#most of it is gcse content but some of it is different enough for me to go through the whole thing in case i miss something

[whiskeysorrows]

self-studying a-level maths in a year bc I woke up and decided I want to go to cambridge ✌

[habshihalwa]

Surviving GCSES: The Ultimate Guide

~ HOW TO REVISE ~

NB; some 'specific subjects' may not be included

WHEN:

- revision should be 'little and often' - meaning you should be revising a few hours every week, whether it's recapping the material, quizzing yourself, or doing homework. By doing little and often revision, it's more likely to become embedded in your long term memory

- if you cram the day before an exam, do effective cramming. Use this time to go over anything you don't know or understand. Blurting is a good method to use- try reading a page or a topic and writing down as much as you can remember from it. Fill in the gaps and identify your weak spots

REVISION METHODS

ACTIVE RECALL should be the main way you revise. It's forcing your brain to actively remember what it can about what you've learned, bringing it to the front of your memory

- blurting: blurting is a great way for you to find out what you know and what you don't. Write down as much as you can remember, and fill in the bits you can't with a different colour. You can repeat the process until it's embedded in your memory and until you're confident that you know everything you need to know

- flashcards: when writing flashcards, do NOT just copy notes onto there. Write questions on one side, and answers on the other then use it to quiz yourself. ALTERNATIVELY for memorising quotes, you could also write half of it on one side and half on the other. You could also write notes on one side and questions on the other, so you have to look in the text to find the answers

- past papers: I cannot stress this enough. Once you've revised and learned everything you think you've learned, test yourself by doing past papers. Research has shown that the top students do more past papers and questions than anyone else. Mark these yourself using the mark scheme so you can identify where you went wrong and how to improve it. Pay extra attention to the mark scheme so in an exam you can quit the waffle and identify where your marks are at

- pretend to 'teach' the content to someone younger or dumber than you. Try and explain it the best you can in simple words - this shows you understand it enough

- there are LOADS of videos out there about how to revise- watch them and use them!

- sleep: sleep is also a revision technique after you've learnt something, as sleeping gives your brain time to process the information and store it in your memory. but only sleep AFTER you've revised a bit

TEACHERS

- teachers are your best tool. Use them

- teachers know what they're doing, and are specialised in their subject for a REASON

- request revision materials,

- if you don't understand anything, simply ask. That's what they're there for. At the end of the day, your grades are gonna matter more than the time you bothered them

- listen in lessons!!! This is so important and many people don't realise. Pay attention in lessons like you're listening to the latest gossip or hot celeb talk or whatever you're into. Give it 110% and actively participate. It won't be embarrassing when you get those good grades.

WEBSITES

Here are some websites I like to use that are FREE and I use constantly to aid me with revision

• Quizlet

• anki

• StudySmarter

• seneca

• tassomai

• gcsepod

• hegarty maths

• Corbett maths

• maths genie

• YouTube and tiktok (they have some good shi on there ngl)

• Duolingo

SPECIFIC SUBJECT REVISION

MATHS

practice papers and questions. Memorise formulas and how to use them. Just keep doing practice questions. If you like puzzles and games, you like maths- think of it as another piece to solve, and like a game. At the end of the day, maths it's just problem solving. There's only one right answer.

ENGLISH LIT:

blurting, mind-maps, flashcards to learn quotes. Look at the AOs to figure out where your marks are, and try and do as much work as you can because at the end of the day, over the year or two years your classwork is gonna be what you've done the most. Plan essays and write them. Talk to your teachers about where to improve and where you've gone wrong. Read more to help with developing your language and writing style. Try writing something unrelated to school- maybe a story, a poem, a speech. Repeat it to help develop what you're doing. English lit is just memorising quotes and explains them- don't overthink it. Make sure you know your text back to front and know how to answer questions. Write practice essays and get your teachers to mark them, and later ask them to explain what you can do to get more marks. Especially in gcse, these examiners are marking abt 50-100 essays. What makes YOURS stand out. Why do YOU deserve that grade amongst everyone? YouTubers I like to use include Mr Bruff, Mr Salles, Mr Everything English

RS:

it depends on how you like revising. I like copying out my notes and making my mind-maps, and then using flashcards to help memorise quotes. Answer practice questions regularly and ask your teacher about the mark scheme and HOW to answer questions if you're struggling. Think of it as learning about yourself and your religion, and many others - help it bring you closer to God if you're religious

SCIENCE

science is mostly fact based and about how well you apply these facts to questions and practical examples. I very strongly recommend using flashcards and paying attention in lessons. Watch YouTube videos and actively and constantly recall your notes. Answer LOTS of past papers and practice questions - every year they use 3-4 of the exact same questions in the exam. There's only so many questions they can ask. Also, print off the specification (this can be found on the exam board's website) and use this to make sure you haven't missed any content out. Use this specification to make flashcards - also, use the questions at the end of each lesson in cgp textbooks as practice questions for flashcards!!! Science is quite flexible to revise from, you can watch videos and make notes, or make mind-maps, or do blurting. Just make sure it's active and that you're reviewing the content regularly!! I also recommend using Seneca to sort of make sure you know everything the day before an exam. Science is an explanation for everything, think of it as something interest as it can make quite a lot of interesting conversation topics.

LANGUAGES:

think of languages as something essential to your identity and helping you live in today's everchanging world. Language is a way to communicate with people - honestly just think about that for a sec. Use duolingo, Quizlet and other language apps!! Be consistent and the night before ur exam, do the biggest and fattest Quizlet you can revise. Test yourself on flashcards when memorising chunks for speaking exams. Also think of everything in ur designated language like when ur drinking water translate that. Or when ur speaking at home or to someone speak with what u know in that language.

HISTORY:

there's a lot of dates and factual knowledge in this, so your best option is to constantly review and actively recall everything. Try doing some practice questions and planning essays. Blurting is SUPER useful for this subject especially too!!! History is super interesting - we learn from the past to improve the future. History builds us and moulds us into where we are today!

HOW TO MOTIVATE YOURSELF

- find out what you want to do in life: medicine? law? art? finding a passion and knowing what you want to do after school can really help motivate you

- if you're unsure of you're career, start by listing what you like and what you're good at. Ask people what career they think you'd be suited to and why. Research these careers and about life beyond school

- a reminder that school is SO much more than just listening to teachers about useless stuff. When you think about, it's teaching you everything about the world you are living in RIGHT NOW

- knowledge is power

- make your parents and your family proud. If they can spend thousands of pounds on you and spend 15+ years raising you up, im pretty sure you can do this

- think about everyone who's ever told you you can't do it or thought you're useless. Imagine the look on their face when you make it. Prove them wrong.

- watch academia and studytok videos. As dumb as it sounds, they're quite motivating

- think of the consequences if you don't revise. while everyone will be smiling and happy with their results, you'll be sitting there knowing you could've done better if only you'd taken the opportunity. That opportunity is now

- a reminder that social media is always going to be there. There's always posts to like and videos to watch but the real world isn't here forever. Focus on your studies before your phone

- think about what you're ultimately working towards: WHY do you want these grades- money? A successful career? Revenge? Validation?

EXTRACURRICULAR BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

- don't make school your life- having a hobby or doing something you enjoy is SO important. It also makes you a more interesting person :)

- we all need downtime. find what that thing is for you

- you need to develop your brain outside of school too. Whether it's sport, music, art, writing- invest a little bit of time into that everyday

- READ. Reading is important and gives you more knowledge and develops your brain. JK Rowling once said if you hate reading, it's only because you haven't found the right book. FIND IT.

SELF CARE

- don't forget to take care of yourself. At the end of the day, a test is just a paper, a grade is just a number. As much as you want to get good grades, remember there's so much more to life

- remember this world is temporary - don't become so caught up in school you burn out. One day we're all going to die so it's important you stick to your religious faith/beliefs because everything is from god/happens for a reason. Ultimately, you may put so much effort into something but if God isn't pleased with you or decides not to make it happen, it isn't going to happen/if it's not meant to happen a certain way, it won't. Failure is inevitable and don't let it put you down. The afterlife/death is forever and when you're standing in front of God on judgement/ rotting in your grave this test is not going to matter. At all.

- hang out with friends often, and make sure they're not toxic and they're people who make you feel happy. Do things with them because you're only a teenager once so live your life and make memories with them. Just a reminder that there's a difference between fun, and stupidity+danger. Don't wreck up your future in the process

- take days off, and love yourself. Have a relaxing bath or a facial, or dress up for no reason. Remember that YOU are the most important person. Never hate yourself for putting you first

- don't overdo it so much that you burn out. Don't sit at your desk for ten hours straight trying to memorise something

- remember to get fresh air and go on regular walks and exercise. Exercise gets your blood flow pumping and can help clear your mind and help with exhaustion and mood.

I love you, and good luck to everyone doing their GCSEs :) you got this! ❤️

[ofcowardiceandkings]

I think you mentioned listening to podcasts? Do you have any favorites to reccommend? I've run out of content :(

that i do !

im not entirely sure what kind of podcast you'd be interested in but i'll throw out a few of the goodies in my huge library of stuff , i'll miss out a few of the HUGE podcasts that have been all over tumblr though

a LOT of it is true crime or human interest stuff , or history because im nerd ,, and a few of these dont have nearly enough attention so [shrug] i'll try to keep this short i guess lol this isnt EVERYTHING ive got in my library or listened series' by any measure

i AM gonna pop a shout to both Stuff You Missed in History Class and Stuff You Should Know from iHeartRadio because their HUGE archives have kept me from losing my mind many times over , and they cover a wide range of both important and wacky topics

BomBARDed (ongoing) this is the only fiction podcast i have happening right now really but its DAMN GOOD ONE .... it's an actual-play D&D 5E podcast in the DMs own musically-inspired world, focussed on a group of multiclass bards going to music school !! and all players (+DM) are members of the Texas band Lindby !! and they actually use and play music in the show with one original song an episode !! Kyle's worldbuilding and storycraft are truly incredible, and (Nick) Goodrich, (also Nick) Spurrier, and Ali's characters are in depth and interesting as well as an absolute powerhouse :') i actually made a piece for its first fanzine, Bardic Dreaming, which published earlier this year and is free to view now, all the players and the community are super wholesome its just very good overall 💙

History & Humans;

Fall of Civilisations (ongoing) legit one of my favourite podcast finds, im so glad my youtube autoplayed one of these ... it took me like 2 hours to realise it was 1) not the same as what was playing before and 2) had been on for 2 hours and wasnt near finished lmao. anyway, this is a series by historical fiction writer Paul Cooper, and is honest to all thats good one of the best documentary series ive encountered in years - and ive consumed a LOT of documentaries. it covered the downfall of various civilisations through history, and the episodes run from an hour to FOUR hours depending on the topic. its so chill to listen to and just get done, but over the pandemic all of the episodes have been given full movie-quality video versions too on youtube if youre more of a visual person.

Casting Lots: A Survival Cannibalism Podcast (on series break) yeah that says that lol ... its a SUPER niche topic but its very interesting and treated very well despite being kind of comical at times, the hosts are just naturally funny lol ... it delves around from the history of cannibalism in whole regions to specific incidents as recently as the 1970s, and of course the first episode is about the Donner Party, and it covers things ive never heard of despite being kind of important ?? anyway Alix and Carmella are good eggs

Sawbones (ongoing) i probably dont need to mention much here other than say that Justin and Sydnee saved me from being SO BORED sooo often, the history of medicine is wacky as hell and its what most of my history GCSE was on so [shrugs]

Cautionary Tales (on series break) this was a wild-card find lol ... it's by Tim Harford "the undercover economist" who writes for the Financial Times, and its topics kind of weave modern topics and science with how to learn from historical errors ... its a bit weird but well worth a go, also each series has a few celebrity guest voice actors which is pretty awesome

Ephemeral (ongoing) this is a very strange but thought provoking series about sounds and other things just barely saved. topics include the last castrato, the hello girls, hand-stamped records, the spread of kīkā kila music, and acoustic fossils of wild places.

Neat! The Boozecast (ongoing) history and bartending whats not to like lol ... hosted by Teylor Smirl and now their dad Tommy, they're just digging around in how important booze is to human culture

True Crime (white collar and weirdness);

Swindled (ongoing) this is an amazing show full stop. A Concerned Citizen details some of the most impactful and unruly things to happen in white collar and corporate crime. very factually accurate but given the sheer bullshit of the topics the deadpan snarking is [chefs kiss] absolutely warranted ..

American Scandal (on series break) this one is a series within a series type, and spends a few episodes at a time poking holes in some of America's biggest scandals, from a dramatised but fact-based point of view. such as what the hell was going on with Enron, how big tobacco was forced to own up to covering its own ass, how Iran-Contra happened, etc. it also now has a sister show called British Scandal, which does the same thing for British cases but with a slightly different format.

