- zeasea's year 12 blog -
- Welcome to my Year 12 blog -
On 5 September 2022, I will start year 12. I decided that there is no better time to create a blog that will either be the purest embodiment of chaos known to man, or will be rapidly lost to the abyss. Time will tell which it will be. I have attempted to organise key information into spoilers for your convenience.
- A-Level Choices -
Spoiler
- GCSE Results -
Spoiler
- Miscellaneous Information -
Spoiler
I will probably try to update this weekly at least, but at some times it may be more or less often. Not everything on here may be strictly academic-related, and when reading this blog please remember that I am autistic and may have different viewpoints, experiences and feelings than what is considered 'normal'.
I also have extremely high expectations of myself, so please bear in mind that what may seem excellent for you may not be good enough for me personally. I appreciate and respect the right of others to be happy with their results, whatever they got.
- Tag List -
Spoiler
(edited 1 year ago)
Scroll to see replies
If the text looks too small to read, I apologise - I'm very sensitive to font sizes and can't read letters that are too large, so my formatted posts may need a bit of zooming in for some people.
Anyways, I've spent the last few days preparing. I've packed my bag and have nearly finished setting up my formula books - I use a laptop in lesson, and formulae are a huge pain to type up, so instead I type most of my notes and write down each formula I come across in a small notebook I carry around for each subject. This is also quite helpful with revision as I can always find the formula I need in the little books I carry around with me. I'm gluing in my GCSE formula sheets (where they were given - for chemistry I just wrote down the essential ones) just in case I need them at the start for reference.
Also, my information pack came in today - it turns out that at my sixth form we get free lockers! Although the sixth form didn't set any transition work, I did do some from other schools during the holidays (for maths, at least - I didn't know I wanted to take chemistry and physics until results day). I feel like I've prepared the most that I possibly can, but I'm still nervous after hearing horror stories about the GCSE to A-Level jump.
Anyways, I've spent the last few days preparing. I've packed my bag and have nearly finished setting up my formula books - I use a laptop in lesson, and formulae are a huge pain to type up, so instead I type most of my notes and write down each formula I come across in a small notebook I carry around for each subject. This is also quite helpful with revision as I can always find the formula I need in the little books I carry around with me. I'm gluing in my GCSE formula sheets (where they were given - for chemistry I just wrote down the essential ones) just in case I need them at the start for reference.
Also, my information pack came in today - it turns out that at my sixth form we get free lockers! Although the sixth form didn't set any transition work, I did do some from other schools during the holidays (for maths, at least - I didn't know I wanted to take chemistry and physics until results day). I feel like I've prepared the most that I possibly can, but I'm still nervous after hearing horror stories about the GCSE to A-Level jump.
Original post by zeasea
- Welcome to my Year 12 blog -
On 5 September 2022, I will start year 12. I decided that there is no better time to create a blog that will either be the purest embodiment of chaos known to man, or will be rapidly lost to the abyss. Time will tell which it will be. I have attempted to organise key information into spoilers for your convenience.
- A-Level Choices -
- GCSE Results -
- Miscellaneous Information -
I will probably try to update this weekly at least, but at some times it may be more or less often. Not everything on here may be strictly academic-related, and when reading this blog please remember that I am autistic and may have different viewpoints, experiences and feelings than what is considered 'normal'.
I also have extremely high expectations of myself, so please bear in mind that what may seem excellent for you may not be good enough for me personally. I appreciate and respect the right of others to be happy with their results, whatever they got.
- Tag List -
- Welcome to my Year 12 blog -
On 5 September 2022, I will start year 12. I decided that there is no better time to create a blog that will either be the purest embodiment of chaos known to man, or will be rapidly lost to the abyss. Time will tell which it will be. I have attempted to organise key information into spoilers for your convenience.
