Personal Organisation and Attitude to Study

Personal Organisation & Attitude to Study Personal Organisation and Attitude to Study

Academically, UV is a very important year for you. It is the year when key parts of your GCSE preparation will be completed and, for many of you, it is when you will sit your first public examinations that will affect the rest of your life. In addition, you will be producing coursework and learning to plan your time so that deadlines do not mount up.

Some of you will be taking a lot of GCSEs and will need to balance your subjects and your time so that you are still able to participate in extra-curricular activities both in and out of the school. Remember, academic success is only one part of a fully rounded education.

Some of you will be taking fewer GCSEs and you will find that you have a number of study periods in the library. This means you have more time to devote to the subjects you have selected and the time spent in the library should allow you to work hard on assignments and to keep up revision. You will be helped to make effective use of your time in the library and you should never find that you have ‘Nothing to do’.

Here is some advice to help you be successful at GCSE

• Buy files and dividers and organise these in such a way to map out what you will cover in your courses. • Tick off topics that you have covered, psychologically it is helpful if you can see that all your hard work is helping you to reach your goal. • Be involved in lessons, try to answer questions and take part in discussions so that you are actively learning, not just sitting passively. • Ask questions if you do not understand or want to know more about a topic, or see your teachers at the end of the lesson. • Complete homework on the night it is set, this will help you to feel in control of your workload now more than ever. • Start your revision from now, make notes and cue cards as you go along to prevent last minute panic. • If you miss a lesson through absence, catch up on any work missed. It is your responsibility to write up notes or do the work, and make sure you ask your teacher about anything you do not understand. • Use the tests to find out where there are gaps in your knowledge so that you can work harder on that area.

Coursework/Controlled Assessment Points to remember

• Coursework/controlled assessment deadlines cannot be changed and you cannot expect your teachers to help you out at the last moment. • Follow the advice given by your teachers and keep up to date with any deadlines set for preparation tasks. • Complete coursework/controlled assessment on the computer (unless specifically told to do otherwise). This will help you with drafting. • Keep a hard copy of your controlled assessment in case you lose your memory stick, your hard drive becomes corrupted or the printer is not working. • You will be asked to sign documentation confirming that any coursework/controlled assessment submitted to the board is your own work. If you do not submit your own work, this is cheating and if you are found out, you will be penalised and may not be allowed to sit examinations for the board in question.

Life beyond study

Although GCSEs are hard work, you should feel happy whilst you are working towards them. If you are not happy, you need to track down the cause of this unhappiness and address it. Of course, you will want to talk to your friends and parents but you should also take your problems to your Form Tutor or to the Head of Upper School. We will all try our best to resolve whatever issue is troubling you.