Missing in Alaska (finished) this was a fascinating series, a deep dive into what happened to two US government officials who disappeared on a small chartered flight in Alaska in 1972. it goes some really strange places, but it actually turned up a lot of previously unknown information through the audience. John Walczak's new series in a new feed is Missing on 9/11 which looks into what happened to Dr Sneha Philip.

Pretend (ongoing) Host Javier Leiva holds interviews with anyone living a lie, or who have been touched by them. con artists, snake oil salesmen, former cult members, catfishing victims, anyone and everyone.

Power: The Maxwells (finished) hosted by journalist Tara Palmeri, the story of media tycoon Robert Maxwell from nothing to empire to mysterious death and the scandals uncovered after he was gone.

Lets Talk About Sects (ongoing) Sarah Steele covering cults from around the world, in particular those in Australia - where she is from. She often has former members on the show to share their stories, and share knowledge of how they left. each story has the relevant content warnings at the start of each episode.

Brainwashed (finished) investigation of the CIA's covert mind control experiments, centred on the experiments performed at a hospital in Montreal, and its cultural impact.

Dr Death (2 series finished) two series investigating huge cases of fraud and medical malpractice, and how they were brought to a stop. series 1 covers Dr Duntsch and his horribly butchered neurosurgery, series 2 covers Dr Fata and his fraudulent cancer clinic

The Immaculate Deception (finished) untangling the weird and disturbing fertility fraud of Dr Jan Karbaat, who fathered children himself through his fertility clinic, and the impact of his deception. later episodes also touch on other similar cases.

True Crime (Violent/General);

The Casual Criminalist (ongoing) Simon Whistler of-the-many-youtube-channels cold reads a script about the case of the day, with some of his daft commentary thrown in.

Southern Fried True Crime (ongoing) Crimes from the American South hosted by Erica Kelley, she puts all the facts out there but refreshingly for true crime she doesnt hesitate to tell you if she thinks someone is human garbage lol

They Walk Among Us (ongoing) probably one of the most popular UK crime podcasts, very measured and well put together, not weird or annoying about it either.

All Crime No Cattle (ongoing, feed slowed down for now) specifically about crimes from Texas, hosted by Erin and Shay, they're very sensitive hosts and a lot of the cases they cover shed light on why the Texas criminal system is how it is or show an impact at a national level

Canadian True Crime (ongoing) Canadian crime from an Aussie who's lived there for a decade, Kristi is again a sensitive and measured host covering some important topics

True Crime (Violent/Deep Dive);

Hitman (finished) journalist Jasmyn Morris digs around in the sticky tangle around a book published by fringe publisher Paladin Press, and its apparent use as a blueprint in the killing of a mother, her friend and her 8 year old boy for financial gain.

Camp Hell: Anneewakee (ongoing) this series is exploring how a wilderness camp "correctional facility" was endorsed by the Georgia care and juvenile reform system, despite widespread abuses and shady practices the whole time. warning for csa and child cruelty throughout.

True Crime Bullshit (on series break) this one is a huge huge rabbithole but a very interesting one where the host Josh Hallmark has spent years digging into the life and potential crimes of Israel Keyes. Keyes is often mentioned as a serial killer with no pattern, but in picking it apart thats not quite true, and has sparked some re-evaluations of missing persons cases and stumbling upon information the FBI has redacted organically. there's also a series in the middle looking into the crimes of Kelly Cochran

Forgotten: Women of Juárez (finished) this series looks into the huge numbers of missing women of Ciudad Juárez, the strange circumstances surrounding them, and the potential cover-ups and corruptions on both sides of the border, trying to give a voice to all of the forgotten women and girls and their families without answers. the series itself is finished, but a spanish language edition is being released every week now.

aaaaaand i'll call it there before i list everything lol, i hope you find something to plug your boredom hole with !!

[veralovemail]

Hi! I would love myself a matchup if it's ok 👉👈

I'm female and pan, I'd prefer one of the males tho, Survivors please!

So uhhhh I differ in my personality a lot depending on the situation! I'm more of a loner around strangers IRL— shy, quiet, I don't like interacting and prefer to stay by the sidelines since being in the middle makes me uncomfy.

I try to be as polite as I can, even keeping in my opinions and pain a lot as to not Hurt anyone. I also tend to blame myself a lot for bad situations I'm a part in unless I know I absolutely didn't do anything!

Also I'm quite hot headed and have a bad temper, though I'm working on it! I have quite the problem with guilt and it comes to me fairly quickly when I do something bad.

Ah yeah I'm really forgetful and also really impatient KNRKS

Now- online!!

I'm a lot more open and chaotic. I like to tease my friends and jokingly make fun of them, etc. I try and stop when they tell me to, but I might understand it as them just joking too if they write it that way in my eyes-

I try to look on the positive side for them and their situations and am always willing to make someone happy even without words since it makes me happy too. I'd say I'm caring to a fault- I don't let loose until they finally do something healthy that they've been avoiding and I do get rather angry if I'm not taken seriously with that, causing me to maybe lash out at someone unwillingly,,- and then guilt pops in like "hi there 😍" KDHDJDJ

Anyway,

I encourage anyone to vent, though I'm not the best at giving advice. I'm more of a person who likes to listen and give support if they need it. Oh yeah- my attention span is REALLY short (as short as me good ol' 5'1 me aNENSJJSJD) so I get distracted pretty easily and procrastinate then.

As for hobbies: I love to draw! (As you might know-)Music is my life (especially Jazz) and video games are, too. Though mostly singleplayer Games since I only really like multiplayer with friends-

What else can I write..

Maybe like- I'm an ISFP-T And I think it was 5w6 that I was given by another test

I also got Philophobia, the fear of falling in love because of bad experiences but I'm tryna work on it!!

I guess I can also write about my appearance? I've got short, curly but chaotic black hair that's p much swept to the side- I'm definitely not that skinny lmao- and as I've said before, I'm 5'1! I usually wear casual clothes (hoodies, e.g!! They're so comfy...) I also got brown eyes and glasses!

I think that should be it.. ah yeah! In your introduction, you should prolly add your ID for others to add you because name search doesn't work! :0

Ok that's really it now- take your time, don't rush yourself and stay safe and hydrated!! 💕💕 Hope your blog takes off!

Sorry for my English by the way- I'm German so I might've messed up on a few things!

OH MY LORD I DID NOT KNOW THAT I HAD TO PUT IN MY ID... oml... thank u for telling me that. and don't worry about it, i can see how it'd be difficult (i actually studied german for my gcses :], it was very fun) but anyways! tysm for sending in btw!! i loved writing this, i hope u enjoy - mod vera ♡

i match you with ... naib subedar!

he kinda takes on to your quiet personality, unlike some of the other people around the manor. it's relaxing to be around somebody who doesn't talk much.

you two most likely met when robbie came over to the survivors' side of the mansion, jokingly demanding sweets... but it most likely sounded authentic. and oh god, is that an axe-

you two accidentally locked eyes but you both had a " ah shit, here we go again " face. it just kinda went from there.

at first, he's a tough nut to crack, but if you try hard enough, within a month or so you gain his trust and he .. deems you a friend?

you both kinda start falling for eachother after a period of time, but naib is great at hiding it BUT SIKE, so are you! it's like a game of who can pine for the other in the most subtle way possible.

however, if you tell him about your own troubles with falling in love, he may just open up a little too about his own troubles.

it's takes a while for you two to build a relationship, but eventually (after a lot of rescues, late night hangouts and just being near eachother) you make it!

when he learns about your more chaotic side, naib tries to keep up with you as best he can, he may just need a little tug to do so.

he loves your smile, especially the one you have when you're talking about your passions.

he also tries to help with your temper, but he's just as bad as you are.

however, he's there whenever you have a bad day - he can almost instantly tell, even if you try keep it to yourself. it could be the way you look at him, try to smile or talk, he does notice the change in your aura.

since your shorter than him, he likes holding you. it makes him feel like he's just protecting you from anything and anything, especially on one of your bad days.

he likes your optimism, looking on the good side of every situation. he once saw you trying to comfort robbie when he started crying about not finding any sweets around and you told him "look on a brightside robbie! now we know for next time to stash some away for you before we eat it all!" AND OH GOD, IS THAT AN AXE?

naib gets frequent nightmares about his time being a hired merc, so sometimes you may get woken up at 3 am because he's a bit distressed and needs a bit of comfort.

other times, he just finds holding you while you're fast asleep enough to put him back in a coma for the next 2 hours.

naib also encourages you to talk to him about stuff. whether it be what made you mad, how much of a bitch vera can be, ect. he's there for you and that man is never gonna let you carry your burdens alone.

saying that, you also have to remind him that he can't carry his own burdens sometimes and when you encourage him to talk to you about what's upsetting him, he'll most likely tell, depending on how bad it is.

he also grounds you a lot!! if you tell him about your forgetfulness, he's most likely going to try and remind you.

" hey, [ name ], you did bring [ item ] into the match, right? "

" um... "

" goddamnit [ name ], i thought i reminded you "

naib takes it upon himself to rescue you, or keep you within his general vicinity if you're in a match with him. he does know you can kite very well though! he just wants you near him for a bit of reassurance.

he can be mean sometimes, but he means it in the most endearing way possible since most of it is sarcasm.

you two kinda have " stab as a warning " vibes so nobody really opposes the two of you. even norton. not even freddy dares to oppose you because the last time he did, aesop almost had to prepare his equipment to embalm the poor fella.

when you lash out at someone, naib is there almost immediately to take you away to calm down and comfort you when your guilt kicks the door down and goes " Hey girlie! Hold still 😎 "

sometimes you have to do the same for him because you both have a tendency to lash out.. but.. never at eachother? you two kinda agree on the same things, there isn't much to exactly disagree on.

please draw him!! watch him while he's training in the garden and draw him, or just a few silly doodles of him.

he likes looking at your drawings, it kinds boosts his ego knowing that he's worthy enough to be drawn.

if he finds out that you like music, he'll tell you about nepalese music, or at least what he knew of it - if you both get engrossed in it, he may try and get you some records to play.

teach him how to dance, if you can. it'd make listening to music together way more fun.

he's very content with you!! he likes kissing you out of nowhere, too. you could just be chilling and naib would come up to you, turn you around and give you a smooch outta nowhere. but only in private.

i feel like neither of you would be big on pda, you just stick to holding hands around the manor.

if this were in a modern setting, you two could probably play a game like phasmaphobia together just for funsies.

all in all, your relationship with naib is mutually beneficial and robbie has learned to never ask for sweets again.

i hope you enjoy this <3 it's my first time writing naib too so i apologise if it's not very good </3

[myhoneststudyblr]

Introduction

With mocks all over now and the run up for GCSEs well underway in my school and many others, it’s got me thinking about last year when I was in this position like all the year 11s this year. I remember it being such a stressful and quite obscure thing because I had never done external exams before and I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought I would share some of my own experiences and advice and maybe quash some myths. I hope this will help and if anyone has anymore advice or specific questions feel free to message me or add a comment below.

Also while I will be focusing on GCSEs because they are exams that I have experience with, a lot of this advice will apply to other exams so don’t be put off!

*disclaimer*

these are just my own experiences with GCSEs and therefore are by no means universal. I have tried to draw from the experiences of friends and other people I know as well but everybody is unique so not everyone is going to be the same. BECAUSE OF THIS, not all of the advice will suit you and the way you learn. But I would suggest that you try at least a few of the tips just to see if it works.

Mocks - What do I do with them?

By this point, I think everyone will have done their GCSE mocks and probably have their grades back for them. Mocks were a very stressful experience for me because I hurt my hand literally the night before my first exam so I could barely write and I was in a lot of pain for the whole week of doing them. Because of this, I got very very stressed and then started to get worried that the same thing would happen in my GCSEs.

This leads me into my first point mocks are not the real thing: they are very much a trial run and I would say that nothing can really compare to the real exams. By the time you get to your second or third actual GCSE exam you reach a point where you don’t even think about the actual process of all the stuff you have to do before the exam because you are so focussed on the information. Furthermore, if you get grades that you are disappointed with, try not to be worried by that because they, in the grand scheme of things, do not matter

Do - learn from where you went wrong

Don’t - see a mock grade and get stressed out that you are going to fail the whole subject at GCSE

I know this is very easy to say but genuinely lots of people I know went up at least one grade from their mocks. Your mock grade is not an iron clad prediction of what you will get at GCSE

Now that you have got your grade, what do you do with the exam???

First, all of my teachers gave us back the paper to look through and then went through the mark scheme for each questions. THIS WAS SO SO HELPFUL!

If you get the paper, and you get a bad grade or one that is lower than what you were expecting, this is what I would you suggest you do:

Take a deep breath

Remember that this is only your mock grade not the final thing

Resolve yourself to actually learn from this

Read through the paper: did you make a silly mistakes? Did you keep making the same mistakes? Was there a particular question and topic that you lost lots of marks on?

