A-Level Exams Results Day

Hello everyone!

Hope you are enjoying the summer as much as I have been! But, it's come to the dreaded month of August which contains the fortnight of results weeks. It is the most dreaded day of the year... even exceeding that stress you experienced when you sat the exams.

So in the summer period, you have sat your A-Level exams, hopefully one of them being Chemistry and usually the two others being another science and/or maths etc. I really hope that they went well for you and now your results will shine through.

As I think I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, throughout the year I did shockingly bad in my mocks. I could never achieve my target grade and my motivation was constantly being knocked. My school did for some bizarre reason use a method of collating extremely hard exam questions into a bank that we were tested on pretty much monthly - this of course screams "You're not gonna pass." whenever you got the results of another B, C and sometimes even U.

But you can imagine my astonishment on results day, a year ago, when I opened my envelope to see that I had achieved my entry requirement to get into the University of Bristol.

The main message I am trying to convey here is that sometimes exams don't go exactly how you plan them. You need to remember that you will only remember the BAD from the exam. Why didn't I put that? I can't believe I ran out of time to answer that question... Why on earth did I put that AS THE ANSWER? But you never think of the possible 50-60% of the answers that you did really well on! And sometimes, your 5/6 mark answers will still bag you half marks! These marks all add up and hopefully will give you the result you are looking for.

What if it all goes wrong? Well, getting into medicine has no deadline at all (apart from the application deadline in October!). So, if you open up those results and you didn't achieve the AAA, oh well! Either call through to Clearing and see if you are able to go into another university to study Medicine (where I believe they give a short interview on the phone. so I've heard?) and you may still be able to bag a place. However, if that isn't available, then I would certainly recommend to consider retaking.

By retaking, you can have another attempt at achieving the grades required.

• Some universities are rumoured to 'not accept retakes' by students that failed the year before and then apply again the following year. This is not particularly true. What I can gather from open days, if you didn't achieve the exams because of extenuating circumstances, there is a chance you could be shortlisted for an interview the following year.
• Some universities will not accept a candidate reapplying the following year after failing exams without extenuating circumstances.
• Through my own research and recommended by open days, universities will not accept a candidate who is applying after applying previously, being accepted and getting the grades but then doing a late deferral for no extenuating circumstance = eg. "I want to take a gap year, despite not putting on my application that I wanted to when I applied."
• If you are going to retake, do you want to stay in the same school? Do you think college would be better suited for you this year? Or possibly transferring to sixth form if you are already at college? You need to take chemistry, but what about the other two options? Maybe drop Maths and pick up Physics? Or drop Physics to pick up Biology?
• Finally, remember it is not all in the schooling to why you may have failed. Consider in your retaking year what may have led you to slip. Did you go out too much? Did you prioritise your time incorrectly? Did you not concentrate, slip behind work, stop attending? Maybe you hadn't mastered your revision technique correctly? This year, make sure you build on this 'mistakes' to ensure you achieve those results for next year!

I hope this post has provided some ease and I promise this time tomorrow you will be much more relaxed no matter the outcome. I hope you will be sat with your family having a nice meal celebrating your success in securing a place in medical school.

Massive good luck to you all!

Speaking at Villiers Park Fantastic Futures Event

I then had the opportunity to speak at the Villiers Park Fantastic Futures event that also celebrated the hard work of its student participants this year.

The Fantastic Futures programme exists to help provide support to students of Year 10 - Year 13 in the Swindon area. The programme includes the mentoring scheme I was part of and has the opportunity to have an e-mentor who is studying the course and/or is studying at the university a student is interested in applying to. They also have exhilarating opportunities to go to universities as part of residential trips to engage in set tasks and practice those teambuilding and leadership skills!

It was amazing to hear all of the great student stories at this night too! I had a fantastic opportunity to speak to some parents as well who wanted to know more about the work of Villiers Park from a student alumnus because at the end of the day, I don't work for Villiers Park but individually endorse them so much! Thank you so much if you did come and speak to me at the event! If you were interested in the blog and I sent you in this direction, thank you for visiting! If you are interested in keeping updated on my journey, please do submit your email on the right hand side of this page under "Follow by Email!" to get updates when I post (which isn't too frequent, but usually when I have something to post!). Feel free also to read back on my journey for advice from Year 11 and onwards!