- A-Level Choices -
Spoiler
- GCSE Results -
Spoiler
- Miscellaneous Information -
Spoiler
I will probably try to update this weekly at least, but at some times it may be more or less often. Not everything on here may be strictly academic-related, and when reading this blog please remember that I am autistic and may have different viewpoints, experiences and feelings than what is considered 'normal'.
I also have extremely high expectations of myself, so please bear in mind that what may seem excellent for you may not be good enough for me personally. I appreciate and respect the right of others to be happy with their results, whatever they got.
- Tag List -
Spoiler
quite brave to take further maths with an 8 at GCSE
Hi, Year 13 student here! I remember being in the same position and hearing about how your A*s are Es at A-level blah blah but most of that stuff is exaggerated. Of course, people are different and while some might not find the jump that bad others do and that's ok. If you do feel overwhelmed by the transition, then remember to stay organised and to divide up your work so you are consistent and don't fall behind but also don't burnout. I've done your subjects albeit a different exam board and while they are challenging, they are manageable with good organisation. Most importantly do a lot of practice and not just the night before the exam but also just look at past paper questions on relevant topics as you go along. Also, one of the main distinctions between A-level and GCSE is that while you can mostly get away with just memorising formulas and "oh it's an [x] problem then I just use [equation]", you can't get away with that at A-level and you have to properly understand the content as often the questions will be worded in a very roundabout way, require bringing together multiple topics and/or applying the concepts to situations you've never seen before. So, if something doesn't make sense, ask someone now! Don't leave it till the end! Best of luck!!
*Sorry for the centered alignment I didn't know how to make text small so I just copied your post formatting
*Sorry for the centered alignment I didn't know how to make text small so I just copied your post formatting
(edited 1 year ago)
Congrats on your GCSE results! Glad my blog formatting tips came in use 
Original post by thrivingfrog
Congrats on your GCSE results! Glad my blog formatting tips came in use
thanks! it was a bit rough at times (the font selection menu is seriously not helpful when it opens then closes 3 seconds later), but we got there eventually
Original post by Mocha Latte
Hi, Year 13 student here! I remember being in the same position and hearing about how your A*s are Es at A-level blah blah but most of that stuff is exaggerated. Of course, people are different and while some might not find the jump that bad others do and that's ok. If you do feel overwhelmed by the transition, then remember to stay organised and to divide up your work so you are consistent and don't fall behind but also don't burnout. I've done your subjects albeit a different exam board and while they are challenging, they are manageable with good organisation. Most importantly do a lot of practice and not just the night before the exam but also just look at past paper questions on relevant topics as you go along. Also, one of the main distinctions between A-level and GCSE is that while you can mostly get away with just memorising formulas and "oh it's an [x] problem then I just use [equation]", you can't get away with that at A-level and you have to properly understand the content as often the questions will be worded in a very roundabout way, require bringing together multiple topics and/or applying the concepts to situations you've never seen before. So, if something doesn't make sense, ask someone now! Don't leave it till the end! Best of luck!!
*Sorry for the centered alignment I didn't know how to make text small so I just copied your post formatting
*Sorry for the centered alignment I didn't know how to make text small so I just copied your post formatting
thanks for the advice! i'm planning to be as on the ball as possible and make flashcards as i go to consolidate information etc. by the way, there's no need to specially format your post - i have an extension that makes text smaller for me if i need it
i appreciate it though, i just added the message as it's difficult for me to tell if my text will be too small for others before posting.Today I got a letter from my [evil] secondary school inviting me to one last awards evening. Collecting academic awards may as well be my part time job but damn it I'm in. The letter says I'm going to get an award for history and for the highest GCSE results in the schools trust. Fully prepared to see the head of science crying about me getting the first 9-9 in the trust again. Hopefully this'll make up for the two years of awards evenings I missed out on due to covid.
Now the age-old question of what do I wear? It's on the 15th, so I might just wear whatever I had on for sixth form that day because I can't really be that asked to change.
Now the age-old question of what do I wear? It's on the 15th, so I might just wear whatever I had on for sixth form that day because I can't really be that asked to change.
