Exams

Get the balance right between work and play

Working towards GCSEs and A Levels, or waiting for your results? Get the balance right between work and play, revision and relaxation. Work out where to go next if you get the results you want – or if you don’t. Plan ahead if you can, or find out what to do if you’ve let your revision slide. However hard you’ve worked, and however it went during exams, Our Pass is here to help – read on for more.

Where next? Going to college, choosing a course

GCSEs over? Not sure what to do next? If you’re thinking about applying for college but don’t know where to start, the Greater Manchester Apprenticeships & Careers Service (GMACS) has some great advice. It says think about three things first: work out what you want to do, what courses are out there, and how you like to learn. So, if you loved school, a sixth form might be for you. Prefer to be more independent? Check out colleges. Want hands-on learning? Try a different kind of training, such as an apprenticeship. All three can offer similar qualifications, but a very different learning experience. Don’t forget: the Our Pass travel card means you can get a bus to any college in Greater Manchester for free, so you don’t need to worry about travel costs. Head to GMACS for more brilliant advice on choosing courses, or try our skills guide for careers tasters if you’re not sure what kind of job you want to get.

Best books for anxious minds

There’s always one person at school who never loses their cool – but for the rest of us, exams, revisions and results can bring on a full-scale panic. If anxiety about results (or anything else) is getting you down, here are 5 books that might help:

1. The Teenage Guide to Stress. A look at the things that stress you out and why, and how to take control of your own mental health.
2. Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens. Simple, practical tools and techniques to help you break the cycle of negative thoughts.
3. My Anxious Mind. Sub-titled ‘a teen’s guide to managing anxiety and panic’, this does what it says on the tin.
4. Mind Your Head. A frank, funny and factual look at mental health, anxiety and more.
5. Quiet the Mind. Learn how to switch off, and meditate.

These recommendations come from Reading Well; read sample chapters online, then search for them at your local library.

You did it!

The government made a U turn on both A Level and GCSE results in 2020. In the light of so much protest – from you, from Our Pass, and teachers, students, parents and politicians up and down the country – the government announced on Monday that A Level and GCSE results were to be based on teacher-assessed grades, rather than an algorithm that unfairly downgraded so many results.

We asked you to share your A Level results and stories and were overwhelmed with the response. To everyone who shared their results with Our Pass, and helped us make the case that the A Level results were unfair: thank you. You helped make Greater Manchester’s voice heard. You made a difference.