4 minute read
SIXTH FORM LIFE
The Wakefield Experience - Volume 1, Chapter 12
I wish I could describe the end of my time at school as straightforward as Year 7 with a few goals set, some big (to become the most famous person in the world) and some small (to manage to get my planner signed every week). But unfortunately it hasn't been quite as simple as that. My goals now tend to focus on a few things that aren’t as impossible as becoming the next Jennifer Lopez but are definitely nowhere near as easy as managing to avoid detention from the blank space in my planner. To list a few: to leave a legacy at this school as my time comes to an end, to achieve a place at my dream university, to get the grades to get into my dream university, for my dream university to let me obtain my dream career and to be the best I can be in my dream career. Although they all seem like a mouthful... I know I can achieve one of those at this moment - my mark in the school magazine. After writing Chapter 1 of the Wakefield Girls’ High School story, Volume 1, for last year’s Review Magazine, I would like you to read the latest instalment.
Calendar photography competition: Maddie Fish
Before Sixth Form started, my year group was presented with a list of all the possible student leadership roles for the upcoming year ranging from Biology Student Leader to Deputy Head of House in which we all had to write letters of application to our teachers and hope to be selected for a role. Each week every Student Leader is presented with a task whether it is helping the struggling students with their Chemistry homework at a weekly clinic or running a sports club. My role has involved leading sessions for the younger students in the Creative Writing Club. All the roles come with a sense of duty, responsibility and fun.
Of course all of this can be a challenge as we also mountaineer the new and ever-demanding A-level subjects. I can honestly say that nothing has ever been quite so difficult. First, getting a steady stable ground at the start as we all come to terms with the depth and difficulty of this new terrain, whether it be a completely new subject (as I have faced with A-level Politics) or the chemists finding out everything they had learnt at GCSE was relatively easy and that atomic structure is a new type of complexity. Slowly we are climbing, and getting a steady hold of the topics, becoming more and more familiar with the structures and courses whilst boulders of exam results, stress and sleepless nights come crashing our way. However as WGHS students we try our best to manoeuvre our way around or tackle these challenges. Whether it be through going that extra mile to receive extra help or using our spare time to push ourselves even further with work - we strive to be the best we can be in order to make it to the top. Outside of school we are also tackling our own mountains the day we turn 17 is the day most of us can't wait to drive with some having a natural flair for it and managing to ‘find the bite’ and move smoothly on the roads without stalling whereas others (me) whose legs still somehow can't quite comprehend that they are meant to press the brakes to slow down... Alongside the new found highway code some of us are finding our code of conduct within the workplace with many of us starting work and finding jobs to make some extra money whether it be to save up for a car or a (hopefully) celebration trip post A-levels. Part-time jobs give us a sense of the workplace and the importance of time management to keep a balance between work and school.
Of course it isn't all a steep slope when it comes to Sixth Form life: the best times of the week are when we are chatting in the Common Room or going out for lunch or a quick trip to Trinity Walk - a big distraction from the stress of schoolwork, homework, exam stress and any other ongoing challenges. I could name endless benefits to Sixth Form life, whether it be the lunches courtesy of our lovely dinner ladies Kate and Diane, the smaller classes building stronger relationships with staff and work focus or the ability to personalise and make Sixth Form your own with the numerous societies and events you can be a part of. Wakefield Girls’ High School has a happy ending in its last chapter as it prepares you for the start of Volume 2 - The Next Step.
