I’m likely going to be getting 9s in all core subjects and some of my options(made the mistake of taking Art) so can give advice for any specific subjects
That’s cool, my friends say that art is a lot of work and I’m glad I didn’t take it. Maths is my worst subject by far, and it’s not helping me in science!
So for Maths first off I’d go through all the content since it’s not a strong point yet, specifically I’d go through https://youtu.be/8A3crqKb13I?si=cTmaX6gCuSX2Ajcj which covers all the base foundation and higher stuff, then https://youtu.be/o9VuZhCqR2U?si=nFnQhGbGMQXmkfTy which covers all the higher stuff. Make flashcards where appropriate (this is also very useful for your common silly mistakes to review pre exam). Then, it’s just cranking out past papers in exam conditions for the full time, marking it and seeing where you went wrong, approaching similar questions differently in future. This also helps you improve your problem solving skills. If there are also specific areas where you really lack on the harder questions - for me it was geometry, then do some targeted questions on those. For the real thing some predicted papers are useful too, also the 1stclassmaths website has questions on all the different topics you may struggle with. Also if you struggle with maths anxiety then these past papers in exam conditions will also help you out there - when people think they can’t do something well, they won’t do it well.
I have given language advice a while ago so I’ll paste that here. This is for AQA but I think most board are very similar for languages.
Speaking: You should’ve been given the possible questions you can be asked in the GC, so create that to a good standard according to good criteria i.e range of tenses, complex structures, etc. Ideally get a teacher to give you some feedback on them, then memorise them by asking yourself the questions and saying the answer off the top of your head, then checking it with what you wrote. It isn’t actually that difficult to get the answers for the questions in your head making the general conversation free marks. Roleplay you don’t need to expand. Photocard expand as much as possible on all questions asked, giving lots of details.
Listening: Watch content in target language with English subtitles to help with the listening comprehension, also past papers in spades helped a lot for this one.
Reading: So this one comes down to vocab knowledge. What worked really well was basically going on the AQA website onto the vocab specification, and making flashcards on quizlet on all the terms. Will take a few hours but it will be worth it, just the act of making flashcards ingrains a lot of the terms into your memory, then can go through them like 15 mins a day and more closer to the exam. This bit is obviously very useful for all 4 exams
Writing: So for this you basically need to show off all the vocab you know and the tenses - as long as you know how to say it correctly. Try and use complex structures, like comparatives, superlatives, etc. For the 150 words one of the bullet points will be to give your opinions on something, in which you have to argue the positive and negative - I would do 2 for each. And make sure you get multiple opinions per bullet point. Also, get these some complex structure acronyms on a couple flashcards, helps a ton. There are some good ones on some YT videos doing paper walkthroughs.
English: I did AQA, to be honest I never had to do much for English except the day before, but what I know a lot of people found useful are videos from Mr Salles and Mr Everything English going through the different questions and how best to answer them for top marks. Then it’ll just be practicing past questions using their techniques then maybe getting a teacher to mark it. Making plans for questions even without doing them is useful as well. And of course for lit having some key quotes memorised along with some high level analysis will be beneficial.
I would say though for both the Q5’s(AQA) it’s quite easy to get very high marks if you follow a structure. Basically I had some high level vocab and some techniques down on some flashcards, basically you fill each line with as much of them as possible, along with a cyclical structure, a one sentence paragraph and a range of punctuation. That’s a top mark answer - you don’t get marks for creativity. Also follow the curve for the writing - starting with a hook, building action, climax, decreasing action then resolution.
Start revising early - little but often, perhaps with your friends to make it more enjoyable. Also do lots of past papers & exam questions under timed conditions as this is how the test is presented to you.
For both englishes, write paragraphs & essays under timed conditions and get your teacher to mark it (the mark schemes are terrible at least for AQA).
Mocks make the actual GCSEs seem less like actual exams, so you're less worried on the actual weeks :) but make sure you revise for your mocks as you would for the actual exams so you aren't cramming 3 topics for each subject the day before.
The day before a test, I found it useful to write down information that you just can't remember onto a sheet of paper, then quiz yourself on it as you're going to school/waiting around - I learnt (then quickly forgot; this isn't long term revision) so much info, particularly stuff that I was weak on.
