Grade 11 learners must do long-term planning

GRADE 11 pupils who are serious about bringing their best game to their matric finals next year should, like athletes, start their preparation now so that they enter the home straight in pole position when 2020 arrives.

The temptation will be there to put off thinking about Grade 12 until next year, but Grade 11s have the most powerful weapon in their hands right now – time1

Natasha Madhav, Senior Head of Programmes: Faculty of ICT at the Independent Institute of Education, advises Grade 11 learners to understand how competitive the landscape will be after school, and it is not in their best interest to wait until exam preparations start next year to start exercising their academic muscles.

‘You have to train, prepare and lay the groundwork now, so that you can build on your performance next year, rather than try and get the basics in place while the clock is ticking.’

Madhav says learners must also approach each assessment this year as if it is going to be the deciding one, and learn from and correct their approach when problems are identified.

‘Doing well now could also pay off pre-emptively, as many higher education institutions will allow provisional placement based on your Grade 11 marks, which will dramatically relieve the pressure next year,’ she says.

Draft two -year planning schedule

Senior learners should look at their last two years of school holistically, rather than as two distinct years.

‘You may think you have a lot of time ahead of you, but when drafting this calendar, you’ll quickly see the reality of how demanding and time-intensive these next two years will be.

‘The good news accompanying the realisation of the challenge ahead, is that you can now accurately determine how much time you’ll have to prepare for each assessment, and not be tempted to procrastinate.

When you do have time to spare during holidays or weekends, do a little bit every day to strengthen your actual ability to handle the workload which will progressively increase, not only this year and next, but also when you enter higher education.

Madhav says learners can use the time they have to watch YouTube videos of cool study hacks, different ways of learning and revising, learning to touch type or even doing some volunteer or internship work.

‘Now is a great time to make a commitment to lifelong learning, and vowing to yourself to do something every day that makes you stronger, wiser and more resilient.

‘These are skills that you need to craft and hone on an ongoing basis, as you can’t summon them out of the blue when needed.’

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