Bad GCSE's to Target RG Uni- Journey to AAA A levels!

Hello TSR.
I have decided to take up the GYG challenge mainly so i can be held responsible and can go on this new journey with hopefully some of you reading, and to show with hard work and perseverance you too can turn your grades around!
My backstory:
I have always been relatively academically gifted. In primary school I was top set for every subject and was able to do quite well and progress faster than others. This created a very bad early trait in me as I did not equate doing well in school to working and revising hard. Throughout Year 7 to Year 11 I followed this same way of thinking and achieved relatively decent grades(Majority A and B until year 11 when i started receiving a few C's in assessments and end of year tests etc.) Come GCSE time I did not study anywhere near enough largely revising a bit the day before the exam by reading the textbooks we were provided due to too much procrastination and not recognizing the importance of revision. Aside from academically I was a pretty horrible student all over, frequently turning up late to school despite living less than 20 minutes commute away and regularly getting into trouble, getting sent out of lesson,fighting etc. Based off my SAT results i was predicted to get 10 A's however my actual results were:
GCSE Results:
4 B's (English language, Maths, RE and Biology)
4 C's (IT, Physics, Chemistry and English Lit)
D in Media
E in History (Slept through an exam, highlighting how unserious I was especially as it was my favourite subject at the time and one I expected to do well in)

I was largely dissapointed with my results, personally thinking I done much better. What stuck with me was the joy of all my peers and not just them but the joy on their parent's faces whereas my own mother was relieved as she thought I had done much much worse due to my lack of revision.

Due to my grades I didn't meet the entry requirements for my chosen A-Levels (Economics, History and Maths) but i was still admitted into the school sixth form with these grades. However a month into A-level maths i dropped the course as I found myself struggling to grasp the basic concepts and regularly finding myself out of depth in lesson.

A level subjects:
Economics
History
Government and Politics

In year 12 my old self from secondary school turned up and i was back to being late to lesson and my attendance was very poor ( 35 lates and 86% attendance) Though academically I was doing much better due to the much narrower focus and choosing subjects which used my strengths of essay writing and formulating arguments though I must add I struggled with Economics at first due but was able to catch up and excel in it.
Come AS exam time and due to the new linear A-Levels I only had AS in Government and Politics but had end of year mocks in all three. I can honestly say I had never worked so hard in my life especially for the AS, though the revision I was doing though an improvement was still not enough (I done around 3 hours a day during the half term the week before the exams and 1 hour when we got back to school) My AS results were quite good especially regarding my attendance and I was readmitted into Year 13 though on a contract basis due to my attendance.

My AS and End of Year 13 Mock results:
Government and Politics: B (Resitting second paper)
Economics: B
History: B

I am now looking to build on those good first year results and seriously become much more productive in not just school but all aspects of my life.
Thank you for reading and I hope to see you back here for daily updates :biggrin:

(edited 6 years ago)

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Volunteer Section Leader

Best of luck! Sounds like you've really improved your work ethic since year 11!
Are you planning on applying for uni?

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Reply 3

DiligentBop

Original post by Lemur14

Best of luck! Sounds like you've really improved your work ethic since year 11!
Are you planning on applying for uni?

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thanks for the well wishes, I am planning on applying to uni and I am meeting with my teacher this week to finalise and send it off. I will post where and what i've applied to here straight after :biggrin:

Reply 4

Lemur14

Volunteer Section Leader

Original post by DiligentBop

You're welcome :smile:

Ooh exciting :excited:

Good luck with that!

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Reply 5

DiligentBop

Day One-Saturday 11 November 2017

Ladies and gentlemen we're off to a flying start!
I woke up around 10am but didn't get out of bed till around 11ish where I chilled for a bit before starting my day of revision. I have two mock exams next week so today I decided i would focus mainly on them and boy, it was one of the most productive days of my life. I revised Government and politics for around 4-5 hours today and managed to squeeze in an hour of history too. This occurred between 12-10pm and I would study a subject for around an hour and a half then take a break for around an hour. My breaks were also very productive as during my first one I simply put on a YouTube video in the background and touched up my personal statement.
Overall, I must say it was a great day though I have been couped up in my room all day literally spending less than ten minutes out of it today (Yikes, I know) I did however start to get headaches during my last revision session but I was able to suppress them by drinking water. Maybe that is a sign I am overworking as I have gone straight from doing no revision just a week ago to doing heavy sessions, do you guys think I should take things slower?
Anyway, that's all hope to see you guys tomorrow :biggrin:

Reply 6

timif2

My man was steppin in with Loubs, man do splash then bop

Reply 7

Lemur14

Volunteer Section Leader

Original post by DiligentBop

hey guys I've posted my first day on this new thread as I wanted a more specific title hope you enjoy it

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5044392&p=74535020#post74535020

I can change the title and merge the threads if you want to keep all the people who are now watching this thread following?

Reply 8

clouddbubbles

what would you like to do in the future? :biggrin:

Reply 9

DiligentBop

Original post by Lemur14

I can change the title and merge the threads if you want to keep all the people who are now watching this thread following?

Yes if you don’t mind that would be very helpful

Reply 10

DiligentBop

Original post by clouddbubbles

what would you like to do in the future? :biggrin:

I’m looking to get an offer from a RG uni in the immediate future and then afterwards go into investment banking or consultancy, what about yourself?

Reply 11

Changing Skies

Hello! I wish you all the luck in the world in getting the grades you want! :smile:

Don't dwell on past mistakes, I think a lot of us are disappointed with our results at times. But you've done the best thing and turned that into motivation to do well now :biggrin:

Your mock results turned out great so you're already on the right track. What are you hoping to study at university? :smile:

Reply 12

clouddbubbles

Original post by DiligentBop

I’m looking to get an offer from a RG uni in the immediate future and then afterwards go into investment banking or consultancy, what about yourself?

interesting!
i’m hoping to do medicine or sports science - but i don’t really have a preferred uni as medicine is so competitive and well... sports science... (the only one i would aim for is loughborough!)

i’m not 100% what i want to do yet though - i’m only in year 10 :smile:

Reply 13

Lemur14

Volunteer Section Leader

Original post by DiligentBop

Yes if you don’t mind that would be very helpful

Will do that as soon as I get on my laptop later :smile:

Quote me again to remind me if I haven't!

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Reply 14

DiligentBop

Thanks for the good wishes, I’m looking to study Politics and international relations at university not too sure about what I want to go into afterwards but that’s what I like about a politics degree it gives me flexibility to go into a range of careers.