Photo credit: Villiers Park

In this speech, I discussed my struggles again throughout A-Levels but how rewarding it was to secure my place at university. I have included my speech below in case you wanted to read this also. It is slightly repetitive compared to the last one (but remember I did only go through school once so the experience is the same! haha) but I did adapt it to tailor for this evening.

Villiers Park logo.

My speech:

Hello! My name is Josh and I am a student who worked quite closely with Villiers Park to fulfil my aspiration of studying medicine at my first choice university. I have been part of Villiers Park for the past five years when I went into Year 10 at Lydiard Park Academy.

The journey into university unfortunately wasn’t a straight and narrow path. But Villiers Park helped either eliminate or reduce every obstacle that I encountered.

Through mentoring sessions, I would meet with my mentor to discuss my recent activities. I would explain to Julie how stressful I’m finding things, how I’m worried I’m not going to get the grades and how I cannot find a balance. I was struggling very much through Year 13 as I still wasn’t reaching the entry requirements of my offer from Bristol University. I suffered in silence from the beginning and telling myself that I could deal with the issue independently because I felt quite embarrassed and ashamed that I wouldn’t fulfil the expectation of going to university this year. However, when I spoke to my mentor about my situation and how I was on the verge of giving up, she gave me that confidence again that I could do it. And by talking and developing plans of actions, I knew I could cope for another two-three weeks before the next session. I found the mentoring sessions as an opportunity to vent about my struggles but find solutions to them. My mentor would have open ears and be a voice that provided that guidance and support I needed. As soon as I had opened up about not coping with the change in learning style and needing to adapt my revision regime in A-Levels, my grades improved!

Before this, Villiers Park helped me decide on which university I wanted to apply for. I attended sessions of ‘MedSoc’ from Year 10 which was a group of aspiration medics who wished to study medicine, like me. Here, I could hear from guest speakers directly about their experiences, ideas for placements and even how to construct the perfect personal statement. When it came to exploring universities, I went on many open day trips to different unis. It was fantastic having the mentors with us at the open days because their experience and advice meant that we were asking questions at the open days which I may not have thought of if I had gone with my parents. For example, when going around open days with family, you mostly think of cost of living, student loans etc. Whereas I was asking questions about the course structure, unit content and about placements because we had been informed about the significance of asking these questions. For this reason, I was able to eliminate my long ‘perfect’ uni list to just the five I was going to apply for – with Bristol being my first choice because I felt that course would suit me the best. I have also been running a blog that follows my journey throughout my medical training which I hope has been helping the current prospect medics with their decisions to pursue the degree and what to expect.

The residentials I have been on with Villiers Park has allowed me to develop skills which have benefited me throughout my school years and I’ve carried it on into university. We would learn investigation skills, how to be involved participants and how to manage time appropriately. Anyone can practically work in a team, but I feel that through Villiers Park, it taught me how to work in a team effectively. Three years on, I am still in contact with a lot of my peers and it’s interesting to discuss the differences in the medicine courses in Bristol to Nottingham to Liverpool.

University has been an amazing experience so far. I’ve learnt how to balance my priorities and juggle the time I spend on work and learning with maintaining a social life! My course has been everything I expected and more! I have had fantastic opportunities to become more stuck-in and enjoying placements so much, I am now working as a healthcare assistant in Southmead Hospital! I have made great friends while at university. You are surrounded with people from diverse backgrounds that differ from your own but you all share similar passions and interests! I would recommend university because I feel it is an experience like no other! You will enjoy studying more when it’s in a subject you’re actually passionate about. You meet likeminded people and grow an exciting social life while developing yourself as you grow independently.

As well, before Villiers Park, I would not be stood here in front of you now speaking. I learnt ways to become more of a confident speaker all through the events and activities that I attended throughout the year.

University has been such a challenge but a reward for all the hard work it was worth! It’s so much better finally learning content that I am passionate about and enjoy reading. I am really happy that Villiers Park are still in contact with me because I feel I owe a lot to them. From the staff in Foxton to the mentors, past and present, who have helped me – thank you. And I say it every year but it won’t add up to how grateful I actually am. The skills Villiers Park have taught me has made me the person I am today.

Thank you for listening.

Speaking at Villiers Park Scholarship Programme Celebration Evening

Haha. Why am I smiling like an idiot?

