Surviving Secondary School | My Story

Although this post sounds like its pretty self explanatory or if you are thinking 'I have heard it all before', trust me, you probably haven't! As an ex secondary pupil and recently becoming an ex A Level student, I believe that I have learned a thing or two about surviving those hellish but also fun 5 years! PLEASE REMEMBER, this blog post is NOT set out in a 'hints and tips' manner, the points are not numbered or bullet pointed, however I have subtitled the year groups and the years that I was in that year group for. 

This is not JUST a hints and tips post, but almost like a story of my life in secondary school, and what my experiences are, if it is relevant, I will include hints and tips in the experience, either to help cope with situations that are inevitable (like falling out with friends and moving on to GCSEs) or even my own fashion meltdowns so you can avoid making the same mistakes! P.s. this blog post will include pictures of my ex school life, so if any friends are reading this now, and you appear in any pictures...SORRY!

Year 7 (2006-2007)

Okay, so obviously, on my first day at secondary school, I rolled up in my dorky year 7 uniform with the full works in my rucksack (yes, the rucksack was a fashion malfunction and possibly ended all male contact from day one!) 'the works' included that of my pencil case bursting with things I will probably never even use, (you know, all those mathematics contraptions that you will only ever use once or twice, or not at all unless you wanted to do rocket science at Cambridge University) a scientific calculator the size of a brick, my lunch packed all neat and tidy in an actual 'lunch box', my skirt and tights were hoisted to the highest possible point on my body, could I get anymore dorky? Probably not! Since I don't have a digital photograph documenting my first ever day at school, I cannot show you exactly what I looked like then, but trust me, my 'dorky' look does persist through the majority of my secondary school life!

Anyway, getting back on track...so, there I was in my uniform and a bag that was probably bigger than me, I waited right at the very front of the gates, too petrified to venture forth into the masses of children, who were evidently in the same boat as I was, as I was on my own, I left primary school with one my own, not one of my past friends went to the same school that I did, so as you can expect, I was very, very scared! That was until I bumped into two girls, called Kelly, and Paige, who seemed to be very nice people, they had started with a few of their old friends and so they lead me over to their own group of friends they had moved up with, and suddenly, I wasn't scared anymore! I felt like they had accepted me and I was now rather content with my new friends!

Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say is, if you are going to start secondary school at the beginning of September and you are moving up on your own, don't be frightened because everyone is in the same boat! You will find new friends eventually, and if they don't come to you, then you go over and talk to them, I'm sure someone will be thankful for your sense of communication :)

Okay, so I managed to get through year 7, I did all the tests, read all the books, I had the friends, managed to steer clear of as many year 9 students as possible (back then, there were no sign posts to guide the new pupils around the school, which is the scariest thing in the world when you have just started somewhere that you perceive to be soooo big, so my last resort was to simply ask one of the older students which terrified me!) and got all three 'Book Worm' Awards! So yes, life was good, Year 8 just got better!

Year 8 (2007-2008)

In year 8, you have your friends, you have done all the tests and exams so the school can place you in the right sets, so now, I guess its time to party! It was in year 8 that we had our first school disco there which was awesome! Back when Flo Rida's 'Low' came out, together with Chris Brown's 'With You' and Avril Lavigne's 'Girl Friend' track, my friends and I were on top of the world! With orange juice and Haribos in hand, we were as happy as any 12 year old could possibly be. So, If you are nervous about entering year 8, please don't be, because, in the words of Bob Marley,  'every little thing...is gonna be alright' ;)

However, not everything runs smoothly. I'm sure that when you were in primary school, you fell out with friends and quickly made up with them the day after, well its exactly the same in secondary school, now, as an 18 year old, I look back at those situations and think how silly it was, I cant even remember why we fell out, it was petty and really not worth losing a friend over. If this does happen, which eventually it will (I'm sorry to say), just remember that nothing is worth losing your friend over, if it was something you did, then be the better person and apologise, if your friend doesn't accepted your apology, they aren't worth being your friend, so let them go, if they are that concerned about you or your friendship, then they will come to you, just give it time! I promise you it will all come good in the end! I have known my best friend now for nearly 8 years, and yes, we have fallen out before, but evidently, we have moved on and discovered that our friendship is more worth hanging on to than a grudge!

