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What do I need to do before returning to school after the 2024 Summer Holidays?
The summer holidays are a time to relax, rejuvenate and rest from the stresses of the academic year. You should try to do something you enjoy, indulge in your hobbies and recuperate, ready for another year of school. But towards the back end of the holidays, the age old question dawns on us all… “What do I need to do before returning to school after the 2024 Summer Holidays?” Aside from getting back in touch with your GCSE tutor, there are a few things:
What to do before returning to school (after Summer) depends on where you’re at
How you should prepare for your return to school depends slightly on what year you will be going into. You can prepare a little beforehand but this does not have to be anything strenuous, a little can go a long way. You could prepare by buying any textbooks, revision guides and notebooks that may be helpful or aid your future learning and revision. Investing in a planner or calendar to help you stay organised or alternatively using an online calendar. You could buy a whiteboard and pens to help with revision.
Routines and Managing Time
After a long summer it can be easy to get side tracked, so it is essential to get back into the habit of following a routine. It may be difficult to organise your time if your school has not given you your timetable yet as most schools do not give timetables to students until they have returned to school. However you can begin to formulate a rough timetable to optimise time management. Estimate how much time you may need to spend on each subject and how you will schedule this around other commitments, such as extracurricular activities and socialising with friends. Setting aside a specific time for studying, socialising, and relaxing can help you stay on top of your workload while also giving you time to enjoy your hobbies and interests.
Goal-Setting and Where to get Extra Help
Once you’ve organised your schedule, it’s time to focus on your academic goals for the upcoming year. Initially take some time to reflect on your past academic achievements and identify areas where you can improve. If you struggled in a particular subject last year, consider getting a tutor or seeking help from your teacher. If you want to improve your grades overall, start by setting specific goals for each subject and working towards them systematically. You should set small, achievable goals you want to accomplish in the short term, for example by half term/October. You can also set some more long term goals.
Get Back into the Swing of Things – Practice Papers!
When moving forward it’s important to make sure you haven’t forgotten what you have already learnt. You can do this by testing yourself with a practice paper and having a read through your notes from last year. If you are feeling eager you can look ahead into your next year’s curriculum and use resources online to begin learning new content such as youtube videos and online textbook. This way you are getting work done whilst waiting for your books to arrive. Maybe start by watching a video that explains a new concept well as it’s new it may be difficult to grasp just yet. Then read a textbook and once you feel you have an understanding can attempt practice questions. It’s okay to make mistakes and learn from them. There are even summer workshops available and some schools may organise these.
The Jump to A-Level as a Year 12
If you are going into year 12, it’s a good time to get a feel of what you’ll be learning as it can be fairly different from GCSE. Have a good look at your specification for the exam board you will be studying with to get a good idea of what will be covered over the year. Take the summer as an opportunity to consolidate your GCSE understanding as it builds the foundation blocks for further learning e.g understanding GCSE content on DNA, transcription and translation will help with understanding the process of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) at A level.
Knowing what to do before returning to school after 2024 Summer Holidays with the right preparation and mindset, can be an exciting opportunity for growth and learning.
