Things To Do In Year 12 To Put You Ahead Of The Rest

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Ah the relief of getting the final year of high school and those dreaded GCSE’s over with. When your 16 or 17 year old starts the next period of their lives, whether they be studying for A levels or BTEC/vocational qualifications, there’s no denying that they suddenly grow up very quickly and it can seem like they have a lot of time to be able to prepare for what happens next.

Those 2 years at sixth form or the equivalent college surprise absolutely everyone with how fast they fly past though. I know every student gets warned about getting into good study habits and really making sure their time management is spot on. I’m not going to add to that too much in this post but what I am here to do is provide tips on how each Year 12 student can make the best use of their time and this relatively stress-free year ahead.

Upper sixth year is not fun, especially if students have chosen subjects where the majority of their assessment in through written exams. I want to provide some suggestions of what you can do early in lower sixth to potentially help make next year a less stressful time.

Is your part-time job going to help towards your future career?

A lot of students search for a part-time job as soon as they hit 16. And who can blame them? With the cost of everything rising, those extra pounds towards a night out or even a new outfit, can really come in handy.

There are some future career areas where recruiters are actually looking at whether your past work experience can help towards entry into the chosen profession though. For example, we have been told that exam results alone are unlikely to secure an entry towards being a paramedic. Recruiters will look for how seriously the student has taken getting experience in that area and whether their previous work experience shows an affinity to working in that area. Our middle daughter has actively sought roles like life guarding where she can help members of the public and deal with stressful situations when they arise. If you do decide to start looking for a new or your first part-time job, you may find these tips on getting a student job useful. Job search websites like Jooble might also come in handy while searching for jobs for teens.

Can you do any short courses in your spare time?

These might be the more practical courses such as first aid or coaching qualification in a particular sport. Often these are held at weekends or in school/college holidays – Use that summer break wisely! Our local college recently offered their students the opportunity to do online work experience training in medical fields. Although, the students were not actually dealing with patients, there were break away sessions and Q&A sessions to check understanding and what to do in certain situations. Certificates were available for completion in association with higher education colleges, which would be accepted at interviews.

Set up temporary work-experience

If you think that your part-time job is not quite hitting the mark in terms of getting the experience you need for your future career, there’s still time to do something about it. You may not get paid work experience but a lot of organisations and sports/young people’s groups can offer shadowing a professional to learn tips of the trade.

EXPERT TIP: Enquire in plenty of time of your summer break as it may be necessary to apply for a DBS check.

Book Driving Lessons

You may not be 17 for some months yet and may be chomping at the bit to learn to drive. Don’t miss out though as many driving instructors get fully booked up months in advance. For a small deposit, you may be able to secure an hour a week with the time to be confirmed nearer the time. This is even more crucial if you are particular about securing a particular gender of instructor or a particular car to learn to drive in.

You may even want to consider booking a short intensive driving course for over a week in the summer holidays if funds allow, so you don’t have to schedule in driving lessons throughout Year 13. Again, these tend to get booked up very far in advance, so make sure you book in early for these.

Practice driving with a parent

This is definitely not one for me but happily Mr C is a much more confident and capable driver than I am so this summer he will be taking out our Year 12 daughter and allowing her to practice short journeys as often as possible. It can really make a difference to the amount of formal driving lessons with a driving instructor that you might need.

University Open Days

You do not need to wait until you are in upper sixth to start thinking about if you want to carrying on studying at university and if so, where you want to head to. Open days are mainly planned from June onwards with alternative dates planned for October and November. You may be in the middle of mock exams by the time autumn comes around so it is good if you can to book some Open Days earlier on if you are available.

Prepare your personal statement or CV

Absolutely everything you do from now onwards should be considered worthy of including on your CV. Every short course is a great opportunity for you to display that you are super keen on self motivation and looking forward to what comes next. Your personal statement for UCAS is a work of art and it is really easy to underestimate how much time it can take to complete to reflect the real you – Start it well ahead of completion date and you will find it so much easier. You will find that your college tutors will be very willing to check through your personal statement and/or CV, providing tips for how to improve it, if you give them plenty of time or check out this post on making your UCAS personal statement stand out.

