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The Journey Itself Is Home: DeepInTheMeadow's path through sixth form :)



:snow: "Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home." :snow:





Come one, come all! I am DeepInTheMeadow and this is my GYG thread for the academic year of 2017-2018, as I begin my journey through sixth form and one day, to university! :rolleyes:

Some of you may know me from my previous GCSE thread, found here if you enjoy reading out-of-date blog posts: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4646044. In that thread, I chronicled my progress from March/April of GCSE time, right up until results day. I loved posting in that thread so much, it kept me motivated and organised and really helped me process my thoughts and emotions, so I've decided to do another one!!! Yay me!:bumps:

This year (starting Thursday 7th September), I will be studying Economics, Spanish, Maths and Further Maths (I'll let you know which exam boards when I find out!) at a separate sixth form college with over 2000 students. I'm moving from my school to this sixth form, which will be a big change but I'm ready for it. I've had some bad experiences at my school and I'm ready to move on and have a new beginning for sixth form! (not to mention, my school is just terrible anyway! 28% pass rate for GCSE Maths anyone?) :facepalm:Anyway, I'm terrified and excited about it at the same time! :excited:

The way it'll work with Further Maths and Maths, is I'll take Maths A level in a year (so in June 2018) and then Further Maths the year after. I would like A or A* for Maths, so I'll see how that goes. In terms of targets for other subjects, I don't want to put too much (negative) pressure on myself, so I'm not going to try and get 4 A*s or anything, but I'd like to get at least all As and some A*s?

I know that taking four A levels is tough as well, and I also don't believe that the education is very accurate in testing knowledge, intelligence and understanding. I want to be an intelligent, well read person, who takes every opportunity to grow, but exam results don't determine that.

I have already taken one A level in Year 10: Russian, in which I achieved an A*.
While I would be happy with you thinking I'm some crazy genius, that is only halfway true? :eyebrow:(that sounds super arrogant, sorry!) since I became fluent in Russian having spent the first twelve years of my life abroad in an ex-soviet country. My parents are both English, but inside I feel like I'm a multicultural mix (look up TCKs if you're interested!), and wouldn't really say that I understand/relate to British culture. Luckily, the city I live in is really international, so I feel right at home :u:

GCSE results: three 9s :adore:(Maths/English Language/Literature), six A*s (Spanish, Geography, R.S, Chem/Bio/Physics) and one A in P.E (before you say it, I'm really proud of the A! P.E was very difficult practically, and so I'm over the moon with that mark!) These results were a real shock, I did work hard for them but was mega stressed and completely surprised to do so well. Funny story: I opened my envelope very carefully and slowly, only the first mark I saw on the page was D. I freaked out and tore the envelope open, only to find out that it was my distinction mark for the English spoken assessment!:clap2:Basically, I'm an idiot :laugh:

Just a quick note: I talk a lot so it's reasonable to assume that my blog posts will be looooong, so sorry about that!! You really don't have to read til the end each time, I'll try and add some pictures and cool colours to keep it looking nice. :cool:

In terms of tagging people, I don't know much about how to do it, but I've tagged in a few people. I don't quite know how it works with tagging people in every post, but let me know if you'd like that and I'll just copy/paste the usernames or something. So yeah, also let me know if I'd tagged you and you would rather not be tagged in the future! (I promise I'll only cry for a bit!)

Tagging (not sure if I'm doing this right!): @CoffeeGeek , @CoffeeAndPolitics , @_gcx , @urgurlbecca , @Sonechka , @Lemur14 , @Batgirl98

Personal bit (you have been warned!)

Spoiler



Hobbies/extracurricular:

Spoiler

(edited 6 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

I'll be watching this one too! Three 9s! :eek: That's amazing! Good luck for A-Levels! :h:
Original post by DeepInTheMeadow




:snow: "Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home." :snow:






Come one, come all! I am DeepInTheMeadow and this is my GYG thread for the academic year of 2017-2018, as I begin my journey through sixth form and one day, to university! :rolleyes:

Some of you may know me from my previous GCSE thread, found here if you enjoy reading out-of-date blog posts: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4646044. In that thread, I chronicled my progress from March/April of GCSE time, right up until results day. I loved posting in that thread so much, it kept me motivated and organised and really helped me process my thoughts and emotions, so I've decided to do another one!!! Yay me!:bumps:

