Exam Board Screw-Ups

At my school, we do AQA exams for most subjects. However, this year, the exam board have been less than reliable. My very first exam was AQA biology, where I found instead of being asked about important science, I was being tested on whether or not I knew why Darwin was drawn as a monkey. This it turned out, set the tone for the rest of the exam period. In Geography, there were only 3/75 marks for the case studies I spent hours learning, and yet 8 marks for drawing pretty sketches of landforms we were given pictures of.

In Ireland, several copies of a maths exam were found in the street before the test was taken by students. Then, to top it all off, they misprint one of the English papers so hundreds of teens who studied Romeo and Juliet have to re-take the exam. All of their hard work, last minute prep and good writing has gone to waste. Clearly AQA think GCSEs aren't stressful enough already. They seem to have taken it upon themselves to make it even harder. At this tough time in our lives, we have enough to worry about without feeling like we cannot rely on our exam boards. They are professionals, they should be able to get this right!

What really upsets me is that if we make a mistake in our exam, we can't blame other people and justify our grade on the news. We have to live with them. So should they. No more excuses AQA!

Paws For Thought

Ellen has always been someone who loves her pets. So much that they now feature on her show. Her 3 dogs and 2 cats have their own short animated episodes called Ellen's Pet Dish. The clips show them watching Ellen's show and commenting on it, as well as taking the mic out of each other.

 

As I am a big animal lover, I love watching these videos. I especially love her cats, who are sarcastic, torment the dogs and get very embarrassed when Ellen talks about them on her show. I can definitely imagine my cat Bumble doing the same if I had a TV show.

 

Below is my favourite episode, where Ellen's pets are watching her interview Oprah.



 

There are more episodes on Ellen's YouTube channel if you enjoyed this one. Do you like Ellen's Pet Dish?

Discovering A Great Author

One of my friends has recently got me hooked on a brilliant author, Jandy Nelson. So far I have read two of her books, "The Sky Is Everywhere" and "I'll Give You The Sun", and they were both brilliant. They have emotional storylines, unique characters and a writing style that weaves the characters artwork and poetry into the story.

"I'll Give You The Sun" is written from the perspective of a pair of twins. Noah's section are from when their are 14, and Jude writes about what is happening two years later. Together they tell a story of family tragedy, all mixed in with Noah's artwork, Jude's crazy superstitions, teenage friendships, and first love.

Whilst the book focuses a lot on the family, friend and romantic relations in the story, it also looks at the relationships between artists and their art, a topic I've never seen in teen fiction. While the large number of ideas being discussed in this book makes it very complicated, it is still a fun read. I recommend it to anyone who loves creating art themselves.

"The Sky Is Everywhere" also has a large number of themes, but not quite as many. This book tells the story from the point of view of Lennie Walker, who is grieving the death of her older sister, Bailey. However, as well as grief, this book is filled with family secrets, friendship and a love triangle with Lennie at the centre.

Instead of art, this book looks at the relationship between musicians and their music, as well as what it means to be a musician. It is also filled with the poetry Lennie writes about her sister, which is how she comes to terms with everything that happened in the book. However, the most special part of this book is probably how convincingly Nelson writes about what it is like to be in love. That is what makes it really special.

Have you read any books by Jandy Nelson?

Prom Perfect Clutch Bags

Although I am now doing my exams, I do have one thing to take my mind off it. Prom. In a month and a half, our school has our big night. And while everyone has their dress, accessories can be hard to find. Here are my favourite evening bags from around the web.

This clutch might be in a subtle colour,
but the metallic shimmer will make sure it still gets noticed.
New Look, £19.99

The unusual a-symmetric folds make this simple black bag
into something more unique.
New Look, Was £9.99, Now £7.99

I love this little black sparkly bag.
The beads and gems add texture and make it stand out.
Accessorize, £29

This simple design comes in a range of eye catching colours.
Debenhams, £15

The flowers on this bag are embroidered and embellished with gemstones,
making it detailed and unusual.
Debenhams, £19.99

I love the bright colour of this bag.
The snake skin design makes it more edgy.
Debenhams, £30

This bag has a really eye catching design.
I love the shapes the silver areas make, it looks like flames or leaves.
The sparkly silver contrasts brilliantly with the bright pink.
River Island, £30

This sparkly embellished bag has a trio of hearts.
An unusual twist on a classic black bag.
Zara, £29.99

The Pros and Cons of Study Leave

Tomorrow is my first day of study leave. I have mixed feeling about it, but I'm mostly just pleased my alarm will not be going off tomorrow! Here is why:

Pros:

• You have the freedom to study exactly when, where and what you feel like at the time.
• You get more sleep, as you do not always have to get up for school.
• Some weeks, you get whole days at home. This week, I only have to go into school twice!
• You have freedom and independence.

Cons:

• You might not be as productive as you are at school.
• The constant access to the fridge can be dangerous to your figure.
• There are cat, parent and internet distractions.
• When your friends all go home after an exam and you are stuck at school alone cos your mum can't pick you up yet it will get pretty boring.

Are you on study leave?

My Last Day

Today was my last official day at school. From now on, I just have study leave and exams. In the morning, we had a leavers assembly with speeches from staff members, photos of us all though the senior school and video messages from ex staff member. Nearly everyone cried, including me! Then we had a few lessons and a church service in a cathedral, where I sung in the choir. Finally, we had a leavers tea with our parents.

There were also a few pranks going on. The best one was when someone stuck a picture of Shrek's face on the picture of our Head Teacher. The entire school saw. It was hilarious!

I have left two schools before, and I wasn't very upset then. But the first was when I was quite little, and the second I did not like very much. I was not attached to either of them in the way I am attached to this school. This time, I really did not want to leave.

I'm not quite sure it has all sunk in yet. I think I have accepted the fact I have left the school, but I am still struggling to come to terms with the idea I sit my first GCSE exam in 3 days. That is too soon! The exams do still mean I will see everyone for another 5 weeks though, so that is ok. But then I really will be leaving, and I am definitely not ready for that yet!

Are you leaving school soon?

Why I Will Miss Psychology

In only one weeks time, I am leaving school to go on study leave. Although I will still be in school with my friends for exams, I will no longer be in lessons, and the one I will miss most is Psychology. Although I do like the subject itself, I am doing this at A level so I am not going to miss it. It is the other stuff we do in class I will miss.

Our teacher is a bit crazy, but we love her for it. As a result, our lessons are filled with spontaneous singing, dancing and general madness. Also, she likes to tell long stories that have very little to do with psychology and lets us bring in cakes once a week (something I think should be compulsory in all lessons). In fact, it is a wonder we do any work at all.

But as well as missing all the fun we have in lessons, I will miss my teacher as well. She is beyond brilliant and if I could take her to college with me I would.

Do you have any favourite teachers?