The Student Room Group

GCSE help from a current Year 12

Scroll to see replies

Reply 40
Original post by zebby1999
Did you find British Depth study harder? That's what all the history teachers are saying, that the BDS is the toughest part of the course.


i forgot to say: this is a fab website for revision!!! http://www.johndclare.net/

And i personally found it ok as sources were quite easy to do if you stick to LAMP: language, author, motive,purpose which covers the criteria (everyone's taught how to analyse them differently though)
the only bit i didn't like about BDS was the British reforms as i just found it lboring, i loved the suffragettes and -gists though!
Original post by Chlorophile
It's all about technique. I would say it is the toughest part of the course but it's perfectly manageable if you know how to answer the questions. History is the subject where I'd say exam technique is the most important.


Thanks, the way my teachers are making it out to be is totally impossible to pass which it can't be. I mean we have just started that part of the course recently and it seems pretty straight forward
Reply 42
Original post by Beth_p
if anyone needs any tips or advice or questions about gcse's or choosing as levels or whatever feel free to ask! Feels like a lifetime ago but i'll try and answer as best i can! :smile:
GCSE's i took:
Maths
Science
Additional science
Further Additional science
Humanities
Geography
History
English Lit
English Lang
Ethics
Philosophy
Physical education
Italian
DT Food
Child DEvelopment


AS's that I've taken: Geography, History, Chemistry, Biology



Hey could help me With this GCSE maths algebraic question number 2 ....
link:http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=52652445.

X^2-8x+15
2x^2-7x-15

my working out:

(x-3) (x-5)
(x-10) (x+3)

2x^2-10x+3x-15
2x(x-5)+3(x-5)

final answer:
(x-3)
(2x+3)
......?
Please correct me if I am wrong-any helpwill be great.




















2x^2-10x+3x-15


Original post by Beth_p
i forgot to say: this is a fab website for revision!!! http://www.johndclare.net/

And i personally found it ok as sources were quite easy to do if you stick to LAMP: language, author, motive,purpose which covers the criteria (everyone's taught how to analyse them differently though)
the only bit i didn't like about BDS was the British reforms as i just found it lboring, i loved the suffragettes and -gists though!


hahaha, yeah I haven't even learnt how to look at a source for Paper B, we just talked about a source a little and we r going to do it in detail after the holidays. I know Johndclare, it's my lifeline :smile:
Reply 44
Original post by zebby1999
hahaha, yeah I haven't even learnt how to look at a source for Paper B, we just talked about a source a little and we r going to do it in detail after the holidays. I know Johndclare, it's my lifeline :smile:


i know it's great, these may help with answering sources:
http://www.schoolsnet.com/pls/hot_school/sn_revision.page_pls_revision_detail?x=16180339&p_rev_id=49&p_res_type_id=15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq9vCS19dqw
Hi Beth,
Congratulations on your amazing results, I hope I can achieve grades like yours.

Here are my questions:

What exam boards were you on for all of your GCSEs ?
How did you not get burned out from studying all of those hours?
What time did you start your revision in the morning and what time did you finish your revision for the day?
How many weeks did you revise before your GCSEs for?
What were your predicted grades like?
What sort of grades did you get in your mocks?
Did you spend time reading through your notes?
What are your best tips for sticking to the strict time limits in exams?

Sorry for all the questions- thank you for posting this thread- it is refreshing to see someone who is interested in helping others achieve their goals.
Good- Luck in the future with your A levels and I look forward to your reply.
Reply 47
Original post by Beth_p
Maths A*
Science A
Additional science A
Further Additional science A*
Humanities A
Geography A
History A*
English Lit A*
English Lang A
Ethics A*
Philosophy A*
Physical education A
Italian A*
DT Food A
Child DEvelopment A*
overall 8 A* and 7 A :smile:


woww really well done!!! im doing a few u did ( food lang lit hist science and additional science)
i just want some overall advice basically on how long you revised your break times etc
my main worries is maths iv got igcse on tues and next mon and i keep getting b's i want and a or an a* but tbh just an a would do but i cant get my head around different rules and meanings like wen to use sine and cosine sets differentation etc
any advice would help thankss x

