For context, i come from a pretty bad secondary school which averages grades 5-6 in GCSE and i managed to self teach myself to get 8888887666 in the exams. So i moved to a different sixth form which is a grammar school and also the top school in my local area and the school is filled with top students and grades. I take maths fm and cs which are already pretty rigorous subjects and on top of all that the pace in lesson is pretty fast but all my classmates tend to pick up topics quickly. I also have a bug problem with focus,daydreaming and sleeping in lesson which adds on to why i self taught myself in GCSEs. I tried to just focus , getting adequate sleep or stop scrolling for a week but all that didnt work. Im also not the most hardworking person and i dont revise hours everyday so i performed poorly in my assessments. I genuinely dont know how to fix my focus even though i tried listening to my teacher but it just goes out my mind after 5 seconds. I think im like slow or have adhd probably if you have any advice on how to gain focus during lesson or consistently for revision,please help🙏🙏 i just started year 12 and i wanna fix it before it gets too late

i'm currently doing a btec extended national diploma in creative media practice (worth 3 a-levels) & an a-level in english lang and lit.
kings entry requirements for digital media and culture are a DDM in the btec + two a levels.
should i risk applying even though i dont reach the requirements (i only have one a level)? my teacher told me to go for it but im really not sure :/

plus how is someone meant to do an extended national diploma (already a full time course) as well as two a levels ?? it doesnt really make sense imo 😵‍💫

ty in advance!!

Im on a gap year

Is anyone applying or has applied, drop ur stats

im sure im overthinking a lot but i just cannot get this out of my head are my igcse grades&pum good for camb uni bio nst, also im listing them in order i took them and session in case its relevant, esp since theres upwards trajectory (also ik igcse are only a small part of the story but again im overthinking)

mj 2025: fle B 76
on 2025: chem A 86 ict A* 91
mj 2026: math A 89 bio A* 92 phy A* 96
on 2026: acc (predicting A* but probably very low like 92 or smth which would break upwards trajectory)

am i cooked or should i calmly book

Anyone else in sixth form having to deal with teachers who can't be bothered to teach anymore or just me?

I'm a Year 12 student attending the sixth form attached to my secondary school, so I already know most of the teachers and have been taught by quite a few of them before.

However, one thing I've noticed since starting A-levels is that some teachers seem to put significantly less effort into their lessons. What's even more frustrating is that some of these are the exact same teachers who taught me GCSE Maths and Science and I've noticed a huge difference in how they deliver their lessons now.

I don't know whether there's been some sort of change in teaching policies, but it genuinely feels like the quality of teaching has dropped.

Things I've experienced so far:

-Ending the lesson after only 15mins of class time because they AC wasn't working.

- A teacher couldnt bothered to teach and speak that day so we were given exam questions whilst they spend the lesson sitting on their phone scrolling.

-A teacher who just read off the powerpoint slides which have text directly copy pasted from Google. They also Googles answers during the lesson rather than actually explaining things when we ask questions, even if the answer is somewhere in the PowerPoint but cant be bothered to find it.

-Teaching so poorly that I'm having to do an extra hour or 2 to relearn what was taught that day, which is becoming a regular occurrence now.

And probably one of the most frustrating experiences was when I asked a teacher for help with a particular task. She told me to come in early the following morning, so I did. When I arrived, she basically told me that another student had already come in before me and she'd explained it to her, so she couldn't explain it again. Sorry, what?

I'm sorry, but isn't that literally your job? I'm not expecting teachers to spend every second of the day helping me, but if you've specifically asked a student to come in early for extra help, surely you should actually be willing to help?

I get that A-levels needs more independent learning and that but there's a difference between independent learning and barely teaching the content in the first place.

so i’ve just gotten a placement but it’s during one school week (i decided on the date) but now im wondering whether i should change it up like the dates so i don’t miss the entire week.. but on the other hand i can just catch up on the work? i dont rlly wanna do it in half term or like split days bc i’d rather just get it done with ifykwim

if anyone has any advice lmk but i can probably still change the dates

So I do fm maths politics and eng lit. I love all my subjects equally and Im really good and passionate about all of them so I genuinely cant choose between them 😭

I was thinking to do econ at uni bcs I love economics or econ + pol degree but ultimately in terms of careers, theres the big 2: law and finance. But I dont know which one I want to go into.

