No Stress Through A-Levels?
Bethany's GYG 2018-2019
Hi! My name's Bethany and I've just started Year 12 at an all-girls grammar school, which I've been attending for five years.
I'm studying A-Level:
As a bit of background info, here are my GCSE grades:
Biology: 9
Chemistry: 9
Physics: 9
Mathematics: 9
English Literature: 9
English Language: 7
Latin: 9
History: A*
Business Studies: A*
Religious Studies: A*
+ Additional Maths FSMQ: A (equivalent to an AS module)
I'm planning to study Medicine at a Russell Group university and have started researching universities this summer. Oxford is my dream uni, although I'd be really happy with many others e.g. I love the look of Birmingham so far.
I hope this GYG will help me to stay motivated and also it's just kinda fun. I hope you will maybe chat and ask questions as well.
So far, I've been back at school for three days. Here's a summary of the lessons, etc.:
Overall, I'm enjoying being in sixth form so far, although I suspect that might change in a couple of weeks. It's nice having the separate sixth form block, which gives everything a different feel, more like college. Also we can now use phones, dress in our own clothes, and have frees, which are small things but help make it feel more independent. I also like making new friends as a lot of people have joined this year.
Now I'm going to do all my homework which is already piling up and complete general back-to-school things e.g. downloading study music for free periods, applying to be a student ambassador, packing my sports bag (yes we still have to do P.E
).
Well done if you read all of that. I hope it wasn't too boring. Hopefully it will be more interesting when I'm posting on a daily basis.
A few facts about me:
Please ask me questions
Hi! My name's Bethany and I've just started Year 12 at an all-girls grammar school, which I've been attending for five years.
I'm studying A-Level:
•
Biology
•
Chemistry
•
Mathematics
•
Further Mathematics
As a bit of background info, here are my GCSE grades:
Biology: 9
Chemistry: 9
Physics: 9
Mathematics: 9
English Literature: 9
English Language: 7
Latin: 9
History: A*
Business Studies: A*
Religious Studies: A*
+ Additional Maths FSMQ: A (equivalent to an AS module)
I'm planning to study Medicine at a Russell Group university and have started researching universities this summer. Oxford is my dream uni, although I'd be really happy with many others e.g. I love the look of Birmingham so far.
I hope this GYG will help me to stay motivated and also it's just kinda fun. I hope you will maybe chat and ask questions as well.
So far, I've been back at school for three days. Here's a summary of the lessons, etc.:
Spoiler
Overall, I'm enjoying being in sixth form so far, although I suspect that might change in a couple of weeks. It's nice having the separate sixth form block, which gives everything a different feel, more like college. Also we can now use phones, dress in our own clothes, and have frees, which are small things but help make it feel more independent. I also like making new friends as a lot of people have joined this year.
Now I'm going to do all my homework which is already piling up and complete general back-to-school things e.g. downloading study music for free periods, applying to be a student ambassador, packing my sports bag (yes we still have to do P.E
).Well done if you read all of that. I hope it wasn't too boring. Hopefully it will be more interesting when I'm posting on a daily basis.
A few facts about me:
•
I'm very nerdy and actually enjoy learning... most of the time
•
I'm a very stressy person and my goal for this year is to manage my stress levels better
•
I am a vegetarian, mostly vegan both for ethical and health reasons
•
I have struggled a lot with mental health issues but am now in recovery and recieving counselling
•
I was brought up as a Roman Catholic Christian, however am currently questioning. If I do believe in God, I am more of a 'faith, love, the Source' sort of person rather than organised religion.
•
I love reading plus fandoms, fanfiction, etc. and writing - I'm currently writing a novel which I hope to eventually publish
•
I have Irish heritage and am very proud of it
Please ask me questions
So the last few days have been interesting. On Tuesday night I had my first 'stress' moment of Sixth Form. I had some Further Maths homework and after around three hours on it, I couldn't answer a single question which, for me as someone who's always found maths naturally easy and almost obvious, was difficult to accept. I had a mild panic and was planning to drop further maths, change my career plans and overall felt like I wasn't clever enough to do Further Maths, or four a levels at all. Thankfully, I found a textbook different to my own which was more useful and explained the methods clearly so I was able to answer most of the questions and then my mum was able to help me with the rest so I did get them all finished in time (so close as I was writing out the last answer ten minutes before the lesson on Wednesday!) It was okay in the end though because most people (if anyone else) hadn't been able to do all of them. However I told my teacher I'd struggled at first so hopefully she can help me with that.
