Hi and welcome back to the blog,
Yet again it's been a while since I was last active, for which I apologise! Here I am, a fair few months since my last post and what a few months it has been! For seventeen and eighteen year olds throughout England, A-Levels have been sat, results have been collected and the future decided (sounds a bit morbid doesn't it?!)
For me personally, I sat A-Levels in English Language, Psychology and Drama and Theatre Studies - all three were essay based meaning that I'd be sat up until all hours trying to get as close to the word count as I could!
I struggled so much with Psychology as I completely underestimated how much science content there would be, as science was never my strong point lower down in school. However, I was in a class with two of the most supportive people ever and I am so grateful to them for getting me through what would have otherwise been a very difficult year. Akayla was the brains, always helping me out with statistics and encouraging me all the way. Then there was Lana, we were basically the same person; always asking for help and then towards the end of the year, bonding over Mamma Mia and singing ABBA to each other; much to the annoyance of the rest of the class - sorry!
Drama has always been a passion of mine; from the minute I stepped on stage at a theatre workshop at the age of nine, I was obsessed. Although it isn't my chosen career option, I still hope to pursue it as a hobby as it has been such a massive part of my life. However, I didn't initially choose it as an A-Level; instead I started with A-Level French, which is something I got an A in at GCSE. It was definitely not what I was expecting though, and so I dropped it and transferred to Drama and Theatre Studies. I am so glad I did as I made some incredible friends in the class and one of the other students has just started at a prestigious drama school and I've certainly learnt a lot from him over the year! Contrary to popular belief, Drama is not a 'cop out' subject, in fact it is very much the opposite. Our course was 60% exam and 40% coursework so for the most part, we were analysing scripts and plays; some old, some contemporary. This wasn't difficult to me, however it did start to become a little boring so I only read the books twice, when it is recommended that you read them at least 7 times! For the full A-Level qualification, you are required to write and direct your own play of any theatre genre. We took so long deciding on what to do, it took so many lessons of talking, arguing, disagreeing before we finally came up with our idea. We chose T.I.E (Theatre in Education) and wanted to raise the awareness of issues and consequences that came with drinking alcohol. We explored three main issues - peer pressure, friendship issues and drink driving and honestly we had so much fun whilst putting it all together! The hard work paid off as months later, the performance date came around and our teacher informed us that the external invigilator said it was one of the most impressive pieces of T.I.E she had ever seen in years of doing her job! I loved doing Drama and Theatre Studies and would recommend it to anyone who has even the slightest bit of interest in anything to do with the arts; even if you just want to work on a lighting rig - there's an opportunity for everyone to show what their talent is!
Finally, there's English Language; my absolute favourite subject since the age of about five! I've always loved writing, I remember being seven and writing a number of short stories just for my class teacher. It was when I was in Year 5 (the age of nine) that I realised just how much I loved it - my teacher 'Mr J' was the best at encouraging talent - cue a Wicked reference! He made me realise that I was actually talented and from then on, I've always looked forward to English class. Fast forward a few years to English GCSE and I got the best teacher possible; she is the teacher from my High School who I genuinely miss and wish I could pick up and take to uni with me! I defy anyone to find a better teacher than Mrs Bell, so when I was told I'd have her for A-Level, I was over the moon! She truly understands my strengths and weaknesses and is one of those teachers who will go way above and beyond to help. I definitely think the teacher and the class you are in can affect the enjoyment of the subject, and I was so lucky with both of those. The class had me in stitches every single lesson, with a sarcastic comment, joke or stupid remark that made the lessons way more enjoyable. I revised so much for my English exam, but actually enjoyed it; which feels very odd to say! I knew I couldn't let my teacher down after she had put up with me for four long years!
After what seemed like an eternity, results day finally rolled around, and after staying up late panicking, I checked track and found out I got into my first choice University to study Journalism. *Cue crying and happiness and every feeling under the sun*. I was so relieved that my hard work paid off, and heading to school I began to wonder what my grades actually were. I was predicted a B in English, a C in Drama and a D in Psychology, but all sorts of scenarios were going through my head! I collected my results and ended up with a B in English, a B in Drama and a D in Psychology - I was so happy with my results. No they're not A* A* A* but they're enough for me and although I was slightly disappointed in Psychology, I knew I couldn't have revised any more than I did and I definitely did my best. That is my main advice for A-Levels; try your best and don't let anyone put you off your path. There were many times I had to go and sit by myself in a different room to my friends because if I didn't, I would have got so behind in my work. However, they're not for everyone and I know people who did
BTEC's and Apprenticeships and are just as pleased with the direction they are going. Take time to research your courses, look into the modules and be as independant as you can. Sixth form isn't easy but if you put your mind to it and you don't become lazy, watching TV in your free periods, it is likely you'll do really well!
I think that nicely rounds off my A-Level experience and advice post, and if you take anything from reading this post, let it be this: 'Work hard in silence and let success make the noise.'
