I have successfully completed my first week at sixth form. Done and dusted. Well, not really. The fun is only just beginning. Though I managed to have a smooth five days at my new college, I am excited and nervous about what future challenges will bring. I wasn’t sure what my opinion of sixth form would be. It seemed best to maintain an open mind and cope with issues as they rose. Having too much of a positive or negative view before starting seemed pointless to me. I have no older siblings. There were no expectations. After more than 30 hours there, sixth form has exceeded any expectations I had. By a mile.
If I had to sum up sixth form in one word it would be: busy. I attend a large sixth form, meaning the corridors are constantly crowded with people. This is obvious, and should be no surprise. However, it does shock me that so many people can fit onto such a small site. Less than two years separates everyone attending college, so a high proportion people aged 16 to 18 are in the college. Having found my rooms fairly smoothly, getting lost is not an issue. It is trying to avoid being crushed and seeing where you are going. The classes are also quite large, which I think is positive, as a number of opinions can be heard. So many people have come from so far, all united in wishing to succeed at A-level. The most important thing, my studies, has been very enjoyable so far. Interestingly, each class has two teachers for each subject. At first, I thought this would be a problem, as the course would be confusing. However, after five days, this has proven to be an effective measure, mainly because two parts of the course can be covered at once. The amount of booklets, textbooks and general information thrown at us has been a bit overwhelming, though that would be expected in the first week. After all, the general outline of the course and books to purchase has to be explained. Once the courses properly get going, I’m sure it will all calm down. I’m certain, however, that the weight of my bag will be, roughly, half an elephant. I was nervous about going to sixth form. Not only for the courses, but because my main group of secondary school friends weren’t coming with me. They did well in their GCSEs, but decided to go elsewhere. This meant I would need to talk to new people, make new friends and step outside of my comfort zone bubble. This has, thankfully, been far easier than I imagined. In both my tutor group and each of my classes, I’ve managed to meet people to talk to. Having the common interest of that particular subject, we’ve been able to talk about various topics that interest us. In politics, my table had a particularly interesting debate on legalizing cannabis. As usual, I was the only one against such a proposal. Nevertheless, having a different opinion on a matter hasn’t stopped discussion. If anything, it has increased conversation, which is very welcome. Something I wanted to do at sixth form, which I felt I hadn’t done enough at secondary school, was extra-circular activities. Whatever sixth form I attended, I vowed to try and do more clubs. The advantages of them are huge: it looks great on a CV, develop a new skill and meet new people. Thankfully, on the second induction day, the sixth form held a huge fair. There were a number of societies dotted all over the hall, each with a unique display, trying to attract the latest intake of naïve, young lower sixths. I can’t count the number of societies I signed up to: book club, creative writing, politics, debating, English literature, geography, philosophy…..the list, like my future homework, is endless. Obviously, I won’t be able to attend them all, but receiving emails means I can pick and choose which I want to attend far more easily. I can’t wait for creative writing next week! I managed to sign up to the perfect enrichment. There was a whole booklet with different activities to do, but we could only choose one. Immediately one stood out: the college newspaper. Given I aspire to enter the journalism world, writing articles is the perfect rung on the ladder. We held our first meeting on Wednesday, where I met lots of different people. A few weren’t even taking English as an A-level, but still enjoy writing. What a marvellous opportunity the newspaper offers. I am gradually pinning together my first draft of an article. It has been fascinating writing to a word count (500-600 words per article). Whereas on this blog, I have the freedom to write as much as I like, at the newspaper, there are specific limits to how many words can fill the page. I’ve learnt a lot from properly editing, managing to get an article from 690 words to 600. Let’s hope it’s published! Overall, the first week has been utterly unique. Whatever my future experience at college, I can always look back at the events of this week positively. It’s a great relief to have settled in smoothly, as more time can be spent focusing on the courses and enrichment instead of worrying about friendships/getting lost etc. I know there will be challenging weeks to come; some will go well, some will go awfully. That is life, and I will try to deal with those issues as they come. For now though, Sixth Form remains something to look forward to, something worthwhile. I hope fellow lower sixths around the country have had a similar, happy experience. Remember, we’re all in the same boat...
2 Comments
Ur mum
17/9/2017 18:04:39
Very interesting read! Simply marvellous!
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Marian Dilloway
17/9/2017 19:14:28
I think you have put together a very interesting blog which i think would help any other 6 former if they read it. Well done NoahX
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