Moral of that story: don't panic if you can't do something at first. Try again, use different methods, read around different textbooks and websites. Then if you're still stuck, ask someone in your class or email/visit your teacher. You don't have to understand everything the first time around.
On Wednesday I also had my first P.E. lesson of the year - yes, we still do P.E. in Year 12 sadly. We got to choose our classes based on what sports we prefer. I chose the aesthetic group (dance, gym, yoga, etc.) although I'm not at all sporty and I had a back injury a while back during trampolining so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to take part. Then after all the admin we just played Just Dance for a while.
Today was pretty relaxing. I had Maths and Chemistry first and then two hours of study periods, which was nice after a hectic start to the week (four lessons on each day). Although in period 3, I had signed up to help with the Year 6s who were coming in to sit their 11+ exams (if their school doesn't offer it). However when I arrived at the hall, they had started early and I didn't want to walk into the hall and interrupt their exam so had to just leave (I checked the exam office but it was empty). I feel bad about that since I'd signed up to help but I wasn't sure what to do... Then last period I had Biology, in which we watched a disection of lungs, which was an interesting change to the routine. We are currently studying the respiratory system and exchange systems, which is only a bit more detailed than GCSE but interesting.
I have so much homework it's unbelievable. I've heard for years about the 'sixth form workload' but I thought it was in terms of revision and learning; I didn't realise just how much homework we would get. I'm so behind right now, but I'm going to work really hard tonight and this weekend and get up to date with all my notes, homework, revision, etc. so I can start afresh next week. Speaking of next week, we have tests in each subject on GCSE material, our summer work, and what we've learnt this week, so I have to revise for that as well.
This lunchtime I attended a talk about Applying to Oxbridge, which I hoped would be useful regarding applications, work experience, etc., but honestly it wasn't very useful. They were saying a lot of the things you'd find out if you researched briefly, which was kind of annoying. This might be a controversial opinion so feel free to debate with me, but it kind of annoys me how schools give us all this basic information about university... because in order to deserve to go to uni, you should have put the effort in, and if you can't be bothered to research the basics then why would you put the effort in during your course? I don't know if that makes sense and maybe I'm being mean but... does anyone else have an opinion on this?
In maths, I got 221/240.
In biology, I got 177/200.
In chemistry, I got 186/200.
In physics, I got 180/200.
Moral of that story: don't panic if you can't do something at first. Try again, use different methods, read around different textbooks and websites. Then if you're still stuck, ask someone in your class or email/visit your teacher. You don't have to understand everything the first time around.
On Wednesday I also had my first P.E. lesson of the year - yes, we still do P.E. in Year 12 sadly. We got to choose our classes based on what sports we prefer. I chose the aesthetic group (dance, gym, yoga, etc.) although I'm not at all sporty and I had a back injury a while back during trampolining so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to take part. Then after all the admin we just played Just Dance for a while.
Today was pretty relaxing. I had Maths and Chemistry first and then two hours of study periods, which was nice after a hectic start to the week (four lessons on each day). Although in period 3, I had signed up to help with the Year 6s who were coming in to sit their 11+ exams (if their school doesn't offer it). However when I arrived at the hall, they had started early and I didn't want to walk into the hall and interrupt their exam so had to just leave (I checked the exam office but it was empty). I feel bad about that since I'd signed up to help but I wasn't sure what to do... Then last period I had Biology, in which we watched a disection of lungs, which was an interesting change to the routine. We are currently studying the respiratory system and exchange systems, which is only a bit more detailed than GCSE but interesting.
I have so much homework it's unbelievable. I've heard for years about the 'sixth form workload' but I thought it was in terms of revision and learning; I didn't realise just how much homework we would get. I'm so behind right now, but I'm going to work really hard tonight and this weekend and get up to date with all my notes, homework, revision, etc. so I can start afresh next week. Speaking of next week, we have tests in each subject on GCSE material, our summer work, and what we've learnt this week, so I have to revise for that as well.