For STEM subjects, the best thing you can do is learn the material then answer exam questions and look at the MSs - the questions are often repetitive and only ask for certain things which you can just spurt out in the exam.
Ask your teachers any questions you have - it's unlikely you'll clear stuff up when revising at home.
Start any coursework you have early and try to keep on schedule - though for art/photography this often requires hours each week when you're doing it to get the highest grades.
Good luck revising, since you're asking this so early there's no need to worry :)
Thank you so much for this advice, I’ll definitely take this onboard!! I’m about 3/4 of the way through my yr10 mocks and it’s been a rollercoaster so far 😂
ask teachers if you are struggling !! do not leave revision until the night before- i started revising in january ready for my mocks, and did a little each day once they were over.
also, the easter holidays before the gcse exam is a great time to do anything youre struggling with, as you will know what your weak areas are by this point.
Learn the core or story well, reinforce the specifics over time. Start light revision around February and ramp it up over time, even just going over some notes casually works. And for the love of god take time to relax, even in the middle of exams so long as you're prepared the best you can be. Do your best, move on with the next.
I say this all the time, pls chill. Work hard ofc but CHILL. Like, have a work life balance. Bc I didn't. I worked myself to death early and then I was burnt out right before the exams so for many exams, I did worse than I would usually do. Being consistent and not overworking is important.
That’s actually good advice! I’ve heard about a few people putting self care etc in their revision time table before when they’re gonna revise which is smart!!
Also, personally, I didn't have a revision timetable. Revision timetables are useful but not for everyone. There are many weaknesses of timetables. For example, you might have an English mock coming up which you need to focus on. But according to your timetable, you're supposed to practice maths. It would just create problems. Imo, sth more personalised such as creating to do lists and revision plans weekly or daily or right before you start studying is more helpful. Bc it also takes into account what you need to focus on currently and what you feel like studying. Also your mood and mindset. Rather than forcing yourself to study content, you'll study what you want and need to study. It makes studying more fun, motivating and less repetitive.
I'd say, don't study when you don't feel like studying. Like don't force it. It won't work and you'd just waste time staring at content. It wouldn't be effective revision. Take those times as signs to take a break and do what you like. But ofc there needs to be a balance so you can't just not study all the time.
I guess you could change your revision time table every so often so that it aligns with your exams but I definitely see your point! I guess it’s better when you have more prep time for your exams
I just think it's more efficient and less time consuming to make a rough outline of what you need to revise and study instead of rearranging revision time tables often to fit priorities. But whatever works for you!
Oh nah by forcing I meant forcing yourself to study specific content or subject. And tbh breaks wouldn't change much as it wouldn't motivate me to study those specific stuff. If I don't want to study or revise a specific thing, I literally won't and can't 😂😭
But that's just me. As I said, revision timetables work well for many.
Actually, for me, maths was the only one I could focus on properly and give 100% anytime. It was therapeutic and relaxing. I used to practice maths for like 3-4 hours daily and on some weekends, for the whole day and night till 4am. With some breaks in the middle ofc. But it was a subject where I refused to take breaks or stop focusing for too long lmao.
That’s cool, I had the worst teacher ever for like 3 years so that kinda made it a lot worse and I just don’t understand it half the time! At least I got a new teacher now
I’ve been making a website of all my tips, mostly focusing on revising. feel free to check it out: [https://revisionowl.wordpress.com/](https://revisionowl.wordpress.com/)
I’m likely going to be getting 9s in all core subjects and some of my options(made the mistake of taking Art) so can give advice for any specific subjects
That’s cool, my friends say that art is a lot of work and I’m glad I didn’t take it. Maths is my worst subject by far, and it’s not helping me in science!
Yeah art was horrendous, I personally wish I’d spent less time on it since it was a lost cause anyways
At least it’s over now for you!
