When should I start revising for my GCSEs?

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(edited 5 years ago)

Hey guys!

So I keep on getting stressed out about my gcses, despite me being in Year 10. The problem is all the pressure from school. We had an assembly about the subject - apparently due to the removal of AS levels, most top universities will now look at your GCSEs, and some (according to my headteacher) will not even look at your application if you have anything less than an A. To study medicine at Birmingham, you need at least seven A*s and nothing less than an A.

My parents would like me to go to a private school for sixth form (I go to a grammar school currently) and I personally am aiming to get to Oxford or Cambridge. However with my current grades, that is unlikely to happen. I excel at maths (consistently top score in the year) but my english skills are poor... I average 50% in my tests. I am fairly, maybe above, average in sciences. It doesn't help that my Economics and Maths teacher are terrible.

Anyway, onto my question - early is obviously good for any exam, but how early is too early? Would it be a good idea to focus on improving my techniques and English skills first, then perhaps worrying about the knowledge next year? Also, what should/can I do about bad teachers? I've attempted to move Economics class, but I was unable to; according to students in other years, any complaints have been disregarded. Would it be a good idea to complain directly to the person who controls this kind of thing (I've forgotten the name)? The thought scares me to be honest, lol.

Any help is much appreciated, thank you :smile:

Year 10, especially this early on, is way too soon to try and start remembering content, I wouldn't worry about that until Year 11. I think now would be a perfect time for you to try and start improving your English skills. What is it that you find most difficult? Spelling, punctuation, the exam itself etc.?

Sorry to hear about you having a rubbish teacher :frown:

I would definitely recommend you complain to the person who is in charge of that. If you're scared maybe you could bring along one of your friends with you? I had one particularly bad teacher in year 10 and 11 that only taught us about half of the syllabus and then basically made us do the rest of it ourselves and I regret, along with a few other people who were in my class, not complaining as it was really frustrating having to teach myself a subject along with all the other work I had to do. I'd say the sooner you get it sorted out the better :smile:

Reply 2

Narcos

when your teacher says too

Reply 3

Naomeyz_01

Just start in year 11
If you start now by the time you start year 11, you would have forgotten everything
I think the only way you can do some revision is read ahead of your teacher in subjects such as science

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Reply 4

tg1998

I started revising in year ten. you will probably get end of year exams in year 10 anyway (if it is like how our school was). It's good to revise early, just remember to go back over it again in year 11. as i learnt little and often works far better than trying to revise entire subjects two days before the GCSE exams.

Sorry to hear about your teachers, i'm afraid most of us come across a couple of bad teachers in our time.

good luck

P.S. Im fascinated about the 7A* etc at gcse. I have never heard this before when applying for uni. All mine just go by A-levels e.g AAA

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 5

pip-10

I got 5 A*s, 4 As (one of the As was in english literature) and a B in English language. I also struggle in English. I was originally going to apply for medicine but decided I preferred dentistry better due to more contact hours and that I'd be using my hands more. The requirements are very similiar, I would even say the same, don't worry about GCSE results. Obviously, the more A*s the better. THe way you should think about it in , is yes there will be applicants getting 8 or 9 A*s who get in. But certain unis take this into account more than others e.g. Liverpool(for dentistry at least). Therefore I am applying to unis that look at UKCAT scores more so Newcastle, Glasgow, Dundee and Manchester. If your capable of doing medicine you will get in. There will be a uni who is looking for an applicant like you while other places will be looking for a different types of applicants. Also I think you teacher was trying to stress the chill people out not you. Also, there will be even more places per applicant compared to previous years when you apply so you will only be even more likely to get in. The only thing that is really paramount is not get Cs and getting As at A level. Anything else , UKCAT score and personal statement, can be fixed with a gap year.

Reply 6

paranoid197

Hey!
I've been where you are right now. I can relate to that pressure. For me it was my parents who wanted me to do medicine at Oxford. But the thing is...if someone else set's you a really high goal, your really gonna get fed up with it and give up (at least in my experience). Your parents probably mean well, for wanting to send you to a good university and I know that you don't want to let them down. But if it's already hard as it is, maybe you should take it a step back a notch. What grade do you think you can get? Whatever grade it maybe, get that grade in your next test. If you need some help, ask a close friend, or a teacher you like/trust. Aim to get that grade in your next test. Then, kick it up to the next grade. When you set your self achievable targets, your more willing to do them, and the mental reward you get when you accomplish them is awesome. If you do it this way, your more likely to stay on task and not stress.

Now on to the answer you actually wanted :colondollar:

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Right now, i would say just revise the things you learnt on that day. Read the notes, and write them down. Start making short notes. I'd say about half an hour of revision is fine. It's never too early to revise!

I'm so sorry but I'm afraid i cant answer the question about your English revision. Barely passed mine :frown:

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As for your economics class, if you feel like you aren't learning anything, it's bad to keep it until it's too late. Might be best if you talk to your parents about it as well.

Don't worry , if your already going to a grammar school, your smart enough to get into medicine. Just remember that I only got 1 A , loads of Bs and Cs and failed 2 of my subjects, but I still want to go to medicine and it's completely doable.

Good luck and sorry for the long post!

Reply 7

MyNameIsSaraOk

I suggest you start constantly recapping the topics you have covered in class so far. So at the end of the week, for example for science each sunday, just go over the topics you have done so far in lesson and review them so that they are always fresh in your memory. Of course when you get further into the year you'll have to plan out what topics you review because you can't fit them all on one day xD
I also think its a good idea if you start reading ahead of class (once youve nailed what you've done so far) because when I did my GCSE's for some subjects, especially the sciences we barely managed to finish all the content.
And the overall advice I can give you is to stay motivated and get your hands on as many past paper questions as possible, because there is only a certain amount of questions that can be asked, so the examiners reuse the same questions over and over but in different wordings and so on.
Good Luck

Reply 8

The Byrd

Bro, it's never too early. Revise everything when you learn it and keep going over it. I wish I had adopted this method since, like, year seven because now, not only do I have to go over things from the past that I don't get, but also consolidate what I'm learning in lessons. Just start revising now, bro, because if you think you're under a lot of pressure at the moment in year ten, wait until next year.