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Anyone else feeling bored & fed up of GCSEs?

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Reply 140
Original post by AishaTara
you've got 8 other subjects which is enough so get good grades in those, and you'll be fine :smile: you can also use the dentistry program created by vulpes to check which universities you are eligble to apply to with your results! But, your results are fine for dentistry!


Thanks for the encouragement. Work ethic isn't a probalem for me as I can motivate myself whenever I need to. The problem is I just can't find the time to concentrate on all of these subjects. In the past, I've revised properly for my science, maths and maybe for Geography. But for the rest, I've left them to the end as I believe there's not much you can possibly revise.

I believe that my school are responsible for my decision to pick the Btec. It's called Fulwood Academy and it's ****. Only 75% of students achieved 5 A*-C grades which just tells the story. The Btec teacher not only told me but also my dad that it's worth 4 A*-C grades. This changed my mindset and I was thinking '4 A* grades could make a huge difference'. The fu*king problem is that after a full year of hard work and commitment, I was told that it's only worth 1 and in some cases 2 GCSE grades. And now after doing some individual research, I have come to know that it's worth jack sh*t. I mean I could've done another GCSE instead and achieved possibly another A/A*. They've already ruined half of my dreams. Now I'll have to work twice as hard to achieve the neccessary grades if I want any chance of becoming a dentist.
Original post by kILLERm
Thanks for the encouragement. Work ethic isn't a probalem for me as I can motivate myself whenever I need to. The problem is I just can't find the time to concentrate on all of these subjects. In the past, I've revised properly for my science, maths and maybe for Geography. But for the rest, I've left them to the end as I believe there's not much you can possibly revise.

I believe that my school are responsible for my decision to pick the Btec. It's called Fulwood Academy and it's ****. Only 75% of students achieved 5 A*-C grades which just tells the story. The Btec teacher not only told me but also my dad that it's worth 4 A*-C grades. This changed my mindset and I was thinking '4 A* grades could make a huge difference'. The fu*king problem is that after a full year of hard work and commitment, I was told that it's only worth 1 and in some cases 2 GCSE grades. And now after doing some individual research, I have come to know that it's worth jack sh*t. I mean I could've done another GCSE instead and achieved possibly another A/A*. They've already ruined half of my dreams. Now I'll have to work twice as hard to achieve the neccessary grades if I want any chance of becoming a dentist.


Don't think like that! you could always pick up GCSE statistics over the summer do that, and get an A or A*. Most people I know who got an A* or A in maths got the same grade in stats, and personally i self studied it in 3 weeks and got a good grade. Don't worry about the btec now, whats done is done, but its a mistake you can learn from! Next time you'll research stuff and decide how credible your source is. for example, your teachers sometimes aren't very reliable, so dont go by what they say. Coming from a bad school often gives you an advantage.
Plus if youre from a bad school you can go through an access program which means you only need ABB or BBC at a-level.
8 gcses are A* and A grade are enough, if theres any subject I can help with- e.g. with revision tips, notes etc feel free to message me. I had 26 GCSE exams and although half exams I left revision till the last minute, I managed to pull some good grades, and tbh if I can do it, anyone can! :smile:
Original post by Florence321
Don't worry guys, I felt exactly the same way this time last year. I remember just being so sick of them - it felt like my whole school life had been leading up to GCSEs so by the time they were coming to a head it seemed like we'd been doing them forever. Just try to get into a routine for revising and stay organised, have a break if you get stressed and drink lots of tea (it was during GCSEs that I became a fan of the radio and addicted to tea! Fearne Cotton, Greg James and PG Tips definitely helped me through that period :smile: ) The good thing about GCSEs though, is that because you've been doing them for so long you already know exactly what you need to focus on and your best way of revising. Just try to make it through the next few weeks, do your best, then you can have a great summer and it will all be worth it on results day!

People would always say to me "GCSEs will become a distant memory - at the time, they're all-consuming, but you will barely remember them". Of course, that sounded ridiculous and I thought they were the most important thing in the world. But, honestly, it is true. All those hours I spent learning about mitosis and the different tests for acids have literally disappeared from my memory, and now when I think of that period I can only remember Bruno Mars being repeatedly on the radio and the relief I felt on walking out of the exam hall each day.

Don't worry about A Levels yet - yes, they're harder, but personally I think it's more because the exams and assessment criteria are so different to GCSE, and while you've had years to learn how to answer GCSE questions you have no time to adjust to A Level. So, just revise hard now - don't leave yourself the opportunity to look back and say "If I'd worked harder I would've done better" - have a great summer and truly relax (you'll need to be fully recharged come September!) and then when you get back to school stay organised and ask for help from the beginning.

Good luck!


