How to Survive and Thrive at Secondary School: The Ultimate Guide to Acing Exams in 2024
Surviving Secondary School
The seven years of secondary school are some of the most formative and exciting of your life: so much is new, and it’s a time of discovery in which you’ll find out who you want to be. Having attended a girls-only secondary school, I was lucky enough to receive an education focused on making sure girls seize every opportunity available to them. During my years at secondary school, I learned that being successful involves being both confident and willing to make mistakes; this is an especially important message, as the pressure to get things right all the time often affects girls in particular. I’ve therefore distilled what I have learned about female education into a series of values; being taught these values at school gave me the confidence to aim high, and I hope that they can encourage others to be similarly ambitious.
Perseverance
Being perseverant was one of the first lessons I was taught at secondary school and is one which has stayed with me right through to university. This involves being willing to stick at things, and not expecting to find the answer to a question immediately, or to understand a concept at first glance. In fact, finding things tricky is helpful in the long term, because it prompts you to pay careful attention; working through a problem step-by-step helps you to understand how a particular process functions. Also, just because you find a subject difficult at one stage doesn’t mean you’re ‘bad at it’: it just means you’re encountering the unfamiliar. Try to view this as a challenge rather than an obstacle. For example, so many girls write off Maths and Science too early, telling themselves they’re ‘not good at it’; the truth is that to be ‘good’ at something you have to be willing to stick at it, so do yourself the favour of persevering with ‘difficult subjects’ and you might just find that you love them!
Resilience
Similarly to perseverance, resilience involves being willing to stick with something even if you get the answer wrong first-time round. Resilience means being able to stomach criticism and view it as an opportunity for growth. If a teacher tells you you’re doing something wrong, don’t take it as a negative assessment of you as a student; they’re simply pointing out where you’ve got room to develop, and the strongest students are those who are willing and eager to build upon areas of weakness. In the same way, if you get a score on a test which is lower than you had hoped, try not to react emotionally: if you understood everything, there would be no point in going to school, so getting things wrong is a healthy stepping-stone to success. It’s often the things we get wrong that we eventually understand the best, because we realise where possible pitfalls lie. Because of this, perfectionism isn’t helpful: each of us is a work in progress, and mistakes are catalysts for learning.
Assertiveness
Being assertive was one area which I had to work at especially; in class, I would hesitate before putting up my hand, afraid of getting the answer wrong, and others would get there instead of me. Having the confidence to put up your hand and volunteer an answer even if you’re not sure of it helps you to learn that in this world, you need to fight your own corner and be your own biggest fan, because there’s a lot of competition out there. When you answer a question in class, don’t preface it with ‘I’m not sure, but…’ or ‘this is probably wrong, but…’; instead, say ‘I think that…’, and this will help you to do justice to your own efforts. Learn to relish a little bit of rivalry, whilst supporting your peers; being ambitious is a great thing, because it paves the way for you to reach your biggest goals.
Inquisitiveness
Being inquisitive means being eager to ask questions and explore areas of learning which are unfamiliar to you. In the classroom, this might mean asking the teacher to explain why something means what it does or asking for extension work. Be willing to go beyond the minimum requirements; if you show that you’re interested, people will take an interest in you and your perspective. Remember that there’s a lot of knowledge out there, and that learning takes place all the time. For example, if you’re interested in French, watch French films; if you love studying Pride and Prejudice, read Sense and Sensibility; if science is what excites you most, read scientific journals such as the New Scientist to stay up to date about new discoveries and technologies. In short, don’t assume that what you’re taught is all there is to know: be demanding, and push farther than the confines of the curriculum.
Balance
This last value is the most important one; prioritise your wellbeing above all else, and to do that, you’ll need to strike a balance between work and play. It’ll help to be organised: pay attention to when your deadlines are and focus on the ones which are soonest. Keep a homework diary and write down all the tasks you have as well as any extra-curricular activities you’ll be doing on a given day; this will help you to structure your time. Don’t spend too long on one task: if you aren’t making progress with a particular question, leave it and return to it later on. And lastly, make time for your hobbies outside school, whether that’s sport or playing a musical instrument, reading or just spending time with your friends. This will help you to become well-rounded and will also give a huge boost to your wellbeing. It’s good to plan out your time, but don’t map out every hour of the day; it’s important to have space to relax and recharge. You have projects, but you aren’t a project – that means that there’s no shame in taking some time out. Put yourself first!
To conclude, the years between the ages of 11 and 18 are busy ones, but happy ones too. Make the most of the chances you are given; you can do it if you believe in yourself and are willing to persist if things are harder than expected. Anything worth doing is hard, so seize each challenge as it comes. Make goals and keep them. And if things don’t go to plan, don’t give up! There are always more opportunities out there. Try your best: that’s all that anyone can ask of you.
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