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Scottish Higher Students

Here are the day in the life guides by Scottish higher students. Feel free to add your own following the existing template.

A day in the life of LuhLah

Year of Study: 1 (FE College)

Subjects of Study: Highers Maths, English, Human Biology, Chemistry & Psychology

Tell us a bit about your daily preparation and morning routine: It's quite good. Sometimes I don't start until 11, but today I started at 9. I wake up at 7am to get ready, apply make-up, get the dildo's clean, shower etc, and then I go for the bus at 8:30am. Time isn't a huge factor (unless you sleep in) because college aren't as strict as school that way (you don't get a row for being 5 minutes late). The bus can be a little bit laborious after a while, but a hefty screw can fix that.

So what did you do today? Today I was in English for 3 hours. We were essay writing so it was rather boring. I had a week peek at the guy sitting opposite me and started getting wet. I had an hour break after that where I went into town and got something out of Gregg's, and then to the common room to see my friends. I then had "UCAS Prep." where I get really helpful tips for my UCAS application (a rep from Glasgow uni was called down to talk to us today) and I managed to get it finished. I then went home.

How do you finish the day after returning from college? I normally do homework/studying when I get home, and then I just fap for the rest of the night. Sometimes I type up my notes too as WH Smith Notepads just phail.

And finally, can you tell us the best thing about day to day college life? It would probably have to be the flexibility. I love it so much more better than school because of this. You are treated like an adult, not like a child. There aren't any cliques or silly high school dramas. You can sleep around with whomever you want and not be called a slag! You can be in for 2 hours one day and 5 hours the next. You can hold a part time job around your college hours...and ultimately helps you mature and makes ya more independent.

A day in the life of Ape Gone Insane

Year of Study: 6 (Translates into 13 if you're going by the English system)

Subjects of Study: Mathematics, English, Modern Studies & Accounting

Tell us a bit about your daily preparation and morning routine: Get up at around 8 am, breakfast/check emails, visits TSR . Make sure I have the appropriate books for the subjects I have on that given day and then I leave with my iPod. Most times I meet friends on my way to school.

So what did you do today? How I feel varies on the given day. Some days I have a terrible schedule with double periods of my least favourite subjects. But going by my last day, Friday, was great.

I had a free period at the start which I spent at the library rather than the common room. Can't concentrate at the common room with the music & poker games. So I sit at the back room of the library with a few friends. Sometimes I help/tutor my friends as I have sat some of their subjects last year. Then I begin work on my subjects (homework/essays).

After the free period, it's off to double English which is a relatively small class of 5 people. It's better as a small class. We can work and have a good laugh with the teacher. It feels like a family as opposed to last years huge class of people. This is largely because half the people have left to go to college or not the picked the subject at the advanced level we are sitting.

After the double period, it's a single period of Mathematics and some more binomial theorems ....we had a university student in, so as special something before the October Holidays, we had a Maths & General Knowledge quiz which me and my partner won!

After that it's lunch and after that my least favourite subjects; Modern Studies & Accounting.

How do you finish the day after returning from school/college? Homework I have is usually comprised of Modern Studies essays, Accounting - finishing off the work we were doing in class & English essays.

Maths is just my personal revision of the topics we studied. We aren't given Maths homework, this is a good thing since the topics we learn are difficult enough to swallow in a single sitting. It's better to go over them at home.

And finally, can you tell us the best thing about day to day 6th form/college life? Free periods. Teacher-pupil relationships.

Free periods gives us time to relax and the common room adds to that. We have our own room in which to get together. Talk, have a laugh, play cards or study. Many people have left so its a much smaller group of people making it easier to get to know the people you didn't talk to before.

Teachers treat you like adults and the whole work thing is much more relaxed. I guess it can be likened to College/Univeristy.

Overall, my last year (6th year in Scotland) is and will be a memorable one.

A day in the life of Kirsteneg

Year of Study: 6th year

Subjects of Study: AH biology, music, english and higher psychology

Tell us a bit about your daily preparation and morning routine: Eh, well do all homework the night before (at the latest) and make sure you've got everything for the morning. As for the morning, just usual stuff - get up, shower, breakfast (very rarely), get dressed, brush teeth, and get the bus.

