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How hard did YOU work.

This is (for the most part) addressed to people with A and A* GCSE results. I am looking to achieve these grades and it seems mostly possible according to my mock exam results.
I am just wondering how hard did you work?
(Yes, this is a pretty broad question - I am just looking for any response really and if you have anything interesting to say on the matter)

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Reply 1

emilyjaaayne

I got half A's and half B's in my exams, a few UMS off a few A*'s so they were A's nonetheless however if I'd worked a little harder I could have bumped my grades definitely, moral of the story is to work the hardest you can because then you know that whatever you come out with, you couldn't have done anything more, saves you from regretting trust me

Reply 2

luismartin2499

Original post by emilyjaaayne

Yes, I suppose if I come out of these exams next year thinking "Damn! I wish that I… (blah blah blah)", I would not be too happy.

:cool:

Did regret make you work harder in your A-Levels (or whatever you did next)?

Reply 3

emilyjaaayne

Original post by luismartin2499

Yes, I suppose if I come out of these exams next year thinking "Damn! I wish that I… (blah blah blah)", I would not be too happy.

:cool:

Did regret make you work harder in your A-Levels (or whatever you did next)?

definitely, I worked a lot harder for my AS exams, I mean I went from doing a weeks revision at GCSE to revising since March for my AS
my GCSE grades weren't bad but I knew I could have done better which is something I don't feel this year :smile:

for the sake of a few months, forking your ass off is totally worth it

Reply 4

Marcusroye98

I mainly get A's and i did an hour - two hours a day :smile:

including homework :smile:

Reply 5

Gabriel96

I got 9 A* grades and 3 A grades. I remember I didn't do a lot of work in the first year of my GCSEs but worked quite hard in the second but, to be honest, my whole GCSEs is kind of a blur.

Reply 6

Sulfur

Original post by luismartin2499

I've finished my GCSEs and I'm waiting for my results, but I've already finished Maths and English Literature (both A*s).

For Maths, I revised a lot - I went from a grade D (Year 9) to an A* by the end of the exams overall. We did three units, I revised a lot for my first unit and then my revision was less gradual for the others. I began revising a month or a little later for each maths exam for about an hour and a bit a day, I really needed it at the time though until the last unit where I felt comfortable and did about an hour and a bit every couple of days.

For English Literature, I didn't really revise. We had two exams, the first being on drama and prose and the second on poetry. I read the prose about three weeks before the exam and wrote quotes for certain characters - I took a risk and only revised ones that hadn't really come up and predicted (a very big risk) - logically, the ones that I wanted more or less came up. For poetry, we had a week to revise before that exam, so I just spent hours each day going over the poems that hadn't come up - and once again, logically, they came up. Sadly though, for people doing the English Literature exam on Edexcel (IGCSE) can't really do this anymore, since all of the poems have now come up! :tongue:

(Except 'The Tyger' but I'm going off topic now.)

Reply 7

_Dreamville_

I'm expected a mixture of A*'s, A's and B's and I did little to no revision.

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Reply 8

Stinkum

Very hard. I kept on top of everything, always quickly finishing any work that needs to be done.

Reply 9

AmyAintDead

I got a few A*s, a few As and a couple of Bs at GCSE and I started revision early, doing a little bit of revision every day from Feburary until the exams. However, it all depends on how you work. I like studying little chunks of work over a long period of time.

Reply 10

StayCoolGuys

Original post by AlphaNick

I made just under 100,000 words of revision notes and exam practice for all subjects throughout year 10 and 11... and I'm hoping to get 9 A*s and 2 As and I think I have got those.

Do you think it was worth the effort to seemingly, make notes for most subjects? I'm considering doing something like this but I'm worried that it just wouldn't be worth the effort and I'd be better off just hardcore revising in the months leading up to the exams.

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Reply 11

24 A Stars

Original post by AlphaNick

I made just under 100,000 words of revision notes and exam practice for all subjects throughout year 10 and 11... and I'm hoping to get 9 A*s and 2 As and I think I have got those.