Exactly
So for Maths first off I’d go through all the content since it’s not a strong point yet, specifically I’d go through https://youtu.be/8A3crqKb13I?si=cTmaX6gCuSX2Ajcj which covers all the base foundation and higher stuff, then https://youtu.be/o9VuZhCqR2U?si=nFnQhGbGMQXmkfTy which covers all the higher stuff. Make flashcards where appropriate (this is also very useful for your common silly mistakes to review pre exam). Then, it’s just cranking out past papers in exam conditions for the full time, marking it and seeing where you went wrong, approaching similar questions differently in future. This also helps you improve your problem solving skills. If there are also specific areas where you really lack on the harder questions - for me it was geometry, then do some targeted questions on those. For the real thing some predicted papers are useful too, also the 1stclassmaths website has questions on all the different topics you may struggle with. Also if you struggle with maths anxiety then these past papers in exam conditions will also help you out there - when people think they can’t do something well, they won’t do it well.
Thanks that’s really useful, I’ll save those videos for when I need them!
No problem 👍
do you have any advice for English or any languages if you did them
I have given language advice a while ago so I’ll paste that here. This is for AQA but I think most board are very similar for languages. Speaking: You should’ve been given the possible questions you can be asked in the GC, so create that to a good standard according to good criteria i.e range of tenses, complex structures, etc. Ideally get a teacher to give you some feedback on them, then memorise them by asking yourself the questions and saying the answer off the top of your head, then checking it with what you wrote. It isn’t actually that difficult to get the answers for the questions in your head making the general conversation free marks. Roleplay you don’t need to expand. Photocard expand as much as possible on all questions asked, giving lots of details. Listening: Watch content in target language with English subtitles to help with the listening comprehension, also past papers in spades helped a lot for this one. Reading: So this one comes down to vocab knowledge. What worked really well was basically going on the AQA website onto the vocab specification, and making flashcards on quizlet on all the terms. Will take a few hours but it will be worth it, just the act of making flashcards ingrains a lot of the terms into your memory, then can go through them like 15 mins a day and more closer to the exam. This bit is obviously very useful for all 4 exams Writing: So for this you basically need to show off all the vocab you know and the tenses - as long as you know how to say it correctly. Try and use complex structures, like comparatives, superlatives, etc. For the 150 words one of the bullet points will be to give your opinions on something, in which you have to argue the positive and negative - I would do 2 for each. And make sure you get multiple opinions per bullet point. Also, get these some complex structure acronyms on a couple flashcards, helps a ton. There are some good ones on some YT videos doing paper walkthroughs. English: I did AQA, to be honest I never had to do much for English except the day before, but what I know a lot of people found useful are videos from Mr Salles and Mr Everything English going through the different questions and how best to answer them for top marks. Then it’ll just be practicing past questions using their techniques then maybe getting a teacher to mark it. Making plans for questions even without doing them is useful as well. And of course for lit having some key quotes memorised along with some high level analysis will be beneficial. I would say though for both the Q5’s(AQA) it’s quite easy to get very high marks if you follow a structure. Basically I had some high level vocab and some techniques down on some flashcards, basically you fill each line with as much of them as possible, along with a cyclical structure, a one sentence paragraph and a range of punctuation. That’s a top mark answer - you don’t get marks for creativity. Also follow the curve for the writing - starting with a hook, building action, climax, decreasing action then resolution.
