Enjoying a break while looking at life ahead
Q&A with Edward Sims, Candice Cheng and Sarah Turner, Year 12 students, Pembroke School
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR?
Sims: I plan on going to university where I hope to study a degree in the area of health science. I also plan to find some part-time work to complement my studies.
Cheng: I have applied to a number of universities in the field of education, however, I plan to defer for a year and take a gap year abroad in China. There I plan on improving my own Chinese working with a private teacher. Additionally, I plan to volunteer to teach in rural communities in China.
Turner: I am hoping that next year I am able to go straight into uni, broadly speaking the health science area, while continuing working at my part-time job.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THIS SUMMER?
Sims: I will endeavour to complete a full pre-season for football and spend plenty of time with family and friends down at the beach. After a busy year studying, it will be nice to have a relaxing time before embarking on my university studies.
Cheng: My plans for this summer are to spend some time with my friends in Australia travelling, then to return home after and prepare for my gap year. Being a boarding student, I have formed extremely close friendships with fellow students and hope to spend some time together before we all travel our separate ways. As an international student, I have not seen as much of Australia as my friends have and I am excited for the opportunity to experience Australia as they do. I think my experience in China will be beneficial to me as it will give me a chance to learn freely and grow beyond the comfort of my community. Additionally, I believe the experience of volunteering will help me in my future as I hope to become a primary school teacher.
Turner: This summer, after such an intense year, I think I will spend time with my friends and family. I have a few trips planned, which I hope will be a good way to wind down and relax. I also hope I can get an additional job or gain more hours at my current job. Year 12 is a hard year filled with lots of emotions and after I am finished I think the best thing is to have a break from that kind of thing and to spend time getting into good habits again. By summer, all the stress of uni applications should be gone and hopefully it’s a time of having fun over the holidays. I always knew a gap year wasn’t for me and that I would do the best going straight into uni if I could.