The Student Room Group

My GCSE Journey: So it continues ...

20/09/16 - Intro
Hello, there!!! :itsme:
Hey, and welcome to my Study Blog! I decided to make one so I could document my progress throughout 5th Year, the dreaded GCSE year :eek:! Thankfully though I have sat some modules, which apart from lightening my exam load this year has also intorduced me to the external exam system and what examiners may be looking out for! Yay :woo:!

Spoiler

I have a few subjects where I didn't have exams last year but will have this year and they are:

β€’

English Literature

β€’

Further Maths

β€’

Music

β€’

German

So this year, the target for me is to get our school's Certificate for Excellence at GCSE, which is basically 7+ A*/A grades by the end of Year 12. Additional prizes like best in year at a certain subject would be nice, but I'm not going to focus on them!

Outside of school I do a lot of music, playing both the Cello and Piano to a high standard, not to blow my own trumpet or anything :blow:!

Spoiler

I also play in the region's senior orchestra and am the cellist for the district's senior youth quartet!!
So, yeah hopefully you find this blog enjoyable, and please don't be shy to comment or anything and if you think I may be doing something horribly wrong or have any advice, please let me know; it would be much appreciated!!
So for now, I shall bid you adieu and shall talk to you later!! :wavey:
(edited 7 years ago)

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P.S: also started a grow your grades blog back at the start of the year! It's finished now but if you want to check it out, do so here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3871473
Woohoo! You've got this, I'll definitely be watching this to see how you get on. Good luck! :biggrin:
20/09/16 - Entry 1

I thought I'd let you know what I've been up to for the past (nearly) 2 weeks of school!
Being a stereotypical student, at the very start of September I was like, "I'm gonna get all my notes done on a topic as soon as I can." However, something very unlike me has happened so far: I'm actually keeping to my commitment!! I've actually made nice notes which means that when it comes to revision, I just have to make sure I know them! Yay! Heres a nice pic of my notes so far:
Revision notes photo 1.jpg
(those are Reactivity Series, Waves and Macbeth notes btw)
So yeah, not sure how long I'm going to keep that promise to myself for, but hopefully it will last!
In school tomorrow we hav inspectors coming in to review the school so most of the lessons are going to be really easy, and we even get to do a practical in chemistry! (honestly as rare as getting struck by lightning)!
We have finished a few topics across subjects, so tests will be starting to creep in over the next two weeks, especially as September/October tracking is just around the corner! I'll probably get notice of a Chemistry, Physics and Further Maths test in the next few days, so that's all going to be fun!
That's me for tonight, so until tomorrow then probably! :smile:
Edit: So my computer doesn't want to load my picture correctly, so have fun looking at it upside down!
(edited 7 years ago)
21-09-16 - Entry 2
An Inspector Calls
Our school had an inspection today. It was nice to see the teachers be really nice for a change (although for most of them it was completely fake!). I loved watching teachers' reactions when an inspector walked into class, or having their 'lesson plans' ready in case an inspector did walk in! An inspector waked in half-way through my German class and my teacher became so nervous and shaky; she even had a coughing fit when trying to explain some grammar! It was almost sad to see her struggle as she is a genuinely good and pleasant teacher!! Also, because the threat of inspectors walking in at any moment, our chemistry teacher announced we were going to do a practical, which (as mentioned yesterday) is as rare as being struck by lightning!!
Other than the inspection, I met my old history teacher (who has left the school but for some reason was just wandering about the place during the day) and she congratulated me on my 'stellar' history grade (A), and said next time I should definitely get 100%!!
This weekend I'm heading away with the Scripture Union group, so I'm trying to get homework and notes done in advance. I don't want to rush my notes at the same time though. So I got my physics notes up to date and I'm now three-quarters of the way through my chemistry topic. I also had an English homework, but that was boring and not worth mentioning in detail.
That's my entry for today, till tomorrow then!! :smile:
26/09/16 - Entry 3

Happy Monday! How's it going? How was your weekend? Mines was great, I went away with the School's Scripture Union to learn new faces, bond and start off SU for this year! The talks were fantastic and it was great to see everyone so engaged and eager to receive God's word!!
Just as soon as it ended though, school came. Yay :frown:. It was just a typical Monday: physics, music, english,german (lunch) maths and history. Nothing overly special. I did get to do a dispersion experiment in physics though, which was fun but I was extremely tired throughout the day.
Homework:
I've done all but one homework so far, I have to do a question about Lady Macbeth and I'm really not in the mood for it. Might start it later and finish it in the morning cause I need an early night if I need to function for tomorrow.
Notes:
I have made a few paragraphs of physics notes but that's about it really. Might do more soon.
What am I behind on?