This lunchtime I attended a talk about Applying to Oxbridge, which I hoped would be useful regarding applications, work experience, etc., but honestly it wasn't very useful. They were saying a lot of the things you'd find out if you researched briefly, which was kind of annoying. This might be a controversial opinion so feel free to debate with me, but it kind of annoys me how schools give us all this basic information about university... because in order to deserve to go to uni, you should have put the effort in, and if you can't be bothered to research the basics then why would you put the effort in during your course? I don't know if that makes sense and maybe I'm being mean but... does anyone else have an opinion on this?
Original post by Tolgarda
Hey! Nice GYG thread! What were your raw marks in mathematics and the natural sciences?
In maths, I got 221/240.
In biology, I got 177/200.
In chemistry, I got 186/200.
In physics, I got 180/200.
Original post by bfm.mcdermott
So the last few days have been interesting. On Tuesday night I had my first 'stress' moment of Sixth Form. I had some Further Maths homework and after around three hours on it, I couldn't answer a single question which, for me as someone who's always found maths naturally easy and almost obvious, was difficult to accept. I had a mild panic and was planning to drop further maths, change my career plans and overall felt like I wasn't clever enough to do Further Maths, or four a levels at all. Thankfully, I found a textbook different to my own which was more useful and explained the methods clearly so I was able to answer most of the questions and then my mum was able to help me with the rest so I did get them all finished in time (so close as I was writing out the last answer ten minutes before the lesson on Wednesday!) It was okay in the end though because most people (if anyone else) hadn't been able to do all of them. However I told my teacher I'd struggled at first so hopefully she can help me with that.
Moral of that story: don't panic if you can't do something at first. Try again, use different methods, read around different textbooks and websites. Then if you're still stuck, ask someone in your class or email/visit your teacher. You don't have to understand everything the first time around.
Moral of that story: don't panic if you can't do something at first. Try again, use different methods, read around different textbooks and websites. Then if you're still stuck, ask someone in your class or email/visit your teacher. You don't have to understand everything the first time around.
I had a similar feeling for chemistry recently. Trying to fluently memorise the details of the Time of Flight mass spectrometer seemed more mentally taxing than I initially thought. I'm still shaky on it, but should secure my foundations while finishing off a homework sheet that covers it rather thoroughly. I really love chemistry, so I'm not going let a few early hurdles take the wind out of my sails too quickly - I feel that giving up so easily without a fight isn't a worthy testament to the effort I exerted for the subject at GCSE. Your attitude towards Further Maths is pretty relatable here.
Original post by bfm.mcdermott
On Wednesday I also had my first P.E. lesson of the year - yes, we still do P.E. in Year 12 sadly. We got to choose our classes based on what sports we prefer. I chose the aesthetic group (dance, gym, yoga, etc.) although I'm not at all sporty and I had a back injury a while back during trampolining so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to take part. Then after all the admin we just played Just Dance for a while.
Our school still runs physical education for some students, but it is optional and is usually in lieu of something else called enrichment, which regards extracurriculars and giving back to the community so your UCAS personal statement doesn't look too bare.
Original post by bfm.mcdermott
I have so much homework it's unbelievable. I've heard for years about the 'sixth form workload' but I thought it was in terms of revision and learning; I didn't realise just how much homework we would get. I'm so behind right now, but I'm going to work really hard tonight and this weekend and get up to date with all my notes, homework, revision, etc. so I can start afresh next week. Speaking of next week, we have tests in each subject on GCSE material, our summer work, and what we've learnt this week, so I have to revise for that as well.
Likewise. Although I doubt it's the workload that's slaughtering me, but my indolence, so I definitely have to try and make amends for that. I have a ridiculous amount of independent reading to do for English literature. Your slew of baseline assessments next week sounds petrifying from my perspective. I assume you attend a private school? I have a baseline in English language (the contents of which have not explicitly been stated thus far), which should be interesting.
Original post by bfm.mcdermott
This lunchtime I attended a talk about Applying to Oxbridge, which I hoped would be useful regarding applications, work experience, etc., but honestly it wasn't very useful. They were saying a lot of the things you'd find out if you researched briefly, which was kind of annoying. This might be a controversial opinion so feel free to debate with me, but it kind of annoys me how schools give us all this basic information about university... because in order to deserve to go to uni, you should have put the effort in, and if you can't be bothered to research the basics then why would you put the effort in during your course? I don't know if that makes sense and maybe I'm being mean but... does anyone else have an opinion on this?
