Today I've mostly bin...

[clvrlad]

ooh does that mean us in the north get some mini meets too :-p

[giraffe]

Yes. (University)
I'm not sure I'm there long enough for a mini meet.

[giraffe]

Flying visit to Manchester today. K was doing musical things at RNCM at lunchtime, and we had a wander round the university area while we were there.

[Bunnylump]

My friend's daughter went there if you need any feedback on the uni. Come to that I could put you in touch with people who have recently been to (or are still at): Exeter, Southampton, Manchester, UCL, Keele, Bristol, Surrey, De Montford or Birmingham if that helps when you are choosing.

[giraffe]

Thanks for the offer, I'll know who to come to if we need insider info, particularly on Surrey. Southampton is not even on her list as both her parents went there, so she refuses to consider it! My sister, brother in law and father were all Manchester graduates, so it's not a totally unknown quantity. She says Birmingham is too close. (Although it only takes a little longer to get to Manchester) her godmother is an RNCM gradute. We are off to Bristol at some point in the summer. I have a friend who lives in Bristol, so she has offered to show us round.

[LAT]

One of my son's close friends at school went to Bristol, and we also know a few people who went to Durham and Exeter.

And my husband is currently at Surrey but I doubt that he would have any helpful insights for you since his experience will be somewhat different!

[Bunnylump]

Shame she won't consider Southampton, my niece studied music there and did well. Having said that, she got her BA in music and then went on to train as a solicitor... K's degree was a BMus.

This going to open days malarkey starts to wear thin VERY quickly - and they all start to merge into one, so be prepared to take notes!! Having said that, we went half way round the country looking with K, whereas D just took himself off (he got the train by himself aged 17 into London, down to Truro, another train to Falmouth, then stayed overnight in a B and B then came home the following day!!). Mind you, his criteria for the ideal university was:1. Does it have a basketball team? 2. Is it near the sea? 3. Is it a really long way away from Mum and Dad?

[giraffe]

We went to Birmingham last year, York in February and RNCM open day in March. We were lucky at York that they happened to be auditioning at the music department on the day we turned up, so they gave us a guided tour and a student told us all about it. We are booked on the open days at Oxford and Durham and she went to a day at Cambridge, but has ruled that out (too much Gregorian chanting!) Bristol's open day is the same day as Oxford, so we will just go for a day out like we did at York. She is quite familiar with Birmingham Conservatoire as she lives there on Saturdays, and has ruled out London, so the only other Conservatoire in the running is Cardiff.

And then we do it all again next year for F!

[LAT]

We were advised by their schools that it really wasn't necessary to visit all the places they were considering applying to. It's a good idea to visit a city/town based university and a campus based one so they get a feel for the difference. And then maybe go to the open days after application (if they don't have an interview) of the ones from which they are seriously considering accepting an offer.
As you say, visiting too many means they do tend to blur into one and just takes up an inordinate amount of time and money. A couple of hours browsing both the official website and ones where students say what it's really like are probably just as helpful.

[giraffe]

We have been trying to keep it to a minimum, today we were going for the auditions anyway, so it seemed sensible to have a look at the University as it was on the other side of the road! I want to take her to Durham as the course looks good, but I want her to see how far it is. We are staying the night in one of the colleges, so that should be an experience.

[Bunnylump]

You could always get her brother Chris to keep an eye on her if she went to Durham!

[eirian]

Both me and Sigur went to Keele. Not sure it's best for music, but the music department itself is in the old coach house - a wonderful building!

[Wulfruna]

You can't beat Manchester for music. It is a very musical city, with all sorts of things going on. The RNCM is great and of course the Bridgewater Hall is one of the best venues in the country, not to mention two of the best orchestras in the Halle and the BBC Philharmonic (who are even better in my view!). It was the main thing that we regretted about having to move away on retirement, and we really miss those wonderful concerts.
But it's not just the big names - there is a lot of other music in various places as well.
Not to mention that it's an interesting city in its own right .... as is Durham too, of course, which is much more historical (but rather up and down hill all the time, I seem to remember!).

[LAT]

I want to take her to Durham as the course looks good, but I want her to see how far it is.

One of Kate's friends who went there used to fly up and back rather than drive or train. It was cheaper and quicker! I think she got the plane from Southampton.

[giraffe]

I had a friend at University who said her parents were flying down for the weekend. I assumed she meant paying a flying visit. Little did I know they had their own little plane! I just looked up train fares and they want £136 each to get to Durham (less discount for K's railcard) so I will be driving. It's 4 hours by train and the same by car.

[Bunnylump]

That was the problem when D was at Exeter (Cornwall campus). The train did go there but just for me it would have cost about £80 each time. So we ended up driving the 300 miles there whenever we needed to. It did get to be a real pain in the neck, actually. It was much better with K because she was far enough away to be independent but near enough to visit in an hour.

[gill216]

I can't actually think of anyone on here who this might apply to so I haven't put it on clvrsods help thread. Does anyone have the experience of/ know anyone who has brought back to the Uk a child who isn't their own and who isn't a UK resident?

I'm bringing Daniel back with me in August (from Spain to the UK) for 2 weeks hols and then mum is collecting him and doing the return journey.

However! We already know that because Daniel and mum don't share the same surname she should carry his birth certificate with her so she can prove he is her son when taking him out of the country. (I approve- Madelaine McCann eg) I've had so many surnames I can't even prove she's my daughter let alone that Dan's my grandson. Our local friendly airline tell me that I only need his passport and ticket. Well d'uh! That's kind of bog standard I was told to expect to be asked questions at immigration but thats really going to be fun with a 7 year old at midnight. Anyone been there and done this?

[Bunnylump]

No, but I have had them asking weird questions about my OWN children. Would it be worth phoning the British Embassy?

[clvrlad]

id contact the airports involved and the airline
letting them know what's happening and what info they'll need

preferably getting it back in writing

[LAT]

How about carrying a letter from her giving you permission to have him (mentioning all names and relationships concerned in full), plus a copy of his birth certificate for good measure?