Make notes on the mistakes

Ask the teacher to either give you the mark scheme or through the paper with you - I personally found this really useful because a lot of the time you can use the mark scheme to make notes for each topic and write processes, definitions, etc, using exactly what they want

Make a list of the topics that you found particularly difficult so that these can be your priority for revision

Key point - use your mocks as the spring board for your revision. They are there to point out any weak areas of your knowledge.

Pre-Study Leave Revision - “I haven’t done anything!”

After mocks I planned to get very serious with revision. I was going to dedicate 5 hours a week for all my revision during school time. In the Easter holidays i was going to stick to my revision timetable and I was going to do 6 hours a day. I was going to finish all of my notes for all of my subjects by the end of the Easter holidays.

I did not manage to do ANY OF THAT

My biggest advice for revision before study leave is to give yourself a break. Remember that you are still in school and are in probably the most stressful school year you’ve had yet.

You need to prioritise your studying and use your time wisely rather than put impossible standards on yourself which only make you more stressed when you can’t achieve them.

What should your priorities be:

Do you have any exams before study leave starts? If so, dedicate a little bit of time each weekend to revise that. For me, these were my German and French oral exams and these were the exams people in my school got most stressed about so make sure you’ve had plenty of practise

HOMEWORK!!! This may seem odd because at this point you may be thinking that your teachers shouldn’t be giving you homework and should just let you revise, but actually the homework they give, in my experience, can be really helpful. It is basically revision but you also know that someone is probably going to check whether you’ve done it so you’re more likely to actually do it

If you have time, but DON’T stress yourself trying to make time, do some past papers or make some notes

Revision Techniques: Past Papers vs Notes

Which method is better?

Honestly, neither. In fact you need to use a mixture of both to get the best out of your revision.

Note Taking

Pros:

writing out information is a good way to learn it

you need to know the information at least vaguely to properly be able to do past papers

it’s more studyblr aesthetic

Cons:

it’s very time consuming

you could be focusing more on making the notes look pretty than actually absorbing the information

there is the danger that you could spend so much time learning the information that you don’t actually have time to practise exam technique

Past Papers

Pros:

exam technique and learning to recognise what the question is asking for is really really important

you need to be able to practise doing the papers under timed conditions

you can start to see trends in the types of questions that they put on the papers

Cons:

they’re pretty difficult to do if you don’t know the information

sometimes it can feel like you are just answering questions rather than actually learning and revising

it’s a lot harder to refer back to the past papers to check information

As you can see, there are pros and cons to both so you can’t just rely on one method to get you through exams. here’s how I combined the two to maximise my revision:

I downloaded/printed off the specification for each of my subjects

I went through all of my class notes to see if there were any gaps in my class notes compared to the specification - if there were I would use my textbooks to make notes on it

Go through the specification again. Rank (eg through traffic light colours) each sub-topic on how confident you feel with it. [note: think carefully about this one and actually be honest with yourself. It’s very easy to just think you don’t know anything and make it all red- but in reality you are going to know quite a lot)

Make notes on your worst topics. And try to make notes in a way that is actually constructive and lays it out in a way that you can conceptualise it more. For example, in chemistry, I just could not ‘rates of reaction’ to click. It was one of the easiest topics but for some reason I could never answer the questions right so I make a mind map (before I had just written bullet points) and condensed my notes to one A4 page so I could refer to one the most important pieces of information.

Once you have finished making notes on your worst topics, do two past papers without any notes

Go through the past papers completely with the mark scheme. In a different colour pen to the one you wrote with, actually write the answers from the mark scheme on the past papers

Then, make your notes for the topics from the past paper mark schemes. For example, in biology, which has loads of content to learn, I would write processes, such as protein synthesis and generic experiments, using all of the key words given in the mark scheme. This meant that I always would hit all the key marks

Repeat this for each past paper you do and eventually you will see that you are no longer losing marks

Why this works:

You are making sure you know enough before starting the past papers

You are practising exam technique

You are making notes on the gaps in your knowledge using exactly what examiners want- which means lots of marks

Because you are doing lots of past papers, you can start to see themes and trends in past papers and the types questions that come up all the time

Study Leave

before my study leave, I didn’t think I would get much work done because I had been so bad at doing work and focusing on revision In half term and Easter but here’s a little bit of reassurance if you are thinking along the same lines as I was: study leave is completely different to a half term

I’m not entirely sure what exactly makes it so different but for me and pretty much everyone I know, it wasn’t actually that difficult to revise and stay focused during study leave. Maybe it’s because all you really have to think about are GCSEs or maybe it’s the sort of adrenaline of exam season but I was able to be more focused than I have ever been before.

Here’s my tips to help you:

Stay off your phone: you can either use an app like forest to make sure you stay off your phone during revision time or just turn it off completely

Prioritise your study schedule: there is no point studying for a biology exam that you have in three weeks if you have a history exam this week

Prioritise your studying: there is no point studying a topic that you already know like the palm of your hand if there are three other topics that you are not sure on

Stay hydrated and well fed: have healthy study snacks and lots of water. Also don’t feel bad if you need some more unhealthy snacks As a treat after exams or after finishing a particularly long day

Get a good night sleep as often as possible: taking GCSEs is extremely tiring. I can’t tell you the number of times I came home after a long day or week of exams and just completely wiped out. So it’s really important to sleep as much as possible even though I know pulling that all nighter is very tempting

Lean on your friends and others in your year: everyone is going through the same thing and there is also going to be someone who can help you. I found GCSEs to be one of the most uniting experiences in my school life

Summary

Use mocks to find the gaps in your knowledge

Before study leave, don’t set unrealistic revision goals, instead focus on completing homework

During study leave, use a mixture of notes taking and past papers to revise

Use past paper marks schemes to guide your notes

Prioritise your studying during study leave

Sleep well and stayed healthy

I hope this was helpful and if anyone has any other questions or more tips feel free to reblog or send me an ask/message

- Sophie x

[learnwithmasterminds]

GCSE Science Revision Courses

LEARN WITH MASTERMINDS

“A teacher’s Cry”

“A bumpy road”

Here I am, in a position to transfer my passion, knowledge and skills in science to the younger generation. Working at a school could not be better where I have the opportunity to interact with children and make a difference. However, as I take the journey of becoming an “expert teacher” progress slows due to a few bumpy roads.

Bumpy road one…..packed class sizes, a teacher to student ratio of 1:30. There is no doubt that in every class variation in abilities exist. A powerful tool to tackle these variations lies with a teacher’s ability to plan effective lessons. During the first year of my Teacher training, I have participated in small group interventions. It was evident, that varying abilities even existed within higher ability groups. Observing colleagues, being reflective on my own teaching practice, engaging in weekly readings and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions have enhanced my teaching practice and pedagogy. This leads to improvements when dealing with differences in abilities. Crowley et al., 2018 stated in “The Ultimate Guide to Differentiation” that there are a variety of factors that affect how children learn and should be taken into consideration when lesson planning. Some examples are pupils’ special educational needs (SEN), differences in abilities, speaking English as an additional language (EAL students), physical disabilities, age group and the level of prior knowledge, motivation and concentration. The scariest question I ask myself frequently as a teacher is whether the needs of all my pupils being met. Even though there is room for improvements within the other teaching standards, I can honestly admit that I have found teaching standard five the most challenging. In accordance with teaching standard five, teachers should use a variety of differentiated approaches to adapt to learning for varying abilities. A teacher’s awareness of the factors that can inhibit a pupil’s learning can be combat by keeping up to date with recent research, applying new strategies within the classroom and critically evaluating and reflecting on strategies trialled. It is also vital to have an understanding of how pupils learn throughout their stages of development. All of our Mastermind programs are based on a teacher-student ratio of 1:10. Lessons are planned before delivery to cater for varying abilities. Revision courses are also based on examiners reports; a report produced yearly that concludes all the topics and skills of difficulty faced by the students that took the actual exams that year. Our small class sizes also come in handy for our live online-required laboratory experiments that are tested on the actual exams. These experiments are explained in detailed so that students obtain rich knowledge on scientific concepts.

Bumpy road two……..” The best place for students to learn is at school with their peers”. A study showed that most children hate school. In a way, I do agree with the children’s feeling. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel in you were sat in a classroom and being taught to pass an exam rather than having the opportunity to do other “fun stuff”? One of the factors mentioned earlier, that could inhibit a pupil’s ability to learn is lack of motivation (Crowley, 2018).  It is not surprising that some students struggle terribly with academics. Some schools do not cater for non- academic students; I strongly believe that due to the lack of choices, some students become disengaged. For example, some students may be interested in more “Hands-on” courses such as hair and beauty, sewing or carpentry.  Claxton et al., 2008 states that children do not like school due to a rather boring curriculum. The study concluded that teachers felt that schools were more about passing examination results rather than teaching life skills that aid students in their transformation into adulthood. Some of the subjects that teachers thought would be beneficial to the curriculum were global awareness, human rights and managing risks. In addition, Teachers also thought that the following courses would make difference ethics, body awareness, resilience, and relaxation. A study “Draw a teacher” in Finland consisted of 428 fifteen-year-old students and 134 of their teachers. The study concluded that both teachers and students agreed with the values that an ideal teacher should possess. Some of the frequent ideals included honesty, forgiveness, loyalty, broadmindedness, equality and world at peace (Ellis, 2013). Children view teachers as role models; expectations should be set and maintained through consistency. Children will follow suit resulting in successful lesson outcomes. Masterminds courses do not only focus on academics, but we also conduct a lot of fun and engaging activities that focus on transferable skills. Report cards are sent home to parents three times a year that focuses on both academics and transferable skills. Parents also have the opportunity to attend face-to-face online meetings to discuss pupil’s progress. Our expectations are high for all our students and we act as positive role models so that children can follow suit.

Bumpy Road three……. Here at Learn with Masterminds we want to push our students but at the right level! Schools are singing the same song in a teacher’s ear. The kids need a challenge! The kids need a challenge! Can challenge always be seen as good? The level of challenge can inhibit pupils’ learning. Author Cowley S. could not have stated it better in the author’s “Top ten teaching tips”. It is important to be “flexible” and know how to “strike a balance”. If the content is too simple or difficult this may allow students to become off task or disengage completely from the lesson (Cowley, 2013). Vygotsky states that social interaction is the key to learning. This is because people learn through the experiences of others. Vygotsky stated that people learn from MKO (Most Knowledgeable Others) in a Zone of Proximal Development. The Zone of Proximal Development is an area where learning takes place with the help of an MKO. The Zone of Proximal Development is an aspect of scaffolding and can be best achieved by assessing a student’s prior knowledge, encouraging group work, allowing an MKO to lead the group, breaking down complex information into simpler forms and introducing the challenge to stretch an individual out of their comfort zone. Scaffolding a building provides it with structure, as the building progresses the scaffolds are removed. Scaffolding techniques can be used through modelling to explain a task thoroughly; students -teacher interactions can be used to boost practice. As the student's practice increases, the level of teacher support should decrease gradually. As the level of challenge increases, the level of competency also increases within an individual’s zone of proximal development. If the work is too difficult, students can become disengaged and if the work is too easy, students could become bored, increasing behavioural problems (Bates, 2019). Learn with Mastermind courses are strongly based on Vygotsky’s theory of learning and Rosenshine’s ten principles on instruction with aspects of the challenge being pitched at the right level.

Bumpy road four… The school curriculum seems separate but we should bring maths, geography into science, English into science. All these subjects should be taught in a way that shows students a linkage. However, for some reason students perceive all these subjects as different. For example in biology students are taught Ecology, this is a brilliant time to talk about global warming which should have been learned in geography! Learn with masterminds Implements Maths and English into science! These workshops aid to enhance graphing, data analysis, grammar and punctuation skills. Why should English and Mathematics be implemented across science? In 2007, 44% of students obtained a baseline pass in GCSEs (Minimum of five GCSEs including Mathematics and English). Around 350,000 teenagers struggle with Mathematics and English (Claxton, 2008). During a CPD session, I have learned that in Britain 1 in 20 adults have a reading age of five years old and about 28% of adults have a literacy level of 1 or below (grades D-G).

