If you are in Ballymena and have just finished your exams then you deserve a pat on the back. Well done, you made it! If you have completed your GCSE’s and are wondering what to do next then don’t miss the Courses and Careers Fair being run in Farm Lodge NRC building.
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YES! THEY’RE DONE! The stressful, never-ending exams are now drawing to a close, and then its summer! But… what now to do with all this free time? You no longer have to laboriously pore over maths textbooks and revision flashcards. Well, here are some fun ideas you can do leading up to the summer holidays as soon as that last exam is over! Sleep in! The weekend is here, and you no longer have to worry about getting up early to revise! Have a good ol’ lie in, guilt-free… Go for a walk. Plug in those earphones, grab a...
Read MoreIn Ballymena and throughout the UK lots of school pupils and university students are facing exams. As always Ballymena Today are here to help you with your exam panic. We have shared lots of exam and coursework advice in the past but we couldn’t resist sharing this excellent article which appeared in The Guardian and was written with University students in mind. Please click here to read all ten tips in the article by Claire Shaw. Here are our top four. Panic and procrastination Sometimes a task can feel so overwhelming that it’s difficult to begin, says Amber Regis, lecturer in 19th century literature at the University of Sheffield. Procrastination takes over and you just can’t seem to get anything done. The bare white page is a formidable foe when it stares back at you, untouched, from the library desk. Try not to panic, protect and manage your preparation time, and don’t put off getting started. Not reading the question properly When revising, students often rehearse answers in their head. says Roy Jackson, course leader in religion, philosophy and ethics at the University of Gloucestershire. “Although we don’t deliberately intend to catch them out in exams, we do set questions that requires them to think and reflect under timed conditions. But instead students will often pick up key words in the question and write out a rehearsed response.” This...
Read MorePaul Alexander a journalism student from Dunclug College has written a great article about juggling all the work, pressures and stress of your final weeks of school – All or Nothing. It’s that time of the year again for GCSE and sixth form pupils. The school calendar always gathers pace at this stage of the year. As teachers begin to signal the end of your controlled assessment, they start to get you thinking about exams and revision. With coursework deadlines approaching and exams looming, the New Year always gets off to a busy start. This can impact us as the level of stress increases and the amount of hours in a day seems to decrease. Controlled assessment is your first hurdle. Regardless of how many subjects you do controlled assessment takes up quite a bit of your time. In a way it’s a good thing, as it helps you to build up marks before you enter your exams. Deadlines are a major part of your coursework. Once a teacher sets a deadline you know the exact date that parts of, or the entire, task need to be done for. The best thing to do is to try and manage your deadlines as much as you can. Set yourself smaller markers and revaluate them regularly. This will give you an idea if you are on course and will help you...
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Lots of young people are on the verge of getting their GCSE results and in Ballymena we know that many students will be making their final choices about the next few years. Many students will hopefully be carrying on a school, taking three or four subjects at A-level for the next two years. However, if you have an interest in one particular area or industry then it may be beneficial to explore other options. If you have just completed GCSE Construction, or plan to pursue Construction as one of you a-level choices then it would be worth considering...
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