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I slightly regret working so hard in my holidays?

ab
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 1
Avatar for Krishy:)
Krishy:)
2
Original post by hollsy
I will be starting year 11 in a few days, and seem to have spent my entire summer holidays revising for my end of year 11 exams and generally working- when the are still a year off. Is that a good thing or not really? Is it true that I am going to 'burn out' when it gets closer to my exams? I do enjoy learning, and am determined to do well, which is why I spend so much time revising. Thank you for reading this, please let me know if you experienced similar/ feel the same?


I did absolutely no studying over the summer, because I've been working in a shop for the past two months. But I do think that it is a good idea to have revised during the summer. It means that you will probably be ahead of the rest of the class, and will have a better understanding when you are being taught things in lessons. It also means that you don't have to work as hard to try and understand new things, and you only have to keep remembering things that you already know. It will mean that you will be less stressed out when your exams come. I do suggest that you should take at least the next couple of days off, and do something you enjoy, such as meeting up with some friends or going out shopping, just to relax a bit, before going back to school:smile:


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Original post by hollsy
I will be starting year 11 in a few days, and seem to have spent my entire summer holidays revising for my end of year 11 exams and generally working- when the are still a year off. Is that a good thing or not really? Is it true that I am going to 'burn out' when it gets closer to my exams? I do enjoy learning, and am determined to do well, which is why I spend so much time revising. Thank you for reading this, please let me know if you experienced similar, feel the same or just generally have any advice?


As a student just starting their AS Levels now in Year 12, I don't think I really did any revision over the holidays in Year 10, apart from some History homework booklet that was set for me to complete.

I personally feel that it was probably unnecessary for you to spend your summer holidays that way, but as long as you still feel happy about doing preparation for the exams for another year, then I don't imagine there'll be too many problems. You sound really committed! And I'd guess you're aiming for all A*s..? :P

As a quick side note, if you haven't already sorted it all out, coursework is very important and should be completed as soon as possible, if not already. Try your very best on it, as it can help make miracles on results day. I've found that there was a few people who only felt like writing C Grade English coursework, who then later changed their mind about what GCSE grades they were aiming for, and suddenly decided they'd like an A overall in English. Meaning they'd have to be exceptional in the exams to stand a chance of an A.

Anyhow! It's true that you can 'burn out' when getting closer to the exams, as it's what I feel happened to me when my school decided to randomly give us mock exams just before the real ones, on top of the usual November/December ones! It ultimately contributed to me only revising thoroughly just after Easter, which I wouldn't recommend, especially if you don't already have a reliable set of notes you can revise on, whereby you should know that they definitely help you revise.

In my humble opinion (I'm sure other people have others.. :P), I'd recommend easing off on revision for now, and just going through class work and making sure you just understand everything for now. When the mock exams grow closer, revise for those (but don't worry too much, although you'd need fairly good results to convince your sixth form to let you in, depending on which sixth form it is). I think I started revision maybe a month before they started. But the crucial thing for mock exams is to find out what style of revision works for you, before you start the actual exams. So, experiment a little, by all means! :biggrin: I personally found that a mixture of posters, watching various Youtube videos and doing lots of past papers and exam question practice helped massively!

Then, after the mocks are done, take a break from revision to recover, and start forming very reliable notes in January, if you don't already have any. After you have a good set of notes, then start revising off them for a little before you start to work through as many past papers as possible. I mainly focussed on Maths, Science, and History (to a lesser extent) for past papers. But if you know what you'll be studying at Further Education, those should be your priority, as well as those you find to be your weaker subjects.

By working through past papers, identify any weaker topics that could possibly come up in exams, and focus revision on those until you're confident on them!

From there, it's a rinse and repeat process and just making sure you're on top of all of your knowledge until you're as confident as possible.

It's advised that you start 'thorough revision' at the Easter break at the latest, although I think you'll be fine starting a little before it.