Thanks for reading,
Charlie x
Yet again it's been a while since I was last active, for which I apologise! Here I am, a fair few months since my last post and what a few months it has been! For seventeen and eighteen year olds throughout England, A-Levels have been sat, results have been collected and the future decided (sounds a bit morbid doesn't it?!)
For me personally, I sat A-Levels in English Language, Psychology and Drama and Theatre Studies - all three were essay based meaning that I'd be sat up until all hours trying to get as close to the word count as I could!
I struggled so much with Psychology as I completely underestimated how much science content there would be, as science was never my strong point lower down in school. However, I was in a class with two of the most supportive people ever and I am so grateful to them for getting me through what would have otherwise been a very difficult year. Akayla was the brains, always helping me out with statistics and encouraging me all the way. Then there was Lana, we were basically the same person; always asking for help and then towards the end of the year, bonding over Mamma Mia and singing ABBA to each other; much to the annoyance of the rest of the class - sorry!
Drama has always been a passion of mine; from the minute I stepped on stage at a theatre workshop at the age of nine, I was obsessed. Although it isn't my chosen career option, I still hope to pursue it as a hobby as it has been such a massive part of my life. However, I didn't initially choose it as an A-Level; instead I started with A-Level French, which is something I got an A in at GCSE. It was definitely not what I was expecting though, and so I dropped it and transferred to Drama and Theatre Studies. I am so glad I did as I made some incredible friends in the class and one of the other students has just started at a prestigious drama school and I've certainly learnt a lot from him over the year! Contrary to popular belief, Drama is not a 'cop out' subject, in fact it is very much the opposite. Our course was 60% exam and 40% coursework so for the most part, we were analysing scripts and plays; some old, some contemporary. This wasn't difficult to me, however it did start to become a little boring so I only read the books twice, when it is recommended that you read them at least 7 times! For the full A-Level qualification, you are required to write and direct your own play of any theatre genre. We took so long deciding on what to do, it took so many lessons of talking, arguing, disagreeing before we finally came up with our idea. We chose T.I.E (Theatre in Education) and wanted to raise the awareness of issues and consequences that came with drinking alcohol. We explored three main issues - peer pressure, friendship issues and drink driving and honestly we had so much fun whilst putting it all together! The hard work paid off as months later, the performance date came around and our teacher informed us that the external invigilator said it was one of the most impressive pieces of T.I.E she had ever seen in years of doing her job! I loved doing Drama and Theatre Studies and would recommend it to anyone who has even the slightest bit of interest in anything to do with the arts; even if you just want to work on a lighting rig - there's an opportunity for everyone to show what their talent is!
Finally, there's English Language; my absolute favourite subject since the age of about five! I've always loved writing, I remember being seven and writing a number of short stories just for my class teacher. It was when I was in Year 5 (the age of nine) that I realised just how much I loved it - my teacher 'Mr J' was the best at encouraging talent - cue a Wicked reference! He made me realise that I was actually talented and from then on, I've always looked forward to English class. Fast forward a few years to English GCSE and I got the best teacher possible; she is the teacher from my High School who I genuinely miss and wish I could pick up and take to uni with me! I defy anyone to find a better teacher than Mrs Bell, so when I was told I'd have her for A-Level, I was over the moon! She truly understands my strengths and weaknesses and is one of those teachers who will go way above and beyond to help. I definitely think the teacher and the class you are in can affect the enjoyment of the subject, and I was so lucky with both of those. The class had me in stitches every single lesson, with a sarcastic comment, joke or stupid remark that made the lessons way more enjoyable. I revised so much for my English exam, but actually enjoyed it; which feels very odd to say! I knew I couldn't let my teacher down after she had put up with me for four long years!
After what seemed like an eternity, results day finally rolled around, and after staying up late panicking, I checked track and found out I got into my first choice University to study Journalism. *Cue crying and happiness and every feeling under the sun*. I was so relieved that my hard work paid off, and heading to school I began to wonder what my grades actually were. I was predicted a B in English, a C in Drama and a D in Psychology, but all sorts of scenarios were going through my head! I collected my results and ended up with a B in English, a B in Drama and a D in Psychology - I was so happy with my results. No they're not A* A* A* but they're enough for me and although I was slightly disappointed in Psychology, I knew I couldn't have revised any more than I did and I definitely did my best. That is my main advice for A-Levels; try your best and don't let anyone put you off your path. There were many times I had to go and sit by myself in a different room to my friends because if I didn't, I would have got so behind in my work. However, they're not for everyone and I know people who did
 |
| 13ENG1 - The best class I've ever had the privilege to be in! |
I think that nicely rounds off my A-Level experience and advice post, and if you take anything from reading this post, let it be this: 'Work hard in silence and let success make the noise.'
Thanks for reading,
Charlie x
Comments
Post a Comment