I hadn't looked at grade boundaries in detail until now (only to check if I was close to a boundary etc), and here are some things I've discovered:
- I was 4 marks off 100% in History [128/132]
- I was 5 marks off 100% in Eng Lit [125/130]
- I was 14 marks off a 9 in Maths, which may seem a bit tragic to some people but I'm actually really proud of being that 'close' considering that at the start of year 10 I was working at grade 4 and below.
- I'm pretty comfortably within each grade boundary, which I personally find reassuring.
Just thought I'd share as this definitely makes me a little happier with myself after the underwhelming hollowness of results day.
- I was 4 marks off 100% in History [128/132]
- I was 5 marks off 100% in Eng Lit [125/130]
- I was 14 marks off a 9 in Maths, which may seem a bit tragic to some people but I'm actually really proud of being that 'close' considering that at the start of year 10 I was working at grade 4 and below.
- I'm pretty comfortably within each grade boundary, which I personally find reassuring.
Just thought I'd share as this definitely makes me a little happier with myself after the underwhelming hollowness of results day.
5:50am, because I have to wake up at gremlin hours to get to sixth form.
I didn't sleep. At all. Maybe one hour max.
Because today is the day where the weather decided to unleash an angry loud thunderstorm and pour an ocean down onto my house at exactly 2am for the entire night.
Little thing about me: I can't sleep if it's raining. I can't sleep if it's thundering. And the weather chose the 'All of the above' option. On my first day of sixth form. I look like a goblin who hasn't slept in 5 years.
Thanks, weather. Nice one.
Also, did I mention I have a medical condition that flares up in high humidity? Because the humidity here is still at about 100% despite the thunderstorm happening. Guess we're feeling like old person joints today. Real nice one.
I didn't sleep. At all. Maybe one hour max.
Because today is the day where the weather decided to unleash an angry loud thunderstorm and pour an ocean down onto my house at exactly 2am for the entire night.
Little thing about me: I can't sleep if it's raining. I can't sleep if it's thundering. And the weather chose the 'All of the above' option. On my first day of sixth form. I look like a goblin who hasn't slept in 5 years.
Thanks, weather. Nice one.
Also, did I mention I have a medical condition that flares up in high humidity? Because the humidity here is still at about 100% despite the thunderstorm happening. Guess we're feeling like old person joints today. Real nice one.
(edited 1 year ago)
✨ I survived the first day. ✨
1. I made a friend who my mother already hates because the friend is black and my mother is racist. I didn't tell her, she assumed the skin colour from the friend's name. Good start. We have form, chemistry and maths together and we both have SEN arrangements so we get on just fine and we're scarily similar to each other.
2. I got a nice lilac lanyard and a timetable on crack, it's nearly a full day on Monday and then tapers off until I have one lesson for all of Friday. Not complaining.
3. I didn't get lost as much as I thought I would. It was fine, mostly.
4. I'm hopefully being allocated a laptop tomorrow - we couldn't do it today because we don't have logins yet, so I had to just kind of suffer through chemistry because my hand really hurt and I couldn't read any of my notes afterwards. When I made my flashcards I just went off memory more than anything.
5. The people don't seem to be actively going out of their way to bully or harass me, which is already an improvement on a bar so low it might as well be inside the earth's core.
6. Half of my maths class didn't bring a calculator... to A-level maths. We were aware we probably would have it on the first day. Also, who goes to a STEM-specific school which emphasises maths in many courses without a calculator anyways?
7. My chemistry class contains a grand total of four people, including me. Very nice experience, I hope nobody else joins and that's it, it was really great and the teacher is quite good so far.
Overall a successful first day experience. Onto the next.
1. I made a friend who my mother already hates because the friend is black and my mother is racist. I didn't tell her, she assumed the skin colour from the friend's name. Good start. We have form, chemistry and maths together and we both have SEN arrangements so we get on just fine and we're scarily similar to each other.
