GCSE Summer 2020 - Thread 11 Carry on Corona Cohort - Starting New Terms and Settings

[OrangeCinnamon1]

Welcome all to the 11th Thread for this year's GCSE cohort - The Corona Cohort!

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs regardless of the institute they attend 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 don't within this thread.

Similarly it should be recognised that the grades our children need/deserve/want will vary across the board. One same grade outcome can simultaneously cause Joy and Despair for different posters. Please be sensitive when responding to threads about grades.

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 any new threads should have 'GCSE Summer 2020 Thread # : Carry on Corona Cohort' in title just to make it easier to find. Not fussy about who starts those !

From now on our DS/DD may go down various paths such as employment, apprenticeships, higher ed, so we decided not to be exclusionary and stay right here in Secondary - at least until Mumsnet HQ chuck us out .

At this precise moment in time we have had GCSE results . It has been decided that the higher of Centre Assesd Grades and Calculated Grades will be awarded - the algorithim seems to have been applied a schol level to the detriment of some students. Lots of our young people have already started on the next stage of their journey with some still to start.

We are all STILL trying to protect our young people's mental health, which the government claimed was their priority...when they talk about wanting students back in schools/college in September...now we have their physical health to consider too as the mingling at various settings starts up again. Hopefully a positive experience this term!

First Thread

previous thread

Oh dear - DD has gone back to school today after 3 days of headache and sore throat. No other symptoms so just thought it was a start-of-term bug. None of 'the' symptoms so didn't get tested. Hope it was just a bug.... As far as I know there have been no positives at her school, and she hasn't really met with anyone else.

That surprises me too @estherfrewen, my DD has been swimming again for about 6 weeks now and we haven't had a case yet (low incidence area) but I would expect a rapid response. We are keeping ours in squad bubbles. I'm a poolside chaperone, we are stepping up the enforcement of social distancing now.

The fact that our anecdotal thread of winter related symptoms show how varied the virus (or not) presents in younger people. When DH had virus in April, DD had 3 days of headaches. Have no idea if this was CV or not, so you are not alone Seeline in doubt.

Without ability to test and turnaround results quickly containment is impossible.

If HM Gov sorted out testing we would all be so much more at ease : if in doubt , test, should be the mantra! Everyone would feel so much safer...

YR9 DD had a sore throat and streaming nose last week but no temperature/cough/loss of taste/smell so no test. I kept her off school for 2 days regardless since I wouldn't thank any sneezing child going in. There's lots of colds and sniffles going round and it's obviously concerning because testing criteria/capacity is missing so many cases. Just waiting for the inevitable.... we've just received through the post the invitation to participate in the ONS study for the next 12 mths which we're going to do.

Fools sorry to hear of boarding ds, now you with possible Covid?

And Esther your Ds positive test.

Agree totally Piggy. with the virus on the rise, this would be a good time to plan and execute a nationwide random testing analysis (and then again in x weeks) across schools. Even it were only 100 or whatever the number in each school across different age groups, collate and analyse, then at least there would be less guessing by HM Gov and more fact based in assurance across this community, especially if they are the inadvertent spreaders.

I know I maybe being simplistic but the bragging of future testing capacity is just nonsense, when there is an opportunity to gather and use data effectively, given that students have been off for last 6 months so the community mix was different in high viral period. Strategy is such a failing right now.

Swimming all over it now so that is good. Track and trace rang today. DS working upstairs so hopefully on the mend

Thanks. I doubt we’ve got it, just the school bug doing the rounds. Test coming and would be very surprised if positive. I think being under the weather has made settling harder for DS and think good chance we will see an improvement when he goes back.

Are you in an area where the numbers are higher Estherfrewen? Good things are clicking into place as they are supposed to.

Am not going to comment on the testing as trying to be nice and chilled.

@FoolsAssassin - no quite a low area but lots of elderly. Fairly rural. Hope your family feel better soon and the tests are negative.

So sorry to hear of the positive test @estherfrewen and of your DS’s struggles @FoolsAssassin.

The whole situation (re the inevitable colds and coughs and testing) just feels like a ticking time bomb. I too would be so much happier if we were in a situation where we could quickly test and get results back. So many snotty colds and sore throats at this time of year and you feel like whatever you do is wrong!

and to all the strugglers.

On a happier note @Alsoplayspiccolo lovely to hear that your DD is so settled. Sounds like the move was a good one!

Lovely to hear your DD is enjoying her new school Piccolo Love the social caterpillar turning into social butterfly.

So sorry about your DS Esther and Fools having to isolate with possible symptoms. This time last year we'd be shrugging off snotty colds and mild sore throats but now we're on high alert.

On another level Covid is being shitty to DD by some classmates using the "only 6 allowed to socialise" rule to leave out DD and another friend. Her supposed best friend has invited out 5 of them to a noodle bar (DD fave food) but not invited her. A lad who was invited was horrified DD was not invited knowing she is supposedly the bff and told her to take his place which DD declined but so appreciated. This also happened in the summer hols. We have been thinking for a while this girl is toxic and DD is finally realising it too. So hurtful. She missed her birthday get together as the bff booked a meal on a day she knows DD has an after school volunteering commitment. She now has two new hanger ons now who lap up every word so DD is steering towards others but it's such a small 6th form that normally all hang out as one class at lunch and breaks.

Anne - I so hate girl friendship dramas. You would think by 6th form it would be better. I have dt's in yr8 and it's hell! I hope it gets sorted soon.

