Happy 2023! I hope everyone had a very happy Christmas and a great start to the new year. Traditionally, a new year means making new resolutions and I will try my best to maintain mine as long as possible. I have decided that my goals for this year should be to start my revision for tests earlier and to get to school at the same time every day (although this one may have already been broken!)

I am well into my Duke of Edinburgh sections and am pleased with my progress in the skills section in particular. For my skill I chose to crochet, a craft I had no experience with before now. I am pleased to say I have made great progress and I’m now able to crochet and sew gloves and tops as well as book sleeves. I look forward to seeing what else I can make in the future. I now feel encouraged to carry on with it even after my DofE ends since I’ve found it quite enjoyable. I encourage anyone who's thought about giving it a try to give it a go.

My volunteering segment is also going successfully. A couple of friends and I are helping out at the after-school club at the prep school for a couple of hours. We mostly help the students with their homework, supervise them and assist the teachers with small tasks.

I’ve also received my report for the Autumn term and am happy with the comments my teachers gave me. This also helped provide some insight into picking my GCSEs in a few weeks, although I have already made up my mind on some. I’m going to opt for triple science, French, Latin, history and computer science, as well as maths and English which are compulsory. I might also do further maths but I’m undecided yet.