I had the pleasure of being asked to speak at two Villiers Park events this week, one being for the programme I am a scholar for and the second for being a recently set up sister programme, "Fantastic Futures".

At the scholarship celebration evening, it was amazing to sit and hear all of the stories the scholars have created and shared from Year 10, all the way up to Year 13. It was a shame hearing all of the activities they had taken part in, and not being a part of it anymore! From the residentials and trips to the luxury of having an amazing mentor...!

In my speech, I exclaimed about how much Villiers Park really did help me begin my journey into medicine and I cannot preach how incredible their work is. Villiers Park is made up of a great group of people who are so loving and encouraging and want the best for everyone they are supporting.

My speech was delivered during the celebration evening at New College, in Swindon.

The following abstract was taken from the article from Villiers Park's website (as was the photograph in this post). The original article can be found by following this link.

Josh Drinkwater, 19, from Swindon, is studying his first year of medicine at University of Bristol. He returned to speak about life after his four years on the Swindon Scholars Programme.  “I can stand here today and talk to you because of Villiers Park,” said Josh. “My A-Levels were horrible. I tried to sail through but I found I couldn’t cope with managing my time or my stress. A simple review with my mentor, of how I was studying and learning to prioritise helped me through. I still use the skills I developed on the programme, such as communication skills, in my training – for example when I’m talking to patients in clinical settings.”

Villiers Park logo.

My speech, because there were some important things in it I wanted to highlight to you guys, the readers, too!

Hello! My name is Josh and I am a student who worked quite closely with Villiers Park to fulfil my aspiration of studying medicine at my first choice university. I have been a Villiers Parks Scholar for the past five years from when I went into Year 10 at Lydiard Park Academy.

My first year of uni has been very eventful! I have been on many placements from inside Southmead Hospital to doing home visits in Yate, just outside of Bristol. My course has involved lectures on maths, sociology, law, anatomy and biomedicine and even involved going into dissection rooms for a hands-on way of learning about the body.

But I can stand here today and talk to you because of Villiers Park. If it hadn’t been for being a scholar, I probably wouldn’t have achieved my goal.

Firstly, there was trying to become the ‘perfect’ candidate that universities desire. Villiers Park helped me through that by teaching me skills that I thought I already had within me. Instead, I learnt how to apply my skills in different applications. With the communication skills that I learnt in masterclasses throughout the years, I have applied these to my part time job at John Lewis but also even today when I talk to patients in a clinical setting.

Residentials helped build-on pre-existing team working skills. We were all close friends in my cohort so we worked well anyway, but the residentials taught us how we can work effectively. But I could demonstrate all of these skills in my interview for medicine.

I was part of a group called MedSoc which was put together by some of the mentors here today with the aim of helping prospect medics reaching their goal of studying medicine. The workshops would include interview practices, how to select the university for you and what exactly medicine consists of – delivered by presentations and guest speakers throughout the year. MedSoc catalysed my passion for medicine and gave me a driving push which I never knew I needed. I am now privileged to say that I’ve had the opportunity to be on the other side of that table now in the workshops as I delivered a presentation in January to students who were looking at studying a Health Science after they have completed their A-Levels. I have even set up a blog to help inform the students on what studying medicine is really like to help aid them in their decision to pursue it and prepare them for their interviews.

After briefly mentioning it, A-Levels were horrible. I can tell you now that A-Levels are probably the worst thing that you’ll encounter on your path into university. It is completely different to GCSEs so you need to adapt quickly because the “gap” between the two are definitely as big as what the teachers make it out to be. I struggled with my A-Levels I’ll admit and I found them extremely challenging. But that is the beauty of having a mentor as a scholar. At the beginning of the year, I tried to sail through making out to Julie that I was coping. But as it progressed, I realised I couldn’t deal with managing my time and stresses on my own. My mentor was not only open ears that wouldn’t judge me for admitting I was struggling, but was also a handy friendly voice of guidance that provided that support and advice that I needed. Just a simple review of how I was studying, what I was struggling with and possibly implicating a new method of prioritising the content I needed to learn helped me through. It was at that point I admitted I needed the help that I could change the way I worked. It allowed me to then start making progress that was apparent in practically the very final mocks before my summer exams of Year 13.

