Jasmine: The GCSE Re-sit Programme low-down

Hello!

This blog is another important blog entry about information people may be wondering about: What if my GCSE grades don't allow me onto A-level courses? I feel like this blog post can be aimed at both people who are genuinely wondering about the re-sit programme or students that are currently on the re-sit programme. 

When I was 16, I actually thought it was game over. I didn't get the GCSE grades I needed to get onto A-levels at first, and not to sound like a weirdo, but Cadbury kind of did save the day. On enrolment (the interview you have with a member of staff here at college who puts you on the courses you want), I was advised to go onto the GCSE re-sit programme, as I was only one GCSE grade down from the usual requirements, and had to re-do my science GCSEs as well.

At the time I felt sad, and in all honesty, slightly annoyed with myself. I didn't want to be on this programme, I wanted to go onto A-levels and stay with my year group. Going into the GCSE programme, I was going to be older than everyone else when I eventually did move onto A-levels, and already being one of the oldest kids in my year (since I was born at the beginning of September), I didn't like that idea WHATSOEVER!

But, from day one, I realised this was the right choice. Going onto the GCSE re-sit programme showed that maybe I wasn't ready for the A-level courses just yet, and I just needed another year to nurture into someone who was.

I did Sociology, Geography and Double Science on the programme. Frankly, the only reason I'm here writing on this blog as a second year student is because my teachers managed to get me through that! ​Doing the GCSE re-sit programme made me realise how much I enjoyed Sociology as a subject as well, having never done it before. A two year course being studied in one year, I found it so interesting that I ended up getting an A grade at the end (All thanks to my teacher on that one!). My GCSE sociology teacher even ended up as my A2 sociology teacher, which leads me onto another advantage of doing the re-sit programme: I knew my way around college. I knew staff members and it wasn't as scary as being a brand new A-level student with other people who didn't know their way around. I became one of those students who, at first, unofficially helped people around at the start of my AS year, and then officially became a student representative to help out on open days and parents evenings (I’m planning to do a whole other blog post about that, so I’ll just keep it short and sweet here!).

The GCSE re-sit programme isn’t easy, though, whatever people may think. Commitment is needed to the highest level and you have to be totally determined to do your best. This is your second chance, make the most of it!

All in all, don’t be ashamed of the GCSE re-sit programme. It’s there to help and support people who maybe did not get the support they needed during their actual GCSE year. It’s going to be a period of your life that you’ll look back at and will feel proud about (at least that’s how I feel when I look back at it). I’m a different person now than who I was back then, maybe more of a grown up I'd say! 

Taha: University: Is it worth it?

Many of you reading this will be facing a big decision is your life in regards to your career. In amidst of all that is one very important question that has many benefits and arguably some disadvantages. That question is do you want to continue your studies by going to university? The truth is you do not have to go to university. Some people just do not like the idea of continuing education and would rather be working or have an apprenticeship. Others would have decided they would like to take a gap year either to travel or to figure out the important decisions in regards to career and life in general. So in order to help you with your decision I decided to sate three of the main dilemmas you may face with going to university and advise you on how to conquer them.

• Dilemma 1  
• “University is too expensive - I do not want to have a life time of debt.” 

Yes the maximum fee for university is £9,000 but student loans and bursaries can help you to cope with this:

Student Loans
When many people hear 'student loans' they become scared of a life time of debt. They do not want to be in a debt at such a young stage of their lives. However, don't forget that you only start to repay the loan when you earn £21,000 a year, and after 30 years, the loan is wiped off!

Bursaries
A bursary is a special grant that is given to students whose family/household income is less than £25,000. Here are some key bursary facts:

• Bursaries are free
• Bursaries given to the entitled student each year  
• Some universities pay much more than others. Sometimes £3,000 a year 
• Bursaries don’t affect eligibility for state support such as maintenance grants and loans for tuition fees and living costs
• Eligible students are entitled to receive bursaries as well as any scholarships they are offered

• Dilemma 2 
• “I want to start working straight away”

I respect the decision if you want to work but if you are stuck on whether you should enter the working world or stay in education here are my suggestions:

Apprenticeships
An apprenticeship is when you learn the important details about your job while working. It basically focuses on experience and preparation for work rather than just learning. A key website that is very beneficial for finding out about apprenticeships is http://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk/ which I suggest you visit if you want to work rather than stay in education.

Part time university course
A part time university course is basically when you spend some part of your week studying at University, leaving the rest of the week for you to work and earn some money and experience.  Courses do generally take longer to complete this way. Its is marketed by universities as a great way to balance your life and can develop time management skills.

