Different schools have different bell times, but most schools start at approximately 8.30am - 9.00am, and finish at approximately 3.00pm - 3.30pm.

But should you get to school earlier, or leave later?

My basic set-up

When possible, I liked to get to school about 45 minutes before the first bell. I set myself up in the library, which was open before school for early-comers. After school, I took some time to consolidate that day’s learning/information in the ‘study centre’ - basically just an empty classroom used for studying - before making my way home.

Now, for clarity, I’m not an advocate of the “you should study at every available opportunity” idea. In fact, I actually think that studying too much can be counter-productive in many situations. With that in mind, I encourage you to read this article armed with the context that these strategies worked well for me, but I also had blocked out periods where I would never study. Still, here are some reflections on what I think were advantages of ‘extending the school day’ - that is, getting there early, and staying for a while after the final bell.

It helped me get in the ‘school zone’

This might sound a little bit silly, but in earlier high school, I really struggled to be in ‘the zone’ through the school day. I’d be thinking about basically anything else, and spent a lot of my time wondering why the clock’s second hand was moving SO. SLOWLY.

I think part of this was just the nature of earlier high school, but part of it was definitely that I wasn’t as engaged with my schooling as I could have been. I hadn’t really developed a good work ethic, and I was mostly just cruising.

As Year 12 became dauntingly close, I needed that to change. And getting to school a bit early, giving myself a little bit of time where I could get my thoughts in order before each school day, was really helpful. Depending on the day/time of year, I used the time in a bunch of different ways:

• Revising info from the day before. This was a really neat time to look over notes from the day prior. If there was information I didn’t understand, I could look into it further (to catch up), or alternatively make a note to clarify it in the next class.

• Studying for a test or exam. If I had a test that day (or soon), getting to school early gave me a bit of time to do some final light revision, without getting too involved in the chaos that often comes with last-minute study.

• Finishing off homework. If I couldn’t get stuff done the day before, time in the morning meant I could complete some final touches to my work (or look at it with a fresh pair of eyes before submission).

• Working on my folio. I did a folio subject, which required consistent effort throughout the year. Being able to do bits and pieces each day was useful, and also a good way to fill in 20 minutes when I didn’t feel like starting something completely new.

• Relaxing. Some days, where I felt on top of my work or when I felt like I needed some extra time to myself, I’d just relax. I’d draw, read, or just do whatever else to make sure I was in a good headspace before the day got going.

It helped me avoid distractions

This won’t be the case for everybody, but I struggled to study at home throughout high school; I found that there were so many distractions in an environment I typically associated with relaxation that study just… didn’t happen very easily.

As such, I tried to study more often away from home - and school was a prime environment for that. It meant that I couldn’t just get up and pointlessly search the fridge, or chat with my family, or watch TV on the couch. I instead had a space to myself where the most logical thing was to study - I didn’t have my phone or Switch or friends there, so the alternative would have been to sit there getting absolutely nothing done.

It helped me recap and consolidate information

I spoke earlier about using the morning sessions to get prepared and review information from the day before, but I sometimes also spent time after school thinking about what I’d learnt that day. I found that this made me a bit more accountable through my actual classes, because reviewing good notes was way easier than reviewing sub-par ones!

I liked the idea of getting home and just being able to relax, so most of the time I tried to get as much of this done at school as possible.

It helped me add variety

I didn’t like studying in the same place all the time through Year 12, so studying at different places at school helped keep things fresh (I find the same at uni - I keep moving all around campus to avoid things getting too stale!).

As a general rule, I preferred studying at school, so I capitalised on that by getting to school earlier and leaving a bit later. Adding, say, an hour per day didn’t feel like a big deal, but would have added up to a considerable amount of time over the year. If you can build this type of consistency into your schedule, it won’t even feel like you’re doing extra study!

Best of luck for the rest of the year.