To go to university or not to go? An A Level results guide

Five years ago, I wrote the blog post, ‘Don’t rush into clearing straight away’ as a response to A Level results day. It is consistently my most read post at this time of year, but since then tuition fees have spiked and people’s reasons for going to university or not going to university have changed,…

The £100 challenge – an easy way to fund your summer days out

I’ve done a bit of reading about frugality lately – I’m enjoying the topic of living simply, within my means and not spending unnecessarily. As a freelancer I’m always fairly aware of my bank balance. What’s coming in one month could be gone the next and I need to plan for the worst financial scenario…

Back to school tips for teachers

It’s been five weeks and four days since the school holidays began, and approximately five weeks and three days since the Back to School adverts began. But thankfully, thoughts of actually going back have only just started to arise. I went and got myself another job in a school. I’m doing more or less the…

Fewer detentions and more smiles. What’s going on?!

The half term break was nice. I think. I don’t really remember it. The questions ‘was that really only last week?’ and ‘did we actually have a break?’ have been stuck on a loop at school since Monday, but thankfully, I can say it is nice to be back. To keep things going in a…

NaNoWriMo – how do I keep young writers interested?

NaNoWriMo is only a couple of days away now, and I’ve been thinking of how I can use it at school as a fun project that will really encourage writers. At the school I work at, we’ve got loads of intervention programmes for low achievers, but not much in place for those that are doing…

NaNoWriMo – because I wasn’t busy enough anyway!

When I’ve been travelling I’ve often heard about the 6-8 week pangs people feel – those initial thoughts that maybe you’ve had enough and homeward bound is the way forward. Give it another week or so and you find your energy and love of backpacking renewed and ready to keep going. I think the same…

Money troubles: a permanent situation?

I got paid yesterday. It was my second pay since starting my job, and the first pay for a full month. Today I checked my bank balance. I'm £1400 overdrawn, and have no savings (unless you count the three pence in my ISA, and I can't say transferring that to my current account hasn't crossed…

The best fashion buy you’ll find this season

Students and cash-strapped people alike, autumn is here. As much as I hate the dreary weather and all its freezing charms, it is undeniable that fashion is simply much better at this time of year than in the vest and shorts season. If, like me, you need an autumn wardrobe update, you might be wondering…

A job with a side of freedom…

Ever since I started university I had people telling me those would be the best years of my life, or continuously found people who were now in a 9-5 reminiscing upon their student days and the freedom they had to sit in the pub all afternoon. Because I am A) easily influenced, and B) naive,…

A degree with a side of knowledge…

I read a blog today, written by an academic from India, who discussed the role knowledge plays in university degrees in the East. Supriyo Chaudhuri claims that students in India attend university to gain a degree, rather than knowledge: they want employability, their parents want employability, and a degree is the route to this. Employers…