Approach your referees

You may end up sending out your CV or completing a number of application forms over the next few years. Now is the time to approach your referees and ask for their permission to be used. Things to consider when choosing your referees: Are they reliable (Will they complete your reference and in a timely fashion?), Are they tech literate to be able to complete online references?

Are you taking a gap year?

You have probably thought about this already by this stage but the best way of getting the most out of a potential gap year is to plan ahead. Are you looking at travelling and/or possibly getting a job to pay your way while you are doing this? Are you looking at going somewhere solo or travelling with a friend? What will you do if they change their mind – will you still go alone? It is a really good idea to consider all scenarios well in advance, how you will fund your year and how that gap year may benefit your future studies or career path.

Are you going to do an EPQ?

The EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) is an extra qualification available in most colleges and further education facilities. This is a stand alone qualification that is meant to show more of your skills and knowledge in assisting any applications to university or higher education. Think of it like writing a dissertation, although it doesn’t have to be in a subject that relates to your existing studies. In fact, it can be useful to do your EPQ in a completely unrelated field to your A’level or BTEC studies as it shows more of your knowledge.

Some colleges are fairly quiet about offering the opportunity to submit and EPQ but it is always worth doing. Some colleges stagger when their students do theirs – with half doing them in Year 12 and the other half doing theirs in Year 13. My advice, always go for the Year 12 option and get it over with.

You may wonder if it is worth completing an EPQ, particularly if you are already pushed for time with your study schedule, extracurricular activities and a social life. An A* in an EPQ can offer you 28 UCAS points which can make all the difference to being accepted into your chosen university so definitely worth doing. Our eldest completed her EPQ on a flight to and from Italy when she was going for a training camp so it doesn’t have to take forever.

Study Groups

To really get ahead , you may want to consider getting together with a group of like-minded fellow students in study groups. These are likely to be students covering the same subject as you. You might all suggest different ways of remembering content but can really benefit from doing practice exams with each other and going through the results.

Learn practical skills

So many young people get to university without basic skills in the kitchen. You may be able to cobble together some Beans on Toast and order a pizza, but believe me, the novelty of both of these will wear off very quickly. A great way of making yourself popular within you student house or halls of residence is being seen to be a bit handy or capable in the kitchen. Get yourself familiar with a small portfolio of cheap and quick to prepare meals that will make your life so much easier at uni.

Can you use a washing machine? Do you know which settings are which? It sounds really boring but this is your time to learn. You really don’t want to get it wrong by learning the hard way and ruining your favourite going out outfit and nobody looks cool having to take their dirty washing home to their parents every fortnight!

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Create good habits

You are heading into another really busy time of your life. You may only just be feeling like you have just finished your final year of school but before you know it you will be moving onto the next step.

Start to think about creating good healthy habits that will enable you to get good grades, be a good student but also have a good time in your free time.

Think about looking after your mental health, have down time when you manage to get enough sleep, and incorporate exercise into your free periods – whether it be going for a long run or walk so spending time with your best friend or family member. You may also find this post on Positive Affirmations for Students’ Success useful too.

And finally …

Good luck – enjoy this year. Its definitely different to the stresses of those senior years of high school and much more enjoyable due to different methods of teaching, allowing self study sessions and the introduction of more control over your independence. The key to keeping on top of your study schedule and different goals is creating a good balance between hard work and enjoying yourself.

If you have done all the above and are still short of something to do, you may find Actually Mummy’s post on Things for Bored Teenagers to do useful.

Helen is a family and lifestyle blogger, writing about her experiences of bringing up 3 girls. For more information about the Costello Family and the services they can offer visit the Work With Us page