Bumping road five… When schools refuse to stretch the pounds. Carpel, Leask and Younie, 2019 states that there are two types of motivation. Motivation can be intrinsic; this occurs when students engage with an activity for their own sense of pleasure. Motivation can also be extrinsic; this occurs when students are engaging with an activity to obtain for example a prize. It worries me, that some schools have no homework policy. I had recently issued a piece of homework during a sequence of learning. About 20% of class completed the homework and were given positive points for their efforts. There is absolutely no consequence for the students that never bothered to complete the homework. It is a culture shock for me to see that student’s books are left at the back of classrooms, students being reluctant to complete homework and participate with independent learning. What are we teaching our kids for University level of study? I teach my year 11 class, three times over two weeks. It is not enough time to master a concept fully. The practice is required outside of school to allow for a mastery. Once a task is repeated numerous times, your brain stores the information and tasks become automatic (Willingham, 2009). Are summative exams good or bad? Looking at the positive end, good grades on a test can increase a pupil’s level of motivation. This success builds confidence and sparks a student to achieve more (Carpel, Leask and Younie, 2019).Assessments can affect a student’s level of performance and self-esteem. There are three main issues surrounding assessments. Firstly, assessments are inconsistence, are not shared or evaluated among teaching staff. How can we tell if pupils are being tested on what they need to know? Secondly, the majority of the times grades are given only rather than written advice that will allow a student to address misconceptions. Grades only feedback is unfocused and lacks the ability to amend gaps in knowledge. Research has shown that issuing grades only after a test can defeat the purpose of the feedback process. Thirdly, predictions are made on a teacher’s own set of grades; the previous years are not taken into consideration. Some teachers are incompetent and are unaware of the teaching needs of pupils (Black and William 2006). Weekly homework forms a part of our Masterminds courses to allow for practice, mastering and time for students to respond to feedback. Both grades and written improvements are given and students are required to act on these. Good grades, attitude and punctuality can increase a student’s chance of obtaining a £25 student of the month gift card! Should we have standardised exams or summative assessments? I truly believe that testing a student based on grades only is not the most effective strategy. We need to allow the students to release their creativity to form their inner self. What exactly is the purpose of education? We are moulding young people to become well-rounded individuals. Young people must be tested on transferable skills for example teamwork, communication or public speaking. I think that a student’s final grade should be a mixture of both coursework and exams. Coursework assignments are a useful tool for assessing a student’s ability as anxiety is reduced. In addition, the new generation is focused on technological improvements for example smartphones and tablets. These create “noise” and takes away from the “thought process”. The curriculum should shift from an exam perspective to life skills or Mindfulness. “Mindfulness” is important for the brain’s relaxation; technologies create noise and “loss of thought” resulting in a “loss of creativity” (Stephen and Warwick 2015).

Becoming less Bumpy 6…………….. Learn with Masterminds is an online tutoring business providing services to GCSE students. The business main goal is to support students outside the classroom due to the demands within a classroom. We did not open this business to exploit parents. We opened a business because we care! Hence, our prices are the cheapest compared to other businesses in the Kent area. What are you waiting for? Why not check out our website at www.learnwithmasterminds.com follow us on Facebook. Instagram and Twitter!

[cloudoclock]

1 Year Later : My Sixth Form Masterpost 😊🧐

Last Summer, I decided to make a Masterpost of all the tips I gathered for people moving from year 11 to college of sixth form, as well as those who need any academic aids.

Today I decided to make a review of the  masterpost I made for sixth formers last year. I’m now going into year 13, so I’ve had time to think about what’s best for me and as a very determined student, I thought it would be a good idea to look back at what I thought I needed.

Websites and Resources

Revision world - I did not use this at all this year. The only useful thing that came out of this website was the ability to make mind maps because I always get lost when I do them by hand - although there’s many other sites for that. 2/10

Specs - Going to your exam board website and printing out your specifications are a big help because you can outline your own self study throughout the year. Keeping track is essential. This was very essential for my Media class and English Literature because they are essay based and the spec is perfect for planning. 8/10

Specimen Papers and Walkthroughs - we all know how useful practice is and finding up-to-date papers are essential for calming yourself into the exam mindset. Walkthoughs on Youtube are also great because it gives a condensed version of the exam thought process. As someone who struggled with improving my essay writing to A Level standards, specimen papers are essential to my own planning  and actually understanding how arguments are executed. 8.5/10

Powerpoints  or Prezi- this one is a bit of an odd one and does require a bit of digging. Search up “a level (subject) powepoint/presentation” and there may be a presentation from teachers on a unit from your subject. On Prezi there are loads of presentations that are easy to follow and vary in content. This was unintentionally the most useful resource for Media Studies. In my class, our teachers would set us up in groups bi-weekly and just give us an element of media to make presentations on. Luckily when you do a search along with “slideshare” there’ll be an array of student-made presentations. I don’t encourage copying but it cuts down on time spent searching for main facts. 10/10

Youtube - of course everyone’s favourite site is a useful resource. However, it is very easy to get distracted so look at specific channels and playlists. I actually didn’t use youtube too much this year, but I think it’s great for advice videos. 5/10

Emma studies - this is truly my prinatable queen annd planner life saver. She has all these free printables and layouts that you can just put in your binder and in your books to keep up with your work. However, I haven’t been journaling since COVID properly started in February, so I need to figure that out haha. *Note she hasn’t really been active in a while

Study Methods

Cornell Method - Not useful for someone like me. I did not practice this method enough because of its inefficiency and have now realised its totally useless for my style of work. I advise that you get a Skillshare and watch the entirety of Ali Abdaal’s study class or go look on his Youtube channel. The summary section is counter is a waste of space as I would probably rush it to just do it. Although the questions section is the most useful part, its more efficient to write the questions as a title and make additions after.

Colour schemes- Once again, another very very pretty add-on to notes but I stand by the rule of a MAX 3 colour scheme. I must reiterate that this is an add-on and it is best to stick to one colour pen, rather than switching between pens. 

Rewriting Notes after class - now I know the idea seems long winded and a waste of your time, but ... I now realised it is actually A WASTE OF TIME. I earnestly entreat you to watch the skillshare class I mentioned. The act of re-writing extensive notes from class is not active recall, even though the act of writing is partially benefitial. I would advise writing down key points and specific points for the exam, but not much more. Repeated exposure to these facts or ideas is much better because you do all the summarising in your head. Obviously, this is the time you can make reformed notes, but doing it for every lesson is strenuous in the long run.  The learning doesn’t take place on paper so save the environment. 

Music

My light playlist - this playlist is pretty chill and a bit of a autumn night vibe.

Reading playlist - there’s pretty good scores on here for reading sessions for a bit of a switch from the usual (I really loved this during the autumn term, especially for English)

White noise- I loved this and some exam hall sounds on youtube.

Supplies

Home Binder/ expanding file - Unfortunately, I am yet to have a system that works with binders. It really does help to have a small file to hold all your papers, but I would use online files and not print unless necessary.

Binder for lessons- For STEM, language and perhaps essay classes, I think you definitely need a place to store all that content. Make sure you declutter often!

Refill pad/ notebook- I hated my perforated books and I’m starting to grow hatred for wirebound books (maybe its the way I store them), but I like having an easy notebook on the go.

Post its/ page tabs- I personally think these are a little wasteful if you are not using them consistently. Page tabs are very good for books if you need to focus on themes, characters or as points for essays.

Planner- please, please, please get a planner. You need a planner regardless of how you do it - online, bujo or on daily memo sheets.

USB - not many people talk about having a usb, maybe because we are in the digital age of sharing. When you need to quickly open docs or powerpoints in school, or in the library or at home, no one has time to wait for google drive. I learned how important it was to have a usb in gcses and it is worth the extra effort.

Tips and advice

The jump in self discipline, workload and effort at a level is different for everyone, but it is helpful for you prepare in whatever way you can, so that the hit isn’t so scary. I got hit so hard and was giving up by November; those videos about being tired are no joke.

Your friends are not always the best people to organise study groups with. Unless you are sure, that work is going to get done, its best that you find people that you can get serious with. I still stand by this because I know not everyone has a nice study space at school and the sooner you get used to focusing alone or better yet with a teacher, the better.

If you feel yourself losing focus and even after taking a break, you’re uninterested,stop and refresh at another time or the next day. You’re brain is doing so because it cannot fit anything else in there and forcing yourself isn’t helping anyone. If you continuously burn yourself out, you will find it difficult to come back to the work because you’re constantly reminding yourself of how much of a chore it is. - I got burned out twice and never recovered. Please take care.

Ask your teachers and your head of year questions. The magic word “ucas” is going to be popping up and soon enough you’re going to be worrying about your personal statement.(Its popping up right now for me </3) If you have a query, find a time to talk with them because it is invaluable support. If you’re like me, write on a piece of paper the questions you have and meet your teacher in a free or at lunch so you can be comfortable and get down what you can. They’re a lot more understanding than I thought.

You can buy all the supplies and ask all the questions but implementing these keys are all on YOU. If you feel yourself slipping, be honest and accept it because if you keep running from it, you could seriously damage your physical and mental health. Keep a diary so you can notice patterns in your energy.

Your best is your best. Succcess is subjective blah blah blah and no one can take that from you. When you get your results, you know what you put into those exams/coursework , so you are entitled to disappointment or joy.

This took me a while to make so I appreciate any comments or reblogs. I love you random person.  If you got to this point I would appreciate it if you could follow my general account on Instgram @fairy_lierre, as I’m going to rest my studygram. Stay tuned for lots more on a level advice and life update <3

[amphtaminedreams]

To All the Characters I’ve Overly Identified with Before: Borderline Personality Disorder and Attachment to Fictional Characters

It’s been a month, and I’m still not over how Game of Thrones ended. I’m still not over the way that a character who, throughout the previous seventy something episodes of the show, was only ever ruthless towards people who were deserving of her wrath (within the context of westerosi justice because let’s not forget everyone’s favourite man of honour Ned Stark decapitated a young man for running for his life in the first episode), suddenly massacred a whole city in the penultimate episode. I’m not over the way that writers who spent the previous seasons showing that they were capable of translating the moral ambiguity of George R.R Martin’s characters from page to screen, got lazy and left us with a character whose actions became impossible to defend right as the show was ending. I’m not over the way that such a beautifully complex character who endured so much hurt and trauma was reduced to nothing more than a “crazy woman” by a couple of male writers in her final moments. I’m not over the fact that Emilia Clarke put her heart and soul into the character and did everything she could to bring Daenerys Targaryen to life for David Benioff and Dan Weiss to both literally and figuratively assassinate her.

I think those feels have been felt by a lot of Game of Thrones fans since the show ended. God knows I’ve watched enough youtube video essays and read enough articles and liked enough tweets reiterating the sentiment. Daenerys Targaryen was, in my opinion, the best character on Game of Thrones. I wasn’t angry because she didn’t end up sitting on the throne (though my boy Drogon made sure nobody else ever would either and I guess I can get behind that), I was angry because all the balance that made her character so great was thrown out the window in order to progress the story of her male counterpart and bring a show that probably could’ve done with another 2 seasons to an end. Dany has always had a dark side, she is the “fire” that the title of the book series refers to, but throughout the show, we’ve never seen her indulge that side to the point of no return. We’ve seen her wrestle with it and use it to exact punishment on those who deserve it when needs be, and that was part of what I liked about her. Not to go all feminist essay on anyone’s ass but we don’t usually get to see women in TV who are celebrated for their powers of intimidation, and I liked how prior to season 8, the narrative never made female characters like Dany or Arya or Brienne out to be monsters for killing people the same way that basically every single man on the show did at one point or another. I liked that sometimes she was a little excessive because it made sense, she did have “dragon” in her, and she still had lines she wouldn’t cross, clear values and principles; she fought for the innocent, for women and for children, and for freedom. On a personal level, I loved her because we watched her go from a lonely, scared and vulnerable girl to a strong, ambitious and self-assured woman and that was a trajectory I wanted to relate to.

And then all of a sudden, without any justification or build up at all, she’s a mass murderer of the same “downtrodden” people she always claimed to fight for. Fuck, I’m thinking. I literally watched that episode through my hands because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. When I say I cried on and off for about 3 days after I watched the final episode, I’m not exaggerating; I only need to see a screen cap now a month later or an interview with Emilia Clarke and I’m off again. It literally felt as if I was mourning the loss of a real person. But this isn’t the first time I’ve had this kind of attachment to a character. Daenerys Targaryen was probably just the last in a long list of women I overly identified with.

I’m not much like her at all really, I’ve burnt myself from taking the film off my microwaved lasagne and not moving my thumb away from the hot air in time (lmao), however, I think I saw parts of myself in her journey and traits that I wanted to have, thus, I latched on. Before Daenerys Targaryen there was Spencer Hastings and before her there was Cassie Ainsworth and then if we’re gonna throw it all the way back, there was Hermione Granger (and some other characters I was more mildly obsessed with along the way, Katniss Everdeen, Bree Van de Kamp and Cosima Niehaus, I’m looking at you). I still love all those characters now but when their respective shows or films were actually current, I was completely obsessed. I spent my 16th birthday at the Harry Potter studios on the outskirts of London with my family, forget birthday parties or meals out with my friends. I wished more than anything that I had 2 best friends that loved me unconditionally and I did my best to emulate that drive and intelligence and work ethic everyone associates with Hermione. I told myself I was just like her even though I lacked the confidence to put my hand up in all but one of my classes and last time I checked, was just trying to conquer GCSEs not fight an evil wizard snaked hybrid man or whatever Voldemort is.  I identified with the loneliness and the need for control that I saw in Cassie, and was like “oH eM GeE, tHat’s sO mE!” at Spencer’s perfectionism. When I was speeding for my exams (and then, unfortunately, for long after), I felt spiritually connected to that whole Pretty Little Liars arc where Spencer started popping adderall on the daily even though I could really only wish for someone to care about me enough to stalk me like A did and the worst possible outcome of my all nighter was not taking in enough content to bullshit my way through a 30 marker.

