Looking Back At: Year 12

Displays have been taken down, chairs are up on tables, summer is well and truly underway and I have officially finished year 12. The past academic year was filled with so many new experiences and meeting a load of new people. It's been such a great school year and here's what's been happening. 
I decided to go to sixth form instead of going to the local college and that meant me changing schools and not having any of my old friends who had opted for college or a more popular sixth form. It was daunting to start in a new place along with having to start A Levels but I wouldn't change it for the world. After a week or so, I managed to settle in pretty quickly and find people in my classes that I got along with. 
It would be a lie for me to say that A Levels started off pretty easily for me. Whilst it wasn't difficult for me to settle in to sixth form life, I did struggle adjusting to the pace of my lessons and the amount of work that was needed. My first mock exam in my maths class was so disappointing for me but it gave me a push in the right direction and I was more determined than ever to make sure that my January mock exams were better. Thankfully, I managed to turn my maths grade around in two months and my maths teacher was more than happy with me. 
It's been a year that has gone by so quickly but if I'm completely honest I've enjoyed it so much more than any of my years in secondary school. It's been the first time where I feel like I've completely enjoyed all of my classes, I've loved the challenge of my lessons and I feel like I have a group of friends that I feel comfortable with and fit in with. 
This entire year has been a little bit hectic with everything going on. However, towards the end of the year, I had the chance to apply for the senior prefect team and managed to get a place on there as well as becoming the Head of the Year 12 Prefects. I've gone to HE+ meetings, had the chance to visit Cambridge and had some amazing evenings with my friends. 
Results topped what has been an amazing year so as Year 13 dawns, I'm going in a little more confident compared to what I started last year with, a spring in my step and a new determination to get through sixth form and apply to university. 
Good luck to everyone that is going to be starting a new school year. I would love to hear what your favourite parts of the year were! 

My A-Z of advice

When I saw this writing prompt I was really interested in it and wanted to use it as a post. So, I decided why not! I'm going to do a whole A-Z list of advice, some which might be serious, some a little more light-hearted. 
Always have code names ready, you'll never know when you're going to need them.  Bubbles are a great way to stop feeling stressed. Cake can solve everything if you let it.  Don't end on a bad note with people.  Eventually, everything will fall into place.  Fancy food is not always the best food.  Generic advice is sometimes the best advice. Heavy objects should not be handled alone if you can't carry them.  In times of doubt, dance it out!  Jokes that are corny are the best ones to make.  Kit kats are worth taking a break for. Love without holding yourself back  Movies are great to curl up and watch when you aren't feeling well.  Never insult a Hufflepuff. Oranges are hard to peel but are worth the struggle!  Photos can be a huge pain sometimes but take a lot of them. You won't regret it.  Questions aren't stupid if you're want to know more.  Risks are sometimes worth taking. You just need to know which ones you want to take.  Smile at everyone, no matter how bad your day is.  Travel the world and see everything that you want to see.  Underline titles or teachers will spend ten minutes telling your class the importance of it.  Vicks is great when you have a blocked nose.  When in doubt, flip a coin. You'll know what you want the result to be.  Xylophones are very respectable instruments.  Yell when you need to but not at the people you love.  Zebra crossings are there for a reason. 