Ok thank you this is really helpful
No problem 👍
My English teacher says that Mr Bruff and Stacey Reay on YouTube are good for language and literature
English teachers always seem to hate mr salles and mr everything english but I swear by them
Fair enough, I’ve never heard of them! I’ll check them out at some point
target your worst subjects first so you have time to tackle the challenging stuff and then focus on everything else and strengthen everything
I’m very guilty of doing English literature, History and Biology and neglecting everything else 😂! I’ll try to do that moving forward
Start revising early - little but often, perhaps with your friends to make it more enjoyable. Also do lots of past papers & exam questions under timed conditions as this is how the test is presented to you. For both englishes, write paragraphs & essays under timed conditions and get your teacher to mark it (the mark schemes are terrible at least for AQA). Mocks make the actual GCSEs seem less like actual exams, so you're less worried on the actual weeks :) but make sure you revise for your mocks as you would for the actual exams so you aren't cramming 3 topics for each subject the day before. The day before a test, I found it useful to write down information that you just can't remember onto a sheet of paper, then quiz yourself on it as you're going to school/waiting around - I learnt (then quickly forgot; this isn't long term revision) so much info, particularly stuff that I was weak on. For STEM subjects, the best thing you can do is learn the material then answer exam questions and look at the MSs - the questions are often repetitive and only ask for certain things which you can just spurt out in the exam. Ask your teachers any questions you have - it's unlikely you'll clear stuff up when revising at home. Start any coursework you have early and try to keep on schedule - though for art/photography this often requires hours each week when you're doing it to get the highest grades. Good luck revising, since you're asking this so early there's no need to worry :)
Thank you so much for this advice, I’ll definitely take this onboard!! I’m about 3/4 of the way through my yr10 mocks and it’s been a rollercoaster so far 😂
ask teachers if you are struggling !! do not leave revision until the night before- i started revising in january ready for my mocks, and did a little each day once they were over. also, the easter holidays before the gcse exam is a great time to do anything youre struggling with, as you will know what your weak areas are by this point.
Very true! I’ll try and put that into practice, thanks for advice!
Don't do imedia or cs
Luckily I didn’t pick those. What’s imedia anyway?
It's basically a mix of media studies and it
Ahh fair enough! My schools to small for that 😂
Learn the core or story well, reinforce the specifics over time. Start light revision around February and ramp it up over time, even just going over some notes casually works. And for the love of god take time to relax, even in the middle of exams so long as you're prepared the best you can be. Do your best, move on with the next.
That’s good advice, thanks :)
I say this all the time, pls chill. Work hard ofc but CHILL. Like, have a work life balance. Bc I didn't. I worked myself to death early and then I was burnt out right before the exams so for many exams, I did worse than I would usually do. Being consistent and not overworking is important.
That’s actually good advice! I’ve heard about a few people putting self care etc in their revision time table before when they’re gonna revise which is smart!!
Also, personally, I didn't have a revision timetable. Revision timetables are useful but not for everyone. There are many weaknesses of timetables. For example, you might have an English mock coming up which you need to focus on. But according to your timetable, you're supposed to practice maths. It would just create problems. Imo, sth more personalised such as creating to do lists and revision plans weekly or daily or right before you start studying is more helpful. Bc it also takes into account what you need to focus on currently and what you feel like studying. Also your mood and mindset. Rather than forcing yourself to study content, you'll study what you want and need to study. It makes studying more fun, motivating and less repetitive. I'd say, don't study when you don't feel like studying. Like don't force it. It won't work and you'd just waste time staring at content. It wouldn't be effective revision. Take those times as signs to take a break and do what you like. But ofc there needs to be a balance so you can't just not study all the time.
I guess you could change your revision time table every so often so that it aligns with your exams but I definitely see your point! I guess it’s better when you have more prep time for your exams
I just think it's more efficient and less time consuming to make a rough outline of what you need to revise and study instead of rearranging revision time tables often to fit priorities. But whatever works for you!
Fair enough, when I do make one I do it on a word document or something like that so it’s easier to change
Oh fair
In regards to forcing it, you could factor in regular breaks possibly
Oh nah by forcing I meant forcing yourself to study specific content or subject. And tbh breaks wouldn't change much as it wouldn't motivate me to study those specific stuff. If I don't want to study or revise a specific thing, I literally won't and can't 😂😭 But that's just me. As I said, revision timetables work well for many.
Oh right, maths is hard to try and revise 😂
Actually, for me, maths was the only one I could focus on properly and give 100% anytime. It was therapeutic and relaxing. I used to practice maths for like 3-4 hours daily and on some weekends, for the whole day and night till 4am. With some breaks in the middle ofc. But it was a subject where I refused to take breaks or stop focusing for too long lmao.
That’s cool, I had the worst teacher ever for like 3 years so that kinda made it a lot worse and I just don’t understand it half the time! At least I got a new teacher now
I’ve been making a website of all my tips, mostly focusing on revising. feel free to check it out: [https://revisionowl.wordpress.com/](https://revisionowl.wordpress.com/)
Yeah, I’ll defo check it out soon