a level maths – Surobi Scribbles

My First Two Terms of Sixth Form / Workload, Friends And Social Media

Surobi Mohammed — Sun, 03 Apr 2022 22:15:16 +0000

Hey everyone! If you are new here, my name is Surobi and I post weekly articles here on my personal blog! I usually like to share food reviews, Islamic content and my travels but this is a lifestyle blog, and I like to document some of the things that I get up to as a teenager.

I have just finished my second term of sixth form (Year 12), and I thought I would share my experiences. Alhmadulillah, I also have 100% attendance meaning that I have went to sixth form every day, so hopefully, I will be able to reflect on some of the things I have done for the past few months.

So let’s get started:

A Levels:

Now if you don’t already know, I do the A Levels Biology, Chemistry and Maths and I also do an EPQ. These A Levels are quite complex, yet I love these subjects! My journey with my A Levels so far have been a rollercoaster. Sometimes, I have been soaring through the work and understood everything and at other times, I would be upset when I didn’t understand something or got a lower grade. But, I think that doing these subjects and going on this A Level journey has taught me two main things:

A Levels are supposed to be challenging and everyone finds it to be a lot, so keep working hard.

Doing A Levels actually builds your character as sometimes, you just have to be extremely resilient and keep working until you hit those top grades.

I have changed uup some of my revision techniques, and also organised myself and my revision much better. And that is okay! You are on your own journey so focus on yourself and keep improving yourself!

Teachers:

I have to say that I am very grateful for all my teachers. My teachers do teach me quite well. Of course, I do believe that you might prefer the teaching style of one teacher over the other but I have to say that all my teachers do want us to succeed, and they do know all the effort that I am putting in for my subjects. One downside is that since my school is an academy consisting of a primary, secondary and sixth form, it can be difficult at times to talk to teachers privately, but this has taught me the next lesson which is:

You need to seek help from teachers if it is needed, so don’t be lazy or shy. Just go and seek help, however difficult it is!

Friends:

My friend circle has changed so much since the last article I made. I started with having one main friend I would always hang out with but I now have many more friends Alhamdulillah. I am a strong believer that it is better to have many networks with different people and talk to different people rather than to just stick to one person, because if that one friend leaves you, it can be difficult. I have made friends outside of my subjects as well and that can be quite good to give a fresh new perspective too. Stick to friends who align with your energy.

Social Life:

I do spend time with my family and friends alongside my studies which is great. I remember this one time where I had 4 tests on a Friday on the same day, so my friends and I went to the shopping mall after school and I had some bubble tea! That was great! In terms of spending time with my family, I have went shopping several times with my mother and chat to my family regularly!

Social Media:

My social media intake has been quite positive (as usual). My main form of communication outside of school with my friends is Snapchat. And I love to use YouTube and Pinterest too! Instagram is a no-no currently!

Drama:

There has been a little drama in my sixth form but it is not too serious. I think that drama is a part of school life but I would strongly advise not to overindulge in it which is why I am always aware of my surroundings but I don’t dive into the drama.

My Highlights of These Two Terms:

Seeing an improvement from your grade last time makes me feel so happy and pushes me to work harder!
Gaining support and help can take some level of vulnerability but it also shows courage so if you need help, go ask for it!
You will have good and bad days so it is important to have that balance of managing your own emotions but also seeking support.
The people who you are friends with align your energy, so take a good look at your friends, and see if these are the people who you would be happy representing.
Journaling after school can help to reflect on your progress, spend some time in gratitude and check up on how you are feeling.

These past two terms have been absolutely amazing! I have enjoyed these past two terms of sixth form and going to school every day has helped me to stay organised, keep my routine structured and not fall behind in work. I also do extracurricular activities outside of school which is also quite fun and keeps my mind off work at times.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article, as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Please remember to share this article with anyone who goes to school or sixth form and see if you guys can relate to any of the experiences I have had.

Thank you so much for reading, and have a lovely day!