This was one of my favorite posts. I'm taking 27 exams this may/june along with 2 art exams next week! I truly do feel that it is the "most important thing in my life. I feel alot of pressure to get straight A* (i am doin igcse btw) but your post made me feel a bit better... thank you!
Reply 143
Original post by Cubic
Answering on behalf of every sane person: circuits.


Haha you know!
HAHAHAHAAHA.

Sorry thats just so funny.... Wait til a levels and university.
Reply 145
Original post by kILLERm
Only 75% of students achieved 5 A*-C grades which just tells the story.


75% is good mate, most state schools are around the 60-70% mark.
Reply 146
Original post by brightbulb
75% is good mate, most state schools are around the 60-70% mark.


It's an academy. And I hate it. Most of the teachers just can't be bothered to remark any cousework. I'm doing 8 and 1/2 GCSEs and I need at least 5 As to have a chance of Dentistry. I already have 1 A for Science Core. But the problem is that I'm so close to an A for English Language but I'm not getting any support and encouragement from the teachers. They always seem to say 'They have gone for moderation so we can't tell you where you're at the moment because it could change.' I just want a brief image of where I'm at and they just seem to come up with excuses whenever I try to approach them.

I mean would 5 or more As be good enough for dentistry after attempting 8 full GCSEs?
Reply 147
Original post by AishaTara
Don't think like that! you could always pick up GCSE statistics over the summer do that, and get an A or A*. Most people I know who got an A* or A in maths got the same grade in stats, and personally i self studied it in 3 weeks and got a good grade. Don't worry about the btec now, whats done is done, but its a mistake you can learn from! Next time you'll research stuff and decide how credible your source is. for example, your teachers sometimes aren't very reliable, so dont go by what they say. Coming from a bad school often gives you an advantage.
Plus if youre from a bad school you can go through an access program which means you only need ABB or BBC at a-level.
8 gcses are A* and A grade are enough, if theres any subject I can help with- e.g. with revision tips, notes etc feel free to message me. I had 26 GCSE exams and although half exams I left revision till the last minute, I managed to pull some good grades, and tbh if I can do it, anyone can! :smile:


Hey can you sit a GCSE in Statistics over the Summer? Because I was planning to do it in yr 12 because my School is crap as well I'm doing a GCSE in Astronomy and Latin in yr 12 as well to beef up my GCSEs btw GCSEs aren't that important and I need to compensate it for a D or a C in English Literature..
Original post by iSoftie
Hey can you sit a GCSE in Statistics over the Summer? Because I was planning to do it in yr 12 because my School is crap as well I'm doing a GCSE in Astronomy and Latin in yr 12 as well to beef up my GCSEs btw GCSEs aren't that important and I need to compensate it for a D or a C in English Literature..

Not over the summer but in Novemeber, however you can do the work over summer. I wouldn't do too many though as you dont want your a-levels to suffer.
I had this issue a lot at GCSE and guess what... I still have it at A-Level :'D
Original post by FranticMind

Wow IB is supposed to be tough! Well I picked A levels that I was into, so I pretty much narrowed down the degrees into what I could do and what I enjoyed.

I then picked from them what I thought to be the best course relating to what I enjoyed studying at A level. As for university, I picked the highest ranked one that I thought I would enjoy studying at.


It is supposed to be, I have no idea how I'm going to handle it with my personality, haha. Ahh, thanks a lot, that helps a lot! Going to be a few chaotic years for me.
Reply 151
Original post by lil-mazie
Mate, im in the same boat as you. I have always wanted to do dentistry since....well i can remember but to be honest i was a pretty lazy person who NEVER revised, sometimes i got Bs and As but other times i have Ds and Cs.
So it would level out pretty average.
Any who i plan on doing Biology, Chemistry and french (people have told me to do maths but i think my brain would die) I haven't finished my GCSEs but i'm sure when i have done I won't leave with the best grades, especially for a dentistry course which really leaves me in a pickle:s-smilie:
I also heard that in Kings they do a foundation course fr people who want to get in dentistry but it would be an added year for the full 5 year course, I'm not to sure about it so you should research it


Hey, I'm considering on doing dentistry as well. Is this foundation course that you are talking about for people who didn't do science at A level? Or is it a different course? Can you please tell me more info about it? :smile: thanks
Reply 152
Original post by Wintabix
Hey, I'm considering on doing dentistry as well. Is this foundation course that you are talking about for people who didn't do science at A level? Or is it a different course? Can you please tell me more info about it? :smile: thanks


http://search.ucas.com/cgi-bin/hsrun/search/search/StateId/QoUN2wgDKxRTOWOAuWqaAJefTJ_fw-3H8J/HAHTpage/search.HsKeywordSearch.whereNext?query=181&word=DENTISTRY

Nope. Same thing. It's because they are aware of schools that just generally have bad results and would compromise those people who have a real aptitude. A fair chance for all.
Original post by kILLERm
It may be a huge step from GCSE to A Level but think about it. You will have far less subjects to concentrate on. This'll mean that you will be able to concentrate on your prefered subjects. Most Unis don't take your GCSE results into account. If the demand for a certain course gets too high then it may be neccessary to look further into the image and maybe judge you on your GCSE results. What are you looking to become and what are you predicted for your GCSEs at the moment?