Organisation still shit at dd's new 6th form college. No mention of maths gcse timetable, no acknowledgement of dyslexic stuff and 30 turned up to her sociology class today. There are 40 doing the class and it should be 20 one week, 20 the next due to online learning/Covid. She was told that 10 will be moved to next weeks lesson. I am NOT going to be taking dd to the station (10 min drive), paying £9 for a return ticket and then picking her up again for 3 single sociology lessons in her supposed online week, purely because they've cocked up. Furthermore, the teacher said she would email them by 5pm tonight to let them know who it would affect along with some work to be done by tomorrow because 'some of you have borderline results so will be under review over the next few weeks' . ie dd.
Is there an email....no. So dd now stressed (again) she's missed an email and that she won't be with the one friend she's made. She knew no one moving to this college.

Oh and ds19 is off to uni on Sunday and really not excited AT ALL about the prospect of online freshers week and the rest...
Not a happy household atm.

@AnneOfCleavage Sorry to hear about the friendship issue - that girl sounds very toxic. Hopefully your DD can drift quietly into a new friendship group.

@pasanda that sounds like chaos!

Esther can see why it came as the positive came as a surprise,

Pasanda that is hard going dealing with that. It is hard for the new university starters and the 6th form sounds shambolic which makes a difficult time even harder.

Anne that really sucks, am so sorry 💐

AnneofCleavage, why are some girls SO unkind? Your poor DD - bff sounds toxic (jealousy?). At least some of the others can see what she’s doing.
DD has a similar situation with her old school friendship group last week. One of the girls hosted a pizza night at her house and used the school move as an excuse not to invite DD. So petty.

We had similar last year. DD not invited to get togethers and then told 'not everyone can get invited to everything', but time and again it was DD who wasn't invited. She always included everyone in the friendship group when she had people over, even the ones she wasn't particularly close to.

Luckily word spread at how she was being treated and a couple of other girls approached her to ask her to hang out with them this year instead. Also luckily her 'best friend' (ahem) went to a different school so the dynamic has suddenly changed. DD has been surprised, as she hadn't realised who the instigator of it all was until her 'BF' had left.

It's so shit, I hope things get better for your DD @AnneOfCleavage

@AnneOfCleavage sorry to hear about friendship drama.
In Yr 11 my dd BFF since age 2 dumped her (and their group) for a popular crowd. It was heartbreaking to see my dd so upset.

So proud of how my dd has now dealt with it. Moved on to a new 6th form and made new friends.
BFF now wants to be involved again DD keeping her at arms length.

Sorry to hear about all the friendship drama You’d think they’d have grown out of it by now. Having said that my sister was bullied at university and had a miserable time. Some girls/women are just nasty.

Year groups are dropping in both my kids’ schools. Years 7 and 11 now self-isolating in ds school and year 10 in DD’s. I really hope dd in particular can get through to half term but I’m not hopeful.

@pasanda that college sounds awful! I hope your dd doesn’t get moved to the second week. And hope ds enjoys uni despite low expectations

Don’t you just love girls? Though I don’t think it is exclusive...there are a handful of boys at DD’s school that can give out too.

Latest challenge here is a new joiner has decided DD is her ‘target’, even though DD spent summer helping her to engage with friends in advance of her starting. Will daily come out with lines like ‘wow ealing, you look destroyed. In a good way mind’. What does that even mean? Other than knowing the poor kid wakes up at 04.45 most mornings to train. She says the comments are subtle but regular, but others are beginning to notice.

to all those dealing with mean kids.

Sorry to hear of all the friendship troubles. I must admit I only have boys so have never had to deal with girl friendships - boys are no angels certainly but there does seem to be a particularly sophisticated toxic nastiness to the ways some girls interact! Your poor DDs

Practical question : is anyone else’s DC struggling with carting work stuff to and from 6th form? DS is finding it quite tough, partly because he has a long walk, and partly I think because he needs to bring in a ring binder per subject (rather than the soft exercise books he used at school) as well as textbooks, and the hard A4 covers are digging into his back, despite the fact he’s got a good quality padded backpack etc. I think I’m going to have to try and investigate some different options for ring binders to see if I can find any with softer covers!

@ealingwestmum it may be that the joiner is trying to be supportive by showing she has noticed that your DD is tired after early start? Communication is so complex.

I think boys and girls are mean in different ways, DS had a miserable time from Y3 to Y6 because he was not into football and was therefore ignored by most of the popular boys and ended up reading at breaks (thank goodness for Harry Potter!) or spending his time with the children who did not fit in. I think it was subconscious from the boys, whereas girls often know they are doing it.

Hope your DD gets through it OK @AnneOfCleavage

Absolutely Monkey; it may well be. Context is also key, one of which I don’t see, so I play role of devil’s advocate. My own observance is that the joiner is a little competitive based on a series of comments, but not actually malicious. And I guess as and when and if she crosses the line, DD will call her out. Hopefully in a discreet manner. I also think this age is driven by their own POV (and sensitivities) Just because they wouldn’t phrase a comment like so, doesn’t mean others have to articulate like they would

Fine rope I tread like many of us I’m sure!

@FlyingPandas DS just takes one seethru envelope folder with the work he has done for all subjects and then puts any work done that day in it and then sorts it into the right folders when he gets home iyswim.

I dont think I have explained that very well.

FlyingPandas, DD has a system similar to Christopher’s - she takes in one ring binder as a “day file”, with dividers for each subject.
When a topic is finished, she moves it from the day file to a permanent home file for that subject.