Family Matters

[Sue]

GCSE Results, our Ruby has related her results in the older grades which are easier than the numbering system now used in England.

A* in Maths

A's in her Science subjects

B's in French, Art, English Lit and English Lang and Citizenship

C in Sociology

D in History, (which is her least favourite subject)

Well done Ruby, I reckon our Dan would have been pleased with those. She is going up to Sixth Form next term.

Well done. Much the same as Eve did.. 12 in all 8 A*and As all in Science and Engineering subjects. 3 Bs I think and a C. She is heading for A level Chemistry maths and Geography I believe.

[Big Kev]

Well done all, I vaguely remember doing CSE woodwork

[Sue]

Well done all, I vaguely remember doing CSE woodwork

[Stanley]

Was mine GCE? I got 13 in all but that was after taking the exams two years on the trot for some forgotten reason....
David Moore used to say (And he knew about these things) that GCSE was the most indicative of all the exams, how you did in that was basically the level you'd perform at all your life.....
My meeting with Margaret and Robert at Nostell was brilliant but a long tiring drive there and back. Oh, and the cafe there is lousy which is surprising on a National Trust property. Only good thing was that they had a golf buggy lift for us from the remote car park to the house.

[Sue]

Was mine GCE? I got 13 in all but that was after taking the exams two years on the trot for some forgotten reason....
David Moore used to say (And he knew about these things) that GCSE was the most indicative of all the exams, how you did in that was basically the level you'd perform at all your life.....
My meeting with Margaret and Robert at Nostell was brilliant but a long tiring drive there and back. Oh, and the cafe there is lousy which is surprising on a National Trust property. Only good thing was that they had a golf buggy lift for us from the remote car park to the house.

Not sure I agree. I definitely performed better by my degree. I think I have 11 but repeated one I passed for a better grade so two in one, plus computer science o and a level taken at night school in my 30s

[Stanley]

[Julie in Norfolk]

I had a disastrous time at grammar school, the entire system did not suit me and I battled against it whole heartedly. I achieved "O" level passes in English Language and Art. I remember sitting in the French exam wondering how long I could smile for.

Maths was the one that I regretted not passing as I had found it relatively easy but obviously had a poor showing at exam. A lot of my class went on to redo their O levels at college so it may be that there was more to it than my particular personality.

I picked everything up later in life and did ONC and then HNC in applied Biology and then every course I could lay my hands on for work, I even took a weeks holiday to get my HACCP level 4 course.

But back to Ruby's results, well done!

[Stanley]

From the sound of it I suspect you are right in your suspicions about the quality of the teaching you were getting at that college Julie. Nowt wrong in being a late developer! It took me forty years to get going on my history degree.....
All that matters is where you ended up and whether you were happy on the way. I never regretted leaving school and entering the wide world when all my mentors were trying to persuade me to stay on for 'A' levels. There are more ways to get educated than schooling. Not for nothing has it been called 'The University of Life'!

[PanBiker]

Thanks Julie. Our daughter Carla always knew what she wanted to do from a fairly early age, certainly before she went to secondary school, she always maintained that she wanted to teach. She worked hard at school and got passes in her Maths and English but wasn't satisfied with the grades, they were good enough for progression but not for her!. She went on to college and took parallel GCSE courses for her Maths and English and resits alongside her A levels, (adding about another four GCSE subjects that she couldn't do at secondary). She ended up with about 12 GCSE's and her A Levels and secured a place at Bangor University to do a proper B Ed degree course.
A small aside to that was that when it came to the practical side of teaching and classroom placements in the course she had to do North Wales Primary Schools which involved delivery in Welsh! She also had to do classroom practice in an inner city location which turned out to be in Stalybridge which she related at the time as a "different world". She settled into a job at Glusburn County Primary and has worked there since, been offered a headship but turned it down to avoid burnout. She is happy as senior teaching staff. She is waiting now for an opportunity to retire when they have paid a bit more off their mortgage for their house extension.

[Julie in Norfolk]

How right you are Stanley! No problem Panbiker!

Today is my penultimate full day at my daughter's house in Yorkshire. I shall be picking her up from a train station tomorrow tea time and leaving for Norfolk on Monday morning. I am really looking forward to being amongst my own stuff and nonsense and of course Steve and Phil and my dog. Cooking for one is difficult, I still cook for four when there's only three of us.

There are things I shall miss though, messaging Em each day with photographs of her cats, getting an update on what she's doing that evening, which theatre and what play etc.

She's seen the programme for next year so it looks like I shall be back again. I shall have my time more organised and planned out.

[PanBiker]

One aspect of sons and daughters university time that will forever be etched in my mind was the summer evacuation from halls. We had both Carla and Dan at University at the same time, Carla at Bangor and our Dan at Warwick. At the end of the first year their evac days were on the same day, they were both in halls and both on the second floors of accommodation blocks!
Sally had access through work to stretched transit vans so brought one home on the Friday night before the Saturday jaunt to recover all their worldly possessions. She had the choice of multiple vans which were normally locked up for the weekend in the yard at work. She managed to select the only one in the fleet that did not have power assisted steering. Yard was locked up so we couldn't swap it! We set off at about 6am and by and by 11am had emptied Carla's flat. I decided to cut across through the valleys to get to Warwick rather than track all the way back to the M6, bad mistake, by the time we got to Warwick I thought my arms were falling off! Fortunately I was lot younger and fitter then and we managed to get away from Warwick sometime around 8pm, we got home at about 11.30pm. We emptied the van on the Sunday. They both secured flats with mates for the rest of their courses so we only had to deliver and clear the furniture one more time, on different days!

[Stanley]

"I am really looking forward to being amongst my own stuff and nonsense"
Lovely turn of phrase Julie!
Today as the final event of bucket list week Susan takes me to Gargrave for lunch with two grand daughters and two great grand daughters....

[Cathy]

Sounds wonderful Stanley. Enjoy .
I hope your is shining.

[Stanley]

I'm looking forward to it Cathy particularly because I shall be meeting Walter, our latest addition!

[Julie in Norfolk]

Enjoy yourself Stanley. I was looking to see if the Masons Arms was worth a stay? I want to come north west soon.