How to: Prepare for Year 13

Hello, Reader!

I'm sorry I have to mention it, but... summer is almost over. Well, at least the summer holidays. That means it's the back-to-school season! You might think I'm weird, but I think it's one of my favourite times of the year. I love getting all the new stationary and the feeling of a fresh start that comes with a new academic year... but that's not what this post is about. I'm here to help you prepare for year 13 - because if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. Okay, maybe not fail, but some preparation will definitely make your life a lot easier.

If, so far, you've spent the entire summer relaxing - I applaud you! (I can't do that.) Summer holidays are the ideal time to work on your mental health since you don't have to spend the majority of your time at school and/or doing school work. School time can be quite a strain on your mental health, so make sure to really take care of it so you can start the new academic year with less stress. 

If you haven't yet this summer, please pick up a textbook. It isn't necessary to read ahead but at least go over what you've learned in year 12. That bit of revision is going to be what helps you understand the new material in lessons when you get back to school. It's likely that without putting in any work, you'll find yourself in the deep end, lost in class because you won't remember the basics - therefore, you'll need to spend extra time outside of the classroom trying to understand what's going on inside of the classroom. 

Another thing that you can get out of the way before you go back into year 13 is all those pesky applications and personal statements. Whether you plan on going to university or doing an apprenticeship, there are applications to be filled out and completed - and you'd be lying if you said they're not stressful. The first draft of your personal statement is the hardest so at least get that first step done before the first day back! You definitely won't regret it, and you'll be able to focus your attention on schoolwork rather than your personal statement. Moreover, if you're still not sure of what you want to do really, it's a good idea to start finding it out. Perhaps you're still not sure what uni course is for you or how you can find the alternative you're interested in - it's time for research!

Finally, the most important thing - you might've guessed already - is planning! Knowing the workload you've had for each subject in the previous year, you can roughly plan for how much time you need to spend on them over an average school week. The workload shouldn't really increase in year 13 except for, the obvious, additional revision of the material from year 12. Try to plan for how much time you'll need to spend on each subject, accounting for how much homework, coursework and revision you'll need to do; how will you fit this into your free periods/afterschool/weekends and still have time for other stuff? My strategy was to spend a certain amount of time in the library after school and spend my free periods in the art room - when my previous/following period was closer to the art room - otherwise, I'd spend the free periods in the school library. This way, I managed to squeeze in all my Maths and English revision into the library sessions and focus on my art in the art room. I planned this out before I knew my timetable and I made sure to hold myself accountable to that so I could be sure I have a good balance between my subjects. A few months in, I also started going to the library after school for a few hours a few days a week. It's good to pace yourself and start off by planning in just enough hours to complete any homework and go over classwork, and later in the year increase the number of hours you're putting in to allow for lots of revision on top of that. Having planned this in advance will help you manage your time and prevent stress settling in since you won't have to worry about figuring out how to squeeze everything in.

That's all I've got! Good luck and happy preparing!

Love, 

Agnes x