So what did you do today? Well, on Tuesdays (picked because I have all my subjects then) I have music for the first two periods and we just do some practise on your instruments or composition using computers mainly for input. Then break for 15mins; the time for hot chocolate. Then my next class is biology for two periods where it's just watch a powerpoint - do questions. Rather tedious but what do you expect at AH level? Then I have a free period which I help out in an english class (kinda like a classroom assistant) with 2nd years. It's actually quite fun and, since I want to do teaching, a great thing to put on the personal statement. Then lunch for 55mins where most people go to tesco and then just sit in the canteen (or outside depending on the weather) with friends. Then after lunch, I have a study period in english where you do what it says on the tin, independently. Then, for the last two periods, I have a psychology study period and another english study period so it's all just working independently where you are expected to do work and be mature about it. I would tell you about common room atmosphere, if we had one...

How do you finish the day after returning from school/college? Well, normally for the advanced higher subjects, there can be quite a lot of homework/extra work to do for next week so I usually get stuck into that when I get home so I don't have to worry about it later in the week. You should be revising the work you did in class today (as we are so often told) but I have never done that - just cramming in info for NABs and exams which IS NOT the way to do it.

And finally, can you tell us the best thing about day to day 6th form/college life? Personally, my favourite part of 6th year is the things you choose to do in the free periods - be it helping in a class or just talking with friends. I also enjoy english and music in particular so it's always easier doing a subject that you enjoy. 6th year is also a great opportunity to get to know other people in your year that you wouldn't usually talk to which is a bonus so it's a lot more...'intimate'.

A day in the life of Madjackismad

Year of Study: 6th year

Subjects of Study: AH English, AH History, Modern Studies and Human Biology.

Tell us a bit about your daily preparation and morning routine: My morning routine usually consists of my alarm going off in the morning, me extremely annoyed by being awoken from my deep slumber, turning off the alarm. Usually about 20 minutes later, my mum is all angry, ripping my duvet off, leaving me freezing. I get up, stumble into the shower, which is usually cold (the boiler runs on a schedule of its own. ) brush my teeth, put on clothes....the usual stuff. I stumble down the stairs, usually grabbing a bit of toast, my bag and blazer and running out in a hurry so I don't miss the bus....most of the time it's this situation anyway.

So what did you do today? Well today, I was off, it's the October week for us Scots. Nothing really exciting to be honest, woke up pretty early (8, ) had some breakfast, got ready, checked this. I then decided to work on my presentations for Advanced Higher English had some lunch, watched Scrubs, then continued work with my presentations, soon to be finished with some Human Biology stuff rounding off my day of work. The common room atmosphere is really chilled out and relaxed.

How do you finish the day after returning from school/college? Usually walking upstairs to my bedroom, throwing down my bag and falling onto my bed. After a while, I get up, do some homework and then make myself some dinner. I then do a bit of looking over the notes i've taken for the day, come on this for a while, then watch T.V.

And finally, can you tell us the best thing about day to day 6th form/college life? How much more relaxed it all seems (thanks to free periods). 5th year was horrible, all work and no play, not to mention falling ill constantly due to stress. Everyone seems to be getting on a lot more this year, I think mainly because it's our last year as young kids. All the years below look up to us (in terror) and the teachers seem to treat us with a lot more respect and like adults.

A day in the life of Jammydodger09

Year of Study: 6th Year

Subjects of Study: AH Maths and Chemistry

Tell us a bit about your daily preparation and morning routine: Get up at 7.30, do some pressups and situps etc..., shower and eat breakfast (toast :D) while watching BBC news. Bus comes at 8.20 and spend the next 30 mins listening to ipod or chatting to friends.