I share a similar view honestly. My school seems to honestly think that these essential pointers in some perfunctory speeches littered with banal, threadbare clichés regarding your UCAS application actually help us. Anybody with an iota of common sense would realise that having a good work ethic and good academic attainment will assist you, or that extracurricular activities decorating your personal statement make you a 'stronger candidate.' I say that in inverted commas because after doing my research, I've found out that at leading universities, that is bullisht (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/7965715/Universities-uninterested-in-pupils-extra-curricular-activities.html). - My school make themselves look so average by being besotted with extracurriculars so much (albeit it is a state school, but still...). I never hear these 'experienced teachers' mention super curricular activities, even though they're the best things to annex to your personal statement to make you a formidable applicant. Our school so rarely gets Oxbridge offers that we wouldn't really put something like that on offer. However, I have lost faith in my school on accurately informing me about varsity. I have decided that the onus is wholly on me to forge a reasonable application at this point. I've warned a few of my classmates as well.
Original post by bfm.mcdermott
In maths, I got 221/240.
In biology, I got 177/200.
In chemistry, I got 186/200.
In physics, I got 180/200.
In biology, I got 177/200.
In chemistry, I got 186/200.
In physics, I got 180/200.
Impressive. You definitely seem fit for your A-level choices.
I really think this deserves more people following it! Also, you should definitely give me a taster of your novella!
(edited 5 years ago)
Dia duit! ('Hello' in Irish Gaelic )
This week has been better and worse in different ways. In terms of homework and struggling with the content, things have got a lot better. I'm managed to balance my time better and get back into the school-mode so I'm not behind on homework and notes. I still have a few notes to write but I'm on track so far! Also the content has seemed easier and I'm starting to get used to applying maths knowledge in different ways, so I feel a lot more confident with that.
On the other hand, this week has been much more difficult for my mental health. As I mentioned, I have suffered with mental health issues for around 5-6 years and originally I was not intending to discuss this on this blog much but I feel like it's relevant as it will probably effect my Sixth Form experience quite a lot (not to mention it might help others who struggle with the same things). As far as triggering goes, I will include spoiler sections for any discussion regarding mental health, although I won't be sharing any specific details so it should be trigger-free.
Some good news for this week though is that I've been successful in my application to be a Student Ambassador. They help out on the reception desks during free periods and answer phones, deal with any visitor's enquiries (e.g. deliveries, parents, professional visitors), electronically opening school gates, sorting mail, etc. I was one last year but that was just one lunchtime a fortnight, whereas this should be much more, but it was really fun before so I can't wait to get my rota
I've also applied to be Deputy House Captain, which will include helping the House Captain with assemblies, events, charities, competitions, house councils, noticeboards, etc. Although I admit I'm not sure how much I want to get this role anymore (my social anxiety is kicking in and assemblies terrify me). I originally wasn't going to apply because I'm too shy and socially anxious but I decided I couldn't turn down everything because of my confidence.
Finally, I applied to help tutor a Latin Year 8 transfer student in their classes once a fortnight, although they haven't got back to me so I'm assuming I haven't got it?? I guess we'll have to wait and see. As you might have noticed, this year's goals is all about pushing myself out of my comfort zone, so let's hope it all pays off.
In terms of lessons, this week has gone pretty well. I had a test in Biology, Chemistry and Maths (just baselines to make sure I'm up to date with GCSE knowledge). In Maths, I got 52/52 which I'm really happy with - it's a really nice start to the year! In Biology, I got 42 but the teacher wasn't sure what it was out of - we think it might have been 53 marks in total. I am slightly disappointed with this, but a lot of the marks I lost were from missing technical terms, etc., rather than lack of understanding, so hopefully as long as I work on including the right phrases, I should do better. I'm still waiting to get Chemistry back. We've got another set of tests coming up soon which will assess what we've learnt so far this year. I really want to revise hard for these so I do well since it's the first real A-Level assessment we've done.