So I owe it to Villiers Park really. Not only did you help me with finding the university that I really wanted to study at through mentor meetings and workshops, but you helped fuel that passion that I had for medicine. You helped prepare me for my interviews which I was luckily successful in to then receive three out of five offers. The next challenge was achieving those grades, which I have already explained was tough. But, you picked me up again and put me back on the tracks and the support given was enough for me to then sit my exams, more confident than I was a few months before, to then reach those entry requirements and get into Bristol University.

But it didn’t all stop there. Even this year, I am still using the skills and foundations that I had learnt throughout being a scholar. I passed on the tips I learnt from doing a literature ‘dissection’ on a residential to my friends as we were completing an assignment based on three science papers that were in the New England Journal for Medicine. I use those team working skills practically all the time in clinics and facilitation sessions when I am with my group. And finally, I have built on those communication skills and have used them when I’ve been delivering presentations to small groups, speaking with patients on wards or even preparing speeches for presentation evenings! So I would like to say a massive thank you to Villiers Park, as I do every year, but I can’t put into words exactly how grateful I am and how proud I am to call myself a scholar of such a great programme.

As some quick words of wisdom to current scholars, just remember you are the one in control of your destiny – which actually sounds really cheesy but it’s true. Your teachers teach you the content, the past papers help consolidate the knowledge and your mentor is there to provide some guidance and support. However, it is your hard work and determination that will get you to your end goal, whether that be an apprentice or university. Use the resources around you but try your best in everything you do and you’ll have that sense of pride when the outcome is what you intended. Don’t blame the teachers, don’t blame the paper but I’m not saying blame yourself!! But take it as a stepping stone of learning and the best way to learn is through making mistakes. 

I wish you the best of luck in the future. Thank you for listening.

Preparation for Exams

At the moment, I still attend university in the week because we are still learning content. We are still learning about the Neuro system (which involves the brain, central nervous system and peripheral nervous system) and the Endocrine system (which involves the glands and hormones around the body). As mentioned before, this content is being delivered through lectures, facilitation sessions (because we are doing CBL), laboratory sessions and the clinical placements at the hospital and the GP.

How the majority of my days were spent throughout May!

Between these hours at university, I have been finding the time to balance revising for my exams. I have two exams this year which are both written multiple choice exams. Whereas in my January exams, if you can remember, I had to complete a written examination of MCQs (multiple choice questions) but also a 'spot' function exam (which involves cadaver specimens with pins labelling structures we should identify / explain their function fully) - but in my summer exams, I just have two written papers! Both of these exams are MCQs, 80 of them, which will test all aspects of the course from the beginning (Yes! ... from September 2017!)

So, I had to revise all of the ethics, all of the behaviour and social sciences (including sociology), some of the law content and the biomedical parts. Alongside this, I had to revise anatomy, histology and the function of each of the structures I could identify from a variety of photographs.

The worst part about revising for these exams is that I love working from past papers! They were my 'go to' resource which helped consolidate my knowledge. But unfortunately, I have no bank of past paper questions to go by! Some of our lectures though did give a small example of what a multiple choice question concerned with the lecture would look like, so I did stick all of those into a document that I printed and made an attempt at.

I did find quite a few online MCQ flashcard applications which had pre-made Year 1 medical questions which were composed by other medical students. Obviously, there were a lot of questions I didn't know because they weren't part of my curriculum. Therefore, I broke up the content and searched for questions on those individually. For example, looking up quiz MCQs on 'Anatomy of the Thorax' or 'Histology Images of Epithelial Cells'.

My exams are in the beginning of June which is very late in comparison with my friends. My friends finish their exams mostly in the middle of May, where they will be heading home for summer. So, I will be revising in the flat alone! Some of my friends from other universities studying other courses had a few exams at the end of April and were done for the summer! I'm very jealous.

To revise, I found the best way to learn anatomy was to study myself! I drew on my body quite a lot, highlighting different areas which were important to remember. For example, remembering the palmar arches in the hand, and whether it is the radial or ulnar artery which supplies them mostly individually.

With all of the other notes I had typed up based on attending my labs and lectures, I practised writing them out by hand in a notebook. It was quite good practice to consolidate my learning in this way, as I was reading my notes and then testing whether I could reproduce the information on a blank page. If I made an error, I could learn from such mistake.

I drew on my arm to try and get an idea where the structures were located on myself.