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 48
Original post by zebby1999
you, my friend, are a lifesaver :smile:


ahah no problem! glad i could be of service :biggrin:
Reply 49
Original post by ha27
woww really well done!!! im doing a few u did ( food lang lit hist science and additional science)
i just want some overall advice basically on how long you revised your break times etc
my main worries is maths iv got igcse on tues and next mon and i keep getting b's i want and a or an a* but tbh just an a would do but i cant get my head around different rules and meanings like wen to use sine and cosine sets differentation etc
any advice would help thankss x

Posted from TSR Mobile

Hey I knowIm not part of the thread but I am in year 12 to and last yr was I. The same position as you I was predicted with cs at !aths and I ended with an a , it will keep getting easier I promise the more you revise my maths is great and also mathsrevision ! X
Reply 50
Original post by Rubayyy
Hey I knowIm not part of the thread but I am in year 12 to and last yr was I. The same position as you I was predicted with cs at !aths and I ended with an a , it will keep getting easier I promise the more you revise my maths is great and also mathsrevision ! X


thankss i used to love maths but then i stopped tuition then became average like everyone else im in higher higher but i often struggle with the concepts of things and just end up thinking WHYBDO I NEED TO KNOW THIS? and then they put me in for the fsmq... thanks school!

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 51
Original post by ha27
thankss i used to love maths but then i stopped tuition then became average like everyone else im in higher higher but i often struggle with the concepts of things and just end up thinking WHYBDO I NEED TO KNOW THIS? and then they put me in for the fsmq... thanks school!

Posted from TSR Mobile

Have u spoken to your pare ts maybe they can get you another tutor or something !! Yh most of its pointless but I guess you need to do it to get the grades! Sucks tho !x
Reply 52
Original post by ha27
woww really well done!!! im doing a few u did ( food lang lit hist science and additional science) i just want some overall advice basically on how long you revised your break times etc my main worries is maths iv got igcse on tues and next mon and i keep getting b's i want and a or an a* but tbh just an a would do but i cant get my head around different rules and meanings like wen to use sine and cosine sets differentation etc any advice would help thankss x Posted from TSR Mobile
Don't worry, i was in the same position as you, but i was getting D's in maths before the christmas holiday. This may not be accessible for everyone but my sister an i got a maths tutor which really helped, meant you could go over things that you weren't happy with in class and get extra technique/help- it may be worth looking into, but obviously there's the money side to it. Just practice, practice, practice that's the only thing i can suggest, go to every maths revision session if you feel stuck, don't be afraid to ask a teacher as guaranteed other people will be thinking the same! Our school purchased Maths watch which was incredible: https://www.mathswatchvle.com/ if your school dont have it maybe you could ask/ inquire as it basically explains everything for you- it was a life saver!!! Also try youtube videos such as: HEGARTY maths and mathswatch. They were super helpful for me. For the sine and cosine rule i wrote them on revision cards and just constantly looked at them. I only revised occasionally at lunch times as i think it was important to have some time to relax at school, if i did it would of been about half an hour/45 mins max or i would go and ask teacher about something.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 53
Original post by Rubayyy
Have u spoken to your pare ts maybe they can get you another tutor or something !! Yh most of its pointless but I guess you need to do it to get the grades! Sucks tho !x


i had tuition till year 10 and was not motviated so i told my parents not to waste their money which may have been a silly option since year 11 is the hardest out of the 5 but i wanted to make sure i had time for hw and ca and getting tuition hw would have been too much so i just gave it up

Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted on TheStudentRoom
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 55
Original post by Beth_p
Don't worry, i was in the same position as you, but i was getting D's in maths before the christmas holiday. This may not be accessible for everyone but my sister an i got a maths tutor which really helped, meant you could go over things that you weren't happy with in class and get extra technique/help- it may be worth looking into, but obviously there's the money side to it. Just practice, practice, practice that's the only thing i can suggest, go to every maths revision session if you feel stuck, don't be afraid to ask a teacher as guaranteed other people will be thinking the same! Our school purchased Maths watch which was incredible: https://www.mathswatchvle.com/ if your school dont have it maybe you could ask/ inquire as it basically explains everything for you- it was a life saver!!! Also try youtube videos such as: HEGARTY maths and mathswatch. They were super helpful for me. For the sine and cosine rule i wrote them on revision cards and just constantly looked at them. I only revised occasionally at lunch times as i think it was important to have some time to relax at school, if i did it would of been about half an hour/45 mins max or i would go and ask teacher about something.