I'm really enjoying Chemistry and Further Maths so far because we're learning new and interesting content. Biology and Maths aren't very exciting at the moment because we're learning what feels like GCSE topics, but that should improve soon. For Maths especially, it is quite dull because I took Additional Mathematics FSMQ last year (roughly equivalent to one AS-level module), so going all the way back to GCSE is really simplifying the maths I've been doing for over a year - but it will get better! Soon I'm sure I'll be wishing it was easy again!
Tomorrow (Tuesday 25th September for the record) I have a PSHEE day on relationships, CASE and UCAS. I admit the topics we go over aren't exactly stimulating but I would appreciate a break from so many lessons - even though I know lessons would be a better use of time. The CASE project is something run by our school similar to the CAS. It stands for creativity, action, service and employability, and we have to do different activities in each section plus a group project covering two sections and then present our research and reflection in a scrapbook. I don't see much point to it because it's just for our school and not recognised by universities, but I am having fun doing the activities and I like this style of project so I don't really mind.
Anyway, I'd better go and complete my home-learning. From today, I have:
So it's quite manageable (3 things are admin anyway) and I should have lots of time for note writing and revising Chemistry for Thursday and Biology for Monday. It'll be even better because I have no lessons tomorrow so I won't get homework from then. So far, I'm feeling relaxed and on track in terms of homework.
Also, I forgot to mention it, but I've joined my school choir! We practise every Thursday lunchtime and afterschool for an hour and our first performance is on Sunday 14th October so not long. It is really fun though and I love the songs we're singing for the first service.
Thanks for reading and have a nice week. What are you studying?
We haven't done that topic yet; which exam board are you on? That's a really good attitude! A-Levels are understandably going to be more challenging but with perseverance, we will get the hang of them!
Which enrichments do your school offer? That sounds like a really good idea. We have 'enrichments' but they're quite hefty workloads as an extra e.g. EPQ, Young Enterprise, Further Maths AS, etc. Although we only have to do one if we aren't doing 4 A-Levels so I've decided I'm just going to focus on extra-curriculars outside of school.
I relate - I think I could be more productive if I didn't procrastinate, but I'm honestly still struggling to get back into the school routine. I'm getting there though! My work ethic is slowly building back up. Yes, some of my friends are studying English Lit and it does look very content-heavy, at least at the beginning. Which texts are you studying? Good luck with your assessment!
No, I don't attend a private school. I'm actually below average in terms of income. I attend a grammar school though. It is all-girls and in Year 6, we had to take tests (11+) to get in, but it's completely free and state-funded.
I share a similar view honestly. My school seems to honestly think that these essential pointers in some perfunctory speeches littered with banal, threadbare clichés regarding your UCAS application actually help us. Anybody with an iota of common sense would realise that having a good work ethic and good academic attainment will assist you, or that extracurricular activities decorating your personal statement make you a 'stronger candidate.' I say that in inverted commas because after doing my research, I've found out that at leading universities, that is bullisht (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/7965715/Universities-uninterested-in-pupils-extra-curricular-activities.html). - My school make themselves look so average by being besotted with extracurriculars so much (albeit it is a state school, but still...). I never hear these 'experienced teachers' mention super curricular activities, even though they're the best things to annex to your personal statement to make you a formidable applicant. Our school so rarely gets Oxbridge offers that we wouldn't really put something like that on offer. However, I have lost faith in my school on accurately informing me about varsity. I have decided that the onus is wholly on me to forge a reasonable application at this point. I've warned a few of my classmates as well.
That sounds really annoying. Similarly, I've learnt to take what teachers tell me with a pinch of salt and tend to do my own research for all university-related things. You sound as if you have everything under control though and you know what you're doing. Do you know what subject you want to read at university yet?
Thanks! I'm not majorly concerned with how many people read this as it's primarily to keep me on track and also so I can look back at it, but it is nice to receive comments and get to know others who are going through A-Levels too (or not, I'd still like to get to know them!) Perhaps one day I'll post an extract but I'm still in the beginning stages!
)This week has been better and worse in different ways. In terms of homework and struggling with the content, things have got a lot better. I'm managed to balance my time better and get back into the school-mode so I'm not behind on homework and notes. I still have a few notes to write but I'm on track so far! Also the content has seemed easier and I'm starting to get used to applying maths knowledge in different ways, so I feel a lot more confident with that.