β€’

I should really pay more attention to English, as the controlled assessment is looming, so I need to have a set of notes ready to revise.

β€’

I should also start making History notes

Spoiler

What am I making good progress with?

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Physics: I've almost the whole topic finished and my understanding of it is good so far

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Chemistry: I've got a good few notes made on this too and I think I understand it!!

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German: I know all my vocab

I think I've written enough for tonight, so I'll leave it here. Until tomorrow then! :smile:
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by johnatschool
26/09/16 - Entry 3

Happy Monday! How's it going? How was your weekend? Mines was great, I went away with the School's Scripture Union to learn new faces, bond and start off SU for this year! The talks were fantastic and it was great to see everyone so engaged and eager to receive God's word!!
Just as soon as it ended though, school came. Yay :frown:. It was just a typical Monday: physics, music, english,german (lunch) maths and history. Nothing overly special. I did get to do a dispersion experiment in physics though, which was fun but I was extremely tired throughout the day.
Homework:
I've done all but one homework so far, I have to do a question about Lady Macbeth and I'm really not in the mood for it. Might start it later and finish it in the morning cause I need an early night if I need to function for tomorrow.
Notes:
I have made a few paragraphs of physics notes but that's about it really. Might do more soon.
What am I behind on?

β€’

I should really pay more attention to English, as the controlled assessment is looming, so I need to have a set of notes ready to revise.

β€’

I should also start making History notes

Spoiler

What am I making good progress with?

β€’

Physics: I've almost the whole topic finished and my understanding of it is good so far

β€’

Chemistry: I've got a good few notes made on this too and I think I understand it!!

β€’

German: I know all my vocab

I think I've written enough for tonight, so I'll leave it here. Until tomorrow then! :smile:


Looking good! Keep up the good work, and I'm sure you'll be more productive after a good nights sleep :smile:
27/09/16 - Entry 4

I figured out why I was so tired yesterday: I came down with an awful cold overnight it wasn't nice; so that was my plan to get a good sleep out the window. This morning I woke up tired, groggy, hoarse - just feeling down right rotten. But I decided not to complain and just suck it up and get on with school.
In school today I did another physics experiment involving Total Internal Reflection, which was interesting enough. I also did a biology practical, revising energy content in crisps. This was a godsend as biology is extremely boring!! I was told about two tests today, Maths and Music. Both are for Monday. :frown:
Because of the test, I have also started to make music notes, which were really overdue as I had to go over last year's work to get the information needed!
Over than that, it was a rather uneventful day, so until tomorrow then! :smile:
Original post by NiamhM1801
Looking good! Keep up the good work, and I'm sure you'll be more productive after a good nights sleep :smile:

Thank you very much! As we're still in the first few weeks, productivity doesn't seem to matter as much thankfully! Still, the tryhard inside of me is saying "must get ahead"!!!:h:
Original post by johnatschool
27/09/16 - Entry 4

I figured out why I was so tired yesterday: I came down with an awful cold overnight it wasn't nice; so that was my plan to get a good sleep out the window. This morning I woke up tired, groggy, hoarse - just feeling down right rotten. But I decided not to complain and just suck it up and get on with school.
In school today I did another physics experiment involving Total Internal Reflection, which was interesting enough. I also did a biology practical, revising energy content in crisps. This was a godsend as biology is extremely boring!! I was told about two tests today, Maths and Music. Both are for Monday. :frown:
Because of the test, I have also started to make music notes, which were really overdue as I had to go over last year's work to get the information needed!
Over than that, it was a rather uneventful day, so until tomorrow then! :smile:


Literally snap with the cold :frown: everyone's gradually getting infected it seems. Good luck with your tests :smile:

Original post by johnatschool
Thank you very much! As we're still in the first few weeks, productivity doesn't seem to matter as much thankfully! Still, the tryhard inside of me is saying "must get ahead"!!!:h:


Very true, and yes it is lucky! Snap again, although be careful not to wear yourself out so early on! :h:
Original post by NiamhM1801
Literally snap with the cold :frown: everyone's gradually getting infected it seems. Good luck with your tests :smile:



Very true, and yes it is lucky! Snap again, although be careful not to wear yourself out so early on! :h:

Thank you!! :colondollar:
Thankfully I'm all better now!
Don't worry about me wearing myself out, Doctor Who is solving that problem for me lol!
29/09/16 - Entry 5

I haven't really done much over the past couple of days, just homeworks and a few notes. I've mainly just been watching Doctor Who!!!
I have orchestra this weekend, so that'll be something to look forward to!
That's me for now!
Original post by johnatschool
Thank you!! :colondollar:
Thankfully I'm all better now!
Don't worry about me wearing myself out, Doctor Who is solving that problem for me lol!