This was also during the period of the heatwave that hit England! You can imagine how horrible it was to sit in the library as the scorching sun shone through the window and burnt your arm. It was more of a killer getting invited to join mates in pub gardens when you know you should be studying hard!

Caffeine overload! To stay awake, I found myself turning to Red Bull and coffee for the boost I needed!

I did give in though, I cooked a barbecue for my flatmates and we sat on the field drinking ciders and soaking up the sunshine while it was here!

Barbecuing on the downs!

What's harder than searching for the phrenic nerve? Searching for a house for next year!

This is something very crucial that, I feel, was very masked from all my Year 1 preparation for university! You must be prepared to start house viewing, basically from November.

Yes, you read that correctly. You will start university in September. You will enjoy the beginning of term, all the way through to October. Then in November, you should be getting prepared to start accommodation hunting ready for Year 2!

This is my flatmate, from Year 1 and now Year 2, signing the tenant forms and confirming our house for next year!

This is because all of your peers and other students at university will roughly be looking all at the same time. The student letting agencies will be releasing properties slowly, but will be turning them over very very quickly.

Here is my little nifty guide to help prepare you for this, because house hunting was everything but enjoyable (to an extent!) and easy!

1. From September/October, this is the perfect opportunity to start flatmate-hunting! You should be using this time to work out who you should and shouldn't be living with next year. This is crucial stuff, because it's ridiculous how you're house hunting so early yet you're not sure whether or not these people are still wearing their "first impressions count!" masks and could actually change as the year progresses. Personally, I feel living with your current flatmates is a safe option as you can address problems fairly early on (eg. "Please can you start washing up after you've cooked?" or "Please don't use my tray if you're not gonna wash it?" etc) ready for next year.
2. Some people do choose to keep medic-orientated. So if you've made some great friends in the course, or even across other courses, then maybe consider living with them next year! Either way, I have found in my city that finding accommodation for a larger house (ie. 6/7 people) is a lot easier than a smaller house (ie. 3/4 people).
3. Book as many viewings as you can in different properties - don't go by the photos! This works in two ways: don't judge a property by it's naff photos because the 'small' bedroom photographed could turn out to be the best in the house and the one you want! And, don't judge a property by the way it looks in the photograph without seeing it for yourself. If I'm honest, I didn't practice what I'm currently preaching as this is what I've done. I have put down a deposit and paid the agency fees to a house I haven't seen, my flatmates went to the viewing whilst I was on placement so I haven't seen my house!
4. Booking as many property viewings will educate you on what you should be looking for: mould, condensation, cleanliness, washing facilities etc. Make a list of things that are important to you, such as en suite bathrooms or a living space, and help this to refine your searches when booking different property viewings.
5. If current tenants are in the property as you are viewing, use them as accurate reviewers of the landlord! Use it as an opportunity to ask questions for honest answers, like how quick are repairs done and what are the catastrophic disadvantages of living here? Like neighbours that hate noise or a leaky roof in the winter may not be highlighted in the paperwork or leave the estate agent's mouth whilst she's giving you the viewing. It's also the perfect time to ask about how much the bills are for the property as you will need to factor this into rent.
6. Review your estate agent that you're using to buy the property before you go ahead. We did this after - just to find that our estate agent is currently rated 1/5 stars because of their inconsistency, poor professionalism and reliability. For example, the tenancy agreement that was emailed to us was full of awful spelling and grammar mistakes.
7. Have your deposit and the agency fees at the ready. Be prepared to make a payment of around £1,000 in the November-January period if you have currently secured yourself a property. I had to pay £500 in agency fees, and then the deposit of around £485. Obviously this was the greatest shock, because I did not have £1,000 ready to transfer towards the beginning of my first year in university!
8. Finally, you need to be quick. My flat were fairly quick on the ball. We started searching in November and got the house sorted in January/February. My friend however only secured their house towards the end of March, he was very worried he wouldn't have a house for next year! But also, you will be viewing the property alongside other students who are viewing at the same time. In every property, I feel I was viewing houses with three other groups. In one property, we were looking at the larger bedroom and walking downstairs when the estate agent then told us that the other group had already signed the paperwork and had just bought this property and she 'apologised' we were too late.

You have been warned! Make sure you are prepared to go house hunting, and have £1,000 (roughly) ready to be able to put a deposit down on the next house for Year 2. And of course, make sure you choose the right flatmates to live with!