They would understand me, they would be my friend. They represent me. That was the baseline sentiment of my obsession. And I think that’s the borderline part of me jumping out. See, such a huge part of BPD is feeling unwanted and misunderstood and forgettable and really, deeply lonely.  Like it’s a kind of loneliness I think you feel like an actual person can never really fulfil because the (faulty and not necessarily reflective of reality) thought pattern is that they’ll lose interest and leave you sooner or later. Fictional characters are always there, until the show gets cancelled or the character gets killed off, at least, and then comes the completely disproportionate tidal wave of grief. They exist in a different world too, a one that feels a lot less dangerous (even if it’s actually way more dangerous, I mean I really wouldn’t last five fucking minutes in Westeros) and detached from the often chronically muted reality of BPD.

Then there’s the trouble with the sense of self, part and package of BPD for most, which facilitates, you know, thinking that a genius witch or, like, any character in skins (because in hindsight as great as that show was, WHY DO NONE OF THEM HAVE JOBS YET SEEMINGLY AN ENDLESS SUPPLY OF DRUGS AND PARENTS THAT NEVER SEEM TO CARE WHERE THE HELL THEY ARE!?) resembles you as a person in any way. Though I suppose I’m learning recently as I begin to reflect more on what I enjoy and value, I’ve never had much more than a vague idea of what my positive qualities are, so when I saw them fully realised in a character it was a treasure trove of mannerisms and traits and ways of carrying oneself to adopt. It becomes a mould into which you can squeeze the ball of meh-ness and uncertainty you feel you resemble. Now I’m realising that although it might take me a little more time and a lot more effort, it’s much more rewarding to become the very best version of myself, but back then, I suppose I didn’t recognise why I was doing what I was doing. 

I only got diagnosed with BPD and started learning about it when it was 19, so all the years before that were pretty much spent unaware of the reasons why I had these quirks. As I “recover” (I suppose that’s the right word) and I get back into hobbies and spend more time with friends, I feel like I’m beginning to discover more and more of who I am. I’m starting to accept that there are positive things about me and plenty of things for people to like, right here in this world, not some fictional one.

I still love characters way too much and get overly attached and invested in TV shows but even that doesn’t necessarily have to be something to be ashamed of. When I’ve got into *ahem* discussions with people online about characters before, I’ve occasionally gotten the “why do you care so much, it’s not real life!” in response, and I mean, there’s definitely a point to be made if your passion for something is causing you to lash out at real life people with real life feelings. But when you’re not, when it can give you hours of discussion and entertainment and can drive you to make real positive changes in the world too, what’s wrong with passion? There’s nothing I love more than having a conversation with someone who I can tell really loves what they’re talking about, so why should I be ashamed of having the capacity to become deeply invested in things too? I think as long as it’s not taking over my life as I have allowed it to do so in the past, there’s nothing wrong with having passion for fictional things or for anything, for that matter. As long as it’s not something fucked up, like idk, white supremacy or Rick and Morty (JOKING). 

I don’t regret loving all the things I loved because being a huge Harry Potter fan for so many years did give me an escape when I absolutely hated myself and couldn’t find much enjoyment in real life. I hope that if I do have children one day, they’ll love it too, maybe not quite as much as I did but enough for it to give them all the joy it gave me, all the same. So in summary, yeah, fuck David Benioff and Dan Weiss (lmao, I’m joking, they’re just shitty original screenplay writers who could probably do with a class or two on how to write female characters), but also, understand before you make fun of someone for being overly invested in something that there’s probably a good reason for it and that, at the end of the day, they’re usually not hurting anyone. I’ll probably still be stanning Daenerys Targaryen and pretending season 8 episode 5 didn’t happen until the day I die. Let me live, okay?

Lauren x

[btsybrkr]

What A Time To Be At Home!: The Best And Worst Coronacontent The Internet Has To Offer

Remember that joke that’s been around for ages, but was being told literally everywhere back in 2019? The one that went something like, “I hate it when people ask me where I’ll be in a year’s time - I don’t have 2020 vision!”?

Well, I bloody wish someone did.

In fact, in early January, I wrote out my own predictions for the decade ahead right here on my blog. They were obviously entirely hypothetical and - I thought - ridiculous. They were just a series of daft ideas that I thought I could take the piss out of, in the hope that people might read it and take a second out of their day to do an amused little nose exhale for me. But now, even the post-apocalyptic TV show ideas I pitched in that piece seem less ‘far-off dystopian chaos’, and more like they could be pleasant additions to the BBC Summer schedule.

The world is in the throes of a global pandemic, the likes of which haven’t been seen since… I don’t know, The Black Plague, maybe? As a result of that, the instructions have been clear: stay home, save lives. 

At first, the thought of being given a period of Government-sanctioned laziness seemed like a dream to many. We could write our autobiographies! Learn Klingon! Build ourselves a whole new house! But six weeks in, it appears to have started messing with the collective consciousness of the human race. Brains are fried, your Weekly Screen Time is up 103%, stomachs are full to the brim with banana bread and dalgona coffee, and certain celebrities’ egos are in a fight to the death with their common sense. In a time when we’re all supposedly doing nothing, there’s still so much going on. 

With that in mind, I thought we could recognise some of the things we’ve seen online that have kept us talking in lockdown, not just because of Coronavirus, but in spite of it. 

Welcome to the first (but hopefully not annual) What A Time To Be At Home! awards. The WATTBAH!’s, if you like.

The ‘Why On Earth Did You Think This Was A Good Idea?’ Award

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a sizable handful of blunders by the rich and famous that have, at worst, knocked them down a fair few places in our estimations and, at best, have left us scratching our heads, wondering what response they were expecting in the first place. 

With that in mind, it’s only right that this title goes to the original celebrity lockdown mistake: Gal Gadot’s ill-advised acapella cover of Imagine, featuring a variety of different Hollywood stars - not one of whom had the foresight to ask “are you sure this doesn’t make us look like complete arseholes?”, which, unfortunately, it absolutely does. 

Between the bizarre and insincere ‘I have a dream’-style speech at the beginning, the boldness of some of those featured to be quite clearly just taking the piss, and the fact everyone appears to be singing ever-so-slightly below the note without ever actually hitting it for the entirety of the song, this was tone-deaf in more ways than one. It’s even worse when you realise that this was posted less than one week into the lockdown, but then what would I know? Maybe madness sets in faster in multi-million dollar mansions. Probably because it echoes louder and bounces off the walls of your massive living room.

The ‘I Had To Suffer Through This, So You Do, Too’ Award

This award recognises content we’ve been witness to over the last few weeks that was so awful, so completely uncomfortable to watch, that after you’d gotten over the initial disbelief at what you’d just seen, you immediately had to send it to somebody you know, so that you can suffer through it together.

Despite how many celebrity lockdown moments have left me with my head in my hands over the last few weeks, this award could only go to a very recent contender - one which isn’t simply an embarrassing piece of celebrity lockdown content, but will likely haunt the inner corners of my brain long after this virus is simply a topic taught about in GCSE History lessons of the future. 

I am, of course, talking about Olly Murs. I’m talking about Pringlegate. I’m talking about Olly Murs removing the bottom of a can of Sour Cream and Onion Pringles to trick his own girlfriend into touching his penis. On video, on TikTok.

Twitter: @buckyw1ng

There’s something inherently quite chilling about Pringlegate. It might be something to do with the 10,000 watt grin on Olly’s face as we watch him carefully maneuver a tin opener around the bottom of the can, or perhaps it’s just the question of how long he’d been sat there holding it around his naked penis as he and his girlfriend watched a film, patiently waiting for the moment to strike. Perhaps it’s the way the video freezes as she reaches over for a Pringle, allowing time for Olly Murs’ to add in an audio clip of himself, shouting “SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND”. 

Maybe it’s the uncontrollable show of amusement he launches into as she snatches her hand back in shock, laughing away, heartily, as if to say “Ha! You thought it was a normal can of Pringles, but it was actually my PENIS covered in Pringles crumbs! You just got PUNKED!”, like it was all simply a clever ruse. 

Above all else, I think the most uncomfortable thing about it is that I can’t help but feel like all bets are off in 2020, and that this is a fairly tame warm-up for things to come.

So, Olly Murs, you are inarguably the rightful winner of the ‘I Had To Suffer Through This, So You Do, Too’ award. Congratulations! Don’t do it again, yeah?

The ‘Are You Actually Aware Of These Words Coming Out Of Your Mouth?’ Award

I’ve said some stupid things since this lockdown started. Personally, I put it down to the lack of social interaction, which I think might be frying my brain a little bit, or at least that’s what the ornament of a turkey that sits on my kitchen windowsill told me the other day. However, I don’t think I or anybody I know has said anything even one fraction-of-an-iota as void of intelligent thought as Vanessa Hudgens’ terrible opinions on social distancing, shared in a now-infamous Instagram live last month. 

“It’s a virus,” she clarified, helpfully, before going on to explain, “I get it. I respect it.” 

I’m sure your respect means the world to it, Vanessa, but do you ‘get’ it?

“But even if everybody gets it, like… yeah… people are gonna die,” she explains, in a tone so chirpy that the word ‘die’ might as well be replaced by the phrase ‘have such a bloody lovely old time’, “which is terrible, but, like… inevitable?” 

In all fairness, death is inevitable, but I don’t know if suggesting speeding up that process for thousands of people because you were disappointed that Coachella was cancelled is an equally logical take.

After a brief - and probably quite profound - moment of self-reflection, she laughs “I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t be doing this right now”. Oh, you think? Which bit? Just holding these insane ideas, or actually broadcasting them to your 39.1 million Instagram followers? 

She did post a video the day after, clarifying that - despite what she said - she is staying at home, and is urging others to do the same. I guess she does respect the virus after all. Now, if everyone could hurry up, catch it and die from it, so that she can go to Coachella 2021, Vanessa Hudgens might respect you, too. 

I guess We’re All In This Together, after all.

The Show Of Support Award

I’ve already talked a lot about the rich and famous here, so maybe it’s time to take a break from that madness - although, I get it, I respect it - and have a look at how the rest of our lives look at the moment.

One weekly occurrence that seems to be set to stick around is the weekly round of applause for the NHS. Whilst it’s nothing short of blood-boilingly annoying seeing Boris Johnson absent-mindedly clapping in celebration of a service that he recently admitted he hadn’t even noticed the strain on until he, himself, nearly died of the virus, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the rest of us getting involved. If anything, it’s heart-warming to see the videos of NHS staff being applauded by neighbours as they leave for work, and to hear the cheers echoing through the streets at 8pm every Thursday. There’s a lot of people being quite cynical about it. We obviously know it’s not going to stop Coronavirus in its tracks, but sometimes it’s just nice to be nice, alright?

One thing I’ve noticed recently is how many people have adopted different noise-making strategies, possibly in an effort to effectively boost their support by a factor of 300%. Banging pots and pans together appears to be the most popular, but the winner of this award saw your pots and pans and said “how sweet”, before showing us how it’s really done.

I present to you, a genius. The ultimate hype-man.

Twitter: “a deeply disturbed national psyche” - @willuminare

There’s something so chaotic and angry about the energy in this video, just one man, a cricket bat, and a wheelie bin, banging away to show his gratitude. Just living in the moment. I wish the neighbour who’d captured it on camera had caught more of it, or at least just enough to edit the footage with Electric Youth’s soaring synth anthem  ‘A Real Hero’ from the soundtrack of the movie Drive against it.

I’ve been trying to learn to play the keytar in lockdown, to near enough no avail. Maybe at 8pm next Thursday, I’ll just take it outside and smash it against the pavement. You know, for the NHS.

Honourable Mentions: The Very Best In Coronacontent

It’s not all been so questionable - there’s been a lot of uplifting, funny, positive and thoughtful things shared online over the past few weeks. John Krasinski’s YouTube series Some Good News has provided a much-appreciated contrast from the bleakness of traditional current affairs programmes. There’s five weeks worth of episodes on his YouTube channel at the moment, so I would definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you feel like you need a lift! 

Over on Twitter, there’s been a lot to laugh about, as ‘front camera comedians’ are well and truly in their element (my personal favourite recently has been Alistair Green), as well as plenty of other users who are utilising their free time to create some brilliant stuff - this six-part opera based on a 2007 Facebook argument by Archie Henderson is genuinely one of the funniest things I’ve seen in weeks.

Twitter: “I made a six-act opera out of a conversation between some 14 year olds on my Facebook from 2007″ - @jazzemu_

All in all, these are obviously bizarre times that we’re living in. We don’t know how many more weeks of lockdown we’re going to have, when we’ll get back to normal, or even if ‘normal’ will mean something completely different from now on. 

What we do know is that the internet, and everyone on it - whoever they are or whatever they’re saying - will continue to surprise us, inform us, entertain us, provide a place for our quizzes and conversations, and keep us together in some sense, when we have no choice but to be apart. 

Thanks to anyone who’s read this far. I hope that you and your friends and families are keeping well, and that you took even a slight shred of lockdown enjoyment from even one thing I’ve said over the past couple thousand words! 

Finally, before I go, I thought we might share a little song. It goes like this:

Imagine there’s no heaven....

if you like, can follow me on twitter here or instagram here :-)

[no1trash2003]

GCSE is an absolute, inarguable joke.

Recently, contravercy has sprung up about the usefulness of the new spec GCSE. As of June of this year, 2019, I completed my allotted gcse's. I can say with absolute certainty that the exams I partook in were a joke.

Last year, I completed 3 GCSE courses early, English lit, Physics and Biology. My school made a complete mess of this. We learned all of my two science courses within the year, with 3 different qualified teachers (all separately after they fled the school) and 5 supply teachers, none of whom knew anything about the subject. I can say without a doubt that my year was unprepared and suffered the consequences. This, along with how hard the gcse was supposed to be now, resulted in many of my peers not even showing up on the exam day after collapsing under the pressure of preconceived failure. Many of those who tried in the gcse, learning the entirety of the course in their own time in other words, did well.

In other words, it was easy. Well, at least, answering the questions was. After getting their results back many were shocked at their low grade, but as it turns out (and as many of them knew) Mark's were not given on how correct an answer was or how thought out it was. No, Mark's were given entirely based off how many key words you could shove into your 6 marker, or how much flowery bullshit you could beat your english answer with.

Just to put this into context, I didn't try in my y10 GCSE's. I knew for my science GCSE, it was entirely based off memorisation. I knew for my English GCSE I had to spell out the obvious with some pretty words sprinkled on top. I slept in class, I drew for my art GCSE, I did maths- all in my english lessons, and my science lessons which early into the year virtually became free periods.

I went into the exam apathetic. In the holidays that followed, I lost no sleep.

We didn't have a results day, so I called up the school when the y11's got their results. In English lit, I was a few Mark's off a 9, A*. In biology, a 6, B. In physics, 7, A. To put this even more into perspective, I have dyslexia, a learning disability affecting language with which I received no accommodation for in or outside of my exams. I also suffer from auditory memory gaps.

Without a doubt I can say my exams were a joke, simply because of how well I did. My friends, who studied for hours and stressed to the point of it being labelled a disorder, came back with lower grades than me.

They knew the content better than me, without a doubt. Their understanding was deep where mine was shallow. They could recite key words off by heart. They did everything they could to do well in these exams, and were evidently lied to when they were told their efforts would be rewarded.

So, if not depth of understanding or key words separated a 9 from a 6, what does? What reason am I granted the ability of easily sliding by my gcse's when they struggled?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

In the being of the year, I'd taken one look at the mark scheme and known. My results would be completely meaningless. All it took in english, was saying the book or poem i was writing about was shit, fluffing it up with worthless words, and the mark scheme shat out an 8, A*. In my Physics GCSE, all it took was maths to get that 7. I didnt know shit about anything else. In biology, much the same.

I did well because I knew how to bullshit my way through. I knew where to slap a pretty word to seem smart and I knew how to use a calculator to its fullest potential. These skills, unfortunately, have nothing to do with the supposed gcse topic and are not in the spec.

I did better because I could lie better- and no, I didnt bother cheating

How is that not a joke? HOW can something so fickle and abstract decide my future, and the future of my friends? Why does it condemn those that seek knowledge for knowledges sake, and reward those like me, who know well enough that the whole thing was a sham?

This idea was strongly reinforced when I went onto Y11.

It was filled to the brim with more of the same. Shove in some flowery words, say something is a bit shit, do some maths. This time, however, I wanted to test a theory.

What difference would trying make?

There were exams I'd have to try in, like Fine Art and maths, but the rest were just as bullshit as the last year. For example, in chemistry, we had an actual teacher for a grand total of 3 weeks, and the course spec was so basic and boring that a 3 year old could understand it- if, you know, it wasnt overloaded with pointless bullshit to the point of looking to be gibberish. It was like asking someone to memorize a dictionary, and testing them on a small specific section of it that is to be randomly selected. The results would obviously be completely random.

Its easily understood that people are simply better at some things and worse at others. Someone who is good at this randomly selected section of the spec will do better in the exam than someone with a more rounded understanding of the spec as a whole. The exam is completely and utterly the bitch of this concept.

I find nanotubes (and related fullerines) as well as maths easy. I did well in the chemistry paper. I'm good at testing for things, I did well. My friend knew everything there was to know about atoms, radiation and reactions. This was not heavily featured in the exam, so they are marked lesser. My other friend had a good understanding of the spec as a whole, but due to this couldn't answer the highest level questions with the most Mark's as their understanding was left shallow. They are marked lesser. Trying didnt make a difference, and I see that now more than ever, at least for chemistry.

In geography, I tried my best. I know that, unfortunately, my memory issues dragged me down. As sad as it is to say, my learning disability and memory issues, both diagnosed officially, held me back in the memory based exams. Fortunately, I had my understanding of the subject as a small consolation. It was secondary to the memory aspect unfortunately, and mostly answered low mark questions. How sick is it, that understanding is secondary in the face of memory. Truly, a these exams were built around memorizing a textbook. Trying didnt make a difference. In the end, I failed to memories much of anything. The things based off understanding were obvious and required little to no effort to grasp. I know I could slept those classes away, and the only difference would be a slight increase in my health. The exam, evidently, was a joke.

Now, to the main reason I wrote this long winded and obvious rant.

The English Language GCSE.

Of course I tried my hardest. In every mock bar one I got high 9's. I helped my classmates. I participated and revised and stressed. I turned up to the exams, feverish with tonsillitis. I tried my best, both for the exam and to not throw up. I littered my words with as many false pleasantries and flowery bulshit as I could. I called the basic and dull literature what it was, basic and dull, a thing discouraged by teachers despite earning me my 9s. I wrote some depressing drivel in the final question 5, making sure to put mild, professional and somewhat abstract opinions into it (again, something that gave me 9's)

I left the exam without pride. I was sure I'd done well, but the success I was meant to feel was only grief for the years I'd lost in a classroom, miserable.

Later, I would feel proud. Maybe I'd see. Maybe, hopefully, my theory was wrong- at least in regards to English language.

Then, article after article poured into my feed. One particular article on Mumsnet called the marking scheme ' a shitshow'.

So I sat down, weeks after the official end of Y11, and reviewed the markshemes we'd based the entire course on at my school.

The articles were right. It was vague jargon, and completely subjective. It called for judicious quotes, with nothing to specify what should be considered such. It called for a high and sophisticated vocabulary, and again, completely contradicted this when looking at exams from the previous year which were marked as such. It was without a doubt the most completely ambiguous thing I'd ever read, and the people marking my exam seemed to agree. Sleep deprived and stressed to fuck, the reality of it has passed my by but was now clear as day.

In the end, my hard work didnt pay off. It doesn't matter now if I get a 9 or a 3. I know theres little chance it will be a reflection of my exam. For better or worse.

My classmates seem to understand this as well as me. So, what did the GCSE's actually manage to teach us?

It taught us to accept failure. Success is a bold faced lie entirely based off luck.

Those bold enough to say hard work is rewarded have their heads shoved in the sand.

Trying made no difference.

I see, now, what was going through those peoples heads last year, when they didnt show up for the exams or classes. Hard work is not rewarded and they were going to fail from the start.

They were too honest, and clearly, the only thing valued in GCSE's is the ability to lie so well that the exam marker is also tricked. Trying at this point would be a hopeless, draining task.

All that the GCSE's gave me was problems. Now, getting up in the morning is harder than my exams ever were. I abandoned everything for those exams, like many others. I lost my health, physical and mental. I lost my personality and sense of self. I lost years of my life, that should be cherished, to dispare. These gcse's are a tortuous joke and I wish more than anything that I'd never bothered in the first place because in the end, it wouldn't have made a difference.

Now, I'm moving on to collage to do much of the same. All I see ahead of me is misery, but unfortunately, this apearese to be an unchangeable reality placed upon us as a sick twisted joke. I've accepted this, as sad as it is, but I cant stand by as people lie to themselves and others, saying GCSE's are in any way worth it outside of a number on some paper.

Education is long dead. That's what GCSE's taught me.

Update- results: english lan, 7 (gonna get remarked), lit, 8. Maths-8. Bio-6. Chem-7. Physics-7. Art-9. Computer science-7. Geo-7

[atailof2kitties]

Tips for those just about to start year 12

So I’m just about to start year 13 (my final year at home! yikes!) and I thought, because I struggled a lot last year, I’d give some tips to those starting this September.  

1. Use your free periods- I cannot say this enough! They are not there for you to sleep or muck around in; they’re for independent learning or doing homework. I get that it can be very exciting if you’ve never had a free period before, but it’s probably best if you don’t see them as ‘free’ periods, they’re more ‘study’ periods. 

2. Do socialise- I’m probably not the best example of this since I’ve pretty much abandoned most of my friends for the library after some personal issues spilled into my studying time. But, I stand by the fact that you should be talking to people and making new friends and what not in lunch and break times. As a side note, befriend who you’re sat next to in every class. If you miss a lesson, they’ll be more likely to send you their notes. It’s also just quite nice- if you’re not interested in a subject, it can make the lessons more fun to have someone by your side. 

3. Independent learning- this is really useful since A Levels give you a lot more freedom. Examiners will be really impressed if you bring in relevant knowledge which isn’t part of the curriculum. If this is up-to-date knowledge, even better. For example, if you take English Language, I’d suggest you subscribe to Michael Rosen’s ‘Word of Mouth’ podcast which is semi-regular and will really impress teachers if you bring up some of the more recent developments in the field. 

4. Revise for every little test- this means you won’t have to revise tons for the exams at the end since you’ve already made your resources. I mostly do this so I get good grades throughout the year (and then procrastinate putting it all together...) so my teachers know what I’m capable of before they give me my predicted grades. Your predicted grades are what goes to the university you want so- be nice to your teachers and work hard and they should be nice in return. 

5. Stick it out- I’ll admit there are times when it’s really tempting to just drop all . your subjects and run away, but things will start to make sense soon. There is a big jump from GCSE to A Level but when it clicks, it really does click and you’re pretty much all set. If you work hard, you will get there. If you need help, please ask your teachers (or look online if you’re shy, but teachers are probably your best bet). 

6. Dropping subjects- it’s totally okay to drop subjects but what you need to do is figure out whether you really want to drop it, and which subject you should drop. I spent a lot of time wondering whether I should drop History (which I loved but was, to put it bluntly, a bit shit at) or Sociology (which was interesting, but my teacher never marked any of our work so I was getting a bit worried). After months of crying over essays, I decided to take an AS Level (not sure if this is still going to be an option after this year...?) in history and then finally drop it based on the amount of content. Stick it out until you know for certain that you want to get rid of it. I managed to get a B in my AS which I’m not ecstatic or unhappy about and it means I’ve got something to show for a year of learning. 

7. Be nice to your teachers- when you join Year 12, there is a different relationship between teachers and students and there’s an expectation that you won’t mess around and that you’ll respect them. If you fail to meet that expectation, you’re not likely to get a good reference or predicted grade from them when the time comes. If you respect your teachers, they will come to respect you. 

8. Visit Universities (if that’s what you want to do) and find opportunities to put on your personal statement- I can’t emphasise this enough. You won’t have time to do all this in Year 13 and there are tons of deadlines you can accidentally miss by not checking your emails. I missed the open day for Durham which is my dream uni. But don’t beat yourself up about it- there are always offer-holder days. For your personal statement, there are tons of opportunities. I want to study either english literature or liberal arts so I applied and got into a university taster course at Royal Holloway about Fantasy and Literature, a few weeks later went to a residential taster at Exeter to sample the arts and humanities subjects. There are so many opportunities, you just have to try and find them! 

9. Get involved in school- I know you probably hate that I’m going to say this, but it’s really beneficial for a UCAS application. I’m awful at getting involved normally but my English Language teacher suggested I be a Subject Rep for the school and stuff like this can really boost your confidence and if you’re helping others, you’re likely to do better yourself.

Finally 10. Just enjoy yourself. After sixth form/ college you probably won’t see your friends for months and life will never be as simple as it is now again. These are the subjects you’ve chosen so you should have more fun with it than GCSE but also, grades aren’t the most important thing, so always put your wellbeing first. 

Good luck! And if you need any help with any of the subjects I take or took (English Literature, English Language, Sociology, History, an EPQ) then please feel free to message me, I’m normally online. Or if you need help with mental health stuff- trust me I had the worst year 12 mentally- believe me when I say I am always here for anyone who needs me. 

[eabhaalynn]

Your Local A-Level Survival Guide

If you’re reading this, I’m sorry.

