Before the end of last year, my school organized its annual charity event: a talent show where the proceeds are donated to homeless people. It’s incredible to see how talented and confident everyone is, while contributing to a wider issue. It inspired me to think about confidence more and the role it plays in my own life. ​

Have the winter blues got you down? You’re not alone. Millions of other adolescents and adults are also struggling to cope with short days and long nights. Unfortunately, we’re not out of the woods just yet. While the shortest, darkest days have passed, the gloomiest one is still lurking around the corner. ​

​Tiffany Igharoro shares what she learned from the pandemic about learning whatever the challenges.

It goes without saying, but Covid-19 has caused a nice little disruption in students’ education and wellbeing. From school closures to exam stress, we’re left floating in a void of uncertainty. What’s next? To help clear up the confusion, we share a few tips on how you can regain control, reduce anxiety and achieve your learning goals. ​

Cognitive reframing is a powerful and simple tool that each of us can use in every aspect of our daily lives – whether in education, the workplace, or our personal life. Cognitive reframing simply means changing our thoughts so that we are able to look at a situation in a slightly different way. Doing this, we’re able to make negative things become positive and gain more control over our lives. 

The Roman philosopher Cicero wrote about reframing over two thousand years ago, using a metaphor of an archer. 
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“One’s ultimate aim is to do all in one’s power to shoot straight, and the same applies with our ultimate goal. In this kind of example, it is to shoot straight that one must do all one can; none the less, it is to do all one can to accomplish the task that is really the ultimate aim. It is just the same with what we call the supreme good in life. To actually hit the target is, as we say, to be selected but not sought.”
[Cicero, De Finibus 3.6]

Have you ever wanted to be a bat? 

We’re not talking batman here – I have no advice about how to deliver vigilante justice. No, we’re talking about proper bats – cute little things with wings that scream until they find food. 
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Whilst I also scream until I get fed, I don’t find myself thinking about bats all that often. And when I do, I don’t think I have too much in common with them. 

It seems like I was wrong. Humans and bats have more in common than I suspected. 

​Researching and supporting a cause that matters to you this Xmas not only helps you. It can massively help others.

Supporting causes can help you work out what you want from life. Careers in the 21st century, when we are likely to work for longer than ever (and for different companies), will be based much more on company values and ethics than older generations - who tended to focus on a paternal "you'll move up through the ranks from apprentice to retirement" arm around the metaphorical shoulder, driven by financial security first, a job-for-life second, and perhaps striking lucky and enjoying your career third. Younger people, via social media, are much more aware of global issues and therefore how they want to fit into them (and ideally solve or improve them). 

We all knew that going into school after a six month break would not look normal. Schools and teachers are all doing their best to make things run smoothly, even when there’s an imminent risk of a class being randomly eliminated. It’s like coronavirus is playing a pac-man video game to destroy the education system completely. With weapons of hand sanitisers and one way systems, it looks like schools are putting up a good fight.

Although you may not have had to self- isolate at home, the thought doesn’t seem as scary as before. Hopefully, by now, you have seen many procedures to make a potential quarantine at home easier. Luckily technology has rapidly advanced from the last time schools have had to close a century ago. It’s promising to see an abundance of lesson resources to help students who are self-isolating readily available online if needs be. This can be beneficial even if you are not working from home, for example, lesson powerpoint  being uploaded onto your online portal for use in your revision.

This year has drove us inside our homes more than ever. We’ve all taken up a number of things to try and fill our times the best we can. From all becoming master bakers, taking our chance at cutting hair or finally picking up and learning how to play the recorder.

One of the saving graces of the lockdown was how technology allowed us to stay connected to our friends and family, but our relationship with technology has to be kept under control otherwise it has the potential to spiral into something that can have detrimental effects on our mental health.

Work experience: cancelled. Taster days: cancelled. University open days, you guessed it... cancelled.

Sinking into the sofa, many have felt like the whole of higher education is getting cancelled. Six months into lockdown, however, you start to realise that the world is actually at the tip of your fingers. 

We are the generation of technology. The generation of endless screening.  Even though work experience for many is cancelled, when a global pandemic forces us indoors, we’ve never felt more at home.

Due to the COVID - 19 pandemic the year 2020 has come to a sudden pause. Due to the lockdown, both normal lives and the world economy faced a massive blow. Unemployment has shot up due to the pandemic effect. Unfortunately, among them, some students also lost their part-time jobs. A recent NUS report also stated that 80% of UK students are still struggling with their finances due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Covid-19 has caused a lot of heartache and head scratching for us all...particularly you year 11s, 12s and 13s out there.

Ironically, even though you haven't been able to sit your GCSEs and A Levels, you've been tested more than ever during these last few months: in your motivation, and your ability to work remotely under varying socio-economic conditions (and stressful or non-stressful household circumstances).

​Remember that just by you being willing to engage daily with your learning between now and September, and motivate yourself to attempt even the smallest of positive learning habits each day, you will be developing a game-changing attitude, and rock-solid resilience, compared to any other teenage generation since war time.

The deadlines have passed for your decisions on your university offers so I hope you managed to get your research sorted and were confident and comfortable in your final decision.
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Of course, this particular year, the decision was even bigger than usual. The pandemic has meant that we aren’t completely sure what form university will take in September and so it may feel like there’s a bigger risk of committing to an undergraduate degree.

Right about now, you should be thinking about your student finance for next year. So if you haven’t completed your application, do it very soon. Although right now there is, of course, some changes to the process in light of the Covid-19 situation. ​

These are the most important changes to know if you're applying for Student Finance in the middle of a pandemic.

With schools and universities all currently closed, and a return date uncertain (at the time of writing), the question of how we are going to return is starting to come up. While we’re waiting for government advice on how this might come about, universities have started considering the possibility of starting next academic years' terms entirely online.

An issue however is that universities aren’t considering any sort of reduction in tuition fees because of this, as the BBC has discovered. Understandably students aren’t happy about this and there’s good reason not to be.

Being off campus doesn’t just mean you’re missing your lectures and seminars, it also means you’re not able to utilise all of the facilities that you’re paying for with your tuition fees.​

So what are you actually paying for with your fees?

Whilst basing your grades on the work you’d done up until 20th March might not seem fair as you didn't get Easter to hand in any great work based on past papers (naturally people improve the closer to the exams it gets), getting your teachers to take responsibility for your final grade does take away the potential pitfall of the exam itself…and we mustn't forget how many students' nerves get the better of them on the day.

​A "winner takes all" approach doesn't work for every student. I’d say it doesn’t work for most and isn’t a healthy way to grade long-term effort and progress, and it certainly isn’t reflective of the working environment most people will find themselves in, where every single day, the realities of the job (and keeping it) is the grade

One thing we can all agree on as we go into another week of lockdown is that it isn't always easy. No matter who you're with and where you are, there are days when it might just seem a little harder, and that's fine.

The same is happening to you, me, your guardian, your best friend, your favourite celebrity. Everyone. So don't worry about it. It's normal. 

So how do we make sure we're looking after ourselves in these unexpected circumstances and make sure that we aren't going stir crazy all cooped up inside like battery hens (Remember to buy free range folks!)

Right now you should be receiving your offers from universities but then a little thing called a global pandemic happened and everything's been put on hold until everyone can work out just what to do.

At the minute the government has asked all universities to stop making unconditional offers or amending existing offers until at least April 20th. This is so you don't feel pressured to accept these already.

They've also extended the May offer deadline for undergraduate applicants and if you've sent in your UCAS application they should contact you via email with the new decision deadline date.