{"id":3318,"date":"2017-05-27T13:40:33","date_gmt":"2017-05-27T12:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3318"},"modified":"2017-05-27T13:40:33","modified_gmt":"2017-05-27T12:40:33","slug":"songs-for-teenagers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3318","title":{"rendered":"Songs for Teenagers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhen you’re barely 17 it’s like the world seems to pass by in a blink of an eye. What feels like a few weeks ago becomes a year in Sixth Form land – and what feels like a year is only a matter of eternally long weeks. GCSE to A-Level is one of the biggest jumps I’ve found. The work is pretty much the same – practically 16 exams worth of work at GCSE feels equivalent to three subjects’ worth of work at A Level. But do you want to know why it feels as though it’s the biggest jump? It’s not necessarily because of the work; you become accustomed to that with a month or two. It’s not the lessons – that what free lessons are for, additional revision times when it’s impossible to find time to finish everything at home, even if you spend around 5 hours a night revising or doing homework.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe biggest jump is that now, thanks to GCSEs, you have an expectation of yourself; at least now I do. If anything, I compare my GCSEs to everyone else and worry about doing even better at A Level. Because once you’ve received those A*s or As at GCSE – those Bs you get at A Level seem like underachieving somehow. But really, they’re essentially equivalent to maybe even an A* at GCSE.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tEverything’s based on grades at A Level I’ve found. ‘I believe you’ll get an A at the end of the two years’… but what about the A*? It’s as if I feel I have even more to prove now. To prove that I’m better than those 3 Cs and 1 B at GCSE, because now I’m taking the two subjects I got an A* in, and one of the 5 I got an A in. Because, for some reason, I feel as though that’s always worth mentioning. Because everyone around me got a minimum of 4 A* it feels like, and I was just stuck with 2.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIt’s all more competitive. It’s not so much about the course you’ll enjoy the most, but more about the one that’ll help you to receive those desired grades. To get to that Russell Group University. To get that job. To be the best. Sometimes it feels as though you have to be the best at your A Level course to be considered good at the subject – despite the fact you’ve managed to survive an entire year, mostly maintaining the same grade. Yet – somehow<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tunfortunately – your heart drops a little every time you see that B. Because it’s not just one letter higher in the alphabet.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tYou hear in teen films that you should ‘enjoy these moments; because these are the best years of your life’ – and yet, also some of the worst. I’m not saying they’re wrong; being my age I’ve had some of the best times – times that make me belly laugh thinking about them. It’s just, these are American films. Where, it’s unlikely (from my limited knowledge) that they have too many important exams in the same way Britain does.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBut the one solace I’ll always take from this time in my life is the fact that almost everyone around you feels the same way. And so, as you walk in to take that first exam, you can be safe in the knowledge that almost seven other kids from your class feel exactly the same way that you do. I realise I’m not in my final year yet, so to some this panic could be slightly premature. But if you’ve made it this far through the year without dropping out of Sixth Form, be aware that maybe we’re stronger that we think?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBy Tirion Davies<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you’re barely 17 it’s like the world seems to pass by in a blink of an eye. What feels like a few weeks ago becomes a year in Sixth Form land – and what feels like a year is only a matter of eternally long weeks. GCSE to A-Level is one of the biggest jumps I’ve found. The work […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[274],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-Rw","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3629,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3629","url_meta":{"origin":3318,"position":0},"title":"Why I’ve Learned Welsh","author":"Alan Williams","date":"25th August 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Up until this year, I primarily considered Welsh to be a nag from teachers, an unnecessary complaint to get me to listen. Of course, I always understood that there was an element of importance in my ability to speak Welsh. I\u2019ve been learning Welsh words between English sentences from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Play Hard Work Hard"","block_context":{"text":"Play Hard Work Hard","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=274"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7152,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7152","url_meta":{"origin":3318,"position":1},"title":"Happy New Year everyone!","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd February 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy New Year everyone! Since getting back into the flow of uni work, I\u2019ve come to realise recently that just maybe some of my work-life balances aren\u2019t as healthy as they probably should be. These days, I wouldn\u2019t dare submit an essay the day it\u2019s due \u2013 I\u2019m too worried\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3240,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3240","url_meta":{"origin":3318,"position":2},"title":"A Guide to Year 12","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st May 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 And so the looming anxiety of exams re-emerges with a vengeance. For those doing GCSEs, trust me on this \u2013 A Levels are not easier \u2018because you\u2019re only doing four subjects\u2019. Four subjects, with just as much work as the sixteen or so I was taking last year. More\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Play Hard Work Hard"","block_context":{"text":"Play Hard Work Hard","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=274"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9607,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9607","url_meta":{"origin":3318,"position":3},"title":"Teacher Adventures: School Trips","author":"Alan Williams","date":"6th May 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Teacher Adventures: School Trips \u201cWould you like to accompany 30 children to Madagascar on their French language trip?\u201d asked the French teacher at the school I was working at in Kenya. \u201cOui, merci,\u201d I replied, rapidly recalling my GCSE francais! 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In September 1985, I boarded a plane to fly to Mexico City, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reader's Travel Tales"","block_context":{"text":"Reader's Travel Tales","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=125"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Picture4.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9048,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9048","url_meta":{"origin":3318,"position":5},"title":"La La Land","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st February 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Play Hard Work Hard La La Land ITV recently showed a three-part short series The Pembrokeshire Murders, based on the real-life story behind the conviction of serial killer John Cooper. The series, which included a cast led by Luke Evans and Keith Allen, showed the brilliance of Welsh storytelling, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Play Hard Work Hard"","block_context":{"text":"Play Hard Work Hard","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=274"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3318"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3318"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3320,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3318\/revisions\/3320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}