I only started revising 2 weeks before exams and I'm predicted/guaranteed 13A*s and lol you revised since year 10 and hoping for 9A*s and 2As.

Reply 12

Ecconomist

Original post by 24 A Stars

I only started revising 2 weeks before exams and I'm predicted/guaranteed 13A*s and lol you revised since year 10 and hoping for 9A*s and 2As.

You must be very naturally intelligent; I'd be surprised however if you could approach A-Levels in the same way. Either way, impressive stuff and good luck (but sounds like you've got it in the bag anyway).

However, 9 A* is equally very impressive and certainly nothing to be sneered at. In fact, I'm aiming for 9 A* and 3 As myself, and I approached it differently. I did a lot of work in year 10 and throughout the summer; it meant that I had the courage to do relatively little (1.5 - 2 hrs a day) during study leave and actually revise rather than learn.

Good luck everybody on results day.

Reply 13

24 A Stars

Original post by AlphaNick

I didn't revise from year 10 I made revision material so that I could revise efficiently in year 11, rather than hopping around the stupid textbooks, praying that the information sinks in. And as for you, I would love to see how you come out on results day.

Oh... you 'didn't' revise in year 10(?), so you're ofcourse not very intelligent.

Reply 14

TheGreatImposter

I started working when the Easter holidays started and did an average of about 6 hours a day, give or take a few depending on my mood,
Considering I didn't do anything for the last two years and I was doing coursework up until the end of April it was difficult to revise for my exams as I haven't done so before,
What I did learn was how I work under pressure, and yes I worked so hard, I remember on some days I'd revise, eat, revise and sleep and repeat because I knew I was only sacrificing a month of my life,
I made notes for all 2/3s of science and geography, I reread the textbooks/ revision guides for the rest of my subjects and made notes out of mark schemes,
The funniest thing is, my effort was in vain and if I didn't revise I'd have gotten Bs and even if I did I will get Bs, albeit I won't feel guilty about not revising and now I'm very motivated about doing work at AS and getting all A/A*s,
If you want my notes for the sciences (I typed them up) you can ask me, I've used the spec, mygcsescience and the textbooks and bitesize so there isn't anything you'll need (it has extensive knowledge because I revise around what is required - a good skill which will help me next year)
Oh and I learn by understanding, once I know how stuff works I'll more or less always remember, I can't memorise, like most kids do at GCSE and get A*s, another skill which will help me next year, I think my brain is just better equipped for higher education
(I notice I went off the subject so I apologise) :colondollar:

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Reply 15

interstitial

Did hardly any real work until like a couple of days before, had mega cram sessions the morning of an exam

I regret nothing

Reply 16

fnatic NateDestiel

Original post by Arithmeticae

Did hardly any real work until like a couple of days before, had mega cram sessions the morning of an exam

I regret nothing

Yeah but did you revise for module tests, do homework and completely focus in lessons?

Reply 17

gpr

Original post by luismartin2499

I'd say at the time I worked pretty hard, but with hindsight (after a levels and university) it doesn't compare so much anymore. I got one A*, two Bs and the rest As. I think I lived on Sam learning for the whole two months leading up to exams and highlighted every text book in reach. My bedroom wall was also covered in sticky notes with quotes and page numbers for English. My parents found that quite amusing.

Reply 18

interstitial

Original post by fnatic NateDestiel

Yeah but did you revise for module tests, do homework and completely focus in lessons?

No
occasionally
if I found it interesting

Reply 19

MedSchoolDreams

To be honest, we had major mocks after Christmas in year 11 where we sat in exam halls and pretended it was a real exam. I did quite a bit of revision for those, but I stopped for a while after they finished. In mid February I began again, but a family issue left me unable to revise. I think I began revising again in late march. I can remember doing 6 hours a day throughout easter and the bank holiday that followed. I tried to revise a little every night up to my gcses and I did a lot at the weekend also. The nights before my exams, I did about 5 hours the night before I still regret the fact that I had to take a month off from revision, even though it wasn't my fault :frown: