Gap Year

At the moment, I am in my first year of sixth form but I'm starting to think about the future and my life after college. I have a series of universities lined up if I want to go there but I'm also considering a gap year.

When I was at school, me and some friends were looking at what we could do when we were older and stumbled across something called Camp America. I got a little too into it and started requesting brochures but when they were delivered I freaked and started to ignore their emails. But now I am considering it again.

Thinking about flying to America to work on a camp with American children really excites me because I think about the (kind of) camps I've been on - like Alton Castle and Towers in Wales - and how fun that was and how close you get to the staff. I've been weighing up the pros and cons but I'm still not too sure!

Pros

1: great experience

2: chance to meet new friends

3: clear your head before univerisity

4: see more of the world than you otherwise would

5: have the chance to start a new life

6: make a difference

7: have something great to put on your CV

8: make yourself happy

9: take a break from education

Cons

1: possible wasted year

2: may not be what you expected

3: too expensive

4: demotivating so you don't want to go to univerisity

5: home will feel awful compared to it

6: home sickness

7: more work, less play

8: unemployment afterwards

I've also found something that looks pretty cool called USA Summer Camp Exchange where you spend a couple months at a camp in the North-East of America teaching children about sports before going on a road trip with the staff. It looks great and the cost isn't too high but you have to be at least 19 by June 1st of that year - which I won't be - so I'd either have to take 2 years off which is a little too risky, or wait until the summer before possibly going to uni meaning I'd have to find something else to do.

The other thing I've heard that's wrong with taking gap year is being behind when you finally do attend university, because you'll be a year behind your college friends or a year older than those in your class. Although at uni this isn't as much of a problem, it will still be very different to school and college!

Instead of working on a camp, you can go on programs especially for students where you typically have to find your own placement which would be slightly harder but more realistic than an organised camp. When I went to Disney World in 2011, there was a girl there helping people onto rides who was from Manchester and was on her gap year so that's always a possibility but definitively more work than play!

I know the first year of sixth form (or lower sixth as some people call it) is a little early to be thinking about gap years but I want to make sure I'm ready and organised before I just throw myself at the world!

That's all I have to say on gap years for now but there is something else I've decided to do: I'm finally going to broadcast my blog on Twitter so my friends and family can read it. I feel like it's time to be honest with people and to face up to any questions people have.

georgiadaisyiv

Grades

Today is a happy day for me, we finally finished the whole course of AS Psychology and, with exams just around the corner, I thought it was only fitting that I write about grades.

From the age of 5, we're judged on our abilities - whether that be the ability to make friends, the ability to cope with stress or the ability to pass exams - and we often punish ourselves from the outcome. But why does that one little letter or tick on the paper matter so much?

After you leave school, you realise that your results really don't - and won't - affect your later life. That doesn't mean, however, that you shouldn't try hard, it simply means you shouldn't stress over it.

Stress causes you to panic and panic has no place in the exam hall.

Preparation

Instead of stressing, you should plan to pass. You need to set time aside to revise but don't make drastic changes as this will make you stress even more. Just take a little bit of time everyday when you'd usually watch TV to read over your notes or create new posters. 

Never leave it until the last minute, even though you may think revision close to the exam will keep it fresh in the memory, please ensure you do some revision weeks and weeks in advance. Revising the night before or the morning of will stress you out and cause major panic.

You need to find what works best for you. For some people, mind maps will work best. For some people, mind maps are too confusing. It may take a while, but experiment with different techniques. If something doesn't work for you, there's no harm in writing it again in a different way!

Here are just some techniques that you could use:

1. Mind mapping

2. Booklets

3. Questions

4. Drawing

5. Posters

Once your revision is done and you feel happy (make sure you are confident in your own knowledge before you go into the exam) all you need to do is pass that exam!

The Exam

Exams are stressful and scary for everyone but if you stay calm, have knowledge and know how to answer questions, you should be fine. Besides knowledge of the subject, the one thing you need to know is when and where you exam is. Turning up late never looks good and the repercussions will stress you out even more.

Ask your teacher or exam office where the exam will be and go searching for the location a few days before the exam so you're not searching around when the exam happens and always ask what time it starts. Whether you're the kind of person that turns up late to everything or you're always on time, tell yourself the exam starts 10 minutes before it actually does so you get there with plenty of time. If you need to get the bus or any other unreliable public transport, leave 30 minutes for any delays that might occur because "The bus was late" never sits well especially on exam days.

One thing you can't prepare for in an exam is where your seat is - unless your school is very organised and you're always in the right place! - but don't worry, the exam invigilators (those annoying people that wander up and down the aisles) are there to help you so ask them where they think you might be sat and they'll provide another pair of eyes to search for your name.

Every school or organisation is different and may have a different set or rules but the most common are:

1. No phones [if you have to bring your phone, take the battery out or turn everything onto silent and then turn it off so you have no chance of it going off]

2. No pencil cases [most places will say only clear pencil cases or will ask you to empty them so don't be surprised]

3. No communication [even eye contact with someone else can be classed as communication so keep your eyes on your paper until the exam has finished]

Depending on the subject, there will be a certain way to answer questions, your teacher should be showing you how to answer questions during your course but, if they don't, it is easy to go online and find old papers and mark schemes or talk to other people who have already passed the exam.

Now you've done the exam, the worst is over. All that's left is results day!

Results Day

For some, this will be a good day but for others it won't. Don't have too high expectations about yourself but don't play down your abilities! You may be pleasantly surprised by your results and if you're not, talk to your teacher about re-sitting the exam. Most teachers will encourage you to do so because they want you to reach your full potential but if a re-sit isn't possible, just try harder on your next exam.

You do have to remember that these grades are just letters on some paper but don't forget how important they are for your future. Grades from primary school will help you get into secondary school, grades at secondary school will help you get into college, grades at college will help you get into university and grades at university will help you get a job.

So remember to prepare, stay calm, practise and you'll pass.

Good luck!

georgiadaisyiv