This year (starting Thursday 7th September), I will be studying Economics, Spanish, Maths and Further Maths (I'll let you know which exam boards when I find out!) at a separate sixth form college with over 2000 students. I'm moving from my school to this sixth form, which will be a big change but I'm ready for it. I've had some bad experiences at my school and I'm ready to move on and have a new beginning for sixth form! (not to mention, my school is just terrible anyway! 28% pass rate for GCSE Maths anyone?) :facepalm:Anyway, I'm terrified and excited about it at the same time! :excited:

The way it'll work with Further Maths and Maths, is I'll take Maths A level in a year (so in June 2018) and then Further Maths the year after. I would like A or A* for Maths, so I'll see how that goes. In terms of targets for other subjects, I don't want to put too much (negative) pressure on myself, so I'm not going to try and get 4 A*s or anything, but I'd like to get at least all As and some A*s?

I know that taking four A levels is tough as well, and I also don't believe that the education is very accurate in testing knowledge, intelligence and understanding. I want to be an intelligent, well read person, who takes every opportunity to grow, but exam results don't determine that.

I have already taken one A level in Year 10: Russian, in which I achieved an A*.
While I would be happy with you thinking I'm some crazy genius, that is only halfway true? :eyebrow:(that sounds super arrogant, sorry!) since I became fluent in Russian having spent the first twelve years of my life abroad in an ex-soviet country. My parents are both English, but inside I feel like I'm a multicultural mix (look up TCKs if you're interested!), and wouldn't really say that I understand/relate to British culture. Luckily, the city I live in is really international, so I feel right at home :u:

GCSE results: three 9s :adore:(Maths/English Language/Literature), six A*s (Spanish, Geography, R.S, Chem/Bio/Physics) and one A in P.E (before you say it, I'm really proud of the A! P.E was very difficult practically, and so I'm over the moon with that mark!) These results were a real shock, I did work hard for them but was mega stressed and completely surprised to do so well. Funny story: I opened my envelope very carefully and slowly, only the first mark I saw on the page was D. I freaked out and tore the envelope open, only to find out that it was my distinction mark for the English spoken assessment!:clap2:Basically, I'm an idiot :laugh:

Just a quick note: I talk a lot so it's reasonable to assume that my blog posts will be looooong, so sorry about that!! You really don't have to read til the end each time, I'll try and add some pictures and cool colours to keep it looking nice. :cool:

In terms of tagging people, I don't know much about how to do it, but I've tagged in a few people. I don't quite know how it works with tagging people in every post, but let me know if you'd like that and I'll just copy/paste the usernames or something. So yeah, also let me know if I'd tagged you and you would rather not be tagged in the future! (I promise I'll only cry for a bit!)

Tagging (not sure if I'm doing this right!): @CoffeeGeek , @CoffeeAndPolitics , @_gcx , @urgurlbecca , @Sonechka , @Lemur14 , @Batgirl98

Personal bit (you have been warned!)

Spoiler



Hobbies/extracurricular:

Spoiler




Hey, this is super cool! I love long posts btw so this is good! Keep me tagged xx
Reply 3
Great GCSE results, hopefully you overcome your disorder this year! Good luck with year 12, could you tag me please? :h:
If those GCSEs are anything to go by, you're absolutely going to smash sixth form! Best of luck, I look forward to following your journey :h:

Addendum: I can also totally relate to you on the culture front; I consider myself acultural and generally identify as "European."
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by Sonechka
If those GCSEs are anything to go by, you're absolutely going to smash sixth form! Best of luck, I look forward to following your journey :h:

Addendum: I can also totally relate to you on the culture front; I consider myself acultural and generally identify as "European."



Aw thank you :smile: Remind me again what your story is? Where is your family from and where did you grow up?
I really love it when people understand my need to be 'not English'. Especially at my school, there's a lot of racial bullying/racism towards white people, and I'm like: "You don't understand, inside I'm from Central Asia!!!" :laugh:
Hello! This is really interesting (I also took a Russian GCSE in Y10 too- I am a half-Russian, native speaker who lived in Russia [Якутск] for a lot of my childhood.), and we are both doing Maths and FM! I am really anticipating the journey here!