Yay glad you're feeling better :biggrin:
Ahh, that's good news then!
Entry 6 - 3/10/16
Didn't really do much over the weekend, orchestra took up most of my time on Saturday and on Sunday my parents decided to takde us to the beach (a bit odd considering it was a cool enough day and in october, but it was fun!)
On Friday I received details of my German partner who I'm staying with when I go to Germany at Halloween. Unfortunately though, I took down the incorrect email address and I got no reply!! I tried again today with what I think was the correct email address, but there is still no reply! Hopefully we get in contact soon enough!
I do have 3 tests tomorrow, but I'm not overly worried about them: Physics is the one I've prepared for the most, its on waves. Maths is matrices and Music , our set works. So yeah, hopefully I do well tomorrow!
That's me for now; Gute Nacht
5/10/16 - Entry 7

I think my tests went well. I know I got an A in music, but that's sort of to be expected! (Modest I know). What really surprised me (an my music classmates) was the exam type questions, we had only ever done 1 or 2 last year so the format came as a shock. Our teacher did say it was a paper where they tried to catch you out more than normal, it was definitely sneaky!
Maths and Physics tests went well I hope! No marks back on them yet, so I'm living in suspense!!
Tomorrow I'm going with my English Lit class to see a production of Macbeth(sorry - the Scottish Play :tongue:) which is great cause we're studying it!! I will miss a few classes, but one teacher isn't there, another class is English itself and the other class is careers which means we'd only be looking at A-Level ideas anyway.
I finally got in touch with my German exchange partner!! She seems pretty cool and I think we'll get on well!
I've started (and almost finished) arranging a piece for quartet! It's Troika from Lieutenant Kije by Prokofiev! So far it's sounding good!!
I'll do a study post tomorrow as I think I've written enough for fis evening. Bis bald!!:smile:
6/10/16 - Entry 8

Today our English class went to see a production of Macbeth. It was really good but some of the audience were really disrespectful!
I have piano this weekend (eek!) but now that my teacher has moved, I have to travel an hour and a half to get there! Still, its worth it she's a really good teacher!
Today I learned that my Duke of Ed. volunteering might not be viable as where I'm volunteering may not be a registered charity! If I'm not allowed to volunteer at the orchestra, I'll help out with the Scouts instead!!
So here's my study post for the week:
Homework:
Homeworks this week have (thankfully) been few and far between; relatively speaking ofcourse! But I actually haven't had as much spare time because I've been oing other things this week!
Notes:
After a lengthy break, I decided to make a start back at notes again yestrday. I made a page of chemistry revision and did a bit of research into Jacobean England for Macbeth. This weekend, I hope to get more English done and make a start on history! The only topics I haven't made notes for so far are History and Biology (though we haven't actually started the biology course yet!)
What am I behind on?
English. Thought I'd get a lot more done this week but I didn't. Ah well! The controlled assessment is coming up in the next few weeks though so I had better get a move on!
My Music teacher wants me to make notes on all our set works pretty sharpish, so need to do that to!
Still need to make History notes!!
What am I making good progress with?
German, Maths and Physics really. No complaints here!! :smile:

That's definitely enough for tonight, see ya!
10/10/2016 - Entry 9

How was your weekend? Mines was fine, piano just took much longer than I thought it would and my grandparents came over for lunch yesterday which was nice. Ofcourse this did mean that while I got my homeworks done, I didn't do any notes. I'm still not that bothered yet, but I do want to some notes.
Whtat I did do this evening (apart from continuing arranging tunes for quartet) was a history timeline, which I think I have laid out well and it satisfies my OCD so I'm happy! There should be a picture of it...
history time photo.jpg
Other than that, my day was average, except I've got 'One Day Like This' by Elbow stuck in my head!
I finally got more information about the German Trip like the price and when we have to submit our passports and all that. This wouldn't be a massive thing except we do leave in just over 2 weeks!! #lastminute
I shall leave you here for the evening. Have a good one!
30/11/16

I didn't think my last update was so long ago!! Gosh!
Over Halloween, I was in Hannover on an exchange trip with added work placement. It was really fantastic and apparently my German has come on a lot! My work placement was in a newspaper office, where they got me to write an article (which I finally finished last week); so obviously my German writing was tested, but the said it was really good!
What happened last month?
In November, I did two English Lit Controlled Assessments, and I am now preparing for my German Speaking, which we should be doing in two weeks time!
Overwise November, for the most part, has been one of those bland and boring months that nothing happens in
A-Level Choices
Last week I made my preliminary A-Level choices. They are:

β€’

German

β€’

English Lit

β€’

History

β€’

