In the maths department, we are constantly impressed by the work ethic displayed by our A Level students. It is no secret that A Level maths is difficult and comes with a lot of work, however our students rise to the challenge and are an asset to the department.

As our year 12 students near the halfway point of the A Level course, the school closure has posed a temporary obstacle, however our students are rising to the challenge! It has been important that learning does not stop, so students have been faced with the task of continuing their learning at home.

Below are some insights into learning from home and a few pieces of advice from some of our year 12 students:

“During lockdown, I have found it easier to focus on my schoolwork by having a strict routine. Firstly, I check my emails, then set out my goals for the day, prioritising work with the closest deadline. I find it useful to listen to music or an unrelated podcast to get as much work done as possible. I keep in contact with my friends, and we can help each other over the phone. I email my teachers when I need additional support, and it really helps when they reply quickly.”

“Working from home was strange at first but I have become used to it now. Following on from GCSEs, my working space was already set up with everything I needed. Teachers set work by email making it easy to see what needs to be done and by when. If I have any queries or need any help, I email and have always received a response.”

“During this unprecedented time, I found it challenging to keep myself motivated and in a regular routine with my studies. However, as a year 12 student I had to understand that it is essential to make progress to attain success. The constant support from my teachers has helped me improve my work and led me to keep learning further. I plan and prioritise my work and make every effort to meet the given deadlines.”

“Due to this lockdown, it made me more determined about my school work and it is also a wonderful way to keep yourself busy. I have made a timetable which generally follows the school timetable (breaks included) so I can ensure that I get everything done. I have my study corner where I have all my school stuff. I do miss doing experiments in school but I am positive in the hope that all things will be fine soon, schools will be back to normal and everyone will meet their friends and family. The teachers have been regularly up to date with all of the work I give them which is a confidence booster to show that whatever I am doing is right. If I do have any queries I always ask them and they are on the other side to answer me.”

“Motivating myself to do the learning side is difficult because it is a challenging subject, especially when I have to self-teach aspects of the course. At the start I did as much work at home as I’d normally do (as if it was just homework) but I realised that it’s not sustainable to do that for as long as we’re off school. I remain positive by spending time with family, communicating with friends and having weekends off gives me something to look forward to at the end of the week.”

“There are many distractions at home, which tended to divert my attention from school work. I’ve been trying to maintain some sort of organisation skill during quarantine, so that I may focus on my work. At the end of it all, we are going back to school soon and I need to maintain a steady work ethic.”

“The ways I have managed to cope and to continue doing work; teaching myself the rest of the year 12 content is through the following:

1. Time management – Try to do a small amount of work Mon-Fri, so as not to let work build up and become this impenetrable pile of emails and online tasks. It gives you the option to do what you want with the rest of your day and forget about the stress once the afternoon comes.
2. Learning – For maths, we have been asked to finish the year 12 content and send in our work weekly. I have made a list of all the maths exercises to try and complete this week and go through the notes on the online PowerPoints, then immediately do the exercise, marking it and then moving onto the next one. I usually only do one per day to space it out.
3. Support from teachers – When you get stuck or confused at all, it’s important to reach out to your teachers and give them a quick email. Your teachers are there for a reason and their priority is that you all understand the work and feel confident in it. So just ask questions, ask for an extension, ask for help understanding a topic, ask for general advice when coping with the work, they’re there to help.”

I hope that you can use these insights to reflect on your own learning and keep up the fantastic work!