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is one month until GCSEs too late. tips please

I'm predicted all A stars and one A but I have left my revision until now (one month before my first exams). So far in my mocks I have only gotten a stars and the occasional A without revision but I think that the system in my school is kind of flawed so I take those grades with a pinch of salt.
I dont know how to revise effectively for my additional and further sciences (mainly because i have so much material just sitting in my room and I dont know where to start). I have to learn RE and french from scratch because of crap teaching and I havent started at all on history, geography or english ( even though I'm not too stressed about english or maths) Could I get all a stars or is it too late and does anyone have any tips to help me for science?
there are probably a lot of these threads but im really stressed out and could do with some reassurance or advice.
Thanks.

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Reply 1
Don't panic! You're predicted all A*s so you obviously smart :smile: Starting working everyday until the exams and you could surely get the grades you want. May I ask what exam boards you're with as I might have some resources that could help you out?
Reply 2
Also I want to do medicine so i am aware how important GCSEs are. All A stars would be great - i'm not trying to be overambitious or say that As are not good enough but I just want to acheive my own personal goal. Thanks
Reply 3
Original post by luciie
Don't panic! You're predicted all A*s so you obviously smart :smile: Starting working everyday until the exams and you could surely get the grades you want. May I ask what exam boards you're with as I might have some resources that could help you out?


Thanks for the advice. my exam boards are:
AQA for all sciences
Edexcel for RE unit 3 and 10
Edexcel for Geography
Edexcel for history
Edexcel for french
Reply 5

Thanks so much. I have my freinds Mygcsescience and i dont know how i feel about it. Im willing to just rely on it completely but im hesitant as idk whether he covers everything... Do you think its sufficient revision material?
Reply 6
Original post by za07
Thanks so much. I have my freinds Mygcsescience and i dont know how i feel about it. Im willing to just rely on it completely but im hesitant as idk whether he covers everything... Do you think its sufficient revision material?


I couldn't tell you as I don't do AQA science, but looking at what I've read about it on here I've only seen positive comments about it :smile: I'm not 100% sure but I think using mygcsescience + going through past papers would probably be enough.

Maybe you could get the AQA specification and look through the science videos to make sure everything is there?
Original post by za07
I'm predicted all A stars and one A but I have left my revision until now (one month before my first exams). So far in my mocks I have only gotten a stars and the occasional A without revision but I think that the system in my school is kind of flawed so I take those grades with a pinch of salt.
I dont know how to revise effectively for my additional and further sciences (mainly because i have so much material just sitting in my room and I dont know where to start). I have to learn RE and french from scratch because of crap teaching and I havent started at all on history, geography or english ( even though I'm not too stressed about english or maths) Could I get all a stars or is it too late and does anyone have any tips to help me for science?
there are probably a lot of these threads but im really stressed out and could do with some reassurance or advice.
Thanks.


Hi there. You're clearly a smart person who has made the disorganised (but save-able) decision to leave revision until the last minute. Take a deep breath, all will be well. Most of us have been exactly where you now stand.

Remember this: time means nothing. Motivation, and good planning, is everything. If you plan your revision well, you'll be able to get more done in four weeks than most people could achieve in four months.

So what does good planning involve?
1. Set goals for the topics and subjects you'll cover each day. Stick to them.
2. Invest in some good revision guides, especially for the subjects you had bad teachers in. Actually, learning to teach yourself topics can be one of the best skills you'll gain, that will stand you in good stead for university.
3. Watch, as some other commenters have recommended, some YouTube video series, but - here's the trick - do not waste time. Only watch a video if it is relevant to a topic you are studying, that you find difficult, and need a bit of extra explaining to understand.
4. Know thy syllabus! I cannot emphasize this enough. You'll find copies of subject syllabuses online, on the websites of the specific exam boards. Memorise the checkpoints of what you are expected to know and then go learn them.
5. Past papers and questions: do them. You will only realise how little you know - and be able to correct it - if you prioritise answering these. At least one a night. Do these under exam conditions, try to figure out how the mark scheme awards points, and learn to write like this. Many intelligent people lose marks because they fail to understand what examiners want to hear. So, while you may feel you have no time, make the time - this is an investment that will definitely be worth it.

Good luck! If you have any more questions, I'm only a message away. As someone who found themselves in the library, the lunchtime before one of their final IB Biology unit exams, trying to finish revision, just know that I completely emphasize with your poor plight, and am here to offer you hope. :wink:
Hey I do AQA science and I definitely think you should use both the MyGCSEscience videos and also a text book to revise from. I find that the videos can be quite basic at times so having that extra detail from your text book can really help you get that extra knowledge in.


