Back to School: Tips & Advice

1. Start work early - Although you may not have a lot of homework to do or information to study at the beginning of the year, start making revision notes and re-reading over information from the very first day. Not only will it save you time writing notes come April/May time when exams are just around the corner, but it will also help get the information in your head more efficiently.

2. Utilise the weekend - I know that we all look forward to the weekend to get a nice break from school and all the stress that comes with it. However, start taking an hour on Saturday morning to do schoolwork and to get the majority of your homework done so that you're not stressing at 10PM on Sunday night, and also this will allow you to allocate a few hours on Sunday for revision.

3. Focus on school - Now, I know there are people out there who just can't afford not to have a part time job and that's okay. However, my advice would be to limit it to weekend work. If you are at school until 4, then have to go and work until 9 and then go home and do a load of homework for the next day, it's just not healthy for you. My advice would be to scratch a part time job altogether, but if you absolutely have to, try and get a job where weekday hours are very limited.

4. Get a planner - If your school doesn't provide you with one, buy one, it will save your life. Keep it on your desk in class as teachers often throw homework at you in the middle of teaching like 'oh look this up/get a definition for this' and if you don't immediately write this down, you will forget it. On Friday afternoon, revise your planner and thus, plan out your weekend study timetable according to what you absolutely have to do.

5. Ask for help - If you don't understand something, ask your teachers. Honestly, they're there to get you an education and teach you the material you need to know. They want to see you do well so if you need extra help, don't be afraid to ask for it.

These are just some tips to help you out in the beginning of the year. I have more detailed posts on revision which I'll put up later in the year, but I hope this one helped you out a bit for now! Have a great first day at school and I hope this yea goes great for you. :)