Year 9 (2008-2009)

Now, this is when  you get to see some cheesy pictures from when I went on a school trip, now this was year 9, the year 2009 (coincidently) and I also had braces at the time! This was the year I got to go an a school trip to the country, I had been on a school trip to France when I was in year 7, however because I had no photos to show you, I thought I would leave the idea to mention it! The one thing I recommend doing when you go on school trips is not to try and make an effort! Trust me, it doesn't last, okay bring nicer clothes for a disco but trust me, if its cold when you go away, live in leggings and hoodies, if its hot, live in shorts and a baggy T-Shirt.

Trust me when I say, it is NOT a fashion show, and I'm sure your teachers will tell you that also, you will just look back at pictures and think 'What the hell was I wearing?'. If you keep it simple, the chance of your future 'cringe' will not be so big! ANYWAY! the moment you have all been waiting for! PICTURE TIME! The following photo is of me in my 'disco' clothes, believe me when I say, it is NOT pretty :S

Now, I know what you are all thinking and I totally agree, 'WHAT is my hair doing?', 'Why did I have my hair cut like THAT?', and the typical, 'WHAT WAS I WEARING?'. Yes, yes, I know, it pains me to post this on the internet, but it is basically here to tell you exactly what NOT to do or wear! What's with the 'peace' sign? What is with that? *CRINGE*! The next photo, which is basically a picture of my fashion disaster, features my friend, Sophie! (sorry!).

Sooo, basically, I needed a safety pin so that my white crochet cardigan wouldn't 'pop' open. The safety pin BROKE and so I was left looking dishevelled (as the picture shows) and again, I ask the same question, 'What is my hair doing?' and 'What was I wearing?', who would let me go out in public looking like...well, THAT? It makes no sense, but hey, I did it and I'm not proud of my lack of fashion knowledge! However I do have somewhat of an excuse for this awful look! I have no older sister to tell me the 'dos' and the 'donts' of fashion. I 'am the oldest, I also happen to have a younger sister who is 13, and I would NEVER let her wear that! I have learnt my lesson and gained knowledge from the many fashion mistakes, information and also warnings, I can now pass on to my sister!

Going on to more serious matters, year 9 is not as much of a doss as year 8 was. In year 9 you have to begin to think about GCSE choices, which sounds really scary and daunting to you now, but it really isn't worth stressing over it! It sounds almost impossible to hear it now, not to stress out, but really, there are worse things to come (A Levels, which I will get to in another blog post). let me emphasise that year 9 is not when you officially start your GCSEs, you may start to study the content and decide what your choices are, there will be compulsory subjects that your school offers, in my school, Religious Education was compulsory as it is a Catholic school. Don't let the new, harder content phase you, you are new to it, it will begin to get much, much easier as you start year 10 :)

Year 10 (2009-2010)

Okay, so moving on from the hellish 2009 fashion and hair styles, I went into year 10, so GCSE palaver begins. As I have mentioned previously, GCSEs sound really scary, they aren't! Yes work hard and prioritise GCSEs over other things, but please leave room for your social life. Unless you want to become a vet or a brain surgeon, then living in your study or being glued to a text book is acceptable, however, GCSEs are fairly easy, the marks are easy to get, you just need to know exactly how to get them (again, something I will pinpoint in another blog post).

Anyway, this blog post isn't for depressing things like that. Year 10 was very fun! It was probably the best year yet, before that, I found year 8 was the best year, but year 10 was just hilarious fun! Me and my friends headed out to France and Belgium for a history trip and although it was supposed to be a bit more depressing than any other school trips I had been on (it was for our study of WW1 so we had to visit lots of graveyards and many battlefields such as 'No Mans Land' which was really moving), this trip was probably one of the best. I ran through a fountain with my friends...

Ate loads of salt and vinegar chip sticks...