I'm predicted As in everything except for Geography, History, Art and Science which are A*s. I'm not 100% sure what I want to become but I am particularly interested in doing Audiology or possibly Psychology. I've decided that I'm going to cut back to three A Levels now because I'm taking Fine Art at A Level which is a heavy workload and takes up a lot of time. I'm not taking Psychology anymore because I don't want two 'soft subjects' if I'm only doing three :smile:

Hope everyone's exams are going well! :biggrin: xxx
i'm in year 12 and i found GCSEs way, way harder than A level. I couldn't cope with doing 11/12 subjects, and I much prefer doing 3/4 now. I dreaded A levels because of idiotic year 12's saying how hard it would be, but honestly A levels just work better for some people! Don't be put off by older people just being rude for the sake of it x
GCSEs

In my case 9 subjects (I don’t count Further Maths as separate since there’s massive content overlap with gcse, and you can get a C or B at least with just standard gcse knowledge if you’re proficient with it). With maths and physics I was bored and wanted to do more advanced material. French was interesting but very challenging for me. The others just bored me to tears. But I stuck with them because I knew that the grades were important.

Truth be told, I did a lot of last minute revision for my sciences and geography. I got an 8 in geography and A* A* A in my sciences (A in chemistry, bugged up my second exam). The reason I only got an A in chemistry is because I panicked. Do NOT make that mistake. It won’t help you at all. Stay calm, cover the content properly if you realise you don’t know it (I went through it frantically and irrationally). When in the exam control your nerves and if need be write down key facts on the front of your paper so you don’t forget them. I did this for the entirety of ethanol production and the haber and contact processes because I’d only just properly learnt them in the 25 minutes prior to the exam. What I did afterwards was the critical error. I rushed through the exam in a spate of panic and ended up finishing in 35 minutes (my allowance is 75). No amount of error checking could compensate for the number of silly mistakes I made as a result of that pace. Combined with that second paper being an incredibly easy paper, the grade boundary for that paper was extremely high and I paid for my silly mistakes with my grade. Don’t do that.

Rules of GCSE success:
1. Do not panic
2. Clearly plan what revision you need to do when around the time you start to finish the syllabus in your classes.
3. Do plenty of past papers where they are available. If there is a shortage, then use them wisely as diagnostic tools to see your progress.
4. This starts early, but always pay attention in class and make sure you care about your learning. In geography and sciences, I had extremely rowdy classes. I spoke with my teachers about the problems, and checked on the options. Your learning environment must be suitable for you, to the best degree that is achievable. Else you’re wasting potential.

A Levels are conceptually more difficult, but that’s to be expected. They’re the next level of study, and go into significantly greater depth than gcse’s. Because you’re doing 3-5 of them, not 10-13 as most of my friends did. If you have a specific interest in the subjects you take at A level, it’ll feel easier and less tedious. GCSE is a pain for specialised students, but you’ll get through it 🙂

If you’re wondering how I did:
Maths igcse-9 (😅) (screwed up both papers. No idea how this happened!
Further Maths L2- A* 😅 (no idea how this happened at all)
English Language igcse-8 😅
English Literature igcse- B 🙁 (I messed up to an extent I still do not understand, and I don’t intend to touch this subject ever again. As per my calculations I got about 30% in my actual exams. I essentially passed English literature entirely on my coursework)
Geography-8 😑 (rowdy class and all)
French-7 😅 (7 marks off an 8)
Biology igcse- A* 🙂 (still pretty low scoring)
Chemistry igcse- A 😑 (wasn’t expecting this, especially with my misplaced confidence after paper 2)
Physics igcse- A* 😅 (my best result other than maths, got 90% on paper 2)
Business Studies- A 😡 (my teachers marking was way too lenient and I couldn’t have prepared myself for how harsh CIE marking was. Also kinda screwed up Paper 2)
GCSE’s are nothing compared to A-levels, the stress is really bad, and if your not the revise type, I suggest you look into apprenticeships, they are pretty new thats why there’s not as much promotion for it as here will be later on, but it’s honestly a really good choice and you should look into it. You will still study along with it but you would work more and earn

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