On Monday 7th September 2020, I started my first week of school as a Year 11 student. I had been off school for about 6 months due to the COVID-19 lockdown. I definitely had mixed feelings for going back for multiple reasons.
But now that I have finished my first week of Year 11, I wanted to compare my first week of Year 10 when there was no COVID-19 and I was starting my GCSE course, to now when it is quite different.
Disclaimer: This is just my own personal experiences that I had, but it may not be similar to other GCSE students and other schools all over the UK as everyone has different lives. Please check and confirm certain details with your own school and do not rely on this article for information about your school.
Feelings:
- Before I started Year 10, I had some mixed feelings for many reasons. Some reasons on why I may have felt excited is because I would finally get to start the GCSE course and know how it feels like but I was also nervous for some reasons such as being able to bond and feel comfortable in my new classes.
- Before I started Year 11, I also had some mixed feelings. I may have felt elated to see everyone after 6 months of lockdown and get back into the school routine but also, I may have felt nervous for reasons like if I have really changed this lockdown.
Timetable Changes:
- For Year 10, my timetable did change quite a lot in comparison to Year 9. I only had my GCSE subjects, PSHE and PE while in Year 9, I was doing all the subjects. This means that I would have to focus more on each of my subjects and for some of the subjects, there were more lessons in the week for it. I also did not have to attend extra Triple Science classes after school as they were incorporated into my Year 10 timetable.
- For Year 11, my timetable also changed but because of COVID-19, everyone’s timings changed. School started and ended in different times so it was staggered. But I had a similar number of lessons for each of my subjects overall when comparing it to Year 10, so it wasn’t really a big jump.
Jumps:
- The jump from Year 9 to Year 10 was quite a big jump.
- The jump from Year 10 to Year 11 was not so big.
School:
- Because there was no COVID-19 when I was going into Year 10, there were no face coverings and big restrictions around school.
- Now in my first week of Year 11, there are some specific restrictions in my school. We are not allowed to wear face coverings inside the classroom but we are allowed to wear it in corridors and communal areas. However, not many people wear them in school. There are also hand sanitisers around the school building, and there are bubbles. For example, Year 11s are in a bubble with Year 10, Year 11 students and teachers. On the other hand, Year 7s, Year 8s and Year 9s have their own bubbles respectively. For books to be marked by teachers, they have to be quarantined for 3 days. There are some social distancing stickers. Of course, there are also staggered times, with form time being the last class I go to in the day.
Friends + Teachers + Seating Plans:
- In Year 10, friends and teachers were pretty good but the seating plans for most of the classes were quite fixed and chosen by the teacher.
- For Year 11, it is quite similar to Year 10 but I feel that for some of the classes, teachers have allowed us to choose our seats and then we have to stick to them probably.
Workload:
- As I said, the jump from Year 9 to Year 10 was quite big and the workload gradually increased, as there was more focus on each subject.
- When it comes to the workload in Year 11, it has been pretty okay so far but I think keeping on top of your work and starting from Day 1 is the best way to go forward.
Preparation:
- In the first week of Year 10, I was pretty productive and made a vague outline of my routine before and after school.
- In the first week of Year 11, I have also been quite productive and I have made quite a detailed revision timetable, a weekly list and I also created a website articles plan.
Those were some of the key highlights of school in Year 10 vs. Year 11 for me. I really hope you have enjoyed reading my article and I hope it gave you an insight into how it has been so far for me.
What year are you in and which country do you live in? Comment down below.
Check out my other articles, relating to Islamic content, My Experiences, Teenage Advice, Book Reviews and Poetry.
Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!