I am also doing a similar thread, I'd appreciate if you'd check it out!
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4903420
Original post by AryanGh
Hello! This is really interesting (I also took a Russian GCSE in Y10 too- I am a half-Russian, native speaker who lived in Russia [Якутск] for a lot of my childhood.), and we are both doing Maths and FM! I am really anticipating the journey here!

I am also doing a similar thread, I'd appreciate if you'd check it out!
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4903420


Ooh yes, I remember seeing your thread! Please tag me in any future posts :smile: Are you looking forward to FM? And is the way you'll study it similar to how I will, or will you take exams for both at the same time? I must say, I've forgotten soooo much of my Russian, especially grammar!
Original post by CoffeeGeek
I'll be watching this one too! Three 9s! :eek: That's amazing! Good luck for A-Levels! :h:


Thanks :smile: I just realised that I tagged you even though I don't know you that well, I think I confused you with @CoffeeAndPolitics! Still I love your thread!

Original post by Batgirl98
Hey, this is super cool! I love long posts btw so this is good! Keep me tagged xx

Haha thanks! You'll kind of have to love long posts when you read mine :colondollar:

Original post by Tormund
Great GCSE results, hopefully you overcome your disorder this year! Good luck with year 12, could you tag me please? :h:


Will definitely tag you! (if I can figure out how!) Thanks very much :u: I hope so too, I'm going to try as hard as I can, but I know I can't always control these things.
Original post by DeepInTheMeadow
Ooh yes, I remember seeing your thread! Please tag me in any future posts :smile: Are you looking forward to FM? And is the way you'll study it similar to how I will, or will you take exams for both at the same time? I must say, I've forgotten soooo much of my Russian, especially grammar!


Further Maths?

not really lol

It's gonna be hard work but at least it's not English.

I believe what our school is doing is taking both exams at the same time.

Я живу между обеими странами :h:

If I may ask, which ex-CCCP country was it? I've visited almost all of them and the cultures are fascinating!
Wow your GCSEs are amazing! Good luck for year 12! Interesting choice of A levels there, I share maths and further maths with you though :smile:
Original post by DeepInTheMeadow
Aw thank you :smile: Remind me again what your story is? Where is your family from and where did you grow up?
I really love it when people understand my need to be 'not English'. Especially at my school, there's a lot of racial bullying/racism towards white people, and I'm like: "You don't understand, inside I'm from Central Asia!!!" :laugh:


I relate sooo much omg!

I don't really want to say because to be honest, I'm kind of ashamed of it :/ like, I don't judge other people who are from there, but I just want to disassociate myself from that country/those countries (political disputes) since I find a lot of the stuff that goes on there and the culture pretty banal. European ideals, values, culture etc. represent me and what I stand for better than anything else, especially because all the languages I speak are European (Russian is transcontinental I guess :P).

Oh, that's awful :/ do you think the racism contributed to your need to identify differently? I don't relate to "English" culture as much as to European culture and the sort of English nativism which inspired Brexit for some people irks me, but I'm at least glad that my parents' families came here and left where they came from and I appreciate that Britain gave them the opportunity to make something of themselves. I'm so interested in Central Asia! One day, when my Russian is better, I'll live there for a bit. I was considering maybe spending my year abroad in Kazakhstan if I do Russian at uni.
Yesssssssssss good luck b MAY YOUR SUCCESS REPEAT ITSELF THIS YEAR
Original post by AryanGh
Further Maths?

not really lol

It's gonna be hard work but at least it's not English.

I believe what our school is doing is taking both exams at the same time.

Я живу между обеими странами :h:

If I may ask, which ex-CCCP country was it? I've visited almost all of them and the cultures are fascinating!


I lived in Azerbaijan, not sure if you've visited it or not? It's not a particularly amazing country, but it's home :h:
And that is basically my philosophy with Maths!! As long as it's not essays and over-analysing....I'll be fine!

Original post by Lemur14
Wow your GCSEs are amazing! Good luck for year 12! Interesting choice of A levels there, I share maths and further maths with you though :smile:


Thanks! Looks like it'll be interesting to see how we get on! Keep me updated :wink:

Original post by Sonechka
I relate sooo much omg!