thabks for your reply and i had a tutor too but he just gave sooo much hw and i was so unmotivated even crying but thats what helped me get up in year 9 and 10
but since i quit im the average student nearly at the bottom of my higher higher class but in june 2014 i got 3 away from a in maths but didnt get remark as school didnt offer itt...
i will do that flashcard thing as i think that would help and ibuse gcsepod which is a very good site!!! and my matjs of course...:ahee:

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 56
Original post by bunnyland
Hi Beth,
Congratulations on your amazing results, I hope I can achieve grades like yours.

Here are my questions:

What exam boards were you on for all of your GCSEs ?
How did you not get burned out from studying all of those hours?
What time did you start your revision in the morning and what time did you finish your revision for the day?
How many weeks did you revise before your GCSEs for?
What were your predicted grades like?
What sort of grades did you get in your mocks?
Did you spend time reading through your notes?
What are your best tips for sticking to the strict time limits in exams?

Sorry for all the questions- thank you for posting this thread- it is refreshing to see someone who is interested in helping others achieve their goals.
Good- Luck in the future with your A levels and I look forward to your reply.



I shall try and answer them as best i can but it feels like forever ago so i can't remember everything ! :smile:
1. History/englishlit/english lang/ child develo/food tech: OCR
Maths/science:edexcel
Italian/Geog: AQA

2. I kept refueling on lots of tea and gossip girl in short breaks ahah :wink: Aside from that i just kept thinking of how the results will pay off, it seemed like a horrific experience at the time (everyone goes through it) but it truly does pay off and it was so worth it on results day opening the envelope- just keep a vision of what you want to achieve and that hopefully should motivate you

3. Well on study leave(which was pointless as i only had 3 exams left) i slept in till whenever i wanted to make sure i wasn't tired and felt refreshed. Start work at 11/12 I'd then work up till lunch (2/3), have a break, and then carry on for couple of hours, then break, then work in the evening. Iw ould usually do about 3 subjects a day depending on what i felt i needed to do most.

4. Ermm this is quite hard to remember, i think i started revising properly in the christmas holiday for our mocks. Then after xmas i sort of just focused on learning the rest of the courses as we still hadn't finished some of it so didn't do a lot of revision just prepared revision resources. Probably started full on revising about from April. But before just lghtly reading through stuff.

5. My predicted grades were very similar to the grades i got: my maths p.grade was a B though

6. In the mocks, i did quite well from what i can remember: A for Maths, A* for history, can't really remember any of the others, for us thre was pressure as they would be used incase we were ill for the actual exam in the summer.

7. Yeah i did read through my notes a lot, i used my notes to process them into revision material.

8. Don't faff about and go off topic (that was my problem) remember a top quality answer doesn't have to be 10 pages long- quality not quantity- although i'm a bit of a hypocrite because i always wrote too much aha :biggrin:

Hope that helped!!
Reply 57
Original post by STUDYREVISE
When did you start revising?


REvised in the xmas holiday for mocks and then stopped afterwards and focused on continuing to learn other units of courses. Probably started solid revision from around March/April
Reply 58
Original post by ha27
thabks for your reply and i had a tutor too but he just gave sooo much hw and i was so unmotivated even crying but thats what helped me get up in year 9 and 10
but since i quit im the average student nearly at the bottom of my higher higher class but in june 2014 i got 3 away from a in maths but didnt get remark as school didnt offer itt...
i will do that flashcard thing as i think that would help and ibuse gcsepod which is a very good site!!! and my matjs of course...:ahee:

Posted from TSR Mobile



That's no problem, have you considered finding a tutor that doesn't give work, mine never gave me hw we just did whatever i wanted to go over- he was there for support and advice. I wouldn't try and compare yourself to everyone else to, everyone has different abilities and will be working at different stages, just focus on your progress, that way it won't upset you if you feel others are doing better:colondollar: GCSE pod i good i tried that for a bit :smile:
Reply 59
also was there any major differences between your mock grade and real grades or were they quite similar, thanks for your timee!!

Posted from TSR Mobile

Quick Reply