2. I got a nice lilac lanyard and a timetable on crack, it's nearly a full day on Monday and then tapers off until I have one lesson for all of Friday. Not complaining.
3. I didn't get lost as much as I thought I would. It was fine, mostly.
4. I'm hopefully being allocated a laptop tomorrow - we couldn't do it today because we don't have logins yet, so I had to just kind of suffer through chemistry because my hand really hurt and I couldn't read any of my notes afterwards. When I made my flashcards I just went off memory more than anything.
5. The people don't seem to be actively going out of their way to bully or harass me, which is already an improvement on a bar so low it might as well be inside the earth's core.
6. Half of my maths class didn't bring a calculator... to A-level maths. We were aware we probably would have it on the first day. Also, who goes to a STEM-specific school which emphasises maths in many courses without a calculator anyways?
7. My chemistry class contains a grand total of four people, including me. Very nice experience, I hope nobody else joins and that's it, it was really great and the teacher is quite good so far.
Overall a successful first day experience. Onto the next.
Original post by zeasea
✨ I survived the first day. ✨
1. I made a friend who my mother already hates because the friend is black and my mother is racist. I didn't tell her, she assumed the skin colour from the friend's name. Good start. We have form, chemistry and maths together and we both have SEN arrangements so we get on just fine and we're scarily similar to each other.
2. I got a nice lilac lanyard and a timetable on crack, it's nearly a full day on Monday and then tapers off until I have one lesson for all of Friday. Not complaining.
3. I didn't get lost as much as I thought I would. It was fine, mostly.
4. I'm hopefully being allocated a laptop tomorrow - we couldn't do it today because we don't have logins yet, so I had to just kind of suffer through chemistry because my hand really hurt and I couldn't read any of my notes afterwards. When I made my flashcards I just went off memory more than anything.
5. The people don't seem to be actively going out of their way to bully or harass me, which is already an improvement on a bar so low it might as well be inside the earth's core.
6. Half of my maths class didn't bring a calculator... to A-level maths. We were aware we probably would have it on the first day. Also, who goes to a STEM-specific school which emphasises maths in many courses without a calculator anyways?
7. My chemistry class contains a grand total of four people, including me. Very nice experience, I hope nobody else joins and that's it, it was really great and the teacher is quite good so far.
Overall a successful first day experience. Onto the next.
1. I made a friend who my mother already hates because the friend is black and my mother is racist. I didn't tell her, she assumed the skin colour from the friend's name. Good start. We have form, chemistry and maths together and we both have SEN arrangements so we get on just fine and we're scarily similar to each other.
2. I got a nice lilac lanyard and a timetable on crack, it's nearly a full day on Monday and then tapers off until I have one lesson for all of Friday. Not complaining.
3. I didn't get lost as much as I thought I would. It was fine, mostly.
4. I'm hopefully being allocated a laptop tomorrow - we couldn't do it today because we don't have logins yet, so I had to just kind of suffer through chemistry because my hand really hurt and I couldn't read any of my notes afterwards. When I made my flashcards I just went off memory more than anything.
5. The people don't seem to be actively going out of their way to bully or harass me, which is already an improvement on a bar so low it might as well be inside the earth's core.
6. Half of my maths class didn't bring a calculator... to A-level maths. We were aware we probably would have it on the first day. Also, who goes to a STEM-specific school which emphasises maths in many courses without a calculator anyways?
7. My chemistry class contains a grand total of four people, including me. Very nice experience, I hope nobody else joins and that's it, it was really great and the teacher is quite good so far.
Overall a successful first day experience. Onto the next.
I'm really glad that you had a good first day of year 12!
It's a shame that your mum doesn't approve of your new friend- I'd say stay friends with them regardless.
I hope the rest of the year goes well
Original post by zeasea
- Welcome to my Year 12 blog -
On 5 September 2022, I will start year 12. I decided that there is no better time to create a blog that will either be the purest embodiment of chaos known to man, or will be rapidly lost to the abyss. Time will tell which it will be. I have attempted to organise key information into spoilers for your convenience.
