Exciting news!

Hello everyone! Today has been an important morning.I have received my first Uni offer- from Exeter! I checked my e mail during my first code free and there was an e mail from UCAS saying there had been a change in my application. I can't believe it!! I rang Mum and Dad and they are very happy! It's a conditional offer of 38, which should be fine. I'm so excited!!!!!!!! Love to all.

The end of the HAT!

11.20am- Good morning everyone. I sat the HAT yesterday morning and I think it went OK. At least, I do not feel as though it was a disaster! I actually enjoyed it and found it very interesting, but obviously challenging. There is now nothing else I can do in relation to applying to Uni as I am sending my submitted written work in today. All I can do now is wait..... Whatever happens, it has been an interesting experience!
      It does mean that I can now focus on my IB once again.... and specifically my TOK presentation. I have been given the date now (in a couple of weeks) so I'm glad I can prepare in my own time. I'm working with a friend, which is great as we can discuss and bounce ideas off each other as we work. I'm very excited about a lecture I will be going to this evening. Jack Fairweather, a former AC student and now award winning journalist and Harvard professor is going to talk about his new book. The book is called " A War of Choice" and charts the story of Tony Blair's Iraq War. Fairweather was The Telegraph's bureau chief in Baghdad during the war and so it will be fascinating to hear his experiences and opinions. I am also keen to meet him as he studied History at Oxford and then became a journalist..... just what I would love to do!!
     My dorm is on Open House duty this week which means we have to organise and prepare the food for Open House tonight. As it is the week of Halloween and we are having Halloween Sosh tomorrow, we have decided to make Toffee Apples. We will be busy doing that for a while tonight but it should be fun.
     I have TOK next and will see the first TOK presentation in my class. I am keen to see exactly what a TOK presentation will be as I'm still not too sure of exactly what is expected- there seem to be so many conflicting opinions. Love to everyone.

Half-way through Third Term!

4pm- Hello everyone. I'm back from my wonderful break, which was a great combination of Paris and home. I had an amazing time and found the break from work and AC was just what I needed. I think most of us, especially Second Years, have come back feeling refreshed after the break. And it is only five weeks until Christmas break! I can't believe I'm approaching the end of Third Term! I have my HAT exam tomorrow for Oxford and so I have been doing past-papers for that. I find them really interesting and whatever happens I will learn something from it. I'll do my last past paper tonight and then I'll just get up as usual tomorrow but instead of going to codes, I'll go to the Bradenstoke Hall to take the exam. All of the Oxford entrance exams are happening tomorrow and so I have friends taking the BMAT, ELAT, etc. It's only a two hour exam and so we'll go to codes and service as usual afterwards. I have just had service this afternoon and it was lovely as usual. I thoroughly enjoy teaching my Computer Club lady and we always have a giggle! Going to do some Maths homework now and then go off to supper. Love to all.

Mid-term!!

This will be the briefest blog post ever..... I have had a quadruple free this morning and now have History, my first code of the day! I have just completed a HAT past paper and it took longer than usual as the fire alarm went off half way through. I just hope that doesn't happen in the actual one! I am going home tonight for the beginning of October break and then head off to Paris tomorrow. I am so excited to see the city and hear plenty of French. Hopefully it will improce my French!  Must go now. love to all.

Weekend!