It probably means you’re doing a-levels. That is… unfortunate.

Everyone has a different experience of their a-level years. For me, they were the most enjoyable two years of my school career. I found some of the best friends in the world and honestly learned so much, both in and out of school. However even I have to say that the exams were the WORST. There were too many tears, tantrums and existential crisis’ to count.

And yet, I survived them. And I have so many friends who survived them too. And if I can get through them in one piece, anyone can.

So; here’s a little advice on how to survive the stresses of sixth form, both in school and out, and maybe even get a few a-levels along the way. I’ve split them into revision tips, school life and social life because this post is a fairly hefty read. (sorry again!)

STU(DYING) 

1.    Make notes as you go along.

You will LOVE yourself for this in June. A-Level content isn’t anything close to GCSE content, and you simply will not have time to start writing notes and learn them all around exam time.

Try to keep within a day of your class with your own notes and if you fall behind during the week, try to get caught up that weekend.

Find a note-taking style that fits how you learn. I personally realised in my upper sixth year – just a tiny bit late - that I loved making and learning off of summary posters. Trying out different ways of note taking will do no harm.

2.    Ask if you need help

Your teachers and friends are all on your side. You are not a burden for asking them to explain an idea to you again, or to reword something. Your teachers are literally being paid to help you, and your mates are in exactly the same position you are. Ask them for help if you need it, because a-levels really are very hard – and they only get harder if you try to go it alone.

3.    Find somewhere you can bare to study in

In school, if you have a choice of study rooms, spend your free time in ones you like – okay, maybe tolerate – being in. At GCSE we only had one study and I hated it, but at A-Level I had the choice of two, with a definite favourite, and it really makes the difference.

Make friends with your study supervisors, they have the power to make or break your a-level years.

At home, study where you’re comfortable. But not too comfortable. Your leavers hoodie will become your wearable hug over study leave and I also highly recommend investing in comfy tracksuit bottoms. You get used to looking like a tent most of the time

My favourite places to study were the public library and various coffee shops around the town I studied in. They were less strict than school, but still required more discipline than trying to study in my bedroom. Just try not to develop a caffeine dependency over the next two years because I certainly did.

4.  Don’t compare yourself to others.

You are not your friends. You are different people, you probably have different ways of making your tea, and you almost certainly will have different ways of studying.

 I remember around repeat season seeing my friend sit and do a booklet of twelve past papers all day. To her credit, she did them all. I, on the other hand, did a total of one past paper over three repeat exams. We put the same hours in. We got the same grades in the end.

Other peoples work doesn't invalidate your own. Everyone is working with their own skills and capabilities.

5.  Repeat everything you need to.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with repeating modules in upper sixth. There’s also absolutely nothing wrong with repeating upper or lower sixth.

The extended exam period (seven (!!) weeks) is awful; it is genuinely very difficult to avoid burnout, but your understanding of modules is so much better second time around and repeats almost always pay off.

You will meet a whole new group of friends through repeating modules, purely because it is so difficult that you have no choice but to cling on to the people that are going through it with you

6.    Don’t do an unnecessary hard one

All A-Levels are hard. Some a-levels (chemistry and biology for me, also twitter tells me further maths) are very hard. Unless your Uni course requires those traditional, exceptionally hard subjects, don’t do them.

Pick your subjects around your interests, because your whole life is going to revolve around them for two years. Two years of interesting impossible exams beat two years of boring impossible exams any day.

No matter how much you love that fourth subject, don’t take it – and don’t keep it on – unless you absolutely have to. Your grades may suffer, your already limited free time will suffer, and there are very few cases where you will ever need it. I loved AS History with every fibre of my being, but for my course I didn’t need four subjects past AS and so it would have been unsustainable and unnecessary to keep on yet another academically challenging subject

7.  Make use of the resources available to you.

Ask your older friends for their notes, borrow and buy textbooks, read relevant articles online.

 My school was especially good for this, if you like making notes on a certain kind of paper (like A3 or squared for example) ask your teachers to get you some.

Use the free printing credits your school gives you! The internet is full of additional notes and papers and worksheets that are free and quite literally a click away.

SKOOL LIFE

1.    You are the most important

No a-level is more important than you and your wellbeing. Take care of your mental and physical health throughout your studies. Nothing in this world is more important than that.

If you are suffering, tell someone! A-Levels can feel so lonely and sixth form can be a very high-pressure environment, but every adult in your school has a duty of care over you, and there is always someone to help you through it all; be it a friend, family member, teacher or youth worker.

2.    Be nice!

-      Schools are inherently toxic environments. Everyone is loaded with hormones and there are few things in this world scarier than a building full of stressed teenagers.Be nice to everyone you come across, no one loves a levels and most will really struggle through them. You only ever know a tiny bit of what is going on in someones life, so do try not to make anyone’s life any harder.

3.    Take every opportunity that comes to you

-      Take part in any extra curricular you can. You probably will learn more from them than you do in class, and you get the chance to make friends with people you’d never come across otherwise. I did debate, public speaking and the rotary award during my sixth form, and they all helped me so much to develop the soft skills and time management that eventually got me into my degree.

4.    Set aside time for careers/admin

-      It might not be a-level important, but you’ll find yourself with a lot of sorting out of your life to do throughout sixth form – especially if you’re applying to medicine or similar courses that require multi-step application processes.

5.    There’s no right or wrong way to do sixth form

-      A-Levels aren’t a one-way street. You may have to change subjects, you may have to take time out, you may end up sitting your courses at two different schools, over one or two or three years, and that is all okay. No matter what way you do it, you’re doing alright.

6.    UCAS will ruin your life.

-      UCAS is the sixth form version of the wee guy on the bus who would pick on you incessantly, and even though he was never that important, he’d always be there and never do anything worthwhile for your life.

-      It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it is another thing to worry about, when you really don’t need it to be.

-      Try to keep on top of it and get your application over with early. The emails from track will keep giving you the fear forever, even after you’ve had 3 straight up rejections, missed an offer, declined two different offers and confirmed your place.

SOCIAL LIFE (trust me it does exist)

1.    Balance is everything

It is not normal to have your life be so centred around one place as much as it is during a-levels. As well as this, being 16 – 18 is literally the best time to be alive and make memories in your whole life. Spend lots of time on schoolwork, but not all of it.

2. You’re not going out too much

You work so unbelievably hard all week. You do deserve to go out sometimes.

My upper sixth was framed by panicking and feeling wracked with guilt every time I left my house or went on any night out. This is no way to feel There is more to life than a-levels and upper sixth is the last time in your life where all your school mates will be all together all the time. Make the most of it! (Just, also make notes)

3.    Take a day off

Like literally, take a day off a week

I took Sundays off schoolwork in upper sixth, when I usually worked in the afternoon, had the morning to myself and the evening as a time to rest. This will keep you sane.

4.    Make time for the friends you don’t see everyday

You won’t have a lot of free time, but if you make a conscious effort to see your far away friends every couple of weeks it always gives you something to look forward to.

5.    Don’t give in to peer pressure

I promise it is so much fun to go out and not drink excessively. Don’t do hard drugs, don’t drink more than you can handle, especially not over term time. It’s just not worth it. Showing up to school hungover is not a good look, or any fun at all – no matter what your mates say. A-Levels are a stressful enough two years without losing all this extra time to hangovers and come downs.

6.    Make good habits

 If you have a spare evening during the week, go for a walk. Take the bus and walk one day a week instead of driving. Maybe even join a gym. As well as a distraction, exercise and a generally healthy lifestyle will get your endorphins flowing and you will notice a huge difference to your stress levels within a few weeks.

You’re going to need comfort food – trust me on that one. But if you’re going to substitute a healthy lunch for a chicken box and squashies, at least have a banana for breakfast. And never skip breakfast, it will make you a hangry, hanxious, horrible person.

Congratulations! You made it to the end. I really hope you’ve found at least some of this advice helpful, and that you get through sixth form with all of your sanity intact. 

(I’d like to thank Julia Anusiak, Alexandra Rosbotham, Aoife Donaghy, Maeve Denver, Gabrielle Carland, Caitriona Fitzpatrick, Grace Craig and Jack Worrall for their contributions to this blog post)

[sunnysynthsunshine]

3rd Comedy Monologue

“Do any of you remember Rugrats?”

“The 90s cartoon about talking babies that went on adventures”

“Yeah well you know Angelica the whiny,spoiled character?”

“I actually kind of liked her maybe it’s because I related to her when I was little or maybe it’s because I liked how cool she was she was able to tell the babies about stuff they didn’t know about, playing a part in their imagination.”

Anyways speaking of children,they’re alright and they are usually one of the following

“Mummy Daddy why do they get to pick a sweet not me what did I do?”

“Waaaa I want that I want that”

“Hi there, do you want to play?

“Your good at art,I couldn’t draw like that”

“Thank you young soul you are too pure for this world”

Me on the other hand,was a whinging cowardly little sod

Now I’m not a child anymore but I am still mistaken as one

Yeah,that happens

17/18 years old,old enough to vote,old enough to drive,old enough to move house & old enough to realise my phases of being a tory “skeptic” were pointless

Yet sometimes people still think I’m someone who likes ice-cream,toys and video games

Well I mean I do like those things I’m sure some of you like those things too

We are children at heart but physically and mentally we evolve and learn with time

I’ll be an young adult,and I love it I might not have a place of my own yet but I love being able to learn new things and see new places I couldn’t see when I was a kid.

Then again my teenhood wasn’t that good either because I had a developmental condition that made me different than others mentally,my interests were very intense and I got panic feelings when around crowds or in difficult situations

My primary school classmates liked JLS,Partying and other things that I didn’t like or couldn’t do

While now I’m warming up to certain things I’m still happy I didn’t like JLS.

I on the other hand, liked the sims 3,dolls,the 1980s,old cartoons and films.

So...a game where you become God,plastic models,the age of neon graphic design, and innovative video games and...yeah that hasn’t changed has it?

Well I don’t play the sims anymore,my laptop has no cd rom drive,I used up the data on my old one, from downloads I’d buy from the exchange store

Sims also was one of the few things that got me into my “emo” phase

I’d be looking at sims videos on youtube they’d usually be very sad and in the background there’d be evanescence,my chemical romance or avril lavigne

I’d be sitting at the back of the living room at a gathering and I’d be listening to Sims 2 sad story part 1 because it had good music. I later learned the names and that I was a bit of a goth,a emo,a metalhead because I liked gothic and j-metal any of that.

Dolls…..

now this was embarrassing I’m sure we all have those songs where as soon as you hear them you feel a film reel of negative memories return. For me that was

Barbie Girl by Aqua, weird because aqua are a good band,but that song oh that song it was so annoying

Picture this

Someone in their final primary school years, who still collects dolls,

Now!  Would you ignore that or would you use that outdated song as a way to mock them because they were still enjoying a thing, meant for children.

I received the latter,because of that when I’d hear people sing that song simply just because they liked it I’d get confused and offended a similar thing happened with my little pony

I used to sing and perform for people in the playgrounds other times I’d keep to myself

I loved my little pony before the new wave I loved rewatching episodes of the old 80s mlp series of goblins,witches and giants...oops that was a different show I was describing there

And one of the songs I’d perform was the original theme song

My Little Pony~ My Little Pony~

What will today’s adventure be?

My Little Pony…My Little Pony

Will there be exciting sights to see?

Nope to some of my primary school audience the lyrics were

“My little pony skinny and boney”

*sarcastic deadpan laugh*

Ha ha ha,  

Then again I wasn’t much better

I used to make youtube videos with those “dolls”

They weren’t very good

They had bad editing and barely any plot beyond badly structured fourth wall jokes

Yet I wanted the whole internet to know about them even if they weren’t interested

I was a easy target and while I did get tired of that,change interests and go into a different fandom direction

Some things were still the same

I was still cowardly,weak and timid and that was a problem

I was always following others,I didn’t make my decisions often,because of the condition and my own loneliness I couldn’t do things other teenagers could.

I never had a sleepover,I never had a crush that wasn’t one-sided and I didn’t have much independence

Even when I did have “friends” those friends I would later learn were not nice making me believe I had wasted years that I couldn’t get back.

On...the topic of regrets, dance  something I sometimes enjoy but when I studied performing Arts it was what I dreaded…

Note I’m ok with  anyone who does like to dance,party or do any of those things

I would just try to take part like everyone else but many times I was put aside or embarrassed in front of the others because of either me having a meltdown or because “my timing was off”

Yes,he did teach me some cool moves and I am more supple now but that was the content and even if I was crap I knew it and tried to practice

Everyday I’d practice each technical exercise and routine but it was still not good enough.in fact it was because of that and other reasons that I couldn’t do that course anymore

All because of,of….Craig Revel Hor not him but he was like him.

Because of that I had to take saturday dance classes...those weren’t fun

The most fun I had was from the songs we danced to and the few positive examples of small talk I attempted with the people there.

