Posted by Ksenia
In one of my posts I have already mentioned how important is Facebook in the life of young people and the only thing I can add is that this importance becomes more and more significant – at least for me. At first all the endless applications, silly quizzes, requests, flowers, kisses, hugs or whatever from people I have never seen before really irritated me. But while the number of my friends - English-speakers was growing I realized that Facebook is really doing a great job. It made possible for me to meet people who otherwise could never become my friends and, the most important; it gave me a chance to help some of them.
Answering a few simple questions was the best I could do for those who contacted me but seemed to be a good way to make them a bit more calm and confident about themselves and their future arrival to the UK. It is a hard decision to make – to come and study in another country where you do not know anybody and leave your friends and family behind. But at the same time it’s a big step up – a chance to get the top-quality education, meet new people and become more or less independent. So I hope that I have helped a few people to make the right choice.
On the 9th of September a new term started at Bellerbys Brighton. Dozens (if not hundreds!) of new students will be joining ELPP, GCSE, A-level, Foundation programs. One of them is Zuzka, a girl from the Czech Republic who I have introduced to you in one of my previous posts. Before her arrival she asked me a few good (as usual) questions which some of you might find interesting if you are thinking to come to Bellerbys.
Zuzka
Well I wanted to ask you about bank accounts in England. Because I think I will need a bank account over there. I read that Bellerbys helps students with registering with a UK bank. Do you have any idea about which bank do they register students with? Because I would like to have a bank which is like close to school so I could easily access it to get some cash. Is there any need of my parents signing some documents since I am not 18? Ha-ha, I know, too many questions, but that is just what I am ... ;) But anyway thanks a lot for all of your help :)))
Me
Banks are easy. College prepare a letter for you (just go and ask in Student Services) and arrange an appointment. You will need some kind of permission from your parents but it’s very informal- nothing to worry about - and can be done as soon as they will tell you what they need (I guess it was something like an e-mail in my case). The easiest one to go for is Natwest. It has an office very close to school (in the shopping center) and has a very easy to manage accounts designed especially for people like us (I recommend you sign up for on-line banking as soon as you get your account, then you do not need to go to the bank at all). They will talk you through everything - but it’s really very easy).
Zuzka
Hey Ksenia:) Thanks a lot for your answer - do I get it right that there's no need of thinking about the account now and it's enough to solve it in the UK? And does Natwest have some ATM near school to get to some cash without paying additional fees?
Me
Sure that you do not have to think about it now - anyway international students do not get many options. If you decide to go with Natwest they will open for you two accounts - Reserve (the one on which all the money from your parents will be) and Step (for everyday use). This system is very useful - though you get two cards you can only use one of them - the one from step account - and even if it gets lost or stolen you still can use the rest of the money – it makes you absolutely calm about your card when you are going out, for example. That is why online banking is great - you can transfer money from Reserve account on Step in seconds. Of course all of that is absolutely free. They will explain it to you again when you will come to open the account. The closest ATM is at Brighton station (1 min away). As most of ATM’s in the UK it’s free to use.
Zuzka
I'm quite surprised about the ATM being for free; in my country most ATM’s charge some small fee from your account if you use it... :) Thanks a lot for your information :) Do most Bellerbys students have the Natwest account or it varies? The system of two cards looks truly useful, I feel like that would suit me well :)
Me
Most of them have Natwest because it is the one suggested by Bellerbys. You can also have Lloyds or some others but I have no idea about it :)
Zuzka
Haha thank you for your advice :) Surprisingly, I have more questions (you know, only ten days remain and I still feel like I don’t know what I am going to do).... Well, in regards to my question... It might sound stupid but I’m interested in Biology and Chemistry exams. I mean, there are practical ones, aren't there? Could you please tell me how does a practical exam in Biology and Chemistry look? It's just that I'm still thinking about taking subjects from both humanities and sciences and practicals are really something I'd be worried about - I have never done anything really similar.
Me
I perfectly understand that you are worried even though I know that you have absolutely nothing to be worried about. Well, now the practical exams will be a bit different to what I have been doing because the syllabus (the exact list of what we had to know) might have changed and the college has changed the examining boards as well. But I can give you a rough idea - for Chemistry it is not at all difficult and is real fun - you are given a few unknown substances and instructions of what to do with them and at the end you have to tell what is the substance which is always quite obvious.
Then you will either have to do a titration (mix a base and an acid together to find the point at which is mixture is neutral by the change of colour of indictor paper -it is a way of finding a concentration of acid/base) or an experiment connected with temperature - either to measure the temperature change in a reaction and find out how much heat was released, or to find melting/boiling point of a substance. You will practice all those things for the whole year so you will be absolutely perfect when the exam time comes. For biology we have not actually done the practical exam - we have done a coursework (you have to plan and do the experiment) and a written alternative to practical (when the experiment was already done for you and you will have to analyze the data). So I do not actually know what you are going to do.
But anyway most students have not done any practicals before coming to Bellerbys and it is never a problem - everything is made easy and explained very carefully and of course practice makes perfect!
I think you really should take some science subjects – it’s very interesting and respected by universities. Of course it’s not the easiest thing to study but so rewarding!
Zuzka
Hey)))) Thanks a looooooot for your answer:) I still don't know if I’ll take science - do you think Mr Corcut would advise me about it during the interview? And, yeah, surprisingly, that's another one of my annoying questions) what is this interview like? Should I somehow prepare for it? Oh my God only 5 more days, I am totally excited, though nervous anyway ;)
Me
Oh, you know that you are always welcome! First thing – interview are NOTHING to worry about. I won’t even call it an interview – rather an appointment to discuss you future studies in Bellerbys. Mr. Corcut (as you already know the head of A-levels) will just ask you a few obvious questions – what are you interested in, what are you approximate plans for the future, which subjects you are planning to take. It is not to assess you in anyway – it’s to help Mr. Corcut to understand how he can help you. The only thing you can do to prepare is to try and think of what YOU personally want to do.
You should understand that Mr. Corcut is a very experienced man, he knows lots of facts about universities and he will probably advise you to take “serious’ subjects like Math and Sciences, Economic, English Literature or History – the ones that are the most respected by the top places and he will probably be right. But it’s your life, your future and your decision. I can tell you that doing an A-level subject that you do not like only because the universities do is quite wrong (unless of course you change your mind when you will start studying it) – it will be hard and boring for you and you will be unlikely to achieve very high results.
Personally I have chosen Sciences because of one simple reason – I love it, and I hope you will be able to decide in the same way. Good luck and remember that one of the greatest experiences is about to start!!!!
And to finish off this post one more question from Ange Chandra, Indonesia who is also thinking to join Bellerbys College.
Ange Chandra
What do you think of ELPP? Do you think it's important for international students to take that course? Did you, yourself, take ELP course the first time you joined Bellerbys?
Me
Well, when I first came to Bellerbys my level of English was really poor. So I urgently needed some help and took a 3-week course. It was real fun and helped me a lot with my communication skills in English and raised my IELTS score by a few points) I do not think that you particularly need it - in terms of English. As far as I understand your level is quite advanced and will improve anyway during your studies in Bellerbys.
In the first term you will have preparation for IELTS together with your other lessons so you could take the exam to get the grade required for the university (usually 7- 7.5) But on the other hand it’s a great opportunity to see the college in advance and meet people. So it’s really up to you - what you want)
This is all from me for now. I would like to thank Zuzka again for her huge contribution for this post and wish her all the best in future! I guess you will hear from me quite soon and I will update you on the exam results and the university entry. Good luck everyone with their studies in the new term and take the most of your time in Bellerbys College!!!