2.50pm- Hello everyone! AC life continues to be very busy. I've had a good weekend so I feel ok. I relaxed on campus on Friday night. A group of us snuggled into my bed and watched the film "Boys don't cry" which was very thought-provoking. The film is based on the true story of a girl who suffered and ultimately died because of her sexuality. The violence and suffering shown was quite harrowing and some of my friends found it quite distressing. I'm glad I watched it however and think that others should watch it, although it isn't exactly enjoyable. We watched it as it had already been shown as part of Gender and Sexuality focus week at AC this week. There have been events and discussions organised throughout the week regarding discrimination, equality and issues related to those. I got up quite early yesterday morning to go to the gym and then watched the rugby. Wales lost by one point and many of us couldn't watch the end!  I thought it was a good match and felt very proud of our team. One thing- it now means I will be in Paris when France play in the Rugby World Cup final. Can't wait for that!!  After the match a couple of us decided to "move in" to the library.... to stay there until we had finished our work. Therefore, I left the library at just gone 10pm last night ( about 10 hours after first arriving)! We did have breaks like going to lunch and supper and little walks in between so I wasn't literally in the same room for 10 hours! I managed to achieve a lot in that time so I feel as though it was worth it. This morning I got up to go to the gym and watch the other Semi-Final of the World Cup. I enjoyed seeing some of the match and working out at the same time!  We went to brunch and now I'm back in the library. I have finished my History essay and will now work on French. It is a lovely sunny day here today so I hope to get my work done and get outside later. This evening I will play my flute for a while and attend the Nordic National Evening. As I said, life is busy. This time next week it will be October break and I cannot wait to be in Paris!! Love to all.

Work, play and no sleep

12pm- Good morning everyone!  I am in the library as I have early lunch before TOK. I had a very busy weekend and feel as though I need an extra day off. I went home to see my family, which was lovely, but I felt that as soon as I got home I had to leave. I felt very strange afterwards- going home made me homesick but then I wanted to come back to AC as well. I was exhausted on Saturday night and so just stayed on campus and baked a cake with a couple of friends. I got up quite early on Sunday morning and went to the gym with a friend. After brunch I worked on a History presentation which I will give tomorrow. I  played my flute for a while in the evening which was really nice. Last night was really nice as I talked to some of the people I keep meaning to see but haven't had time. A group of us 2nd year PK girls sat in the dayroom with tea and talked after house meeting. It was so good as we haven't had the chance to do this for some time. This weekend has been very tiring as regards Peer Listener issues but I think I'm managing to make sure I still look after myself.  I have a flute lesson this afternoon and then I am going to work for the rest of the day. It's raining, miserable and grey outiside so I just feel like staying warm and drinking tea! Hope everyone is well.

E.E. deadline

11.30am- Good morning everyone! I'm sorry I haven't written for a while- this week has been particularly busy. We went on an English trip to Stratford-upon-Avon to see the RSC perform Macbeth on Tuesday. I had such a good day! We arrived in Stratford in the early afternoon and so had some time to wander around, shop and eat good food. The performance in the evening was fantastic! The theatre has recently been refurbished and I was very impressed. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the play we've been studying and feel as though I've learnt a lot from the performance. It was also very interesting to see the interpretation of the RSC after reading the play in class and also watching other film versions. I did not agree with everything they did, and thought that some elements could have been improved but this did not detract from the overall experience. It reminded me how much I enjoy doing cultural things like watching plays and going to concerts. One thing I will look forward to after AC is having time to do such things!
    Yes, tomorrow is the Extended Essay deadline. I can't quite believe that it has come around already. It also means that we are approaching the end of the IB and there are so many things associated with that. I am happy with my final draft of my EE. I have really enjoyed the whole process of doing my own historical research into a topic that I find very interesting. I've now learnt so much more about the CND in Wales in the 1980s, which is great as I am a member of CND today.  Sadly, everyone else isn't feeling as calm about their EE's. Some people are very stressed and worried. Others are certain that they will not make the deadline. It is a school imposed deadline and so it is not the end of the world but it still isn't good. I just wish everyone the best and hope we all do the best we can. Tonight is going to be a very long night for many.....
    Our teachers have not allowed for us working on our EEs either. I have French and History presentations to work on, among other things. After codes today I will go to the gym, then to a Peer Listener meeting. After supper I will print my EE and work on French and Economics. I would like to play my flute but I'm not sure if I will get time. Peer Listening has been taking quite a lot of time lately but I feel as though I have the balance right. I sometimes have to simply say that I am busy/ tired and can't "chat" right now!
    Have TOK now then Econ. Love to all.