his laptop. :-)

@Zebracat I hear you. It is so hard not to feel worn down by this whole situation and the exams fiasco was certainly the final straw for me. Meanwhile my DC is planning college outfits and is totally oblivious to any stress.

I have been losing the plot over this sodding packing. On the plus side I shall be an expert by the time University comes and won’t need to buy door wedges etc. Well I probably will as no doubt they will be lost by them 😂

Wonder if anyone can explain this to me. My DD got a 5 for her official Maths GCSE grade, but her CAG was a level 6. I thought they had to give the higher of the two grades? I think the school had to rank their grades so that might be why the maths went down a grade, but I assumed the CAG included the ranking information?