Here are some key facts which Birmingham City University state about their part time courses:

• same course and qualification as full-time study
• work while you study
• balance your studies with other commitments
• employers may contribute to your tuition fees
• same great levels of student support and facilities
• study can fit in around family and work commitments
• potential to progress in your career
• large group of like-minded people

http://www.bcu.ac.uk/student-info/types-of-study/part-time 

Placement Year
While a traditional university course is likely to be three years long a placement year course is in fact four years. The extra year is in the middle of the course and is a work experience/placement year in which the student is paid for their work.

Aston University state:
“75% of Aston students take on graduate level job while studying, making them better prepared for industry and the professions.”
I am actually applying to an Aston University placement year course myself as I believe the work experience element of the course will help support my future (like it has done to my cousin) this is because it is very likely the work experience provider will take you on for a fully paid job after university and if not you will have the advantage of work experience and will be more desirable to recruiters in comparison to graduates who have little or none.

• Dilemma 3
• “I do not think I have the grades for the course I want.”

Why not consider these options:

Foundation year
A foundation year is basically when you take an extra year before your course which is the equivalent to your A levels. Basically this extra year prepares you for the university course assessing your knowledge on the course. It takes dedication and hard work to get on the actual course via the foundation year. A lot of universities offer foundation years including Wolverhampton University who states “FDs combine the teaching of an undergraduate degree with practical, work-based learning, and show you how theory applies to the realities of business. That means what you study is always relevant to your day-to-day operations.”

A2B scheme
The access to Birmingham University scheme is a way of helping local low income families from areas with less access to higher education get into to The University of Birmingham by lowering the grade boundaries dependent on the applicant (I can assure you though that a typical offer may be AAB or BBB etc.)
The University of Birmingham state  “The Access to Birmingham (A2B) scheme is designed to help students from families and communities in the West Midlands who have little or no experience of Higher Education find out about what studying at university involves. ”

In conclusion I recommend that you at least think about these options and hopefully you will find the path way for you.

Kamal: The Skills Show

This blog is dedicated to The Skills Show which took place from 19-21 November in the NEC located by the Birmingham Airport.

The NEC hosts UK’s largest events from releasing new products to hosting events such as the Comic-Con. Whatever big event happens, it happens here at The NEC Birmingham.

People from around the UK and other countries come to explore and find out new things; I was lucky enough to go to both the Skills Show and the Comic-Con events on the same weekend.

In my previous blog I used a quote on opportunity and when using quotes you should be able to use them in the real world and simply not just know them.

The Skills Show is an event to help young people find something like their career path to a small part-time job - mostly focusing on apprenticeships and traineeships.

However both the Comic-Con and the Skills Show will not be held in NEC for another year at least.

Life is about figuring out what you enjoy and/or are good at. “You can’t score without a goal”.

I hope you like the photos I took on the day and I hope I never write a blog shorter than this one, ever.

Thanks for reading! :-)

Maisie: The Stats of Future Students

Hi all,

As you may be aware, the college held an Open Day on Saturday 17th October, to which many young people attended hoping to get a taster of college life at Cadbury.

During the day, I supported the college and represented the student body by acting as a "journalist" for the day, making the most of my student blogger role.  I interviewed 30 randomly selected visitors to find out what it is about Cadbury that students are most interested in, and what we are doing, and can do, to spread the word and promote our college.

Below are my results.

The above clearly indicates that our connections with schools across Birmingham play a huge part in attracting year elevens, and our positive reputation means young people help promote us within their social groups.

From the results, it is clear that our number of courses and range of choice is recognised across Birmingham. I myself first visited Cadbury because it offers Further Mathematics. However, the majority of visitors attended the Open Day to browse, and compare it to other colleges they may have visited. This is why our Open Day is so important. The day gave us a chance to show off our assets to the public, and present ourselves in a positive light to the young people thinking about applying to the college.

I attempted to speak to possible applicants around the college on Open Day, in order to speak to a range of people with different interests for a fair test, however my results still seem slightly bias.

Regardless, Cadbury attracts many students who aim for a more academic set of qualifications due to our reputation with sciences, as the results above clearly indicate. Nearly all students who were interested in Maths also wanted to study a Science. Those who wanted a more creative set of results chose either Psychology or Sociology along with artistic courses.

It is important for us to take note of the volume of young people interested in our courses, so we are able to continue facilitating and supporting our students with their decisions.

I asked our visitors how interested they were in applying to Cadbury College, and 50% said they were extremely interested, and loved the college so far! Of the 30 people I spoke to, only one said they were not interested in applying to the college, and that was only because said visitor had their heart set on a place closer to home.

Looking at the above, and the overall results of the interviews, I would say we had a very positive Open Day, with a huge number of visitors and possible applicants taking a shine to the college.

I would like to thank all of the visitors that took part in my little experiment, and I hope to see you again in September!