- A-Level Choices -
- GCSE Results -
- Miscellaneous Information -
I will probably try to update this weekly at least, but at some times it may be more or less often. Not everything on here may be strictly academic-related, and when reading this blog please remember that I am autistic and may have different viewpoints, experiences and feelings than what is considered 'normal'.
I also have extremely high expectations of myself, so please bear in mind that what may seem excellent for you may not be good enough for me personally. I appreciate and respect the right of others to be happy with their results, whatever they got.
- Tag List -
- Welcome to my Year 12 blog -
On 5 September 2022, I will start year 12. I decided that there is no better time to create a blog that will either be the purest embodiment of chaos known to man, or will be rapidly lost to the abyss. Time will tell which it will be. I have attempted to organise key information into spoilers for your convenience.
- A-Level Choices -
Spoiler
- GCSE Results -
Spoiler
- Miscellaneous Information -
Spoiler
I will probably try to update this weekly at least, but at some times it may be more or less often. Not everything on here may be strictly academic-related, and when reading this blog please remember that I am autistic and may have different viewpoints, experiences and feelings than what is considered 'normal'.
I also have extremely high expectations of myself, so please bear in mind that what may seem excellent for you may not be good enough for me personally. I appreciate and respect the right of others to be happy with their results, whatever they got.
- Tag List -
Spoiler
could i be added
Original post by hyacinth77
I'm really glad that you had a good first day of year 12!
It's a shame that your mum doesn't approve of your new friend- I'd say stay friends with them regardless.
I hope the rest of the year goes well
It's a shame that your mum doesn't approve of your new friend- I'd say stay friends with them regardless.
I hope the rest of the year goes well
If my mother thinks i'm going to stop being friends with someone because of her disapproval of their skin colour she really has gone insane. Although I have a 30-minute commute to school, it turns out that she actually doesn't live all that far away from me either and we just clicked immediately.
I'm hoping tomorrow will be slightly less chaotic as I get my SEN stuff sorted - there obviously wasn't much time on the first day and none of the tech is set up yet anyways - they did bring me a laptop, but then it turned out our logins aren't set up yet so that'll probably be done tomorrow. I also need to put all of my stuff into my second larger bag because I'm going to be allocated it permanently (so I'll be taking it home with me) and because it's a bit of a squeeze in there. My maths teacher has already expressed interest in giving us about 4 different workbooks for each section of maths, so I think it might be a good idea to get some extra space just in case, lol.
Original post by Ophelia_Wolfstar
could i be added
absolutely! once my laptop decides it doesn't want to explode, anyways.
✨Second Day Chronicles✨
I felt like giving an update now that I've had at least one lesson in each of my A-Levels, and because I feel like the second day is really the 'true first day' since it's the first day you're going about your day as normal rather than having tours and random admin and everything else.
1. My chemistry class still only has 4 people, I think that's all we're getting. My maths and physics class each have about 10 people, which is such an immediate and massive improvement from my 35+ person classes in secondary school.
2. Today I got my first taste of the fabled GCSE to A-Level jump, and it was in physics. I actually haven't been struggling at all with maths and chemistry so far, despite having about 3 hours worth of lessons for each of them in the last two days. I think the reason I experienced the jump in physics was because my physics teacher decided to rip off the bandaid quickly and shove us straight into AS content that doesn't appear in GCSE at all rather than doing a bit of GCSE-related stuff first. The first thing we did was learn how to turn units into their base SI unit forms, which was definitely a jump, lol.
3. The physics teacher is actually super nice, as are all of my teachers. I really like all of them so far and I'm actually happy about being in school for the first time in about 7 years. I feel genuinely respected here, and I feel like I'm finally being treated as an actual human being with strengths and weaknesses.
4. Said physics teacher spent the first 30 minutes of our lesson advertising textbooks - if teaching ever doesn't work out she has a successful career in marketing ahead of her.