On the other hand, this week has been much more difficult for my mental health. As I mentioned, I have suffered with mental health issues for around 5-6 years and originally I was not intending to discuss this on this blog much but I feel like it's relevant as it will probably effect my Sixth Form experience quite a lot (not to mention it might help others who struggle with the same things). As far as triggering goes, I will include spoiler sections for any discussion regarding mental health, although I won't be sharing any specific details so it should be trigger-free.
Spoiler
Some good news for this week though is that I've been successful in my application to be a Student Ambassador. They help out on the reception desks during free periods and answer phones, deal with any visitor's enquiries (e.g. deliveries, parents, professional visitors), electronically opening school gates, sorting mail, etc. I was one last year but that was just one lunchtime a fortnight, whereas this should be much more, but it was really fun before so I can't wait to get my rota
I've also applied to be Deputy House Captain, which will include helping the House Captain with assemblies, events, charities, competitions, house councils, noticeboards, etc. Although I admit I'm not sure how much I want to get this role anymore (my social anxiety is kicking in and assemblies terrify me). I originally wasn't going to apply because I'm too shy and socially anxious but I decided I couldn't turn down everything because of my confidence.
Finally, I applied to help tutor a Latin Year 8 transfer student in their classes once a fortnight, although they haven't got back to me so I'm assuming I haven't got it?? I guess we'll have to wait and see. As you might have noticed, this year's goals is all about pushing myself out of my comfort zone, so let's hope it all pays off.
In terms of lessons, this week has gone pretty well. I had a test in Biology, Chemistry and Maths (just baselines to make sure I'm up to date with GCSE knowledge). In Maths, I got 52/52 which I'm really happy with - it's a really nice start to the year! In Biology, I got 42 but the teacher wasn't sure what it was out of - we think it might have been 53 marks in total. I am slightly disappointed with this, but a lot of the marks I lost were from missing technical terms, etc., rather than lack of understanding, so hopefully as long as I work on including the right phrases, I should do better. I'm still waiting to get Chemistry back. We've got another set of tests coming up soon which will assess what we've learnt so far this year. I really want to revise hard for these so I do well since it's the first real A-Level assessment we've done.
I'm really enjoying Chemistry and Further Maths so far because we're learning new and interesting content. Biology and Maths aren't very exciting at the moment because we're learning what feels like GCSE topics, but that should improve soon. For Maths especially, it is quite dull because I took Additional Mathematics FSMQ last year (roughly equivalent to one AS-level module), so going all the way back to GCSE is really simplifying the maths I've been doing for over a year - but it will get better! Soon I'm sure I'll be wishing it was easy again!
Tomorrow (Tuesday 25th September for the record) I have a PSHEE day on relationships, CASE and UCAS. I admit the topics we go over aren't exactly stimulating but I would appreciate a break from so many lessons - even though I know lessons would be a better use of time. The CASE project is something run by our school similar to the CAS. It stands for creativity, action, service and employability, and we have to do different activities in each section plus a group project covering two sections and then present our research and reflection in a scrapbook. I don't see much point to it because it's just for our school and not recognised by universities, but I am having fun doing the activities and I like this style of project so I don't really mind.
Anyway, I'd better go and complete my home-learning. From today, I have:
•
Further Maths: Exam Questions Sheet + 2 Specific Questions from the Textbook
•
Biology: Annotate Diagram with labels and information
•
Maths and Further Maths: RAG Tracking Sheets + Feedback
•
Chemistry: Questions from the Textbook
•
Chemistry: Pre-Test Reflection Page in Booklet
•
Chemistry: Challenge Question Sheet
So it's quite manageable (3 things are admin anyway) and I should have lots of time for note writing and revising Chemistry for Thursday and Biology for Monday. It'll be even better because I have no lessons tomorrow so I won't get homework from then. So far, I'm feeling relaxed and on track in terms of homework.
Also, I forgot to mention it, but I've joined my school choir! We practise every Thursday lunchtime and afterschool for an hour and our first performance is on Sunday 14th October so not long. It is really fun though and I love the songs we're singing for the first service.
Thanks for reading and have a nice week. What are you studying?
