So this isn't dementia related but certainly pandemic related.
Had tears from both children this week.
Dau is desperately sad at missing out on the uni life she had so looked forward to, and after all her problems over many years, she had made many good friends and was part of several social groups, a new beginning. She is very upset that her boyfriend is 200 miles away and she has no idea when she might next see him again. On the plus side she has worked well at home, and got the grades she aimed for in all her coursework, but she is worried she has missed out on the lab based work she feels is essential to progress in her desired direction (she loves her course and says many find this unsettling as to how enthusiastic she is).
Son is desperately worried about his GCSEs next summer, we've had very little actual contact from school, they supplied on line materials in many different places to start with so he got confused and very behind. He has caught most of it up, but he has had no marked work back (he has submitted stuff every week) so he has no idea where he is at. Engineering is 70% course work with a year long project he was about to start and he has struggled to complete any pieces for Art at home which is 60% coursework.
Son has worked so hard to overcome his dyslexia, and 25% extra time in exams make a huge difference but he has found online learning cumbersome - he keeps up in class at school but it takes him longer doing the work on line.
In a normal exam year he would need a good set of across the board GCSE grades to apply for the courses he knows he wants to study for at Uni, and I am scared this is going to affect him for life. He will get the required grades in his proposed A level subjects but I worry about the rest of his grades. At least this year's exam cohort had near enough finished the courses and for most the grades will reflect their effort with a chance for a resit in the autumn, whereas if you haven't even covered the course how can you be graded.