I don't really want to say because to be honest, I'm kind of ashamed of it :/ like, I don't judge other people who are from there, but I just want to disassociate myself from that country/those countries (political disputes) since I find a lot of the stuff that goes on there and the culture pretty banal. European ideals, values, culture etc. represent me and what I stand for better than anything else, especially because all the languages I speak are European (Russian is transcontinental I guess :P).

Oh, that's awful :/ do you think the racism contributed to your need to identify differently? I don't relate to "English" culture as much as to European culture and the sort of English nativism which inspired Brexit for some people irks me, but I'm at least glad that my parents' families came here and left where they came from and I appreciate that Britain gave them the opportunity to make something of themselves. I'm so interested in Central Asia! One day, when my Russian is better, I'll live there for a bit. I was considering maybe spending my year abroad in Kazakhstan if I do Russian at uni.


Ah yes! It's so good when I find people who understand. Have you heard of the term TCK? If not, I would suggest you look it up, there's some very interesting research on 'having an international mind and heart'.
You know what? I'd never thought of it that way before. It is quite possible that racism contributed; although I was always very un-English!

Original post by urgurlbecca
Yesssssssssss good luck b MAY YOUR SUCCESS REPEAT ITSELF THIS YEAR


Thank you!!!!!!! You tooooo! :u:




"The past is behind,
learn from it.
The future is ahead,
prepare for it.
The present is here,
Live it."




September 4th: Soon to come...
Well, it's Monday and since tomorrow I'll be 'inducted' and then I start on Thursday, everything seems to be rolling around quite fast. However, what is the best way to cope with the stress and worry about starting sixth form?

Stationary shopping! (obviously!!)

If I'm being honest, I didn't go shopping today, but today I just had a quick run-through all my stationary and supplies which is soooo satisfying and exciting!:woohoo:

Attachment not found


So what you see (or should see when I manage to upload the photo!) are my fancy new subject specific folders for Spanish, Economics and Maths. Not in the picture, is my 'day folder' which I will take with me to college each day. After I've finished a chapter, or at the end of each week, I'll transfer my notes over into the subject specific lever-arch folders.
Exhibit B: Cool highlighters. They're not the neon type, because those don't look nice in my notes, but they're not the pastel ones (which I was hoping to get!) because those are way too expensive for me (this is when I hate being on Free School Meals).
Exhibit C: Plastic folder dividers. I find these are much better to use than the paper ones, because they don't rip as easily.
Other stuff: black pens (I think these are the ones that seem to make my handwriting look halfway decent), rubbers (ran out of them/lost them) and some Blu Tack!

I love stationary so much!:woo:Hopefully this will keep me all happy and motivated this year :biggrin:


Tomorrow, I will go into college at around 11 am and will wander round the Fresher's Fair they have (a mock version of the real thing, I guess!) and then complete 'Induction Tasks', which I'm guessing will be the BKSB assessment and setting up an email and stuff. I'm hoping that once I've set up an email, they'll send me my timetable and I can figure out when I can volunteer etc. So I'll probably update you guys tomorrow about that.


Work I've been given (to be completed by Thursday 7th):

Maths/Further Maths: Worksheet on graphs, surds and quadratic equations (not completed)
Spanish: Worksheet on Spanish vocab about daily routine (done!)
Economics: Questions on what we think are the most important economic issues facing England today, and what we think we will be studying in Economics (done!)


Whoops, forgot to tag people: CoffeeGeek , CoffeeAndPolitics , _gcx , urgurlbecca , Sonechka , Lemur14 , Batgirl98, @Tormund , @zq01, @larkspurs
(edited 6 years ago)
Damnnnn girl those GCSEs!!! There's no doubt you're gonna smash your a levels and your disorder🙌🏾🙌🏾 I'm also doing Maths and Further Maths and I was going to do Economics but I changed last minute to Chemistry (sigh). Anyways good luck (tag me pls I wanna keep up with this😅)
Original post by zq01
Damnnnn girl those GCSEs!!! There's no doubt you're gonna smash your a levels and your disorder🙌🏾🙌🏾 I'm also doing Maths and Further Maths and I was going to do Economics but I changed last minute to Chemistry (sigh). Anyways good luck (tag me pls I wanna keep up with this😅)

You have been tagged! :tongue: Ooh, that looks interesting. Make sure you're sure about choosing Chemistry, you can still switch at this stage. Obviously take it if you enjoy it though! :smile: I was originally going to choose Chemistry so it's funny how that switched!
Original post by DeepInTheMeadow
You have been tagged! :tongue: Ooh, that looks interesting. Make sure you're sure about choosing Chemistry, you can still switch at this stage. Obviously take it if you enjoy it though! :smile: I was originally going to choose Chemistry so it's funny how that switched!