All in all, I only did past papers and barely started making 'reliable notes' at around Easter, but I still turned out fine, and so will you! It's just I advise doing it differently to how I actually did it, because it added a lot of unnecessary stress, and there was probably some form of room for improvement for my overall GCSE results - although I was hugely happy with them regardless! :biggrin:

You'll be okay, it seems you already have pretty good study standards (better than the vast majority of people I assure you), and in many ways I wish I could be in your shoes. Keep up the study habits if you're happy with it, and it's likely you won't have many issues with the transition to A-Level at all, if that's what you decide to do. :smile:

Good luck!! And if you have any specific questions, feel free to ask me/quote me! :tongue:
It probably wasn't necessary, but it does mean that you should find lessons, homework, and class tests a lot easier for a bit. I would say to just make sure that you balance your time with something else that you enjoy to ensure that you don't get burnt out and over revise, but you have definitely put yourself in a good position so there is no need for regrets, I imagine you will do very well :smile:
Original post by hollsy
I will be starting year 11 in a few days, and seem to have spent my entire summer holidays revising for my end of year 11 exams and generally working- when the are still a year off. Is that a good thing or not really? Is it true that I am going to 'burn out' when it gets closer to my exams? I do enjoy learning, and am determined to do well, which is why I spend so much time revising. Thank you for reading this, please let me know if you experienced similar, feel the same or just generally have any advice?


Yes you will burn off there are holidays for a reason just saying..
Original post by hollsy
I will be starting year 11 in a few days, and seem to have spent my entire summer holidays revising for my end of year 11 exams and generally working- when the are still a year off. Is that a good thing or not really? Is it true that I am going to 'burn out' when it gets closer to my exams? I do enjoy learning, and am determined to do well, which is why I spend so much time revising. Thank you for reading this, please let me know if you experienced similar, feel the same or just generally have any advice?



Hah my year 10 to 11 summer was also crappy, I didn't revise on it but still stressed over stuff like finding work experience and so on.

You won't be burnt out, don't worry. Just take it easy and realise rest is just as important as work. Ace the GCSEs and remember that the year 11 summer is the most awesome thing you can ever experience.
Original post by hollsy
Thanks for a lot of brilliant advice!:smile: I will take on board what you said and possibly 'tone down' on the revision for now. I am aiming for an A* in the subjects I'm taking but slightly lack confidence that's how I will do, I slightly feel like I don't know what to expect?

I have completed all of my English controlled assessments (I believe) and achieved an A* in them all, which I am very happy with as English isn't my strong point, but I do prefer coursework to exams. Generally because I don't like the 'unknown' element of exams.

Do you chose what you want to do for A-levels at the beginning of year 11 or later on? I'm not entirely sure what I want to do, French, Spanish, maths, chemistry, physics, biology, history are all possibilities?? but I know you can only chose 4 or 5 possibly? I'm sure I will eventually figure something out:smile:

Thanks again for the advice and good luck with your A-levels, I hope everything goes well:smile:


Even if you get As and Bs in your mocks, you still have a very good chance to be awarded A*s in the majority, or all of your subjects, as there were people who did so in my year. But the most important thing is that if you can get the grades you want when doing past papers, and if you're preparing so much that you've done work in Year 10 summer, then there's not really much reason you can't get those A*s overall! :smile: If you have an A* in all your English coursework, you probably won't necessarily need an A* in the exam, as I think the only A* I got in an English exam was AQA English Literature Unit 2 (Poetry), but I somehow managed with A*s overall for both Language and Literature! :redface:

Just remember, that unless your specification has completely changed, then it's very much the case that the exam you take on the day is almost exactly like every other past paper you've done, but with it just having the examination's date on the front as an exception. You'll be more prepared than you think you would be on the day, and I find that I tend to go into super-adrenaline mode whenever I took any of the exams - mainly English and History. :biggrin:

You can't really choose what you want to do at A-Level until you've attended a few sixth form open evenings/days to find out what they're about! But you'd have to decide probably around about after your mocks, so that you can put them down on an application form, before the deadline to apply to colleges. Even then, you can change your mind when you have your interview(s) with your applied colleges at around February/March, and you're allowed to change your mind again before you enrol!! Of course, after you enrol, you'll be given a limited amount of time to change courses if you're really not liking a particular A-Level, but at that point, there's not really any guarantee that there'll be any spare places available. But overall, you have plenty of time, and all you should really have at this point is a vague idea of what you'd maybe like to do. :smile:

You're very welcome for the advice, and I hope your GCSEs go well too! :tongue:
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 7
Avatar for SH0405
SH0405
15
Original post by hollsy
I will be starting year 11 in a few days, and seem to have spent my entire summer holidays revising for my end of year 11 exams and generally working- when the are still a year off. Is that a good thing or not really? Is it true that I am going to 'burn out' when it gets closer to my exams? I do enjoy learning, and am determined to do well, which is why I spend so much time revising. Thank you for reading this, please let me know if you experienced similar, feel the same or just generally have any advice?


Enjoying learning is a good start, and you certainly shouldn't regret working hard. That said, 'burning out' is a thing that happens. Just enjoy year 11 but continue to work hard. Good luck!
Reply 8
Avatar for Arfaa
Arfaa
2
I'm starting year 11 too and over the holidays i did study, but nothing too intense. I mainly focused on maths and french because they require practice to get good grades in them. I didn't bother studying subjects like ICT, Sociology, Geography etc because it doesn't seem necessary. However i have lots of mock exams in November (to get predicted grades for college) so i'm gonna revise a lot in October but i'm not doing much now. :smile:
I don't think theres anything wrong with you working in the holidays as long as you can have the same determination when we actually have our exams lol.
Reply 9
Avatar for boitown
boitown
OP
Original post by LibertyMan
Hah my year 10 to 11 summer was also crappy, I didn't revise on it but still stressed over stuff like finding work experience and so on.

You won't be burnt out, don't worry. Just take it easy and realise rest is just as important as work. Ace the GCSEs and remember that the year 11 summer is the most awesome thing you can ever experience.


Thanks:smile:, I literally can't wait for next years summer now:smile:
Reply 10
Avatar for boitown
boitown
OP
Original post by Arfaa
I'm starting year 11 too and over the holidays i did study, but nothing too intense. I mainly focused on maths and french because they require practice to get good grades in them. I didn't bother studying subjects like ICT, Sociology, Geography etc because it doesn't seem necessary. However i have lots of mock exams in November (to get predicted grades for college) so i'm gonna revise a lot in October but i'm not doing much now. :smile:
I don't think theres anything wrong with you working in the holidays as long as you can have the same determination when we actually have our exams lol.


Thank you, I mainly revised history, physics, French and a bit of Spanish:smile:
I'm sure I'll still be as determined as now, and 100X more stressed haha
Reply 11
Avatar for boitown
boitown
OP
Original post by SH0405
Enjoying learning is a good start, and you certainly shouldn't regret working hard. That said, 'burning out' is a thing that happens. Just enjoy year 11 but continue to work hard. Good luck!


I will try, thank you!:smile:
Reply 12
Avatar for boitown
boitown
OP
Original post by BroJoeJoe
Even if you get As and Bs in your mocks, you still have a very good chance to be awarded A*s in the majority, or all of your subjects, as there were people who did so in my year. But the most important thing is that if you can get the grades you want when doing past papers, and if you're preparing so much that you've done work in Year 10 summer, then there's not really much reason you can't get those A*s overall! :smile: If you have an A* in all your English coursework, you probably won't necessarily need an A* in the exam, as I think the only A* I got in an English exam was AQA English Literature Unit 2 (Poetry), but I somehow managed with A*s overall for both Language and Literature! :redface:

Just remember, that unless your specification has completely changed, then it's very much the case that the exam you take on the day is almost exactly like every other past paper you've done, but with it just having the examination's date on the front as an exception. You'll be more prepared than you think you would be on the day, and I find that I tend to go into super-adrenaline mode whenever I took any of the exams - mainly English and History. :biggrin:

You can't really choose what you want to do at A-Level until you've attended a few sixth form open evenings/days to find out what they're about! But you'd have to decide probably around about after your mocks, so that you can put them down on an application form, before the deadline to apply to colleges. Even then, you can change your mind when you have your interview(s) with your applied colleges at around February/March, and you're allowed to change your mind again before you enrol!! Of course, after you enrol, you'll be given a limited amount of time to change courses if you're really not liking a particular A-Level, but at that point, there's not really any guarantee that there'll be any spare places available. But overall, you have plenty of time, and all you should really have at this point is a vague idea of what you'd maybe like to do. :smile:

You're very welcome for the advice, and I hope your GCSEs go well too! :tongue:


In my year 10 mock for English Language I was one mark of an A*:frown:, but hopefully I will improve and my coursework grade should push it up to an A* anyway:smile: Well done! I would be very happy if I could get an A* in English Literature or Language!

Thanks for the advice, it seems you generally have a lot of options/ time to make a decision about what to do after GCSEs, so that's reassuring:smile:

Thank you again for all the very helpful advice!:smile:
as long as you enjoyed studying then I don't see anything wrong with studying over the holiday, I like studying if I get in a zone where I forget everything around me and this has worked for photography and RS, as long as you don't push your self too hard during the first few months you will still have the amount of energy and positivity for learning and revising after Christmas.
Reply 14
Avatar for boitown
boitown
OP
Original post by katieMCR
as long as you enjoyed studying then I don't see anything wrong with studying over the holiday, I like studying if I get in a zone where I forget everything around me and this has worked for photography and RS, as long as you don't push your self too hard during the first few months you will still have the amount of energy and positivity for learning and revising after Christmas.


Thanks, I do definitely enjoy studying. I'm going to 'tone down' slightly for now and then pick it back up before my mocks begin:smile:
Original post by hollsy
In my year 10 mock for English Language I was one mark of an A*:frown:, but hopefully I will improve and my coursework grade should push it up to an A* anyway:smile: Well done! I would be very happy if I could get an A* in English Literature or Language!

Thanks for the advice, it seems you generally have a lot of options/ time to make a decision about what to do after GCSEs, so that's reassuring:smile:

Thank you again for all the very helpful advice!:smile:


No problem at all! :biggrin:

Try and keep me updated on how it's all going, if it's possible at all! :smile: I'll be rooting for you. :tongue:
Original post by hollsy
Hi, I just read this post again now lol- exams are in about 8 1/2 weeks, I finished all coursework etc. Panic/ stress has definitely started now :s-smilie:


Oooooh, hello again! :biggrin:

Coursework is nice to get out of the way, I hope it all went well! :smile:

Try not to panic! You're in a really good position at the moment. Work through your revision gradually and maybe build it up some more as the exams approach. Past papers are absolutely golden in my opinion. :3

Stay healthy, and make sure that you get enough sleep AT ALL COSTS (I'm a slight hypocrite because it's been something I've been lacking a lot of during A-Levels so far).

I believe in you! c: If you have any specific queries, let me know!
Original post by hollsy
Hi! :smile:

Yeah all of my coursework went fine in the end, I was slightly disappointed that I was 1 mark off an A* in physics but hopefully I'll do better in the exams and that will push it up. But I was surprised also to find out that I got full marks in my English Lit and History coursework which I didn't expect! :smile:

My revision is going OK at the moment, I think I will have enough time to revise everything:s When do you suggest I start doing past papers? Now, or should I leave it a bit later?