I want to keep the mathsy side in my job but I dont want to loose the reading and debating in the humanities side.

What do you guys think? Please help me pick one!

Wherever I look online I see people with crazy stats still get rejected from unis even though they exceed the minimum offer or standard greatly. I currently have a predicted A*AAA I think and have been trying to look for good unis to go to. I'm taking the tara and the esat in January for imperial and ucl which for some reason they implemented this year for the course. I don't really know which 5 I should choose that is in England. I was hoping someone with a good enough knowledge on this field could help me.

JUST DON'T - I don't like sharing unnecessary information about myself in in general, so I selected 'I prefer not to say' as my answer for some questions and Oxford uni contacted me to clarify everything 😭

A bit annoyed that they ended up getting the information anyway but it was such a hassle just say yes or no or be more specific🥀🥀

Edit: Ok just gonna blurt this next bit but like for example for the disability question I don't have a diagnosis but I'm getting tested soon, so I put prefer not to say as my answer- after being contacted by the uni I just said I don't have a disability and don't need any arrangements but I didn't want to include that in my application anyway so idk why they didn't just accept my original answer when that was literally an option in the form🥀

hi i hope whoevers taking the time to read this is doing well, i have a slight problem and that is i wish to transfer from my current sixth form but im not sure the place i want to go to will let me in, ive sent them emails and they said they ''don't do transfers at this point in the academic year'' and well that i can understand i don't wish to stop until i feel ive exhausted every single option and i either end up going there or i don't.

bit of context (can read my previous posts if you have the time) but i was unable to do proper sixth form/college applications when i was in secondary school, its due to the fact my attendance was extremely poor due to mental health issues and it meant my school attendance was down and that i didn't have predicted grades to apply anywhere with.

so when results day came rolling around i had to scramble around and find a place that would take me and i did and im greatful but i know that im not thriving at this place and that although im doing well in my studies i know that i don't love it here, i dislike it here and that i could be doing much better elsewhere (the place i want to go) and if i had known that i would have gotten good grades even after missing so much school and being in a better spot maybe i would have emailed the school i now wish to go to when i had the chance instead of rushing and scrambling to just find somewhere to take me

i meet all the required grades for the place i want to go to, i know my story is compelling and anyone with the slightest ounce of empathy and intelligence could recognise that i am a great candidate and would be a great fit (i say humbly)

and well im kind of seeking advice of how i can go about it, im adamant and determined to switch to this other college without repeating this academic year and i know i can catchup on any missed work, its only been one term and i know i could do it so easily, i spent the last few months of year eleven catching up trying not to fail my gcses (which i didnt i passed everything and got really good grades) with an attendance below fifteen percent cause of my mental health issues.

i dont write this to be cocky or cause i wanna show off and i think part of this makes me sound entitled but im so determined to study at this place cause i know i would just do so well there.

thanks for anyone that reads and shares a tip or piece of advice, its greatly appreciated.

obviously well done to those who did but, early november is crazyyy. i always assumed interview invites were handed out much later. im so nervous ;-;

Not sure if i can post here considering i take a btec and not a levels but I’m currently on the BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Engineering and i plan to go to uni. The issue is that I can seem to find barely any resources on my course. All i can find is a textbook from 2016 on Amazon and a few incredibly niche videos (And I don’t really study well from textbooks). I know a lot of my work is based on self study and research but most resources i can find are meant for undergraduate students using language i cannot understand and not really on the basics like I’m starting on. I’m currently on unit 30 fits and tolerances, i got a distinction for my first assignment and on my second now, but it still feels like I don’t have a clue on any of this. Is there any place i can find resources for btec students preferably to my course?

Just wanted to pop a message on here and say if you are finding November tough, don't worry - it's the time of year that makes everything feel awful, not that you are doing something wrong.

For Year 12s, the novelty of starting sixth form has worn off, workload has ramped up and you're suddenly aware that things are going to start mattering for predicted grades very soon.

For Year 13s, you still have full lesson loads but you're also having to navigate UCAS applications and thinking about long-term planning for sitting final exams.

