At Wesley we measure academic success using traditional metrics (grades, tests) as well as monitoring students’ Learning Habits which are the skills and dispositions increasingly recognised as important for students to thrive into their futures (for example motivation, organisation and collaboration to name a few).
With WACE exams fast approaching Jannine Webb, Dean of Students (Senior School) spoke with 30 of our highest achieving Year 12 students – those with consistently high grades combined with a high Learning Habit average – to find out what they saw as important to achieving success at school.
Here are their top seven tips:
1. Parents and guardians play an important role.
Parents and guardians need to be actively involved in what we are doing at school, they also need to give us room to make mistakes and support to correct them before they become a serious issue.
2. Goal setting is paramount.
Most of us have an idea of what industry we want to get in to, but if you can refine that into a specific career then you can set targeted goals on what you need to do to get there.
3. Mentors are a must for goal setting.
Mentors can advise you on careers and the pathways that you need to take in order to get there. You are probably not going to know this yourself, so take advantage of the wealth of knowledge that your mentors have.
4. Everyone is going to fail at some point.
Failure is inevitable, what is important that you recover and move on to the next challenge. If you are finding this difficult then reach out to your parents, teachers or friends.
5. Healthy competition helps you stay sharp.
Your peers are your best source of healthy competition, particularly academically. They can positively change your mindset towards school work and challenge you to extend yourself and reach personal bests.
6. Create study groups.
Either let them form naturally as subjects are chosen or create them yourselves. Use Skype and Facebook to stay connected outside of school hours.
7. Take advantage of the resources on offer.
Wesley offers students various out of hours’ academic support programs, from Homework Club in the Middle School to the Academic Assistance Program for Years 9 to 12 and the new Study Extend for the Year 12s – so take advantage of them! Plus, the Trenaman Library is open after school from Monday to Friday, so head there if you know you work better in that environment.
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