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

@Fiddlersgreen We have a porn blocker on our home WiFi so that should also work on the laptop. Doesn’t block everything though.

My Ds started his new 6th form today and it hit me how much this years cohort are missing out. No socialising and no lunch times. The school day finishes at 1pm with no extra enrichment, none of the amazing trips that were originally planned even the running and cycling club has to be done virtually through strava and no team events . It's all just lessons and home for remote study which I understand but I do feel sorry for them. I think it'll be much harder to find your people and make friends. Luckily DS is a very laid back type and he's not bothered by it but it's made me feel quite sad today .

It took all day for DS's school to send any info. they have cocked up and removed all their email addresses so I think they were having a panic!

He is supposed to start tomorrow but seems to have no lessons so won't now be going til Thursday. his schools' communication at years 9 - 11 is brilliant. The sixth form: not so much (putting it kindly...).

It is very utilitarian isn't it colly? I suppose it's all Greater Good stuff but I do feel a bit bleak about it. DS does music and that's off for the foreseeable,

If they do close pubs ,restaurants etc and that coincides with half term and Halloween and fireworks and then Christmas it will be depressing for everyone,a d I think people do miss that point a it that we aren't (even in this country) programmed to just work work work.

Anyway! Onwards! Brave faces!

Ds has his timetable for his first day back tomorrow. (He's going to 6th form at his secondary school) I thought maybe there wouldn't be as many lessons and some remote learning of some sort. But it's just a normal timetable. I think he has Monday afternoons with no lessons. But not many more gaps. He's looking forward to going back. His younger brother starts year 7 at the same school, he's very apprehensive.

DD has 6th form induction tomorrow - morning only. Full timetable from Thursday.

She has to take all her GCSE textbooks in tomorrow - can only just lift the bag! How did she end up with 3 Geog books and 2 PE books???

DD has induction on Thursday. She has to get the bus at 7am. This will be quite a shock to her system. She says she's practising tomorrow morning to make sure she gets to the bus stop on time. We'll see!

A Thursday start for DD, they are picking up timetables and stuff, Friday is team building then lessons start on Monday. Nerves are beginning to show but I think shes settled on her subjects now at least.

Masks are to be worn in corridors and communal spaces but not in class. We're not a lockdown area, but it's probably going to be easier to have the rule fro day 1 than bring it in in a couple of weeks time. I'm going to be busy sewing a few more, they have one each which has been fine for the odd trip to the shop but we're going to need some more.

DS's school has 3 hour lessons. this was actually a plan pre Covid (it's complicated due to the sixth form being on a satellite campus and teachers having to drive back and forth.

Could be a bit draining...

Oh, and with 20 minutes lunch!

Goodness, that is rather hardcore Piggy

Day 1 done and dusted here. They have induction timetable this week. Usually would be going out for pizza, bowling etc but obviously not this year. The Male boarders all seemed to be on their own on their rooms last night which I think bothered parents more than them. Year 13s back today though and are to be promoted by their parents to get the year 12s out of their rooms if possible as the year 13s did for them last year. No idea what the girls were up to, their parents were quiet so maybe they did socialise a bit.

Lunchtime was the everyone sitting around outside looking awkward stage but hopefully they will all get to know each other soon.

Possibly all gaming in their separate rooms @FoolsAssassin ? Glad first day is over for some, small relief of some anxiety.

Anyone taken back to school pics thus far? I shall miss that !

DD has headed off to sixth form college with her friend. They met on the first day of lower school (but have been at different schools for the past 7 years). No one from her most recent school is going to her sixth form college.

Mine (y10 and 6th form separate schools but no changes of school) don't start back till next week so I still haven't fully absorbed all the info. Also waiting for bits of y10 uniform to arrive and need to label etc.

I have several forms to complete, transport to sort out (DS needs a railcard and e-ticket), chase his EHCP (groundhog day that one), chase the LA transport dept (widespread confusion about entitlement to SEN transport in our LA), check they've got stationery and water bottles, find out what if any PE kit is needed for 6th form.

DD has had a trial run on the buses to college with DS1 who has just finished there.

She goes in tomorrow for 1 1/2 hours to pick up her timetable, then next week has subject days then moves to the timetable the week after - she has been told she will be in college alternate weeks.

She did get an email from school on Tuesday advising that her B Tech had been regraded from a Merit to a Distinction, but does not seem happy about it - I think she has got to the point she just wants to move on.

Morning, I hope it’s okay for me join in. I have dipped in and out of these threads but reading more than posting and with a different username. What a funny old year it’s been, when I think how stressed I felt this time last year and then the things I was worried about didn’t even happen.

Dd did well in her GCSEs - a couple of 7s, mainly 8s and 9s. Possibly not quite as well as she would have done if she’d sat the exams but she hasn’t mentioned that at all and was very happy.

She’s started 6th form today. A new school where she doesn’t know anyone, I’m really proud of her for making the decision that was right for her rather than following the crowd. She is ready for a change. She was quite nervous this morning but probably not as much as me, I hid it well! She’s doing Maths, Further Maths, English and Psychology and hoping the school still run DofE.

No masks at dd’s school at the minute. Covid plans include slightly staggered start times, no school buses, year group bubbles with the teachers moving around the school rather than the students, but actually it all feels pretty normal so I’m feeling really optimistic. (Also I work in a hospital and the restrictions at work are starting to be reduced).

Does anyone else still feel like September is a new year even though we’re not at school? I find myself making mental resolutions for ‘this year’.

Well I know that ds has gone back to (his new) school as the whole house was engulfed in a cloud of Lynx this morning. No news, I did ask him to text when he got there but nowt. Fingers crossed.

DS off on his first day back today too. They are starting just the sixth form and Y7s today which is nice for him as it'll be a bit quieter and more manageable - all inductions and ability testing today. Like others, we have masks in corridors and communal areas - but I don't THINK that extends to the sixth form common room as sixth form are officially one bubble ... albeit a large and chaotic one!
He's had a sudden wobble about whether he should be doing further maths - I suspect single maths is the right decision for him, but he's having a chat with the head of year today to see if a) swopping is an option, may not be b) his teachers think it's worthwhile. His best mate is doing further maths and I think that may be slightly playing into it (and he did get a 9, but 'only' a B in his Add maths)

Morning! DD is out on her first driving lesson this morning after enjoying a leisurely birthday lie in. Sixth form taster day tomorrow and then start proper next week.

greenele, I always feel like September is the real new year.

DD has induction day today at her new school; DS goes back, into year 10, tomorrow.
She set the alarm waaaay too early, to allow herself 2 hours to “get ready”. Own clothes today, business wear from tomorrow onwards.
School suddenly announced masks to be worn in communal areas last night, and all breaks to be spent outside, regardless of weather.
No school buses for at least a month, so we’re having to make a daily 2.5 commute.

Happy birthday to your DD iheart, hope the first lesson went well! How exciting...you may just be the first of our parents of learners?

Hope the driving lesson went well and happy birthday to your DD @IheartHarryStyles

DS birthday is in Feb so we have a while to go yet and his best friend just turned 16 last week so to me it seems crazy that some of their year group can start learning to drive!

Happy Birthday to your DD IheartHarryStyles

DS’s instructor is clearing back log so he will have to wait for a bit when his birthday comes

Happy birthday Iheart's DD. What a nice normal post, could have been the same in any year!

@FoolsAssassin thankfully my Dad is a driving instructor so that will save us a fortune!