Transition Year is a wonderful time to mix with new groups and make some new friends. Most students would say that TY is an enjoyable experience, however there are also some students every year who feel that the year was disappointing.
For most, TY is an amazing opportunity to assist you in making some self directed choices on what your future may look like. This can often be hard to get your head around, so here are some tips that we believe will be useful to get the most out of TY:
1. The time passes really quickly so to get maximum benefit out of TY, it’s important that you don’t take a “laid back” attitude to deciding what you want to achieve from the year. It's important to be able to look back in a year from now, and know that you have given TY your best shot, so start early, thinking about what your future career or areas of study could be. So what if that changes!! It’s better to be moving forward than making no decisions at all.
2. Talk to previous students that have completed TY. Find out what they liked, and what they didn't like about TY, so that you can make your own informed opinions. You, your parents, and your teachers will all know friends, family and neighbours that you can ask, ‘What would they have done differently?’. You can then avoid making the same mistakes.
3. Completing a work experience is a wonderful opportunity to feel more mature and independent. Finding work experience however is not that easy so again lean on any contacts that you have to secure a work placement. Do not just settle for the easy option where you can make some money, try and align what you would like to do in the future with your work experience i.e. if you feel you would like to be an accountant, then work in an office, if you feel you want to work with animals then work in a vets.
4. Give yourself the best possible chance of getting the best possible workplace experience by being fully trained with all the legally required courses such as Manual Handling. Go that extra mile and stand out from the crowd by also proudly demonstrating your maturity and completing extra courses on Work Placement Readiness and Work Placement Employment. I know as an employer, if I had to choose one student for work placement, it would be the one that was impressively prepared.
5. Nobody likes change, but set at least one task for yourself that pushes you outside your normal boundaries. This will help you find new interests and develop new skills that you perhaps never knew that you had. This will help you make stronger and more informed subject choices when that time comes.
6. Some schools have trips abroad in TY but this isn’t easy for all students and some families for a number of reasons. Yes these trips do make the overall TY experience more enjoyable, but if you are participating in other projects such as mini companies and musicals, you certainly won't be losing out. Participating in as much as possible in this year means that you won’t become bored and disengaged. That's the last thing you want from your TY experience.
7. You will have free time in TY so use your free time wisely to perhaps do some research on careers that you would like to end up in, or college courses that you would consider. Among other things, this process alone will be great for developing organisational and time management skills.
8. With not as much academic pressure in TY, it's a great opportunity for you to explore and embrace your creative side. You will be more exposed to experimental learning techniques so you will be more hands on than ever before, and more exposed to different assessment methodologies. These type of experiences will help you understand what type of learner you are, and as such may sway you in the direction of, or away from, apprenticeships as a preferred career choice. A choice that without TY, may never have been as accessible to you. Do not be afraid of this just because it is new.
9. One benefit of TY is that you will often feel more mature and more prepared going into your senior years. If you get the opportunity to conduct some exchanges then it will be amazing to further experience new countries and cultures. If you don't have those same opportunities, then do not worry. Use your time wisely to join a sports club or a debating team whereby you get to further develop your own sense of self worth in addition to learning greater team building skills, understanding the importance of listening more etc. It's all about using your time wisely, only you can decide what you want to achieve.
10. Most importantly of all….have fun! You will perform better and enjoy TY much more if you are having fun.