Coping With My First Term in Sixth Form

My first term in sixth form was probably one of the scariest things I have experienced for a lot of reasons. It was an entirely new school for me and I pretty much knew no one there, A Levels just seemed like a daunting prospect to me and the school was massive compared to my old one. But now it's all done and dusted with and I can say that I survived that first term. 
Settling in wasn't as much of a challenge as I thought it would be. I quickly got to know the people n my form class and classes and started to make friends and it didn't take me long to find a group of friends that I got a long with pretty well and individually were in my classes as well. One of the biggest hurdles to get through when joining a new school seemed to be cleared after three weeks of being there and I could not have been more grateful. 
My subjects seemed to be a completely different ball game compared to GCSE but that was something that I had been prepared for. I knew that it was going to be a pretty big leap going to GCSE to A Level but experiencing it was completely different. Maths was an entirely new syllabus for me since I hadn't done additional maths but it was something that I knew had to adjust to quickly. Whilst physics and maths were subjects that I found myself falling in love with even more, biology was a subject that I really wasn't enjoying and if anything, I was dreading my lessons so much. After two weeks of trying to get through the lessons, I realised that maybe this wasn't the subject for me and I decided to have a chat with my head of year to swap my subject around. I initially wanted to swap Biology around for History but it turned out that the History class was completely full with people moving into the class. So, in the end I decided that I would swap to Economics instead. That came with it's ow task of copying two weeks of the course up and trying to catch up with the basics that were right at the start of the course. I managed to get my head around it all though and enjoyed it a lot more than I did Biology. 
Towards the beginning of the term I decided that I was going to sign up to become a Prefect. The title doesn't particularly entail much and is mostly me having to make sure none of the lower school come into the building during lunchtime for half an hour once a week and help out the Parents' Evening and Open Evenings. As well as that, I managed to get a space on the HE+ program which is a scheme that's run by Cambridge University to teach students in Year 12 out of the syllabus and give them advice on applying to Russell Group Universities. Even though it's not the most exciting Tuesday evening, I have people there that help me get through it. 
Altogether, my first term in sixth form was enjoyable but still very stressful. I don't think anything was going to prepare me for what A Levels were going to bring with them but I'm slowly adjusting to them and getting use to them. 
I hope everyone's having a good second term back in school/college right now and everything has settled down.

This Is Halloween?

It's Halloween and in all honesty it isn't a holiday that I really celebrate to the extreme like some people do but I still enjoy the day and the run up to it! There are a few aspects of the holiday that I love. 

Halloween movies are always great to watch. Admittedly I don't watch any super scary movies, okay, I don't watch scary movies at all to be honest. But I love watching 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and 'Corpse Bride' around Halloween because even though they aren't scary movies they do have a spooky, Halloween sort of feel to them. I also love watching the 'Disney Halloweentown' movies. Some people might think that they're slightly childish but I really do enjoy the movies. It doesn't feel right watching them any other time of the year. So, I have to wait until Halloween comes around. 
Other than that, Halloween is quite a quiet time of the year. When I was younger I did love dressing up for the Halloween disco at my primary school. I loves searching for a costume that I wanted to wear and then see what everyone else was wearing. Enough though I never won best dressed, it never bothered me and I really enjoyed the nights. 
I do love seeing some of the houses and shops around the area get decorate for Halloween though. Some places seem to go all out for the seasonal holiday which always makes me smile because even though some of the decoration can be seen as quite corny I still love seeing them and sometimes Halloween can be the best time of year to find some really snazzy decorations. We went to 'Asda' the other day and when to the Halloween aisle, but I have no idea why, and we came across these really nice white candles that had this black lace around the side of the candle. I don't know what made is specifically Halloween related but it look really lovely. 
So, how do you guys celebrate Halloween? 

Summer: A Love-Hate Relationship

Summer, such a lovely time of the year but one where I battle a love-hate relationship with it. Part of me loves summer time and part of me can't wait to see the back of it sometimes. 
Summer gives me the longest break from school within the school year. A time where I have no lessons to go to and can't spend time the way I want to spend it. I don't have to worry about homework or coursework being due in the next week. 
I get the chance to spend time with my family. The school year always seems to be busy, straight after school come home and do revision or any homework I have and I don't really get the time to sit down and spend time with my family. Not as much as I want to anyway. So, summer gives me the chance to spend as much time with them I want without the nagging thought of work in the back of my mind. 
I live in a city that is surrounded by beaches and they're even more enjoyable when the Sun's out. Going out for drives around the coast and going for the odd picnic is nice in the Sun and although we can still go for the drives in the winter, picnics aren't really as enjoyable in the rain. 
Ice cream is always a great reason to love summer. I sometimes feel strange having it when it's in the middle of winter but in summer I have to qualms with eating it. As well as that, I love hearing the ice cream van going along the roads. Especially in the evening. 
On the other hand though, sometimes it gets a little too sunny. The sort of heat where it's too warn to do anything and all you really want to do is sit in the house with all the windows open and with the fan on. 
Flies! You have no idea how much flies make me hate summer. Especially Blue Bottles. They're such a pain to me. I can't stand them when they fly around my ears and just the annoying buzzing sound. I am really not a huge fan of them at all.
Also, sometimes summer holidays, I find, can be too long for me. I feel like there's only so much you can do, and then it comes to a point where I just want to go back so I'm productive and can see all my friends. 
So, what's your relationship with summer like?