Good luck both of you! Will you tag me? :smile:
September 5th: Being 'inducted'
Well, today was my last day of enrolment/induction, meaning the next time I go into college will be for the first lesson! :hide: I was given a sheet last time telling me to come in:
Attachment not found

I ended up being a bit late to the Fresher's Fair because I missed my bus:facepalm:but in the end, the fair barely had any stalls so there was no need to get there so early. After a nerve-wracking half hour wondering why everyone else had so many friends with them, I found one of mine, and we wandered around the college until it was time for induction.
Attachment not found

This is a view of the college, the only picture I managed to take, sorry! It was quite a grey day as you can see!

Induction was alright: had a talk from the Principal and the Deputy, had to set up my emails which did not work (grrr!) and complete the BKSB Numeracy Assessment (anyone who's done that wretched thing, you know my pain:curious:!)

I'm exhausted right now because I only got back at 5 pm from the Induction and forgot to take food with me :redface:, so I'm feeling really hungry and a bit faint.

My email is now working, just not on my phone for some reason, so I should receive an email with my timetable attached tomorrow. If I don't receive it, I can pic it up on Thursday from Receptions. Only problem is, I have to come at 9 to pick it up and for all I know, I have a lesson at 11 or 12! So I'll show you guys my timetable either tomorrow on Thursday afternoon.

I also picked up my squared refill pad from Wilko, I've been waiting because they had none in store so I had to order it delivered there. This means I can now get on with my Further Maths homework: a worksheet on factorisation, completing the square, surds etc. I feel like I've forgotten every piece of Maths I used to know, so I might also do some extra questions on that (tomorrow!) This evening, the plan is to clean out some more of my room and schoolbag.

Talk to you guys later!





Tagged: CoffeeGeek , CoffeeAndPolitics , _gcx , urgurlbecca , Sonechka , Lemur14 , Batgirl98, Tormund , zq01, larkspurs
Original post by DeepInTheMeadow
September 5th: Being 'inducted'
Well, today was my last day of enrolment/induction, meaning the next time I go into college will be for the first lesson! :hide: I was given a sheet last time telling me to come in:
Attachment not found

I ended up being a bit late to the Fresher's Fair because I missed my bus:facepalm:but in the end, the fair barely had any stalls so there was no need to get there so early. After a nerve-wracking half hour wondering why everyone else had so many friends with them, I found one of mine, and we wandered around the college until it was time for induction.
Attachment not found

This is a view of the college, the only picture I managed to take, sorry! It was quite a grey day as you can see!

Induction was alright: had a talk from the Principal and the Deputy, had to set up my emails which did not work (grrr!) and complete the BKSB Numeracy Assessment (anyone who's done that wretched thing, you know my pain:curious:!)

I'm exhausted right now because I only got back at 5 pm from the Induction and forgot to take food with me :redface:, so I'm feeling really hungry and a bit faint.

My email is now working, just not on my phone for some reason, so I should receive an email with my timetable attached tomorrow. If I don't receive it, I can pic it up on Thursday from Receptions. Only problem is, I have to come at 9 to pick it up and for all I know, I have a lesson at 11 or 12! So I'll show you guys my timetable either tomorrow on Thursday afternoon.

I also picked up my squared refill pad from Wilko, I've been waiting because they had none in store so I had to order it delivered there. This means I can now get on with my Further Maths homework: a worksheet on factorisation, completing the square, surds etc. I feel like I've forgotten every piece of Maths I used to know, so I might also do some extra questions on that (tomorrow!) This evening, the plan is to clean out some more of my room and schoolbag.

Talk to you guys later!





Tagged: CoffeeGeek , CoffeeAndPolitics , _gcx , urgurlbecca , Sonechka , Lemur14 , Batgirl98, Tormund , zq01, larkspurs


That's a nice looking college, I'm quite jealous tbh.:shock: Hopefully you can get your email working on your phone in time :smile: I've forgotten everything in maths too, not looking forward to seeing how much I've forgotten on Thursday :/

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