If you can't, and find yourself struggling, my social media at the moment is full of people advertising for new flatmates. For example, someone who has had to dropout of university for unseen circumstances, and is looking for a new flatmate to replace them. So if you do miss out, or can't find the suitable people to live with, keep your eyes peeled on the social media platforms!

Villiers Park - How did it help?

So I have been part of the Villiers Park scholarship programme since Year 10. I feel that being a Villiers Park scholar definitely set me up for my path into Medicine by providing me with the information and support I needed.

As part of the programme, everyone is assigned a learning mentor that will provide this information and support that I have mentioned before. Through one-on-one mentoring sessions, I would meet with my mentor to discuss my recent activities. I would explain to my mentor how stressful I’m finding things, how I’m worried I’m not going to get the grades and how I cannot find a balance. And by talking and development plans of actions, I knew I could cope for another two-three weeks before the next session. Everyone on the programme found the mentoring sessions as an opportunity to vent about our struggles but find solutions to them, whether it be crafting the perfect personal statement or researching different university choices.

The masterclasses allowed all of us to come together as one group and work towards given goals. But the objective wasn’t the task itself, but the personal and interpersonal skills we developed through it. As shown in our last Year 13 residential in March, we could confidently deliver a presentation better than we could in Year 10 residential. Through Villiers Park, we learnt about how to conduct research, how to process the findings and then present to an audience. These are skills important not just for university, but possibly for most of our jobs and careers in the future. I felt I developed and learned more specialised skills through Villiers Park moreso than I did in our normal PSHE lessons at school.

Villiers Park has helped with our career advice, university choices and personal statement construction. I feel my mentor sessions and the masterclasses provided helped me on track to making me a strong candidate for the degree I wanted to read at university, being Medicine. I was also a member of "MedSoc" which was our Medicine Society. Here, I heard guest speakers (such as paramedics and junior doctors etc) who pass on any advice. We also had interview preparation and help, where we learnt how to address our interviewer, how the MMIs are structured and even advice on current medical affairs and how to approach the ethics in medicine.

There was an opportunity as well for a one-week residential in Foxton that specialises in a subject we feel passionate about – whether it’s engineering, biology, English, politics or computing! I attended the course on Cell Biology and Cancer where I learnt about the different stages of cancer (from a genetic mutation in transcription to metastasis around the whole body). On the course I learnt even more skills, but this sparked my interest for oncology which then initiated my project in the EPQ (which was based on the biochemistry and physiology of cancer). These courses can be assessed by following this link: CLICK HERE. I would certainly recommend a biology/medical fuelled course as this will be of great interest and look super attractive on your personal statement to universities!

If you're still not persuaded to get involved, take a look at these photos:

Preparing for University - The Buying!

So ever since I received my results in August, I had quite a short time frame to get together essentials that I will need to take with me to university. I had to read all of the university accommodation's terms and conditions, such as the rules to living there. The online induction informed me of everything, from the security on site to what to do in the event of a fire. There were safety elements and regulations that have to be obliged, such as no cooking appliances or drinking alcohol in the rooms!

I haven't actually discussed a lot about how I selected accommodation because this will definitely differ from person to person. For me, I wasn't really interested in having my own en-suite bedroom because I would rather be more sociable in my flat and I couldn't really justify spending another £1200 on the luxury of having my own toilet - but I know people would argue the money is worth it! So I am staying in a self-catered residence with a communal toilet, meaning I will be sharing a shower and toilet with another five students in my flat. I will keep you updated on what this is like!

One word of advice I got from one of my amazing mentors at Villiers Park: go for self-catered! Self-catered essentially is where you have to cook and prepare yourself food throughout the day. Catered residences will have a kitchen that will prepare and serve you food at certain times... a lot of parents love this idea because they then know their son/daughter is eating properly while at university. It costs an extra (almost) £200 a week, so it's quite an expensive way of feeding yourself while at uni. But why Villiers Park recommended self-catered for me, is that I don't know what time I could be finished in my day. I could be on a ward until 5pm, or even 8pm. Where the nature of the career we are interested in is so unpredictable, I may want to stay on in the evening to witness the treatment of a patient I may have been dealing with, who in the past hour may have taken a turn for the worst. But this means I miss out on my dinner for the evening, so I've wasted more money because I've had to cater for myself on the way home. So if you can, I recommend go self-catered - it's cheaper too!