8 Facts About Ramadan

A Very Relieving Feeling

After what has felt like a very short two years, I sat my last GCSE exam this afternoon and I'm completely done with exams for the year. 
The immense feeling of relief and peace I feel right now is so unbelievable. Finishing exams in year ten was a pretty nice feeling but once I was finished with them, we started classes back up again for the exams we were going to sit in year ten. Then, throughout summer, I started to work on my revision notes ready for the next year so I didn't fully enjoy my summer. Not as much as I could have anyway. So, this period between finishing exams and starting A-Levels next year is such a welcome break. 
If I'm completely honest, I'm already starting to feel a little lost. Revision has basically ruled my life for a good few months and I'm not even sure what to do with myself any more but I know that some sleep, eating properly again and spending time with the family is definitely on the cards.
With only prom left to say goodbye, I'm so near to closing this chapter in my life which is slightly scary but there'll be another post on that. Now that I'm all done with exams, it's time to say goodbye to revision notes and a nice hello to my books and the blogging world. 
I hope exams have gone well for all of you and good luck for when your results come out!  

My 2015 Promises

Top Ten: Reasons I Love Christmas (#1)

A Letter To The Future Year 11 Saira

Dear  Future Saira, 
If you're reading this then I want to give you a gold star for remembering that you've wrote this. You tend to forget a lot of things when you get in a tizz. All common sense just goes right out of the window.Since you've remembered though, you've probably remembered why I wrote this in the first place. The reason isn't really a good one though.
You're in year 11 and I'm pretty sure that I don't need to remind you about that and the chances are that you're panicking and stressed and throwing away everything you told yourself to remember at the beginning of the year. So here, let me jog your memory.
Do not stress. Seriously, I know what you're like. Just breath! I know that things are probably going to seem like one huge mess in front of you but just take it little bit by little bit. Don't look at the big picture, I know that you have to but you're going to do it to the point that you'll work yourself up. Just take one day at a time. 
You've got so many people around you that are there to help and support you. You know that you can go to your sister about anything. She'll help you out on the things that you're stuck on and she wouldn't hesitate. Don't panic about something that you don't know or don't understand. Just go and ask. She's not going to yell at you about it. She'll sit with you until you understand. 
Don't be afraid to talk to the family if you're worried about something. Just go over to them and tell them everything that's worrying you. They'll sit there and listen. You're not going to burden them, if anything, they want to know what's ticking in that head of yours. Sit, have a cwtch, get everything off of your chest and then breath. 
Sai, your grades aren't going to define the person you are and you know that. Sometimes you just get a little too caught up in everything. Aim for the grades that you want. Don't listen to what teachers and your friends say, you know what you want to walk out with on results day. 
Enjoy year 11, more than anything else. It's your last year there and it may seem stressful but don't bury yourself in work to the point you don't enjoy what's going on around you. Embrace your last year. You aren't going to get another one in secondary school.
Good luck and have fun.   Saira x

Admiral's Swansea Bay 10K

A few months ago I was sitting on the sofa when my sister tells me that she's going to be signing up for Admiral's Swansea Bay 10K and asked me if I wanted to join and I said yeah. Why not? I always see the signs for it and it seemed like something different to do. I wanted to do some races and with the sign ups for this one coming out, I thought I may as well sign up. 
So, on the 21st of September I went down to the Bay and lined up with at least 4000 other people ready to start this race alongside my sister and I had no idea what was going to happen. I'll be honest here, I didn't really train for this 10K :which probably wasn't the smartest idea in the book. There were people there from overseas and people a part of running clubs or who just trained regularly and then there was me. Majority of the people there looked so ready for this race and like they knew what they were doing when they were warming up but I was definitely not one of those people. 
I heard the start gun go and started to wonder what in the world I ended up getting myself into but there seemed to be no going back. So, I started off with some jogging and walking. And my and my sister managed to make it through the whole thing together. The course did seem to go on forever though and I was just waiting for the point where I would be able to turn back around and get towards the finish line because at least then I would have known that I was halfway there. 