Otherwise it was not good...me and little kids specifically loud hyper kids don’t always go well when in the same place..again my timing was off it wasn’t told but I could tell

One of the moments I hated the most was the headshot day

Now we were supposed to just be getting photos taken but the photographer noticed I was shorter than she thought.I laughed it off because I know I’m short but then what did she say in response…

“Your a wee bit vertically challenged”

EXCUSE ME

Now,I may be short but in a class of kids and teens of different ages and heights I was far from the shortest person there.

When I was a teenager I wasn’t a proper teenager the only things that made me a teenager was my age,my angsty attitude and the drama I got into involving political meme posters and anime roleplayers.

The less I say about that the better

So while all the “adults” were telling me to beware of the adult years because of

Oooh responsibilities...ooooh independence ooooh….education

Honestly  it’s ok for me so far I’m a fairly organized person so studying is good,I did a assistant stage managing gig for a west side story production which was class by the way and I think i’ll feel a lot happier as a adult.

I have not much to mock about today my political jabs are sometimes good other times they’re like a bad Ben Elton joke on Saturday Live.

“Ha teresa may is like the wicked queen from snow white when she’s in disguise”

yeah? …..and  You look like you could front the band Wings mate

(pause)

Speaking of a bad Ben Elton joke

“Oh I never really understood the whole “comedy” business I always prefered being a bit of a writer and I think now with Bohemian Rhapsody being out that those critics will think

We Will Rock You wasn’t that bad.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a show that layered it’s satire of the mainstream establishment under a sitcom narrative about alternative young adult characters where the comedy was good

for once

Once in every life time

Comes a moment like this

Oh I need you, you need me,

Oh my darling can't you see.

Young Ones.

Darling we're The Young Ones.

The Young Ones.

That show,oh I only watched last year but I have so many words

The jokes,the satire,the characters,the setting,the fact it still holds up

I found that show at the right time

It was august 2017

I had finished my GCSE’s,I had left a manipulative friendship and I felt horrible

When I’d go to the cinema people were making noise and I would remember the panic more than the film itself *coughs* Spiderman homecoming

I felt like I didn’t know how to laugh anymore

Summertime sadness

When edgy me came across ben elton’s ronnie barker memorial lecture

Being a fan of Porridge and Open All hours I listened and after hearing about a certain sitcom  I started watching...The Young Ones...and it was out of this world

I roared with laughter with each episode,I related to the characters and I felt a connection of some sort

Researching more about the “alternative comedy” genre and I saw a familiar name

I learned I had seen some of his work before,he was the andrex puppy,he was in that king Arthur cartoon and he was in that drop dead fred movie I didn’t watch just because internet critics said it was one of the biggest cinematic flops ever….

Yet I never knew his name until then and I’m still not over that

I looked up his other work,where he was richie,richie rich,lord flashheart and a b’stard of a conservative

(which I would later try to do an impression of, on my final girls brigade show.)

So many thoughts,so many emotions he changed my life

Many things and people have. He is one of them  

his work was incredible and iconic  and his mantras are very inspirational and useful. He made me realise a lot of things about life,my love of his work also resulted in me meeting most of the friends I have now.

It’s 2019 and I’m now the anarchist I always wanted to be,I’m out of my shell, a bat out of hell,I followed others for too long but I’m my own person now that’s who I will always be

Now say it with me   Young Ones..

You shouldn't be afraid.

To live, love, there's a song to be sung.

Cause we may not

Be The Young Ones

very long.

Oh,Doctor Rik.Mayall we miss you,you bastard

The world wasn’t as much of a crap place when you were there to cheer us up

But your still here spiritually in her hearts

As you said yourself we still have your shows  and poems

Now!  all you punks,skins,rastas,emos,hipsters,creators,viewers,performers,entertainers,observers and fellow peoples poets

let’s gather round and hold our hands in sorrow for our fallen leader

Love is the answer!  Goodnight

[scienceismynepenthe]

Yo ik you probably don’t give a heck and a half but I need to rant somewhere cause I’m freaking out and it’s like 1am so I cannae ask anyone so imma just let you know and see if you can answer some stuff for me. I’m in year 10, I took health and a gcse. I regret that so much!!! I really want to change to history or at the least do it for a-level. Can I do it for a level if I don’t do gcse.. what do you recommend????? Anyways thanks :)

Hello! Sorry for the late response. I’ve had absolutely nothing to do so been a bit inactive as of late. But don’t worry about ranting/worrying to me! I’m always happy to help where I can ☺️✨

First of all, I would like to disclaim that I don’t do history, so I’m basing most of what I say off my experience with Geography, as I hear humanities have similar-ish patterns.

It is unfortunate that you have not taken it at GCSE. My advice would be, are you prepared to put in the extra work, rather than content? There will be some content crossovers, but the content will be taught new. I believe it would be more about the writing style for essays, and how to approach exams, which are critical skills you learn at GCSE. So if you’re prepared to be behind everyone else for a bit, and put in the extra work, then you probably can.

However, you would have to speak to your sixth form. If they don’t allow it, then you can’t. Every sixth/college has different requirements. You would also have to find if the teachers would be prepared to give you extra help.

I spoke to my friend doing History at GCSE, A Level and possibly degree as well, and she’s said the same thing as me. So it’s really dependent on your future school, and whether or not you think you’re passionate enough about the subject to put in the extra effort for skills which you’ll be behind in.

[myhoneststudyblr]

what a levels did you take and how hard are they? do you enjoy them?

hi anon! i'm still actually taking my a levels - i'm coming up to the end of my first year studying them. 

i take:

English lit

German 

History

i enjoy all of these a levels so much but i kinda knew that i would before i chose them because these were consistently my favourite subjects and i was good at all of them. 

as to how hard they are? well, that is a bit more tricky to answer.

the short answer is that all a levels are hard. there is not really an ‘easy’ choice to make but they are all hard in different ways. i personally do not find my subjects hard - i’d say they are intellectually challenging in that i have to think and i can’t just turn up at the lesson and get full marks but i wouldn’t say that they are so hard that i’m struggling and can’t cope. 

please note here however that these have always been subjects that have come very naturally to me and that my experiences are not shared by everyone.

that said, i’d like to give the main things that people find ‘hard’ for each of the subjects:

English - English at a level is very different to GCSE. usually at GCSE you are studying a book and a play and some poems. at a level you study all of those (plus a few more books) but you are also studying the literature aspect much more heavily so you are looking a lot at context for the author and the time it was written, other novels and pieces of work in the same genre, all the different critical interpretations. basically, it is no longer enough to just know the book/play/poems and its language, you have to know all that other stuff too. the essays often reflect this a lot more as well so the essays seem really different to what you are used to at first

German (can be applied to all the languages) - so obviously, the language and grammar gets more complicated but this is expected. what is probably more difficult is the amount of ‘background’ knowledge they expect you to have. essentially, at a level you are looking more widely at the culture and country and there are many more in-depth topics that you do. for example, you often need to have a basic knowledge of the history of the country (for german, this often is from about 1918 to now), the societal trends of the country (eg family, youth culture, digital media), politics in the country (or multiple countries if numerous speak the language) and lots of other areas. this means that you could end up having to spend some time on a topic that you find really difficult/do not enjoy (for me this is art and architecture)

History - this is something that is difficult about history through pretty much all levels of studying history. THERE IS SO MUCH CONTENT. honestly, there is so so much of it - my history notes are the longest and most extensive of all of my subjects by *a lot* and it can be quite hard to get your head around all of the new content and learn it all. however, after a while, things start to make sens and as long as you keep on top of your notes, it’s not actually that big of a jump up from GCSE because many of the skills (eg essays and source analysis) and types of content are very similar

i really hope this was helpful and if you have any other questions about a levels or how to choose what you should choose your subjects feel free to send me another ask or message me! also: even though i study these, essentially ALL my friends study science subjects so i have a lot of knowledge about these and could easily find the stuff out for you if you have any questions about these subjects!

as always, if anyone else has any comments or advice, feel free to comment! <3

[cloudoclock]

(Sixth Form) studylife Masterpost

Hey everyone, today I decided to make a masterpost for those going into sixth form. I, myself am in the transition between year 11 and sixth form/college and as a very determined student, I thought it would be a good idea to place all my collated tips and resources in one place. 

Websites and Resources

Revision world - this is the best place for summaries and guides across all exam boards for most sixth form courses. 

Specs - Going to your exam board website and priniting out your specifications are a big help because you can outline your own self study throughout the year. Keeping track is essential.

Specimen Papers and Walkthroughs - we all know how useful practice is and finding up-to-date papers are essential for calming yourself into the exam mindset. Walkthoughs on youtube are also great because it gives a condensed version of exam thought process.

Powerpoints  or Prezi- this one is a bit of an odd one and does require a bit of digging. Search up “a level (subject) powepoint/presentation” and there may be a presentation from random teachers on a unit from your subject. On Prezi there are loads of presentations that are easy to follow and vary in content.

Youtube - of course everyone’s favourite site is a useful resource. However, once you click on a video, its so easy to use the excuse of watching one more video that just happens to be totally irrelevant to your revision but pops up at the time. I suggest using the filter and search for playlists of the topic you are looking for if you want to keep it short and save whatever you watch into a playlist for later.

Emma studies - this is truly my prinatable queen annd planner life saver. She has all these free printables and layouts that you can just put in your binder and in your books to keep up with your work.

Study Methods

Cornell Method - I have been using this style of note-taking ever since summer started and I can honestly say it helps. Having the clear space to outline exam questions that may correspond with your notes, is great for quick run throughs because you can then retain memory in a more substantial way.

Colour schemes- this may be just because I am a typical studyblr but having some sort of code and theme to work with, is great for organisation. You don’t need to buy fancy brushpens for your titles or paint your notes with highlighter so it looks pretty. This could be  just using a black pen for notes, a green pen for corrections or revision additions and a blue pen for unit outlines. As a visual learner, it is important that my work stands out as well as it being important that its not too cluttered. Find a balance.

Rewriting Notes after class - now I know the idea seems long winded and a waste of your time, but its actually essential for the fast past environment in sixth form. I learned from GCSEs that you really do have to make an effort throughout the year so that you don’t have time pressure on to of exam stress. What you write down in class really is not a reflection of what you absorbed in that lesson. By going through lesson notes and understanding it in your own time is the basis of revision. At a level, there honestly isn’t time for putting off things, unless it is for your well-being. Starting early also doesn’t guaruntee it will be easy.

Music

My light playlist - this playlist is pretty chill and a bit of a autumn night vibe.

Reading playlist - there’s pretty good scores on here for reading sessions for a bit of a switch from the usual…

Lofi playlist- because its cool (^O^)

White noise- if music distracts you and you still need that bit of sound to keep you sane while you study.

Supplies

Home Binder/ expanding file - depending on however many subjects you took, you should have a file for each of them and it should be a place where you can keep it all in units.

Binder for lessons- this should be the binder you take to school and transfer notes in and out of for every subject so you have what you NEED when you need it.

Refill pad/ notebook- I would suggest getting book with perforated pages so you can swap around work to their allocated “home” or using a5 notebooks for each subject if you really want it that way.

Post its/ page tabs- these are great for reading holy grails if you do english literature like me and you’re constantly reading. Small, tidy and useful

Planner- please, please, please get a planner. Organisation is your best friend and keeping a planner on you is a good way to make yourself aware of plans and scheduled work sessions.

USB - not many people talk about having a usb, maybe because we are in the digital age of sharing. When you need to quickly open docs or powerpoints in school, or in the library or at home, no one has time to wait for google drive. I learned how important it was to have a usb in gcses and it is worth the extra effort.

Tips and advice

The jump in self discipline, workload and effort at a level is different for everyone, but it is helpful for you prepare in whatever way you can, so that the hit isn’t so scary.

Your friends are not always the best people to organise study groups with. Unless you are sure, that work is going to get done , its best that you find people that you can get serious with.

If you feel yourself losing focus and even after taking a break, you’re uninteressted,stop and refresh at another time or the next day. If you continuosly burn yourslef out, you wll find it diffiult to come back to the work becaause you’re constanlty reminding yourself of how much of a chore it is.

Ask your teachers and your head of year questions. The magic word “ucas” is going to be popping up and soon enough you’re going to be worrying about your personal statement. If you have a query, find a time to talk with them because it is invaluable support. If you’re like me, write on a piece of paper the questions you have and meet your teacher in a free or at lunch so you can be comfortable and get down what you can.

You can buy all the supplies and ask all the questions but implemting these keys are all on YOU. If you feel yourself slipping, be honest and accept it because if you keep running from it, you could seriously damage your physical and mental health. Keep a diary so you can notice patterns in your energy.

Your best is your best. Succcess is subjective and no one can take that from you. When you get your results, you know what you put into those exams/coursework , so you are entitled to disappointment or joy.

This took me a while to make so I appreciate any comments or reblogs. I love you random person.  You can follow my studygram too @solarsafestudy because I share a liitle bit more of myself on there <3