And had the funniest coach driver with the coolest mascot...

However, like I said, it wasn't all fun and light hearted joking around, we saw many graveyards from WW1 and also a few old trenches on the way...

Year 10 was an eye opener, but for the average year 10 student, even if you are going into year 10 or starting GCSEs, remember that you can still have fun when you are not studying as I have just proven. We studied, but balanced it with fun. Although this trip wasn't fun completely as it was rather emotional and very moving, we learned how to have fun, and we did it properly before returning to school once again to complete the first year of GCSEs.

General knowledge and advice I can pass on about year 10 as a whole is very minimal, as I will probably only end up repeating my self when I tell you about year 11, however one thing I would say is, although I said to have fun, which is true and fun should be had, please take year 10 seriously, if you do exams at the end of year 10, and flunk them, you will regret wasting time in the beginning, and regret is painful, you will only keep going over the 'ifs' and 'buts' in year 11, 'What would have happened IF I had studied harder?' or the question to yourself may be more serious the older you get, 'IF I had studied harder, I wouldn't be in this dead end job'. Don't have those regrets, yes have fun, but work hard! As my Dad always used to say to me, 'Pain is temporary, but failure is forever'. 

Year 11 (2010-2011)

Okay, so although this year will probably end up being the first year in your school life that you actually work your bum off, for me, it was the most enjoyable year out of my entire 11 years in school life. I had finally worked out who my real friends are, I was revising non stop and doing exams and mock exams non stop (if you are not sure what mock exams are, they are basically fake exams set up and scheduled by the school, the results do not count towards and final grades but you will sit them in the same way you would sit an official examination). Although this sounds like a 15/16 year old's worst nightmare, it really isn't all work and no play.

They way in which I handled and coped with the added stress was by reading. Again, everyone is different, but reading gave me the chance to forget the real world for a short while, with a book, I can get lost in the world the author has created, giving me a slight bit of freedom and a break from revision, without giving me enough rope to hang myself with (without losing out on much needed revision so I wouldn't fail). I also found looking towards the brighter side of finishing my exams, like an extra long summer and a prom. When I was in year 7, I always dreamed of having a prom, I couldn't wait to have my prom, and it came and went quicker than expected! My prom was pretty good, we had a great time! We rocked up in a snazzy white limo, I had an emerald green dress on, with my hair in a curly up-do. Yes, I will post a picture... ( I am on the end to the right, next to the gorgeous lady standing in the silver dress)

And here are some more pictures for good measure :)

GCSE results day! (August 2011)

Then, you have results day to look forward to! Although this is probably the most terrifying day of your life so far, you will be quickly in and out faster than you can say 'Quiditch' ( ;) ). You will be handed your results in and envelope most likely, and you may want to open them right there and then, that's fine, but you may hesitate for a short while. You may want a family member to see them first or you may want to be with your friends.

When I opened mine, I went in with my friends while my mum, brother and sister waited in the car. I didn't really feel comfortable going in on my own, and really, all I wanted to do was go in with my mum. My heart was racing, my palms were sweaty, my mouth went dry, I was an emotional wreck already! But I pulled myself together, held my head up, strolled in, picked up the envelope with my results in and went and stood with my friends, they had already opened theirs so it was a little bit of a shock, but I understood, but I suddenly decided to try and open them on my own to give myself a bit of space (something I will do this Thursday when I collect my A Level results) and I was really happy with them, all I will say is I got As in subjects I wanted to get As in, finding out I got an A in RE was a surprise to say the least but I did very well, and I was very proud of myself!

If the results aren't so good, then don't worry, instead of going to college to do A Levels, you could do a vocational course or something hands on. If you want to do A Levels, there is an opportunity for one to re-sit specific GCSEs such as English and Maths. B-Tecs are also a great alternative, again something you can do at college, B-Tecs offer points for UCAS so you can go to university as well if that appeals to you! (UCAS points are points allocated to certain grades or awards that will add up to give an overall point score, if the point score matches the offer of the university, you are in!)

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