Source

When we did get to that point, I was so happy! I didn't think I would be able to make it that far and the finish line seemed to be that little bit closer. So, we kept going. Pushing ourselves through and getting a bottle of water to the amazing volunteers who were on the side. Eventually, we managed to get to the point where there was only one kilometre left and I couldn't believe it! We were nearly there and then at 100 metres we decided to have a little race to the finish and in the end, we both had the same finish time of 1:39:38. For me, that's a fantastic time and I'm over the moon with it. 
This race has just made me want to enter a few more and try and beat my time. So, hopefully I'll be entering one or two of those but we'll wait and see what happens there. 

My Month On Instagram: September 2014

September seemed to be a pretty busy month with me on Instagram. Here's what happened!

So I got through my first day of food and now I have amazing food.

First day back and history homework has arrived! 

I feel like I understand this but watch me get it wrong.

Currently Reading: Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List

My sister booked the Harry Potter Studio Tour for my birthday!
Currently on a train to get to Hogwarts with her!

Finally here!

Dream car

Mandrake in the house

The sketches that they used for the scenery and props were just amazing! 

So, my history teacher no longer has a door handle on his door... 

Please don't say I'm going to cry...

Starting with food theory.

ICT please be good to me

Can't believe that I managed to get through the Admiral Swansea Bay 10K

Two weeks down, another ten to go but it's an amazing course!

I glue things in the weirdest way just so they fit.

Kinda leaving the dining room table in a mess...

Screme Egg!

So, that's what I've been up to this month on instgram. The link to my profile is on the side if anyone wants to follow it and I'd love to know you're usernames so I can follow you guys as well.

Dropping Off At: The Harry Potter Studio Tour

My sister had gifted me tickets for the both us to go to the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour for my birthday and we went the Saturday after my birthday. I can hands down say it was just a fantastic day. 
Our train was leaving at around about 05:30 so we got up at half past four and got changed, woke our parents up and then drove us to the train station. I was pretty tired on the train but I couldn't sleep. We ended up getting into Paddington Station at around 09:30 and took a tube to Euston and got some sandwiches since we didn't have any breakfast before we left. After that, we wondered around Euston train station since it was still pretty early. After that, we got on a train to get to Watford, thankfully that train didn't take too long to get there. As soon as we got off, the signposts for the door were already around the station. We got out of there and went to catch the bus that would take us to the studio. I couldn't help but grin at the fact that the bus resembled the Knight Bus. 
Whilst we were on there, they showed us a clip about how the Leavesden Warner Bros. Studio came about which was really interesting to watch and find out about. When we finally reached the studios, I was so excited! We got in and it was just breathtaking. 
The rest of this post is going to contain a lot of photos, so if you don't want to see anything, now's a good time to go.  

It was amazing to see the actual hand prints of the cast and they were something I had to take a picture of before we moved on and into the actual building to start the tour. I think everyone got really excited from just seeing them.

It was a day where I wore my Hufflepuff scarf with pride. I got to take a picture in front of the place where Harry stayed for quite a lot of his life before getting his letter to Hogwarts. 

I had some huge house pride when I saw the Hufflepuff uniform which included what Robert Pattinson wore in the Goblet of fire. A uniform that I wish I was allowed to wear everyday. The rest of the Great Hall was absolutely astounding and there was so much detail put into it which you really don't realise when you're watching the films.

We got the chance to see a few of the scale models that were made for the movies and they looked just as beautiful as the actual set. It was amazing to see them and know that someone had built all of his by hand just so that a team of people would be able to build it on a much larger scale.

The Quidditch games were some of my favourite scenes in the movie and it never fails to blow me away when I watch them. Being able to see the uniform that Malfoy wore and the whole Quidditch kit that they used in the movie just made me want to play Quidditch ten times more. 

I also managed to find Bonnie Wright's wand in Olivander's which was a great end to the tour. 

It was such a terrific day, it took us over three hours to get through the whole tour but it was completely worth it because we got to have a real thorough look through the whole tour and took everything in. I ended up getting a hufflepuff flag and a zip up hoodie from the store along with some peppermint toads. I can't wait to start using the hoodie and I will definitely be taking it along with me when I have to go into school on weekends for revision. 

My sister and I finished off the day by going to Jamie Oliver's pop-up Diner and the food there was AMAZING! It was an amazing day and I have some amazing memories. The Tour hasn't made the magic of the movies go away for me, if anything the magic has intensified and I would love to do it again around Christmas time!