So what did you do today? Well, last Friday it was the sale of work in the school. So I ate alot of cake :). Most days I do a combination of AH Maths and self-taught AH Chemistry. I also have to teach the Higher Chem bunch, which is fun and very rewarding if not somewhat tedious at times. In my free periods I play alot of tennis with a mate who enjoys skiving just as much as I do! I must admit, I'm not an academic rolemodel anymore. Got my Highers last year and didn't goto Uni because I was 16, so I have as much fun as possible to make up for the year of drudgery I had previously.

How do you finish the day after returning from school/college? Come home (another 30 mins of flirting, playfighting and ipod listening), get into the running gear and go off for a 2-3 mile run depending on how I feel. If its been a long day, I really look forward to this part. Then I shower again and get started on the dinner, while lazily watching tele.

And finally, can you tell us the best thing about day to day 6th form/college life? I came to my current school two years ago as a nobody - an Englishman amongst Scotsmen. Having achieved good grades and extra-curricular successes, I'm now well known and respected by fellow pupils and teachers alike. Also, going into school is no longer a thought of dread. I really enjoy studying two subjects which are crucial to my career (Chemical Engineer) and its nice knowing I don't have to sit an exam for them either (I've got unconditionals already) and can take it at a leisurely pace.

A day in the life of Acas

Year of Study: 6th year (final year)

Subjects of Study: Advanced higher biology, chemistry.

Tell us a bit about your daily preparation and morning routine: I live pretty far away rom my school so I have to get up a bit earlier than most. Get up at 6am thrw on some trackies and walk the dogs, come back home, shower, breakfast, dress, hair and mak up. Ready to leave to walk to the bus stop at 8am. We are allowed to leave stuff in the common room so I dont normally take my books home, which helps to lighten the load.

So what did you do today? I will go with fridays as thats my busiest day. There are 6 teaching periods in a school day and because I am taking 3 advanced highers I have a lot of free periods, around half my day. On fridays I have a free period first thing so I normally get the bus in to school later and have a lie in. Then I have english- which I really enjoy as their are only four people in my class, each day we have english we do a different unit of the course, fridays is linguistics which I really enjoy. At break I normally just sit in the common room with friends. After break I have biology, which is normally self study as our teacher has been off a lot recently, so just note taking. Then chemistry which is normally a well structured lesson. I have friday afternoons free and normally use some of this time to visit the 6th year lab and do some work on my biology and chemistry investigations, as I don't want to leave such a big part of the course to the last minute. Last thing on a friday all the sixth years are free, so most of the time we wreck the common room, poker, music, twister... etc.

How do you finish the day after returning from school/college? come home on the bus or stay at school to coach tennis, do homework and think about what I have to do for the next day. normally spend the evenings out with friends.

And finally, can you tell us the best thing about day to day 6th form/college life? Having free periods is good because it makes sixth year enjoyable unlike fifth year whuch is all a bit heavy, I like the fact that lots of people leave so classes are normally small and you get to know people in your year you have never spoken to before :-)

A day in the life of ArcadiaHouse

Year of Study: 6th year

Subjects of Study: AH English, Higher Geography, Higher Modern Studies and Higher Business Management

Tell us a bit about your daily preparation and morning routine: I wake up at 7(ish) in order to leave the house at 8am to catch my bus, which arrives at 8.20am. I eat a bowl of Special K Creamy Berry Crunch and have a glass of water while I'm watching GMTV and thinking about how its presenters are the worst-dressed women on television. I then iron me and my sister's uniforms if they weren't done the night before, and depending on whose turn it is, I prepare the lunches. I brush my teeth and put on my uniform, mascara and lipgloss (Rimmel Stay Glossy - it's fab!). I then brush my hair, and depending on the night I've had I use James Brown's Dry Shampoo and/or James Brown hairspray to create volume (I realise this has nothing to do with Highers, but I thought you might want to know. Whatever). I double-check I have everything I need for school, and spend the 30-minute bus journey either listening to my iPod or talking with the guys at the back of the bus.

