Advice for those going into Sixth Year.

Troxck

The title says it all, any advice for those going into 6th Year? I feel I did fairly okay in 5th Year, keeping up with work and study so I think I should be okay from that angle. My results were okay and know what I need to work on.

So boards, what advice would you have liked to have given yourself this time last year? I haven't done a tap of work other than a bit of the RSR for History and playing pieces for Music and now I feel I have forgotten nearly everything I have learnt in 5th Year. Is that a big problem?

xLisaBx

Decide now what you want to do in college. I kinda did last minute and regret it as I had nothing to aim for all year. With a clear goal in sight its much easier to focus on the task at hand and to understand how much effort you need to put in to get X amount of points.
Also, don't worry too much. The year is over rated and the leaving isn't that difficult.

F9Devil

Ramp up your study as the year goes on, after the mocks go balls to the wall. Don't start in September and think you can keep up studying until 10pm for a full year, too many people I know (including myself) did this and burnt out by Easter.

richardh330

Firstly don't feel bad for not doing any work over summer. I did none! Everything comes back to you in september, trust me.
Before you read this here's a bit of info about me and my leaving: I went to boarding school, got 555 in my mocks (no cheating from boards), hoping to do engineering with management in trinity and maybe get ~600 points. I did 7 subjects (all higher including maths). I did fairly well in my JC with 4 As. I was not a swat and I didn't study an over amount in comparison to others in my year (it may seem like I was when you read my advice!).

Here are my tips:
1) Stay active and fit. You don't have to join a sports team, once you get exercise almost everyday. It is very important, obviously for your health, but this year you have to be on top form all year round. You don't want to be getting sick, especially coming up to June. Doing exercise, be it running, swimming or cycling, and getting outside will build a better immine system in your body and also make your body feel better instead of staying inside all day at a desk (or on a couch).

2) Do homework. Stay on top of homework all year. Even for subjects you don't like, for example I didn't like English and I hope to not count it but doing all the macbeth and poetry essays (even though they were bad) meant that I didnt have to cram like a trojan the days before because I had a sound foundation. Of course there was the last night cramming sessions to fit as much information in my head. One last tip on homework, answer the questions for honework as you would in an exam. This leads to better exam practice and makes you become less lazy instead of half-arse doing questions.

3) Study. Start on day 1 (Maybe day 2....). Get to know the exam layout and timing. This should become second nature to you. Every year in every school there is always a few people who mess up an exam because they didn't know the timing and hence missed or half completed a question.
Keep to the same study times. This sets up a routine and this is key to doing a good leaving cert and having a hassle free year. Of course you can take breaks on weekends, maybe just a little bit in the afrernoon to get homework done.
When you are coming up to exam time (including mocks), studying is first priority. Make your plans around study, not study around your plans.

4) Eat healthily. This is tied with the first tip, but its so important that i had to say it again. Eating right will help stop you getting sick. Have 5 pieces of fruit, even 6! Have proper meals, 3 a day. This is all part of the routine. Don't get me wrong though, you can get desserts. I just stayed away from fizzy drinks and sweets (for the most part).
Drinking is all fine too in my opinion. Obviously don't become an alcoholic if you're turning 18 this year. But drinking (and getting drunk) maybe twice a month is grand. Mothers will say its terrible but I drank 2 days before my leaving and it was all good.

5) Resources. Books obviously come in handy :P . But use different resources. Make sure you have all the past papers for each subject. If you're doing HL maths get Edco and educate.ie sample papers. By the time of the exams you'll want to have done every single past exam question. Get marking schemes also. There are apps for marking schemes, I found them very useful when doing past papers. If I'm honest the marking scheme app was by far the best resource. I got to know how examiners want the questions laid out and how the marks are split up. For example in Physics I knew that a 7 mark question was most likely looking for 2 points worth 3 and 4 marks.

Use the internet as well. For sciences and maths YouTube is very helpful. Whether its for Proof by Contradiction or How a Cell splits YouTube has you covered. Plus they make it somewhat enjoyable. Channels like Vsauce, Veritasium, Numberphile etc got me interested in maths and physics and this had a positive knock on effect in school.

6) Routine. If you keep to a routine the year will be much easier. I was never stressed out, I never worried and I got through the year comfortably. It may seem very monotonous but try go to bed and get at the same time everyday. My motto through the LC was "SSSS"; Sleep School Sport Study.

7) CAO. Decide soon (or at least have an idea) of what you want to do. Know EXACTLY how to fill out the CAO and don't make mistakes. You only have to look on boards here when change of mind closes and see the mistakes that people make. Just make sure you're not one of them. For applying to UCAS, start looking up details now! Some colleges/courses require an application in October.