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Reply 9
Original post by dalaltahira
Hey I do AQA science and I definitely think you should use both the MyGCSEscience videos and also a text book to revise from. I find that the videos can be quite basic at times so having that extra detail from your text book can really help you get that extra knowledge in.


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Thanks for the advice. I'll try to juggle between the two.
Reply 10
Original post by CamInsider
Hi there. You're clearly a smart person who has made the disorganised (but save-able) decision to leave revision until the last minute. Take a deep breath, all will be well. Most of us have been exactly where you now stand.

Remember this: time means nothing. Motivation, and good planning, is everything. If you plan your revision well, you'll be able to get more done in four weeks than most people could achieve in four months.

So what does good planning involve?
1. Set goals for the topics and subjects you'll cover each day. Stick to them.
2. Invest in some good revision guides, especially for the subjects you had bad teachers in. Actually, learning to teach yourself topics can be one of the best skills you'll gain, that will stand you in good stead for university.
3. Watch, as some other commenters have recommended, some YouTube video series, but - here's the trick - do not waste time. Only watch a video if it is relevant to a topic you are studying, that you find difficult, and need a bit of extra explaining to understand.
4. Know thy syllabus! I cannot emphasize this enough. You'll find copies of subject syllabuses online, on the websites of the specific exam boards. Memorise the checkpoints of what you are expected to know and then go learn them.
5. Past papers and questions: do them. You will only realise how little you know - and be able to correct it - if you prioritise answering these. At least one a night. Do these under exam conditions, try to figure out how the mark scheme awards points, and learn to write like this. Many intelligent people lose marks because they fail to understand what examiners want to hear. So, while you may feel you have no time, make the time - this is an investment that will definitely be worth it.

Good luck! If you have any more questions, I'm only a message away. As someone who found themselves in the library, the lunchtime before one of their final IB Biology unit exams, trying to finish revision, just know that I completely emphasize with your poor plight, and am here to offer you hope. :wink:


Thank you so much for that comprehensive advice. I'll definitely take it on board and it's good to see that I'm not the only one who has been in this position. If I have any more questions I'll be sure to ask you you seem very helpful.
Reply 11
Original post by luciie
I couldn't tell you as I don't do AQA science, but looking at what I've read about it on here I've only seen positive comments about it :smile: I'm not 100% sure but I think using mygcsescience + going through past papers would probably be enough.

Maybe you could get the AQA specification and look through the science videos to make sure everything is there?


Yeah I'll double check the spec. The guy claims to cover all of it but when I refer to my book it seems like theres some stuff missing.
HI ik this is a year on but I'm In a similar situation and if you don't mind I was wondering what results you got 🙂
For AQA science. Freesciencelessons on youtube is amazing. Every he teaches is on the specification and i just find him very useful.

Also, he has flashcards on his website (if you type freesciencelessons on google) which are really effective.
Reply 14
I'm in the exact same position high targets but haven't even started revising yet any advice and revision methods?
Here are my following subjects
Maths (edexcel)
Science core+additional (AQA)
R.m (AQA)
RE
History
English Lit and Lang
Reply 15
Original post by SG118
I'm in the exact same position high targets but haven't even started revising yet any advice and revision methods?
Here are my following subjects
Maths (edexcel)
Science core+additional (AQA)
R.m (AQA)
RE
History
English Lit and Lang


You're a little pushed for time but if you start putting in 100% effort from now you should be fine. If you're targets are high then you're obviously capable. I did my GCSEs last year and what I found helpful for maths was to just to every past paper I could fine and if I couldn't do or struggled with any questions I would look for a revision video or in a textbook so I could go over it. Does your school have any maths programmes for you to use (like MathsWatch, for example?)

For science here are some videos that might help: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=aqa+science+core+gcse. Again, past papers are really important as for most subjects the questions tend to be repeated a lot. Go through past papers, pick out topics you struggle with the most and just go over them. You could also come up with questions to test yourself with or create flashcards or mind-maps with the key information so it's easier to take in. Another big thing is mark schemes and examiner reports. Going through these will help you see what the examiners are looking for and it'll tell you what the common mistakes were in past years.

Are you with Edexcel for RE? These may help: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrMcMillanREvis/playlists.

For English lit make sure you know the books well, you can't write an essay on something you don't know that well. Read through chapter summaries and go on websites such as SparkNotes and CliffsNotes for help with analysis and quotes. I would recommend creating some sort of poster for each character/theme and writing down what quotes you could use for each and the importance of that character/theme in the book. If you have time you could also write essay plans for all the questions you think could come up. I'm guessing your poems are already annotated? If you just focus and learn one poem a day starting from tomorrow you should know them all by the time of your exam.

English language is quite a hard one to revise for. I know the specification has changed this year so I can't really offer much advice but I would just say make sure you know all the key terminology.