Original post by Tolgarda
I had a similar feeling for chemistry recently. Trying to fluently memorise the details of the Time of Flight mass spectrometer seemed more mentally taxing than I initially thought. I'm still shaky on it, but should secure my foundations while finishing off a homework sheet that covers it rather thoroughly. I really love chemistry, so I'm not going let a few early hurdles take the wind out of my sails too quickly - I feel that giving up so easily without a fight isn't a worthy testament to the effort I exerted for the subject at GCSE. Your attitude towards Further Maths is pretty relatable here.
We haven't done that topic yet; which exam board are you on? That's a really good attitude! A-Levels are understandably going to be more challenging but with perseverance, we will get the hang of them!
Original post by Tolgarda
Our school still runs physical education for some students, but it is optional and is usually in lieu of something else called enrichment, which regards extracurriculars and giving back to the community so your UCAS personal statement doesn't look too bare.
Which enrichments do your school offer? That sounds like a really good idea. We have 'enrichments' but they're quite hefty workloads as an extra e.g. EPQ, Young Enterprise, Further Maths AS, etc. Although we only have to do one if we aren't doing 4 A-Levels so I've decided I'm just going to focus on extra-curriculars outside of school.
Original post by Tolgarda
Likewise. Although I doubt it's the workload that's slaughtering me, but my indolence, so I definitely have to try and make amends for that. I have a ridiculous amount of independent reading to do for English literature. Your slew of baseline assessments next week sounds petrifying from my perspective. I assume you attend a private school? I have a baseline in English language (the contents of which have not explicitly been stated thus far), which should be interesting.
I relate - I think I could be more productive if I didn't procrastinate, but I'm honestly still struggling to get back into the school routine. I'm getting there though! My work ethic is slowly building back up. Yes, some of my friends are studying English Lit and it does look very content-heavy, at least at the beginning. Which texts are you studying? Good luck with your assessment!
No, I don't attend a private school. I'm actually below average in terms of income. I attend a grammar school though. It is all-girls and in Year 6, we had to take tests (11+) to get in, but it's completely free and state-funded.
Original post by Tolgarda
That sounds really annoying. Similarly, I've learnt to take what teachers tell me with a pinch of salt and tend to do my own research for all university-related things. You sound as if you have everything under control though and you know what you're doing. Do you know what subject you want to read at university yet?
Original post by Tolgarda
Impressive. You definitely seem fit for your A-level choices.
I really think this deserves more people following it! Also, you should definitely give me a taster of your novella!
I really think this deserves more people following it! Also, you should definitely give me a taster of your novella!
Thanks! I'm not majorly concerned with how many people read this as it's primarily to keep me on track and also so I can look back at it, but it is nice to receive comments and get to know others who are going through A-Levels too (or not, I'd still like to get to know them!) Perhaps one day I'll post an extract but I'm still in the beginning stages!
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by bfm.mcdermott
Bethany's GYG 2018-2019
Hi! My name's Bethany and I've just started Year 12 at an all-girls grammar school, which I've been attending for five years.
I'm studying A-Level:
As a bit of background info, here are my GCSE grades:
Biology: 9
Chemistry: 9
Physics: 9
Mathematics: 9
English Literature: 9
English Language: 7
Latin: 9
History: A*
Business Studies: A*
Religious Studies: A*
+ Additional Maths FSMQ: A (equivalent to an AS module)
I'm planning to study Medicine at a Russell Group university and have started researching universities this summer. Oxford is my dream uni, although I'd be really happy with many others e.g. I love the look of Birmingham so far.
I hope this GYG will help me to stay motivated and also it's just kinda fun. I hope you will maybe chat and ask questions as well.
So far, I've been back at school for three days. Here's a summary of the lessons, etc.:
Overall, I'm enjoying being in sixth form so far, although I suspect that might change in a couple of weeks. It's nice having the separate sixth form block, which gives everything a different feel, more like college. Also we can now use phones, dress in our own clothes, and have frees, which are small things but help make it feel more independent. I also like making new friends as a lot of people have joined this year.
Now I'm going to do all my homework which is already piling up and complete general back-to-school things e.g. downloading study music for free periods, applying to be a student ambassador, packing my sports bag (yes we still have to do P.E).
