Six ways to start the school year like a champ

The inevitable return to school after the long summer holidays can be extremely daunting. At the beginning of the break the plentiful days of freedom seemed to stretch out endlessly before you: the good times looked like they would never end! Now you`ve started noticing the ominous `back to school` posters in the local shops - and suddenly there are only a few days left before term begins.

There`s no need to be overwhelmed by the return to school though - of course it may be a little ominous: a new year, new classes and maybe even new subjects to undertake. You might be starting to study for your GCSE`s or A-levels, or even entering a new school. Whatever year group you will be entering though, there are a number of things you can do to ease yourself back into the school routine.

Get organised

Have all the things you need to bring to school ready a few days in advance - don`t leave it all till the evening before (or heaven forbid the morning) you go back to school. Collect all your necessary stationary and exercise books, and have everything in order, packed into your school bag and ready to go. Leaving this to the very last moment will make you rushed and agitated, at the very moment when you most need to be calm and collected.

Prepare for your first few days

Your school may well give you advanced access to your timetable, most likely on their website, or via a personal email. Use this to prepare for your first few lessons - not only packing the necessary books and ancillary paraphernalia, but also mentally composing yourself for the first few lessons at school. You may well be taking new classes in rooms you have never studied in before, and you should ensure you know the location of each one. Better to know beforehand where you have to navigate around in the school, than becoming lost just before your lesson commences.

Don`t compare yourself with your peers

You may have been keeping in contact with your classmates throughout the holiday, and noticed on social media some of them showing off about a new phone, or a converted pair of trainers. Try not to compare yourself to others - your schooldays aren`t about who has the latest `must have` video game or gadget. Just be confident, work hard at your studies, and do your best.

Get a good night`s sleep

The night before term begins can be an ominous one indeed - and sleep may be the furthest thing from your mind. You might be tempted to stay up late watching television, playing computer games, or surfing the web. If possible try to get and early night. In fact it can be helpful, for a few days before school begins, to get up at the time you will be rising on your schooldays. You might have got into bad habits over the holidays - going to bed late, and subsequently getting up later and later. In many ways this is what holidays are for, but you don`t want to be completely exhausted on your first day because your sleep cycle has got out of sync.

Change bad habits

Make a list of some of the bad habits you have got into over the last year - things that you believe got in the way you becoming the best student you could be. Try to work on attenuating one or two of them, reducing the negative impact they have on you. Beginning the term with a good attitude will help you stay on track. It`s easier to resist starting bad habits than it is to stop them once they have become ingrained. Remember, none of us are perfect - some people might spend all day writing a list of their faults, and not be finished come night time.

Seize the day!

Grab every opportunity you can at school to learn as much as possible. Find out about any after school clubs, or extra curricular activities. If you have a passion for music, photography, mathematics, or creative writing, try to find a way to enrich and indulge that interest. School is a place to both nurture and engender your skills and abilities, but it`s up to you to make the most of it! Education really will give you the opportunity to reach your full potential - it may sound like a clich , but it`s a clich that is absolutely true, so work hard to become the best person you can!