Regards,
MT

Maisie: How to handle "Assessment Hell"

Hi all,

Current Cadbury students will be fully aware that the week before our blissful break was the dreaded assessment week. During assessment week, we are, you guessed it, assessed in all of our subjects to ensure that we are able to succeed in our chosen courses.

Some will be ecstatic with their results, and I congratulate those who achieved their targets. Among us, though, will be those who are disappointed with their results.

I will admit, I have been incredibly disappointed in myself due to underachieving in the past, but the trick is bouncing back. I have witnessed fellow students cave in on themselves after disappointment, and they began to form negative patterns which only ended in more disappointment.

My advice is to use that unpleasant feeling, and transform it into motivation. When it comes to challenges, I live by the four P’s.

Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

It is all in the preparation. We are past the stage where we can say “it’s fine, I’ll just blag it,” and manage to scrape a B. The time has come for some serious study schedules.

Those who plan on going to university may need to think about the effect poor preparation WILL have on their future. If you have big dreams, which have qualification requirements, you have two choices. You can either settle for another career, or get your act together and fight for what you ultimately want. It’s a hard long fight, but it’s possible.

Alya: 5 apps to help you study

Many people will tell you to bury your phone in a soundproof box 6 feet underground when studying, but your phone can actually be quite helpful. It fully depends on how you are using it. Here are some ways I use my phone to get the most of my revision.

• Pomodoro

The Pomodoro technique is great and if you’re not using it already I would recommend you to do so. It is a time management technique developed by Franceso Cirillo. Pomodoro means tomato in Italian and references the tomato shaped timer he used when studying as an uni student. The idea is simple, but it can improve your study habits immensely.

First, break a big task into small task and write them down. Do the first task and time yourself for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, you take a 5 minute break and then do the second task, and so on.  After four Pomodoro’s you take a 15 minute break. Working in short intense sessions while taking short breaks improves your concentration and the way your brain retains and processes information. For both Android and the Apple Store, simply search for "Pomodoro".

I use ClearFocus on Android. Its simple design and its ringing tune that is not annoying makes it my favourite app. Also, it blocks your WiFi during the 25 minutes and when the 5 minute breaks comes up it shows a green screen that ticks 5 minutes; enough to grab yourself a snack or make yourself some tea!

• Rain Sounds (Android)
• Rain Sounds HQ (App Store)

This app proves that I’m not the only one who finds the sound of rain strangely calming. I use it whenever I’m studying in a crowded place such as the library. Having rain as a background noise helps me to improve my concentration because music with lyrics can be distracting.

• TimeTune Schedule Planner (Android)

Time management is one of the key things for better grades.  TimeTune allows you to plan your day and to schedule in anything, including study sessions. It has a clear simple interface and it notifies you when you need to do something. It also has a statistics section that shows you how you have spent your day.

• Free dictionary (Android)

Everyone loves an old fashioned dictionary, right? But a digital version can be a little bit quicker sometimes. This app in particular is great because it has both an offline thesaurus and dictionary for English.

• Forest: Stay Focused (Android/App Store)

This app is also a timer. It works with 30 minutes intervals and the moment you start the timer you are given a tree. If you try to leave the app, i.e. the moment you are distracted by your phone it gives you a warning that says, “This will kill your little, cute tree”. Believe me, the tree is cute and if you have any morals you don’t want to kill it. After 30 minutes you get golden coins in the app. You can use these to buy bigger, blossoming trees. The more you use it, the prettier your forest gets.
It is free in the Android play store, but 79p in the Apple App store.

Happy studying!

Amandeep & Saiba: UCAS Advice!

As the UCAS deadline is fast approaching, we thought for this month's blog, we'd share our overall top tips on dealing with it all.

1) Research! 
Most uni courses are for a couple of years so you're going to be doing the course for quite a while. Make sure you've researched your course to see if it's suited to you and if it's something you're capable of completing. Don't just go for a course because of its social status or because your friends are picking it - make sure it suits you!

2) Referee connection
Make sure your referee is on your side! Make sure you have had some sort of discussion with your referee and that they have a good idea of who you are as a person! That way they have loads to write about you.

3) WoWinG PS
Your personal statement needs to WOOOOOW the uni! Really go for it and express yourself, make yourself sound exciting! There's loads of advice on the UCAS website on how to write the perfect statement.

4) Be sure to check out the course you wish to apply to online or through an up to date prospectus, for the reason being, old prospectuses may give you the wrong UCAS code/information, or the university may not offer that course any more! So be sure to check out an up to date prospectus!

5) Visit university open days, as they are very useful because you get an overall feel of the campus, and you'll also have a chance to speak to the lecturers personally and have a much clearer approach in regards to what course you'll like to pursue at university.

We hope our advice has helped you in some shape or form!

Until next time... :)