End-of-term reset and planning your breaks

The last week of term is easy to waste: exhausted, packing for home, half-celebrating. A short reset turns this term's lessons into next term's head start, and a well-planned break means you come back rested rather than behind.

Close the term properly

• Check that every piece of work was submitted and save the submission receipts.
• Note when results will be released and how you will see them. Appeal deadlines can be short, for example the University of Exeter requires academic appeals within 10 working days of final results.
• If you are travelling home to the GCC or elsewhere, make sure you can access your university email and portal while away.
• Return library books, clear your locker and tell your landlord or accommodation office if your room will be empty.

Review what worked

• Spend 30 minutes answering four questions: Which marks or feedback surprised me? Which study habits worked? What took more time than expected? What do I want to do differently?
• Compare your planned week (lesson sb-01) with your real week. Where did the hours actually go?
• Look at commitments: which societies, shifts or plans were worth it, and which will you drop?
• Write three specific changes for next term, for example 'Start each essay reading in week 3, not week 7.'

Rest properly

• A break only works if you actually rest. The NHS's 5 steps to mental wellbeing are a useful checklist: connect with other people, be physically active, learn new skills, give to others, and pay attention to the present moment.
• Connect: the NHS suggests setting a regular time to eat together as a family, or reconnecting with a friend you have not seen for a while.
• Be active: the NHS suggests choosing activities you enjoy rather than forcing yourself into long gym sessions. In GCC summers, plan outdoor activity for early morning or evening.
• Learn something new that is not your course, such as cooking a new dish or a creative hobby, which the NHS lists as a way to build wellbeing.
• Cardiff SU's advice to schedule time out to 'reboot' applies to holidays too: plan days with nothing in them.

Plan the break with intention

• Decide the shape of your break in advance: for example, one week of complete rest, two weeks of family time or work, and a few short sessions of light preparation before term.
• If you work during the holidays in the UK, UKCISA says Student visa holders can usually work full time outside term time. Check your exact vacation dates, because term dates define the limit.
• Use some time for longer-term goals: a short internship, volunteering, or reading for next term's modules.
• If you have exams straight after a break, plan revision across the break in small, regular sessions rather than leaving it all to the last week.

Re-entry: the first week back

• Before term restarts, download next term's module handbooks and build your new assessment map (lesson sb-02).
• Book anything you need early: a meeting with your personal tutor, a support service appointment, a gym induction.
• Reset routines on day one: sleep times, study blocks and your weekly review.
• Reconnect with your course friends and study group in the first week; it makes the rest of term easier.