Maths


My music teacher was horrified that I had not put down music and my parents (who want me to become a doctor) and my science teachers were appalled that Maths was my only sciencey subject. But these are the subjects I want to do, and my careers teacher seems to support them and is now pushing me to look into law careers (something which I am extremely interested in :tongue:)
One of my choices however, is in doubt: German. This is the A-Level I probably want to do most, but is also the subject that literally no-one else wants to do. My German and careers teachers are now making the case to my principal to let me do it on my own, or at least let me find an alternative way of doing it. I hope they succeed!! If German fails, I'll probably please my music teacher by choosing Music.
Tests
Tracking 3 has spanned all this month. This means a report card home soon. Because of Germany, I missed my physics test and my teacher's been saying: "shall we get that test done soon" and I've just been putting it off, I think I might do it tomorrow! I know I got a horrific maths result this month: 65% (c)!! This was because my maths teacher based it on a homework we did and took our mark from that, Naturally most other people knew that it was for a test, but I didn't; so I did it as I ate my breakfast one morning!! Ah well, I may just have to hide my report card! :colondollar:
Cello-ey stuff
On Friday I have Senior Orchestra concert in town (I miss PE - get in!!), a week after that I have Carol Service with the school orchestra and on the 23rd December, I'm auditioning to the Ulster Youth Orchestra (the best youth orchestra in NI)!!!! Of course the audition is early in the morning and in Belfast, which is 2.5 hours away from my town!!
Revision (sorry, what does this word mean?)
In regards to revision, I have done some Physics, Biology and History; but my nice colourful pens have run out, so I can't do any more until I get some more!!! I'm actually really annoyed!!

Anyway I've definitely written enough for now, Have fun getting ready for the holidays, and I'll probably post later on in the month!!!
wow.really good
Original post by johnatschool
30/11/16

I didn't think my last update was so long ago!! Gosh!
Over Halloween, I was in Hannover on an exchange trip with added work placement. It was really fantastic and apparently my German has come on a lot! My work placement was in a newspaper office, where they got me to write an article (which I finally finished last week); so obviously my German writing was tested, but the said it was really good!
What happened last month?
In November, I did two English Lit Controlled Assessments, and I am now preparing for my German Speaking, which we should be doing in two weeks time!
Overwise November, for the most part, has been one of those bland and boring months that nothing happens in
A-Level Choices
Last week I made my preliminary A-Level choices. They are:

β€’

German

β€’

English Lit

β€’

History

β€’

Maths



My music teacher was horrified that I had not put down music and my parents (who want me to become a doctor) and my science teachers were appalled that Maths was my only sciencey subject. But these are the subjects I want to do, and my careers teacher seems to support them and is now pushing me to look into law careers (something which I am extremely interested in :tongue:)
One of my choices however, is in doubt: German. This is the A-Level I probably want to do most, but is also the subject that literally no-one else wants to do. My German and careers teachers are now making the case to my principal to let me do it on my own, or at least let me find an alternative way of doing it. I hope they succeed!! If German fails, I'll probably please my music teacher by choosing Music.
Tests
Tracking 3 has spanned all this month. This means a report card home soon. Because of Germany, I missed my physics test and my teacher's been saying: "shall we get that test done soon" and I've just been putting it off, I think I might do it tomorrow! I know I got a horrific maths result this month: 65% (c)!! This was because my maths teacher based it on a homework we did and took our mark from that, Naturally most other people knew that it was for a test, but I didn't; so I did it as I ate my breakfast one morning!! Ah well, I may just have to hide my report card! :colondollar:
Cello-ey stuff
On Friday I have Senior Orchestra concert in town (I miss PE - get in!!), a week after that I have Carol Service with the school orchestra and on the 23rd December, I'm auditioning to the Ulster Youth Orchestra (the best youth orchestra in NI)!!!! Of course the audition is early in the morning and in Belfast, which is 2.5 hours away from my town!!
Revision (sorry, what does this word mean?)
In regards to revision, I have done some Physics, Biology and History; but my nice colourful pens have run out, so I can't do any more until I get some more!!! I'm actually really annoyed!!

Anyway I've definitely written enough for now, Have fun getting ready for the holidays, and I'll probably post later on in the month!!!


I've missed your posts!! Glad to see you back :smile:

Those look like fab a level choices for law, and it's always good to have maths as it can take you so far. I was in precisely the same boat for German, but unfortunately my school weren't so kind and as a result I had to go with my reserve - your school seem a lot more likely to let you do it anyway though!

Sounds like you had a great exchange trip, I'd love to do one!

Haha, I relate so much to needing colourful pens to revise - fineliners are my best friends! Better get some more soon!

Anyway, everything so far looks really good, so I think everything will go down very well for you :smile: do you have mocks coming up?

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