So what did you do today? A typical schoolday consists of arriving to deposit all my books for the afternoon in my locker and filling my water bottle with freezing cold water from the water dispenser thing. In Geography we usually just listen to the teachers and answer questions from the enormous textbook, and are set the homework questions for the week (which reminds me ...!!). In Business we usually pointlessly copy down notes from endless powerpoint presentations despite all the answers already being in the textbook, and sometimes we answer a few past paper questions. This is the class in which I look at the clock most often. In Modern Studies we copy down helpful notes from powerpoint presentations (although the teacher usually goes through them so quickly that we don't get all of it down). This class is a laugh (in a good way) as we sometimes watch Question Time on BBC iPlayer which I strangely enjoy but don't let on that I do. I usually leave the weekly essays 'til the Monday night before it's due, and I end up kicking myself every Tuesday for rushing through it, even if I've had really positive feedback. A girl from another school came to do Modern Studies with us at the beginning of the year, and she was really cool, but she dropped it to become a vice-captain and I haven't seen her in weeks :(

In AH English, we answer loads of questions about scenes from 'A Streetcar Named Desire' by Tennessee Williams, and sometimes we do creative writing exercises. This is my favourite subject and I'm so glad we're getting six periods a week of it this year. I still haven't formally started my dissertation (first draft due in December) but 'The Importance of Being Earnest' is quite a short play and since the plays I'm doing are all fairly similar, I think I can knock up a draft in the next four weeks or so. In this class we argue that we don't mind that Stanley Kowalski is a villain as Marlon Brando was/is beautiful, and at frequent intervals I can be heard to cry: "Blanche is one craaaaazy bitch!"

We're not meant to be getting free periods unless we're med school applicants, but I've managed to beg for a free column, which is invariably spent doing homework for the next day (so I can spend more time on TSR - not), revise for NABs, browse the school library and generally hide from senior management who will surely kill me when they realise I've spent my extra time studying and not helping the first years with their work despite there already being people paid to do exactly that: teach. The nice lady in the library is still mad at me for taking out ten books and not returning them yet, so instead of going there I hide in the ICT suite with my friends who've already passed five Highers *grumbles*

I spend lunchtime standing with the smokers next to the canal trying to look indifferent about life in general. If it's raining I stay inside and maybe have the school pasta, which is rather beautiful :P At break I stand around with my friends and enquire whether they've written their Personal Statements yet. The answer is usually 'yes'.

How do you finish the day after returning from school/college? I collapse in front of the TV and check Sky News headlines in case another famous person has died and it's another "Where were you when -?" moment. I get changed, eat an Alpen bar and check TSR and Hotmail, despite my best efforts. Depending on how much homework I've got, I go to the gym at 4.30pm for an hour and shower and dress by 6pm in time to start my homework. I have dinner then commence studying, which I try to finish before 10pm each night, with regular breaks. I put more music on my iPod, read a book, read a newspaper, and generally chillax, which I didn't do at all in fifth year. Then I go to bed at 11 or so and worry about UCAS, and fall asleep listening to Take That and AC/DC, and start it all again the next day.

And finally, can you tell us the best thing about day to day 6th form/college life? Less stress. Much less stress than fifth year, where your grades dictated what you could and could not take the following year. Now I have a gameplan, a goal, and I'm entirely focused on that rather than overreaching like I did last year and working myself into the ground with little reward. Also, all the scum is in the lower school, so you're surrounded by cool people for 98% of the time rather than people who think it's funny to throw bottles at teachers. Everyone is closer and most people who have been cold towards you in the past have matured and you're now on speaking terms with them. There's a slightly higher sense of competition within the year, but far less bitching. The extra freedom and respect from teachers also makes it all a little more bearable, and the unwarranted free periods give you something to look forward to most days per week for you to take your foot off the gas a little.

Enjoy what little time you have left of being a "schoolie" - the good and the bad.

A day in the life of CJN

Year of Study: 6th Year

Subjects of Study: Advanced Higher Maths, Chemistry & Physics

Tell us a bit about your daily preparation and morning routine: Morning is up at 8 to catch a bus, or take the motorbike to school to start at 8:45. Only a quick wash in the morning and a bite to eat at school when I arrive.