Well done if you read all of that. I hope it wasn't too boring. Hopefully it will be more interesting when I'm posting on a daily basis.
A few facts about me:
Please ask me questions
Hi! My name's Bethany and I've just started Year 12 at an all-girls grammar school, which I've been attending for five years.
I'm studying A-Level:
•
Biology
•
Chemistry
•
Mathematics
•
Further Mathematics
As a bit of background info, here are my GCSE grades:
Biology: 9
Chemistry: 9
Physics: 9
Mathematics: 9
English Literature: 9
English Language: 7
Latin: 9
History: A*
Business Studies: A*
Religious Studies: A*
+ Additional Maths FSMQ: A (equivalent to an AS module)
I'm planning to study Medicine at a Russell Group university and have started researching universities this summer. Oxford is my dream uni, although I'd be really happy with many others e.g. I love the look of Birmingham so far.
I hope this GYG will help me to stay motivated and also it's just kinda fun. I hope you will maybe chat and ask questions as well.
So far, I've been back at school for three days. Here's a summary of the lessons, etc.:
Spoiler
Overall, I'm enjoying being in sixth form so far, although I suspect that might change in a couple of weeks. It's nice having the separate sixth form block, which gives everything a different feel, more like college. Also we can now use phones, dress in our own clothes, and have frees, which are small things but help make it feel more independent. I also like making new friends as a lot of people have joined this year.
Now I'm going to do all my homework which is already piling up and complete general back-to-school things e.g. downloading study music for free periods, applying to be a student ambassador, packing my sports bag (yes we still have to do P.E
). Well done if you read all of that. I hope it wasn't too boring. Hopefully it will be more interesting when I'm posting on a daily basis.
A few facts about me:
•
I'm very nerdy and actually enjoy learning... most of the time
•
I'm a very stressy person and my goal for this year is to manage my stress levels better
•
I am a vegetarian, mostly vegan both for ethical and health reasons
•
I have struggled a lot with mental health issues but am now in recovery and recieving counselling
•
I was brought up as a Roman Catholic Christian, however am currently questioning. If I do believe in God, I am more of a 'faith, love, the Source' sort of person rather than organised religion.
•
I love reading plus fandoms, fanfiction, etc. and writing - I'm currently writing a novel which I hope to eventually publish
•
I have Irish heritage and am very proud of it
Please ask me questions
Good luck with everything!
Original post by bfm.mcdermott
Dia duit! ('Hello' in Irish Gaelic )
)I've always wanted to be literate in another language. I only know how to speak my mother's language (Turkish). I am always really impressed by those who are literate and fluent speakers in foreign languages. It is a testament to their work ethic and desire to have a different perspective and filter on this world.
Original post by bfm.mcdermott
In terms of lessons, this week has gone pretty well. I had a test in Biology, Chemistry and Maths (just baselines to make sure I'm up to date with GCSE knowledge). In Maths, I got 52/52 which I'm really happy with - it's a really nice start to the year! In Biology, I got 42 but the teacher wasn't sure what it was out of - we think it might have been 53 marks in total. I am slightly disappointed with this, but a lot of the marks I lost were from missing technical terms, etc., rather than lack of understanding, so hopefully as long as I work on including the right phrases, I should do better. I'm still waiting to get Chemistry back. We've got another set of tests coming up soon which will assess what we've learnt so far this year. I really want to revise hard for these so I do well since it's the first real A-Level assessment we've done.
Well at least your baselines assessments went well. I got 10/30 for my English language baselines assessment, which was pretty disappointing (for context, I got 155/160 marks at GCSE). I don't feel very comfortable with life right now haha. Congratulations on those stonking scores as well.
Original post by bfm.mcdermott
The CASE project is something run by our school similar to the CAS. It stands for creativity, action, service and employability, and we have to do different activities in each section plus a group project covering two sections and then present our research and reflection in a scrapbook. I don't see much point to it because it's just for our school and not recognised by universities, but I am having fun doing the activities and I like this style of project so I don't really mind.
Why does 'CASE' remind me so much of the IBDP's CAS element (especially what the acronym stands for)? Haha, feels like they ripped it off.
Also, the awarding body I am with for chemistry is AQA.
Finally, I hope you can recover from your mental health issues. Stay strong!
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