Sorry I can't be of much use for your other subjects as I didn't study them. I know it may feel like you have mountains to get through but if you start setting yourself targets everyday you'll quickly get through it all. Plus think of the long summer you'll have after your exams - you don't want to spend it worrying and regretting not doing enough work.

Good luck :smile:
(edited 6 years ago)
Reply 16
Original post by okayseoul
You're a little pushed for time but if you start putting in 100% effort from now you should be fine. If you're targets are high then you're obviously capable. I did my GCSEs last year and what I found helpful for maths was to just to every past paper I could fine and if I couldn't do or struggled with any questions I would look for a revision video or in a textbook so I could go over it. Does your school have any maths programmes for you to use (like MathsWatch, for example?)

For science here are some videos that might help: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=aqa+science+core+gcse. Again, past papers are really important as for most subjects the questions tend to be repeated a lot. Go through past papers, pick out topics you struggle with the most and just go over them. You could also come up with questions to test yourself with or create flashcards or mind-maps with the key information so it's easier to take in. Another big thing is mark schemes and examiner reports. Going through these will help you see what the examiners are looking for and it'll tell you what the common mistakes were in past years.

Are you with Edexcel for RE? These may help: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrMcMillanREvis/playlists.

For English lit make sure you know the books well, you can't write an essay on something you don't know that well. Read through chapter summaries and go on websites such as SparkNotes and CliffsNotes for help with analysis and quotes. I would recommend creating some sort of poster for each character/theme and writing down what quotes you could use for each and the importance of that character/theme in the book. If you have time you could also write essay plans for all the questions you think could come up. I'm guessing your poems are already annotated? If you just focus and learn one poem a day starting from tomorrow you should know them all by the time of your exam.

English language is quite a hard one to revise for. I know the specification has changed this year so I can't really offer much advice but I would just say make sure you know all the key terminology.

Sorry I can't be of much use for your other subjects as I didn't study them. I know it may feel like you have mountains to get through but if you start setting yourself targets everyday you'll quickly get through it all. Plus think of the long summer you'll have after your exams - you don't want to spend it worrying and regretting not doing enough work.

Good luck :smile:


Yeh we have mathswatch and thanks
Original post by okayseoul
You're a little pushed for time but if you start putting in 100% effort from now you should be fine. If you're targets are high then you're obviously capable. I did my GCSEs last year and what I found helpful for maths was to just to every past paper I could fine and if I couldn't do or struggled with any questions I would look for a revision video or in a textbook so I could go over it. Does your school have any maths programmes for you to use (like MathsWatch, for example?)

For science here are some videos that might help: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=aqa+science+core+gcse. Again, past papers are really important as for most subjects the questions tend to be repeated a lot. Go through past papers, pick out topics you struggle with the most and just go over them. You could also come up with questions to test yourself with or create flashcards or mind-maps with the key information so it's easier to take in. Another big thing is mark schemes and examiner reports. Going through these will help you see what the examiners are looking for and it'll tell you what the common mistakes were in past years.

Are you with Edexcel for RE? These may help: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrMcMillanREvis/playlists.

For English lit make sure you know the books well, you can't write an essay on something you don't know that well. Read through chapter summaries and go on websites such as SparkNotes and CliffsNotes for help with analysis and quotes. I would recommend creating some sort of poster for each character/theme and writing down what quotes you could use for each and the importance of that character/theme in the book. If you have time you could also write essay plans for all the questions you think could come up. I'm guessing your poems are already annotated? If you just focus and learn one poem a day starting from tomorrow you should know them all by the time of your exam.

English language is quite a hard one to revise for. I know the specification has changed this year so I can't really offer much advice but I would just say make sure you know all the key terminology.

Sorry I can't be of much use for your other subjects as I didn't study them. I know it may feel like you have mountains to get through but if you start setting yourself targets everyday you'll quickly get through it all. Plus think of the long summer you'll have after your exams - you don't want to spend it worrying and regretting not doing enough work.

Good luck :smile:

I'm not the one needed advise but that is very kind of you.

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Reply 18
Im in the same boat as you! Left my revision a month before and predicted high grades.

Im especially worried for maths- I feel as if there is so much content and im struggling to get my head around the new specification. The shortage of past papers for the new worded questions makes it more challenging & i am very worried.
Reply 19
Original post by thekooks1476
HI ik this is a year on but I'm In a similar situation and if you don't mind I was wondering what results you got 🙂


I got all a stars after some hardcore cramming - in the exact same position i was in a year ago for my AS grades now lol - dont leave it at A levels i have to sacrifice one if I want good predictions on my mains. you should be fine with GCSEs though - apart from maths ive heard that has become much harder

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