It's an improvement!

Hello, fellow Year 11s. I'll start off with the good news, my grades are improving! They're still not the best that they could be but, as the title states, it's an improvement! Here's this week's data:

Maths: only got a 5 in my mock but a girl who got an 8 in one of the Y10 mocks also got a 5 and my teacher admitted that it was a really mean paper so I'm not letting it get me down

Science: got a 7 (my target grade for science) in my Chemistry of the Atmosphere end of topic test. I got a 6 in the last one

English Language: 4 but it's okay as I got some feedback from my teacher so ik how to improve for my mock and it's mostly timing that's the issue for me in writing subjects

Drama: 7 in my practise mock exam last week which I was pleased with. My teacher thinks I'm capable of getting a 9 and I love Drama so it won't be an issue

However, I've been quite stressed this past week. My teachers have offered me a course they would pay for on breathing and stress but I've tried the whole meditation thing and it doesn't work for me. I would greatly appreciate if someone could comment any techniques they use to deal with stress. Playing football helps since it's exercise but, other than that, Idk what to do

To de-stress I think you should go out and see the sights, do what you love to do and forget about the world around you. Also lower your expectations, if you have high expectations and you don't meet them that'll probably make your stress worse.

Thanx, that's really good advice. I do usually feel better after going out and seeing friends but it's becoming increasingly difficult to meet up with friends because my entire friend group is trying to get rid of this girl in the group who has become quite manipulative and toxic. She keeps nagging us, asking if she can hang out and us saying we're busy and so we have to keep our meet-ups a secret from her. I feel kind of bad but, at the same time, she makes me feel even worse by putting me down and criticising me all the time for completely uncontroversial things. Sorry for the brain dump but ye that's what's been stressing me out quite a bit. Plus, I think having high expectations of myself is actually ok. I feel it motivates me

Don't be stressed about this girl, her nags and problems are her own not yours. Keep your mind focused on making yourself feel good and chuck out those who don't make you feel good. I get that secondary school kids and young people in general want to be popular and liked but the reality is some people just aren't right for you.

I honestly can't wait for college. Meeting new people who I'm more likely to get on with since they've actually chosen to be there instead of having to go as a requirement will be refreshing.