Good advice, I sometimes don't get enough sleep either really but it's never too bad:wink:

Thanks! I hope your A-Levels are going well, I'm sure you'll do fine! :biggrin:


Being 1 mark off an A* in Physics coursework is really nothing to be worried about, seeing that the coursework is all converted into UMS anyways. :P Congrats on the full marks in English Lit and History, it's pretty tough to get and should help quite a bit! :smile:

As long as you've created revision resources you're happy with, and you feel happy tackling past papers, it'd be pretty good to start doing past papers (though I'd trust your own judgement on that)! :smile: It's more difficult to mark past papers yourself in subjects such as English and History, but usually the mark schemes guide you towards examples of things examiners like to see, as well as the examiner reports. For essay type subjects, it might be worth just planning out the questions rather than giving a full go at them in exam conditions, then you can just see what areas you need to focus on and whatnot and to see if you'd be on the right lines in general. :biggrin:

Honestly, you need quite a bit of energy and endurance for GCSE exams; there's just so many of them! So try and preserve as much of that precious energy as physically posisble and get enough sleep, you appreciate it so much more as you get older. c:

My A-Levels are looking pretty chaotic at the moment, truth be told, I'll try to hang on to any shred of hope I can get. Thank you for your kind words. :P
Original post by hollsy
Thanks for the reassurance:smile: I'm really glad about History/ English Lit as I don't think the exams will go quite as well and will probably need these marks to push it up slightly:smile:

I've just about condensed everything, so I'm going to start attempting past papers soon ish, my history teacher had offered to mark any past paper questions we do so that should be OK, hopefully:smile:

The slightly bad thing is that I can remember virtually nothing from Of Mice and Men (which I have not yet started revising:/). Sorry to be a pain asking so many questions, but you wouldn't happen to have any tips on what to revise in order to cover everything needed? (like character profiles etc.)

I think I have 24 exams (which is a bit daunting because I only ever had around 10 when we have done mocks!). You have lots of good advice which is v. helpful so thank you a lot, you definitely seem to have a good plan and so I'm sure you'll do really well in your A-Levels. Also, it wouldn't be school if it wasn't at least 'slightly' stressful (lol). Thank you again for your helpfulness:smile:


(Sorry for the late reply; I haven't been around for a few days!)

Yup! I think in my case my English Lit Coursework particularly helped out, so I'll just reiterate how amazingly helpful that will end up being. :P

Starting soon-ish sounds good. :P You've just reminded me that I have a similar offer to have past paper questions marked by my A-Level History teacher - I best get to that soon-ish. Haha. :smile:

You're right, English Lit is probably the most content intensive subject at GCSE that I can think of, and everyone struggles with revising it. :P On the bright side, OMAM is a pretty short book, and I'd first of all recommend re-reading it! When you're re-reading it, you could maybe go over-kill like I did and post-it note pages or make notes on things you think are relevant. :smile: If you think watching videos would be helpful, there's loads of helpful Youtube videos on Of Mice and Men which look at a few interesting interpretations and themes and whatever. I'd particularly recommend Mr Bruff's Youtube Channel (though I haven't checked it out in a while). Searching in general for videos will likely be pretty helpful though. :smile:

Character profiles would be a good idea (I think our year panicked before the exam because we were worrying over the possibility of Carson coming up, I'm pretty sure he won't though - we ended up with CW's death scene). And then perhaps just some general themes (try and go beyond the ones provided on Sparknotes if possible). My memory of OMAM remains quite vague, but I think there was quite a lot of religious-related themes and imagery. Look at past paper questions for OMAM just to see what kind of things they can ask for, for the AQA exam board it's usually particular scenes, or how something or someone is portrayed in an extract, and then just a question on a vague theme eg: 'hopelessness', 'mistreatment of workers', 'fraternal love' where you can include some context.

Twenty-four exams sounds like loads! :redface: I think I had seventeen in total (though I had to do a BTEC subject and only went through the Additional Science GCSE). You're very welcome for the advice, though I apologise if it's vague! If you have any more questions or want me to elaborate, please ask away! :smile:

Best of luck, and enjoy the holiday! :biggrin:

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