It may seem that I had the most horrendous year ever but this year was by far the best year in secondary school (even ahead of TY!). My advice would be to look forward to the year, you will now be the kings of the school. Sixth years get so much more priority (well in my school they did).

Troxck

Thanks for all you help and advice guys! I'll try to follow it all anyway. Luckily I know what I want to put down on my CAO when it opens so I feel like I have that pressure gone, unlike some others in my year. I can only take the year as it comes anyway!

Lara_15

I think some advice depends on subjects, what subjects do you do?
but I can give a few general guidelines...

1) Have a life, dont abandon your friends or have no social life all year. I have friends that did this and regretted it alot. 6th year was probably my best year socially (ironically enough) because of turning 18 and people having parties and stuff. Its so so so important to have fun as well as studying

2) I wouldnt say study from day one but keep on top of homework, and do your homework well, im guilty of writing half-arsed essays the night before theyre due, this is NOT a good idea, you will need them to look back over

3) Stay organised.. FOLDERS!!!! one for each subject and keep on top of them from day 1, you will be so grateful when its may and youre stressed out looking for that sheet that your teacher gave you ages ago which is essential to passing the leaving cert :P

4) During the exams, face facts that night before study is totally unrealistic, you will be shattered, and the last thing you will want to do is look at books.

5) KNOW 5 POETS... just do it, for nothing more than to settle your nerves the morning of, I only knew 2 really well one of which being heaney and I had a massive panic attack after he appeared on english paper one, cried for about 2 hours after and crammed in another poet that night.

6) The day before the exams start, put the books away at like 3 o clock and go to the cinema or do something with friends, I did and it was the best idea of my life, a great distraction and it made me relax and sleep better that night

7) when the inevitable breakdowns come, its best to just power through.. instead of crying in bed just open a book and get on with it, you will feel 100x better after you get something productive done

8) have something to look forward to for when youre finished studying, maybe an episode of a programme you like, its a great motivator and will help you wind down

9) exercise, for your mental health and to avoid the dreaded sixth year stone

10) do not leave all 20 sraiths until the week before the oral (like I did), write notes on 1 each week and then just read over them as you get closer to orals, this will help your nerves ALOT

`
if i think of any more ill let you know

p.s. its not that bad

brian888

Consistent work is far far better than busting your balls and stressing at the start/end of the year and slacking inbetween. Pay attention, do you homework and you should be fine.

a0ifee

don't focus on trying to predict the papers. so many people i know spent the year trying to predict what was gonna come up and only focusing on those predictions and it fúcked them over in the end.

But BREATHE that's is the most important thing. I spent too many nights freaking out in sixth year when the solution was to take a five minute breather and just organize myself. Seriously the more organized I got, with my notes and schedules, the more calm I felt, because I knew what I HAD done, and what I had to do.

Seeing as you're on here asking I say you have a good mindset going into sixth year, you'll be grand. The year will literally fly, no one is exaggerating when they say how fast it goes. Good luck!

dory

Stay active while studying - take notes, write summaries, do lots of sample papers and pas questions. Staring at the page and reading in your head doesn't work for many people. After you've learnt something, see if you can write about it an hour later, or do questions on it after to see how much you remember.

For Irish, try say the sraitheanna in your head, if you don't know how to say something find out. Learning 6 pictures for 20 sraith is incredibly hard and you'll get stressed on the day. Have six key words/phrases you'll need for each sraith and have a great opening line for each.

Try and find someone who will practice French/Spanish/Irish with you. You really only need to have a normal, comfortable conversation, which comes with practice, not learning off reams of notes.

lauracarroll

Honestly, hard work is the best option! I took day one of sixth year to make out a timetable and started on day two. Doing a small amount every single day is what helped me a lot, and I felt it stood to me (530 points in the mocks). I literally did 1-2 chapters a day of revision, and more in the weeks before the exams, but I made sure I was getting about an hour of every subject done a week. Don't abandon your friends and know when to take a break - don't let yourself burn out. Studying over your breaks is great but it's called that for a reason - you need to take a break. I took half of whatever time I had off away from the books, and did something I liked. I also took off at least one of the days on the weekend and a few hours during the week (we had a half day on a wednesday so that evening was my chill night). Don't kill yourself doing it, maintain your friends, maintain your hobbies, and try not to go insane. It's a crazy year but probably one of the best for your social life. Work hard but enjoy the ride - it's your last year after all!