I don’t see her as acting spoiled. She seems to just be unaware of the value of money, because she’s never been in a position like that.
Perhaps you can inform her. Or perhaps you can just accept her lifestyle is always going to be differet to yours.
Such is life.
I don’t know what to say about Alex, but I enjoyed your post just for pure reading pleasure. You should be a writer.
(Begin Horrendous Hijack)
What are “Mock A’s”?
I ask because Kate Bush was asked and pressed for an answer once about her schooling (she dropped out of school) and she “admitted” (quotes because she seemed kind of ashamed of it) that she had 10 “O” Levels, and had taken her “Mock A’s” before leaving school at 16.
Is that good, or bad, or what?
(/End Horrendous Hijack)
Mock A’s are like practice A Levels that you would usually take at least twice before the real thing.
Can’t really offer you any advice about Alex either I’m afraid Loneraven. Pretty much the only thing I can tell you is when you look back in a few years you’ll proabaly have forgotten her name, never mind how much allowance she gets. I know that I can barely remember some of the more annoying people from school and I went to a girls grammar school in Buckinghamshire so there were quite a few ‘Alex’s’ there.
gothelen
Sorry, I should have made that clear - I just said “A-levels” because more people know what they are. I’m still in Lower Sixth, and probably will end up with three AS/A2 subjects, but at AS level, four is the norm. As for your point about universities, my school work on the basis that they will use the UCAS points system. When in doubt, do more subjects. It’s not sensible, but then neither is the system.
“Occasionally” is the key word. She can never be arsed. I know that wasn’t clear from the OP. What I don’t like about her is her lack of appreciation. Of her free time, and her money. I certainly don’t grudge her the money (maybe I do grudge her the free time, but that’s straightforward jealousy :)), but the fact she’s so blasé about it irritates me.
I very much hope you’re right there.
Nope.
Cite? The “balanced life” bit, I mean.
I would like to point out that I don’t dislike this girl, no matter how it seems. She annoys me at times (yesterday being one of them) but aside from all of this, she is actually a nice person and friend, and so are her family.
Equipoise, thank you for the compliment, and I’ll add to the previous answer to your question by saying mock A-levels no longer exist because of the introduction of the AS/A2 system. There isn’t time for mocks unless they want us doing board exams every three months.
porn_star_luke, they’re “improved” (Blair speak for totally fucked-up) the A level system in the last few years. The straightforward system of taking three (or possibly four) A levels all the way through has been thrown aside in favour of taking four (and I think five isn’t at all uncommon) AS levels in lower sixth then dropping one (or two) as Loneraven described.
Speaking as a Brit who has the misfortune of sounding posher than I am (for reasons I will never understand, my accent sounds as though I should come from the landed gentry, which is not true at all) and who went to a “posh” university, I can say that inverted snobbery (the belief that the upper classes have it easy and are inferior because they know nothing of “real life”) is alive and well. People like this Alex do nothing to help this situation.
Eh. No offense, but you’re going to need to grow a thicker skin than that. Life’s full fo these discrepancies in (perceived) wealth, talent, enthusiasm… if you’ll get yourself worked up over each and every one of them, you’ll die of a heart attack before you’re even 40. Focus on your own goals, and take pride in them when you achieve them. Don’t begrudge others the fact that they didn’t have to do anything to be rich.
One thing I’d like to add: when I was your age, my parents had long stopped giving me pocket money. I was working in a restaurant on the weekends.
No judgement - just saying. 
[Short and rather obvious sermon]
Loneraven, somewhat ironically you are “spoiled” by the standards of what I considered normal at your age, what with being public-school educated as opposed to going to the local sausage factory.
Fortunately, from my mature perspective, I can just say “Good luck to you”.
[/Short and rather obvious sermon]
rekkah
I agree that there have been problems with the new A-Levels, but I support the reforms in principle. I took my A-Levels in 2001, and by that time they had already changed substantially. Except in history, which was terminal (meaning exams at the end, not grade A on pain of death!), I took modules throughout the two years and I found the system to be perfectly workable. In fact, in maths, fm and phys my course was equivalent to the new one (1/2 of each subject done by end of 1st year) except that I took full A-level standard modules throughout instead of ‘easier’ AS modules in the 1st year. Despite teething troubles, I think the new system works well if people don’t get suckered by their teachers into thinking the number of subjects (if >3) or UCAS points is all that important. Quote from Matthew Huntbach, an University of London compsci admissions tutor, on alt.uk.a-levels:
*This assumes that all admissions tutors are looking for is a certain
number of UCAS points and do not care where the points came from. I
opposed the introduction of the UCAS tariff precsiely because it would
lead to this ridiculous reasoning. In my case the subjects taken at
A-level are very important, I reject many applicants regardless of
predicted UCAS points because they have the wrong A-level subjects,
and pick up some with relatively low UCAS points because at least they
are in the right subjects.
I don’t think the standard three A-level involves an excessive amount
of work, whatever the subject, and I don’t know of any university
admisisons tutor who insists applicants do four. Anyone who is reasonably
bright should be able to take three A-levels and have plenty of time for
other things.*
Speaking as a rural Welsh Brit who now sounds much much posher than I am (people in my village don’t even believe I’m from Wales, let alone from the area. when I’m speaking english, that is …) I can say that it is the inverted snobbery of “non-posh” people who contribute to this just as much. My friends from home know I’m largely the same person as when I went to university, it’s just people who don’t know me who have this inverted snobbery.
Ah yes, university. Speaking as someone who grew up in state-owned housing and whose father earns minimum wage, and who currently attends a “posh” university, I’d like to think I see this from both sides. I have a social circle with people drawn from all walks of life, and – with some exceptions – I’d have to say that inverted snobbery is much more prevalent than the real thing. That’s not to say there aren’t some real snobbish fuckers out there, but they are largely in a minority and you can of course choose your friends. Alex sounds like a normal, though possibly somewhat sheltered, teenage girl, who is being attacked for being different and not sharing the OP’s attitude to life and work. Who’s the snobbish one here?
Oh and in my experience it is indeed the case that the “upper classes” know nothing of “real life”. Big deal, so long as they’re not aggressive or obnoxous about it. I know very little about “upper class” life, so what?
PSL
Coldfire, I work in a bookshop at weekends.
PSL, I would agree with you about the system working well - dividing things into manageable chunks is a good thing - if it weren’t for the synoptic element in the last modules. It irritates me no end that I’m tested on the same material twice, particularly in the humanities where there is so much of the syllabus to cover in time without having to cope with extra revision as well.
I don’t like being called snobbish, inverted or otherwise, but you’re entitled to it. Of course I don’t share Alex’s attitudes to life and work, but that’s the way it is. I suspect it’s cultural.
A minor hijack while I’m here - you mentioned doing Maths and Further Maths as your subjects. Could you clear up a dispute for me? I’m positive I heard somewhere that Maths is the only subject that doesn’t divide easily into AS and A2, and even those people who only want to do it for AS have to carry it on for a term into their second year. Is this true?