Twin sisters Beatrice and Alice have achieved homeschool success in Romania. They have both recently received impressive results for the same IGCSE subjects: Chemistry, Biology, English as a Second Language and Maths.
Alice achieved A* grades in all her subjects while Beatrice achieved A*s in all but English as a Second Language, for which she received an A.
Both students are now studying A level Biology and A level Chemistry with Wolsey Hall. We spoke to them about their experience of studying for IGCSEs at the same time.
Wolsey Hall Oxford offers a wide range of IGCSE courses to students around the world.
“We started with Wolsey Hall about two years ago, after a previous year of homeschooling with a very disappointing school,” explained Alice and Beatrice. “The decision to homeschool came naturally, as it was one of the few educational systems that offered the option of learning using the British curriculum, which we find the most fitting for our plans. Besides, homeschooling gave us the possibility to study only the subjects for which we displayed true interest. Wolsey Hall Oxford was the best choice we could have made since we receive help for any questions we have from a professional team but are also given the freedom to study the way that suits us best and we can adjust our study schedules.”
“The main thing homeschooling taught us was to be responsible. To be disciplined. To be resilient. No one will forcefully pull you to the desk. You must realise that the only reason you study is for your future. For your dreams.”
“During the breaks from our studies, we enjoy reading, spending time in nature with our dog, baking and daydreaming. And before you ask – yes, we do have enough time for relaxing activities, without compromising our grades.”
“We both agree that the trickiest part was to find the study techniques that worked best. As you might be aware, there are so many techniques out there. It requires time to find out what exactly works best for you. Once you’ve figured it out, it’s going to pay off.”
“You don’t have to be a genius to get top grades. The only thing you must be is consistent. Take us for an example, in year 10, we used to ‘study’ for 4-5 hours per day, and obtained pretty good grades for most of the assignments. But guess what? In the summer before year 11, we realised we barely knew the titles of the modules, let alone the contents. How come so, you’re wondering? Well, we like to think of the mind like a forest. The more you walk on a path, the clearer it becomes. If you stop walking on that path for months in a row, weeds will start to grow – and information will be lost. So, the best thing you can do for the future is revise the information, a lot. Do past paper questions, so many that you could answer to a 6-mark question in your sleep! If you get some questions wrong, please don’t think you’re not good enough. No one always gets 100% of the questions right. It’s essential to get your information from trusted sources too like your tutor, the textbook, or past papers. Try to filter out any information you find online. No one wants to memorise pages upon pages of information just to find out that it’s not even in the syllabus anymore.
“Another thing we did which greatly helped us was to structure our notes in the question-answer type of system. This way, we were able to tell if we truly knew a topic and could get full marks on it. Even if you understand a topic well, getting full marks on a question is a whole different thing. During the exam, when the clock is ticking, we just don’t have the time to write the whole textbook. That brings us to the next point: Try to summarise your notes – it will save you time, marks, and tears!”
“Looking back, the best things we learned when we studied for our IGCSEs aren’t related to the syllabus. They are the things we learned about ourselves, the way we discovered how to learn, and the memories we made together. In the end, IGCSEs are what you make of them. Try to learn how to be gentle with yourself. It’s the most valuable thing you can learn during these years.”
If you’re thinking of enrolling your child at Wolsey Hall Oxford and you’d like to know more about what we do or how to enrol, please get in touch. We’re ready to enrol new students throughout the academic year.
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