My First Month of Sixth Form Experience / Moving Schools, New Friends and Workload

Surobi Mohammed — Sat, 02 Oct 2021 20:45:18 +0000

Hey everyone! If you are new here, my name is Surobi and I am now a 16-year-old A-level student! I have been writing this blog for just over 3 years now and I have written some of my experiences being a GCSE student. However, last month I started something new and special – my A-levels! In this article, I will be sharing some of my experiences as an A-level student in my first month of sixth form

FAQ about me:

I received my GCSE results this year in August and I have now moved into a new sixth form.
My sixth form does have its own secondary school which meant that some internal applicants came to my sixth form.
I have taken three A-levels which are Biology, Chemistry and Maths. I am also doing an EPQ.
I have now just finished my first month in my new sixth form.

My Feelings Before Going To Sixth Form:

Before I went into sixth form, I felt a mixture of emotions. Some of the feelings I felt were a rush of excitement but also I had a knot in my stomach as I was an external applicant into the school and I had to be in a completely new environment. It is very normal to feel this way and rest assured, most people feel like this when going into sixth form, if not all!

Teachers:

Right from my first day of sixth form, I realised that the teachers were quite friendly. My teachers did emphasise that the jump from GCSEs to A-levels is quite big. They were also very open to answering any questions and the first few lessons involved the teachers mostly talking to us about the subject content. Overall, I am quite happy with my teachers but I have realised that you can’t fully rely on teachers anymore and A-levels require more independence.

Friends:

Friends are a huge aspect of how you become and your journey throughout sixth form. As an extroverted individual, I was able to make some new friends, Alhamdullilah. My closest friend at the moment is a girl who is in all of my classes and nearly has the exact same timetable as me! However, don’t just stick to one person. One thing I did was to try to talk to people in all of my classes, my free periods (especially in the first week) and even in the corridors. Everyone is friendly, but you have to go first!

Social Media:

This month, I also installed Snapchat. I have realised that Snapchat is the app that many sixth formers like using so I decided to install it. This has been a great way to connect with people, and I now have many friends who I can contact easily. Even within the first conversation you have with someone, you can take their Snap and it is very easy to contact them. I do not regret installing Snapchat and I would recommend installing it as long as you do not get addicted to it.

Boys:

Now, one of the reasons why I decided to add this section is because I attended an all-girls secondary school from mid-Year 8 to the end of Year 11. I was asked if it was awkward interacting with boys in school after a long time. And the answer is…no, not really. I actually have made both male and female friends and it is okay to do that! This is a new experience for me but I think it is important to learn how to interact with both boys and girls. However, one thing I have realised is that you do need to sometimes initiate a conversation with a guy because guys can find it very difficult to do this. So, it is okay to say hi and then let it flow but also know your boundaries!

Workload:

I have always heard that the jump from GCSEs to A-levels is really big! In my opinion, I think it is much more independent learning but it is manageable. I now have 7 teachers for 3 of my subjects and they assign work through Microsoft Teams. It can get very busy but I think that staying organised, keeping on top of my work and experimenting with revision techniques has helped me a lot to maintain my workload.

Differences:

One main difference in sixth form are free periods! My sixth form has recently allowed the privilege of going out for free periods, but for the whole month of September, we were told to stay in school in free periods. Free periods are a choice and I have eaten food, explored the school, chatted to and made new friends and studied in my free periods.

Another difference in sixth form is the dress code. My sixth form allows us to wear our own clothes but it has to be clothes that could be worn in a ‘formal, corporate environment’. It is also compulsory to wear a blazer in school. This is different to school where it was compulsory to wear a school uniform.

Another huge difference for me was the permission to use your own laptops and phones in school. This is so we can research and use Microsoft Teams where teachers have assigned us work.

My Key Piece of Advice:

One piece of advice is to be yourself when you go into sixth form. Sixth form is an important part of your life, especially for your education so just be yourself and focus on yourself. This is a much more independent process but I think it really teaches you how to stand on your own two feet and take responsibility for yourself.

This was my article on my sixth form experience so far for this first month! I currently have been attending every weekday and I have not missed any day of school so far Alhamdulillah. I was not able to include everything in this article but regardless, I hope you enjoyed reading this! Please share this article with your loved ones and also please stay tuned for my future A-level articles.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!