5. The amount of textbooks I have to carry around for maths is absolutely brutal and my mother, who already hates me bringing the bare minimum because 'you're carrying a bag of rocks', is absolutely livid lmao. I have this massive brick of a book for Pure Mathematics Year 1 content alone, and throughout the rest of the week we're also going to get textbooks for the other units, which I don't imagine will be much smaller.
6. I finally got the laptop situation sorted out - I've been allocated one with a touch screen and it's working out really well so far in regards to calculations and diagrams alongside typing. They're also going to assign me one permanently that I'll be able to take home with me, but the IT department needs to adjust the permissions first so that won't be done until tomorrow.
7. We got photos taken for our student ID cards and I look like a convict, as usual.
Tags:
- @Ophelia_Wolfstar
Please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed.
I felt like giving an update now that I've had at least one lesson in each of my A-Levels, and because I feel like the second day is really the 'true first day' since it's the first day you're going about your day as normal rather than having tours and random admin and everything else.
1. My chemistry class still only has 4 people, I think that's all we're getting. My maths and physics class each have about 10 people, which is such an immediate and massive improvement from my 35+ person classes in secondary school.
2. Today I got my first taste of the fabled GCSE to A-Level jump, and it was in physics. I actually haven't been struggling at all with maths and chemistry so far, despite having about 3 hours worth of lessons for each of them in the last two days. I think the reason I experienced the jump in physics was because my physics teacher decided to rip off the bandaid quickly and shove us straight into AS content that doesn't appear in GCSE at all rather than doing a bit of GCSE-related stuff first. The first thing we did was learn how to turn units into their base SI unit forms, which was definitely a jump, lol.
3. The physics teacher is actually super nice, as are all of my teachers. I really like all of them so far and I'm actually happy about being in school for the first time in about 7 years. I feel genuinely respected here, and I feel like I'm finally being treated as an actual human being with strengths and weaknesses.
4. Said physics teacher spent the first 30 minutes of our lesson advertising textbooks - if teaching ever doesn't work out she has a successful career in marketing ahead of her.
5. The amount of textbooks I have to carry around for maths is absolutely brutal and my mother, who already hates me bringing the bare minimum because 'you're carrying a bag of rocks', is absolutely livid lmao. I have this massive brick of a book for Pure Mathematics Year 1 content alone, and throughout the rest of the week we're also going to get textbooks for the other units, which I don't imagine will be much smaller.
6. I finally got the laptop situation sorted out - I've been allocated one with a touch screen and it's working out really well so far in regards to calculations and diagrams alongside typing. They're also going to assign me one permanently that I'll be able to take home with me, but the IT department needs to adjust the permissions first so that won't be done until tomorrow.
7. We got photos taken for our student ID cards and I look like a convict, as usual.
Tags:
- @Ophelia_Wolfstar
Please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed.
(edited 1 year ago)
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- Is 98 is combined science a 9?
- Official Uni of East Anglia (UEA) 2024 Applicants Thread :)
- ThrivingFrog's Year 12 Blog!
- A Year 9's GYG !!
- Legal blog
- Vote for the January GYG Winner!
- Accommodation if you're a mature student?
- Medicine repeated year 12
- HadronCollider's GYG blog :)
- Milk before cereal or cereal before milk?
- Work experience
- GYG announcement: fun and exciting things happening across TSR!
- Aiming for Oxford - a blog.
- The Journey from E to A* (Fighting Through Papers and Life)
- what a levels to study law?
- Grow your Grades blog 23/24!
- Blog yr 13 :))))
- applying for dentistry/medicine??
- struggling through sixth form: blog of a yr12 overachiever
- Manchester school of Architecture application portfolio
Latest
Trending
Last reply 1 week ago
COMPETITION - Post a photo you’ve taken of nature [urban edition]Trending
Last reply 1 week ago
COMPETITION - Post a photo you’ve taken of nature [urban edition]
