Since I am starting year 11 this year and I have experienced
a full four years of the secondary school environment I finally feel qualified
enough to give you advice on how to go about these school days. Now telling you
that these days will be the best of your life is not entirely true, these days
will sometimes also be the worst in your life. Partly due to the fact that you
are still young but mostly because it’s a plain fact that some people are mean
and work is hard. That universally accepted but it’s how you get through this
that will make your high school experience worthwhile.
I have gone through my share of high school up’s and down’s myself,
some of which were of my own doing and some because I did not have someone that
would give me the advice that I will be giving you now. Sit tight because in
the next few blog posts we will discuss revision techniques, tips with
bullying, stationary and books and the best makeup for school.
Firstly In this post let’s start off with the hallowed revision tips and tricks, without some sort of revision plan set out for yourself during the school year or even a rough idea of how much you want to revise you will find secondary school very hard. If you are currently attending one you will know it is much bigger and more work focused than your previous primary school. Were before you could get away with maybe an hour a week of story reading with parents now you will come to realise that this is not the case. If you realised this early on Well Done! You are much more intelligent than me but if you did not, it’s not to worry it’s never too late.
For Years 7-8 an hour of revision of the maths, sciences and
subjects like history and geography is all that is needed each
week. Also be sure to ready at least 1 book every two weeks this will do
wonders for your English grade. It will extend your vocabulary and creativity
like you would never believe! If you are not much of a reader however just try
and get into reading as much as you can, everything counts. Magazines, non-
fiction books based on your hobbies and even blog posts will help you.
Years 9-11 will get a little harder, nothing to worry about
but if you do not have the right mindset of wanting to achieve good grades and
do well you will struggle. That’s a tip I always give, if you have the right
mindset everything else will follow. Once you have the right vision there a few
things you can do to make this a reality.
·
Buy revision
text books
This is always a first step as when you have your revision
books all brought and ready to use then it is only a matter of getting
revising! For the sciences I recommend buying books set out for your specific
exam board more than the other subjects because the syllabuses vary widely for
each of the exam boards. Buying this for the other subjects will help also
however. CGP books are very good at giving short information and notes to
memorise.
·
Set yourself
a revision timetable
It is very important to know when you are studying and when
you are not so that you can have a healthy work and play balance in your life. This
also comes in useful when an exam is looming so you are completely sure you are
using your time effectively to insure the top grades. A revision timetable may
seem stressful to make but it will save you a lot of stress later on. Here is a link to my personal favourite revision timetable creator - http://getrevising.co.uk/planner/week/2015-08-17
·
Things to
help you revise
A few things that actually help me revise are highlighters, I
use these to brighten up important information and help them stick in my mind
long after I put down the book. These are also really helpful to take to
school, you will never get bored when your text books are brightly fluorescent.
Same with coloured pens and felts, use them generously and you will be repaid
with good grades and very pretty books. Another thing that I sometimes use to
help me revise for subjects like Business and Spanish,when there is a lot of
vocab to memorise, is flash cards. They are so easy to pop in your bag and go
through in car journeys and free periods that they are a no brainer. Every
person should own an emergency wad of flash cards, you never know when the next
class vocab test will creep up on you.
All this information may feel overwhelming but believe me
after a month in a secondary school it will feel more like home.
Love lule xx