Reading the online induction for my accommodation, I learnt what will be provided for me:

• A desk
• Curtains and mirrors
• Toaster and kettle (with kitchen set-up: so dining table and chairs, fridge, freezer, microwaves)
• Bed frame and mattress (*no bedding though, or sheets)
• Wardrobe for storing clothes and bookshelves

From the list, I then began searching online for different lists of essential university items that you should bring with you. I had written a full list, which I then went to buy with my mum in different shops.

I have bought:

1. Two large storage containers - one for food and one for drink (maybe alcohol, but probably just mixers!) They are 80L and stackable, so I can save on space.
2. Two large shorter containers - I will use one for storing books and work, and one for storing all of my kitchenware. They are short (equivalent to the height of a Tea, Sugar and Coffee pot) so I can push them under my bed when I get there.
3. Photo frame (so that I can keep photos of my friends and family in my room)
4. 4-way extention cable in case there is a plug shortage!
5. Bedding - this is a duvet cover, pillow cases, a cushion and I bought two fitted sheets.
6. Pillows and duvet
7. Kitchen utensils: cheese grater, tin opener, bottle opener, wooden spoons, spatulas, strainer, large chef knives, vegetable peeler and a set of four chopping boards (depending on raw meat/veg etc).
8. Eating: I bought three plates and three bowls, as well as a full cutlery set.
9. Cooking: I bought a set of three cooking deep pans and a set of three frying pans of different sizes. I also bought a vegetable steamer that could be placed in the microwave. I bought a sandwich toaster as well because at the moment I have an obsession with cheese and red onion toasties. Mmmm. Furthermore, I have a smaller Wok that will cook for one person (that I can stick vegetables into for a stirfry). I also have a small rice steamer.
10. I recommend buying a small baking tray (mine is smaller an A5 sheet of paper!) so that you can cram your cooking into the side of the oven shelf if someone else is cooking.
11. Kitchen foil and cling film.
12. Basic stationary: pencils, pens, books, folders, highlighters, Sticky Notes, tack for the walls etc.
13. Cleaning: I bought a dustpan and brush, loads of disinfectant wipes, cloths, kitchen roll, washing up liquid, cleaning brushes, teatowels, bin bags, scourers, sponges.
14. I bought a washing up bowl so that when I had finished using a cup or a bowl, I could place it in the bowl on my floor which will give me the motivation to go and wash it up.
15. Three tumbler glasses, one pint glass, two smaller glasses and three mugs. My pint glass is actually made of plastic so it won't smash if I dropped it. I also bought some plastic tumblers for beer pong just in case.
16. Pack of toilet roll.
17. Alarm clock.
18. Tea, Coffee and Sugar pots so I can keep it in my room.
19. Fan (in case it gets too hot at night or in the day when I'm working)
20. Batteries and bulbs, with a desk lamp.
21. Suitcase.
22. Towels - a large set: with two large towels and two smaller towels.
23. Food: I've bought and prepared loads of dry stuff that I can keep in my container. I've bought boil in the bag foods, "Just add water" pasta sachets, instant hot chocolates, biscuits, tortilla wraps, pasta, jars of sauces, tins (like tuna, sweetcorn, beans, tomatoes) and also different sauces (egg mayonnaise, tomato sauce etc).

This is everything I have packed for university.

A zoomed-in photo of my kitchen box - look how small the baking tray is!

One bit of advice I read online: go for obscure items so you know what is yours. For example, you can see my cutlery has yellow handles which makes them more distinct so I can tell what's mine! I've heard pretty floral things disappear fairly quickly! And, who's gonna steal those ugly knives and forks?

Being protective, I have the slight inclination to keep as much of my stuff in my room as possible. This is why I have bought so much storage. I don't want to leave my stuff in the sink in case it got lost, stolen or broken, so I will keep it in a washing bowl until I clean it. When cleaned, I'll place it back in the storage container in my room. And it's why I'll keep my coffee, tea and sugar in my room, just in case it goes!

At the moment, this is all that I have! I'll keep you updated about how my recommended list changes - whether it be "Actually, you don't need to buy this!" or "I can't believe I forgot this!".

I move Sunday 17th September... watch this space! I'll also take a photo of my room for you!