School's Out!

by Hannah Thurston
23/07/2010

Today, school is officially out! I have officially finished Year 10 and get a nice 6 week holiday before going into the stress inducing last year of Secondary School. It will be filled with revision, coursework and college applications.

Revision won't happen till after Christmas Holidays, but all through the year, the thought of the GCSE's will be a constant thought in our head. Some will not bother to revise at all, in most if not all of those cases, they will not end up doing well in those exams. Revision is a key part of passing exams. Even if it is at the last minute, a few days before the exam, it could help. Although revision quite a while before the exam is good, close to it can be much better for some people. With me, if I revise too much, when I go into the exam, my mind will go blank. Revising in little bits long before than lots 2 days before is personally a very good idea for me.

Coursework, one of the things in life I can say I hate. I may be alright with it; every piece of coursework I have handed in has always been given a C or above (The E in Statistics does not count, I found that stupidly hard), but the amount of research and effort and time that must be put into each piece is too much. Sure, you must put effort into things to get good results, but with coursework, it seems like a stupid amount.

College applications. This is one of the things I have been worrying about as my time left in Year 10 got shorter and shorter. What if we apply for the 'wrong' colleges for us. At the moment for me, I only have two in mind, they seem good right now, one is nearby and has good reviews from people I know and overall, the other has better reviews, but I haven't been to see it at all before and is a pain to get to. I have a vague idea of subjects I'd take, I'm pretty sure I will end up getting the grades I need to take those subjects, but it would be a case of "Will I regret taking these subjects and taking the maximum amount of 5?" Will I tire myself out? Will I be so determined to prove myself that I will put myself under too much pressure and crack?

There are so many "What if's" that will happen throughout the next year, I will be stressed, but I know I will be able to trust in the support of my family and friends, I just wonder if everyone has the same luxury.