High School VS. Sixth Form

This isn't even half of my books and folders, hm..

UPDATE: I've officially completed 4 weeks of Sixth Form and I'm still glad I made the choice to go there. I'm really enjoying my A-Levels so far (I started the first week on the 3rd of September). I've met all my teachers and I know where all my class rooms are apart from General Studies (we're in different rooms every lesson and its frustrating walking around desperately trying to find where we are). I've had 35 pieces of homework and fortunately I've handed them all in before the deadline which is good. In every one of my classes I've got a friend who I can sit next to so PRAISE THE LORD.

(I decided to write this post on a few differences I've noticed between my high school and my Sixth Form, this is completely subjective and your experiences might be a little different but I wanted to write this anyway- enjoy!)

Tutor:

Something that my Sixth Form does though that I hate is called "Personal Tutor Time" where you spend 25 minutes every morning with a group of people from Year 7 to Year 13. Since my high school didn't have a Sixth Form, we only had Year 7's to Year 11's; we had tutor twice a day and didn't really do anything in that time. But in Sixth Form, we have "challenges" to complete which I hate and we have to sit in "families". This means that we sit in groups with one person from each year and are supposed to "socialize". We don't. Not only do I not know who they are or their names but some of them are only 11 years old and its weird. I really miss my old tutor from my school because I knew everyone there and we were ACTUALLY like a family. We had quarrels and arguments and I liked it; we were also allowed to sit where we want rather than being forced to sit with kids we don't know.

People there also call this time "Tute" which sounds so gross. Me and my friends have promised to never call it this; it will always be TUTOR.

Lunch:

Just two of my many early alarms, boo

In my high school, lunch was from 12:35 to 1:10 so we quickly had to get our lunch and eat whereas at Sixth Form, its 50 minutes long. Urgh. Me and my friends eat our lunch within 20 minutes then just have to sit there for what feels like the longest time ever. Its just so boring. Its probably the only time in the history of the world that anyone has ever said "I really wish lessons would start"...

The walk to school:
So, I have to leave my house at half 7 to get to school for half 8; that's right, you heard me, it takes me an hour to walk to school. Urgh. Luckily, the actual walk itself isn't bad, there's only 2 or 3 little hills which isn't too bad. However, its sooooo looonnnnngggggg- me and my friends get to school and we're an absolute mess: frizzy hair, red cheeks and sweat. Attractive huh? It's worse when it rains, trust me. I walked into Maths 10 minutes late, literally DRIPPING. My makeup was slowing sliding down my face, my WHITE collared top was practically see-through (I was wearing a woolly jumper on top that kept sticking to me but I couldn't take it off because I was wearing a black bra underneath, I'm a fool, I know). It was terrible, just terrible. This is when I wish we had Tutor in the morning so you could sort yourself out before lessons.

General Studies:
I've spoken to a few people in my classes and none of them like General Studies which is strange because I really enjoy it. At the start, I was a little bit iffy because I was told that most universities don't really count it as an A-Level but once we got into lessons and into the swing of things, I began to like it. My teacher is so good, he likes to say a statement at the start of a lesson (usually about something controversial) and then just lets us argue with him about whether we agree or not. It's very rare that we even write anything down, he gives us homework every few lessons and we don't actually have to do it. It's basically like research for the next lesson and he just asks us what we think about it rather than getting us to write an essay and hand it in to be marked.

There's this one particular girl in my class who lets just say is very... opinionated. She's very articulate in the way she explains things that a 16 year old should not even care about but she does. Now, I thought I was argumentative but compared to her, I'm basically a pushover. You can guarantee that if our teacher says something, even if its just for a reaction from the class, she'll be the one to talk.

I'm not sure if I'll do it for the full 2 years yet but so far, its cool. I like talking about things like social change and feminism (I'm such a crap teenager, its unreal). Anyway...

My Timetable:
My timetable is awful. I hate it. I have to be in school every single day at half 8 whereas some of my friends get a 2 or 3 hour lie in, damn. I only have one day in the 2 week timetable (we have Week A and Week B which is something else we didn't have that in my old school and now I keep thinking I have a lesson when I have a free because I look at the wrong week) where I leave school at 12:10. This is because all of my frees are either Period 3 or 4 and so I have a lesson after lunch whereas everyone else has frees Period 5 so they can go home at the start of lunch or Period 1 so they don't have to come in until half 9, make sense? Probably not. However, the only good side of my timetable being like this is that I usually get given homework from my teachers then have a free straight after so I use the Study Centre to do the work and hand it immediately. This basically means that I give work in a week early and don't have to do it at home (YAY FOR BEING A NERD).

Now apart from that, there isn't as much change as I thought there would be- the work doesn't feel a million times harder like all my high school teachers said it would (I may have just tempted fate). I think it might be because its a school AND a Sixth Form together which is why it doesn't feel that weird, I guess. Hm. Anyway, that's my thoughts so far on Sixth Form and how it compares to high school, hope you enjoyed it :)