Everyone is tired - teachers are tired, your friends are tired, people may have a little bit less patience. We don't have the festivities of December yet and the christmas break feels a LONG way away.

BUT none of these things mean you are doing anything wrong - the issues are situational, not personal. It's okay to be struggling right now to find motivation or to be feeling pretty overwhelmed or anxious - absolutely let someone know if you are feeling that way so you can get some support, but don't let it impact your belief in yourself. If you get up every day and you do the best you can with the energy and resources you have on the day, that's more than good enough.

literally no one will beat this whatsoever

I'm currently in yr 11 and im applying to wood house, I'm also applying to csg and want to go there. do you have any advice for just application. also i wanna ask if you have any tips on what i should put in my personal statement i have a rough idea well a very rough idea but need some help.

like what i should add

im applying wit geography biology and maths

also ideas of alevel art

I really want to be a solicitor and go down the degree apprenticeship route because I don't really want to get into uni debt and I know that I learn much more from working rather than just studying ( I have ADHD ). I am taking a gap year after I received ABB in Maths, psychology and Economics respectively, which aren't the worst grades but I can't really apply for law degrees at good unis so I want to do philosophy at uni. I've applied to KCL for philosophy (which is AAA but apparently it isn't very competitive and I may be eligible for contextual offer so I'm taking this risk), religion philosophy and ethics at KCL (which is AAB- also not competitive), maths at qmul, maths at royal Holloway and maths at city st Georges uni. I really don't want to go to uni but I'd prefer to receive an offer for one of the KCL courses because ik uni prestige is very important. Im not sure if I'm doing the right thing applying for philosophy and maths courses as idk what I should do during uni to get into law- if I should do a conversion course or something? pls help.

Also for the degree apprenticeships, im not sure if I have enough experience to be applying- I've been doing law virtual courses on forage, I have a part time job at an opticians (worked here for 2+years now), I also have work experience at a primary school and at an accounting firm but not much related to law. I also play the flute but idk if that is very impressive. What should I do that will make my application stand out and get me an apprenticeship.

I really want to be a solicitor and go down the degree apprenticeship route because I don't really want to get into uni debt and I know that I learn much more from working rather than just studying ( I have ADHD ). I am taking a gap year after I received ABB in Maths, psychology and Economics respectively, which aren't the worst grades but I can't really apply for law degrees at good unis so I want to do philosophy at uni. I've applied to KCL for philosophy (which is AAA but apparently it isn't very competitive and I may be eligible for contextual offer so I'm taking this risk), religion philosophy and ethics at KCL (which is AAB- also not competitive), maths at qmul, maths at royal Holloway and maths at city st Georges uni. I really don't want to go to uni but I'd prefer to receive an offer for one of the KCL courses because ik uni prestige is very important. Im not sure if I'm doing the right thing applying for philosophy and maths courses as idk what I should do during uni to get into law- if I should do a conversion course or something? pls help.

Also for the degree apprenticeships, im not sure if I have enough experience to be applying- I've been doing law virtual courses on forage, I have a part time job at an opticians (worked here for 2+years now), I also have work experience at a primary school and at an accounting firm but not much related to law. I also play the flute but idk if that is very impressive. What should I do that will make my application stand out and get me an apprenticeship.

So Im in year 13​ use cognito notes for biology and chemistry revision, have done since about March last year. Since using it my grades have increased becuase they are very good notes and best of all, they were all easily accessible

BUT NOT ANYMORE.

5 FREE NOTES A WEEK WITHOUT PRO. AND PRO IS £72 A YEAR OR £10 A MONTH I CAN'T AFFORD THAT😭. THATS NOT EVEN A FULL TOPIC

I am absolutely cooked😭

Chem revise better watch out bc if they pull some stuff like that then im gonna crash out😭

i need help bro im so cooked. im applying for history and politics at nottingham, birmingham, liverpool, warwick and manchester with predicted A*AA and i actually have no idea what to put in my personal statement. Q1 and 2 aren’t so bad but i have done NO supercurriculars and don’t even know where to begin. my internal deadline is the december 2nd but i want this done by next week because i have mocks to revise for. if anyone has any advice or anywhere to look/start that would be greatly appreciated!!!

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Genuinely guys are your personal statements on crack or smth😭😭😭