By Flora Lepage Year 12
As the summer holidays are just around the corner, students long for the well deserved break that these holidays will offer. After a long and hard-working school year, it is crucial for students to sit back and unwind, resting up and refreshing for the new school year. Students are strongly encouraged to take up or keep up with any hobbies and activities that interest them, whether that is creativity or sports. Remaining active during the weeks of summer holiday is extremely important in order to stay healthy and happy outside of school.
While it is incredibly important to take a break from academics, it is equally important to make sure that students remain active in their learning. This does not mean studying over summer but maintaining an active brain that is eager to learn. This varies depending on the year group that the student is in. In the special case of Year 12 students, the summer holidays is the time to work on all of the work that must be done before the intense Year 13. Year 12s have the Internal Assessments and Extended Essay to write along with the CAS reflections and much more. However, this does not mean that summer is not a time to rest for the Year 12s. On the contrary, it is an opportunity to approach the heavy workload over numerous weeks as opposed to a few days during the stressful school year. By working just a little bit every day, students will be able to have a lot of time to have fun all while completing their work due.
For the students who are not in Year 12, the same amount of workload does not apply to them, yet it is important to add some habits in their everyday routine during the holidays to be ready for school in September. Statistically, students that have an active reading habit perform better in subjects such as language and humanities. Reading helps students to enrich their vocabulary and improve their writing and reading skills over time. Students do not need to choose any complicated or long books in order to see this improvement, by simply choosing a book that they enjoy, the student is already benefiting. Additionally, students should look back at their grades and academic performance in specific subjects in order to pinpoint the areas of struggle. By acknowledging where they must improve, the student can focus some time over the holidays to practice this specific subject. Whether it is maths or French, it is crucial that the student confronts their areas of weakness so that they can overcome this obstacle and enter the new school year ready to excel in their subjects.
All students deserve the upcoming summer holidays to relax, have fun, and enjoy time with their close ones. However, it is important to remember that fun and learning can coexist and that by working a little bit over the summer, the student is investing their time in creating a better version of themselves ready for the new academic year.
