You are going away to boarding school and one of the things on your mind is what subjects you should choose for your sixth form studies. This can be the cause of some anxiety – your subjects will largely determine what courses you take up once you are in university. When it comes to choosing subjects there are certain things you shouldn’t do.
Never choose subjects because your friends or someone you admire is choosing them. Each person has their own strengths and you should play to your own. Just because your friends are choosing certain subjects doesn’t mean that if you choose them you will do well in them. You should take a moment to think about the areas where you perform well. True, you may not know what you want to do once you are an adult but if you choose subjects that you perform well in you are more likely to get a passing grade.
You shouldn’t be pressured into taking certain subjects by an adult either. If, for example, your father or mother is an excellent mathematician everyone around you may push you in this direction because they assume that you have a “genetic” knack for maths. This is hardly every true. You may even find that a teacher or any other person of authority in your life may urge you to choose certain subjects because they feel there are more opportunities associated with them. Don’t listen to them unless you think you can do well in these particular areas.
The best boarding schools provide counsellors to guide students through the subject selection process. One of the best is the Cambridge Centre for Sixth Form Studies or CCSS. Once you are enrolled you will be given your own guidance counsellor and together you can come up with a list of subjects.