So what did you do today? Days vary a lot. On Mondays I can go home and stay home after 10:15 since I have no more class. Generally there are some classes, some frees (I have more frees than classes) that can be spent in the 6th year computer suite doing work, playing games whatever or in the common room playing pool, watching tv, playing ps2 etc.

Spend some of my frees working, the rest are spent in class or doing nothing.

How do you finish the day after returning from school/college? Not much, I work most evenings and have enough time to do extra work and homework in my free periods.

And finally, can you tell us the best thing about day to day 6th form/college life? Not having to do subjects you don't like. Having lots of time for independent work and research, and lets not forget a load of time spent lazing around in the common room with friends.

A day in the life of bex285

Year of Study: 6

Subjects of Study: Advanced Higher French and Spanish, and Higher History.

Tell us a bit about your daily preparation and morning routine: I usually set my alarm for 7.30, then get up at 8.00 after pressing snooze too many times and am in a mad rush to leave by 8.30 to give myself enough time to walk to school. However, this varies depending on the day. On Mondays, I get picked up by a taxi at 8.20 as I need to go to another school (4 miles away) to do Spanish. On Tuesdays, I don't have a class till second period, but that's also at another school so I need to be at my school by 9.20 to get the taxi. I get a nice long lie on a Friday (as I don't have anything till History, 3rd period), which is good because I sometimes work 4-1 after school. Usually it's only 4-8 though, so that's not too bad :P

So what did you do today? I wasn't at school today, I was at a funeral (my ex-music teacher's :(), then I went to my gran's, then I took my gran to a concert for her birthday, then went to a party for a while. I'll describe a typical day at school though. On Mondays, as I've said, I get picked up at 8.20 to go to Spanish, which lasts until 10.30. Then the taxi takes me back to my school and I help out in an Access 3 Spanish class for a period. Then I have a period off, usually spent in the common room having an early lunch to avoid the microwave queue during the lunch break, then I help out in an S1 English class. Then after lunch I have SE, which is all about UCAS at the moment, then PE. Monday's the only day that I finish the day in my own school, so it's the only day I walk home and don't have to wait about for the usually late taxis.

How do you finish the day after returning from school? I either work or do not much for a few hours, have dinner, then if I have any homework I get that done. I have a really bad habit of leaving homework till the night before it's due. Once I've done any homework I usually shower and watch TV.

And finally, can you tell us the best thing about day to day school life? I'm really not enjoying it very much, to be honest. Although I like helping out in younger classes and having a common room, even if it's usually crap.

A day in the life of Laroch

Year of Study: 6

Subjects of Study: Advanced Higher English, Highers in Modern Studies, Human Biology and Psychology. I also volunteer as a teaching assistant/ mentor five hours a week.

Tell us a bit about your daily preparation and morning routine: I ignore my alarm every morning without fail. It goes off at 7am, and I usually get up at about half past. I shower, get dressed, rapidly decide what to do with my hair, shove random folders in my bag hoping for the best, and run out the door just in time to catch the bus at 10 past 8. I arrive at school at around 25 past.

So what did you do today? It's the holidays today, but on a typical Thursday at school, I spend an hour in all of my subjects for 50 minutes, plus an extra hour in English as we have a double period. Period 6, I help a class of kids with special needs do their homework, which often includes me sitting in the corner trying to remember how to do basic maths and in order to do some sums. How I got a 1 in my own standard grade I have not got a clue!

How do you finish the day after returning from college? I either go out with friends or catch the bus back home. I occasionally do homework, but its much more likely it will just be left until a free period at school and gets done in the common room. I'm not the most organised person! At home, I tend to play on my piano, watch a bit of tv or read a book, just anything to relac really.

And finally, can you tell us the best thing about day to day college life? The smiles on a 1st years face when you do their homework for them. Nah, it's the great atmosphere that surrounds a 6th year, you are the top of the school, you are treated more as a friend than a pupil by the teachers, people show you some respect and you get your lunches paid for you as a prefect. Combine that with having great friends to spend every free period with you, and school genuinely becomes something worth looking forwards to.