The Student Room Group

Help with GCSE Maths?

Hi guys,

So basically, maths is my worst subject. I've always found the basic stuff difficult and I've always been stressed out by it.(If you want anymore specifics on what I can/cant do in maths I can give you that)

I just cant seem to revise maths. I find it so difficult. One of my main problems in maths is that if someone explains a certain question to me I will understand it, but when I try a different question with different numbers I struggle so much.
When I try and revise maths I just end up getting really stressed/anxious and getting frustrated at the fact I cant do it. Most of the time it ends in tears because I get so annoyed at myself.

As maths is my worst subject I obviously need to revise it (I'm on a C grade but I'm very on the borderline, at risk of slipping into a D) but i just...cant.

Thanks for any help, any rude comments will be blocked!
:smile:
Firstly, instead of saying you can't, you hat you can you just need to go about it a certain way. Are you taking your GCSEs this year or next year? I got a B in GCSE maths and I took it for AS (I'm still in AS). I dropped it a week before Christmas because I couldn't cope. Looking back now, I realised that I went about it the wrong way. If your school has a thing after school, I highly recommend you go to it. Do as many questions as you can and try learning general formulas that you can apply rather than learning how to individual questions. Also go on youtube and find a videos for each topic of GCSE maths. You could even go back to the very basics and re-learn the simple stuff. Don't get yourself in a panic because your a bit stuck, get your teachers help, if that doesn't work that you could try getting other students to help or get a tutor. The most important thing to remember is to remember you can do it, you just need more practise.
Original post by Jellybeanz383
Firstly, instead of saying you can't, you hat you can you just need to go about it a certain way. Are you taking your GCSEs this year or next year? I got a B in GCSE maths and I took it for AS (I'm still in AS). I dropped it a week before Christmas because I couldn't cope. Looking back now, I realised that I went about it the wrong way. If your school has a thing after school, I highly recommend you go to it. Do as many questions as you can and try learning general formulas that you can apply rather than learning how to individual questions. Also go on youtube and find a videos for each topic of GCSE maths. You could even go back to the very basics and re-learn the simple stuff. Don't get yourself in a panic because your a bit stuck, get your teachers help, if that doesn't work that you could try getting other students to help or get a tutor. The most important thing to remember is to remember you can do it, you just need more practise.


Thank you. I don't want to sound rude but when I say I can't do it, I literally can't. Like my brain gets 'blocked' and I just can't understand what people are trying to teach me. My teacher is an idiot and he can be quite mean because he doesnt understand my issues, so I most definitely wont be going to get help from him. All my friends get frusrated when they try and etach me because I just don't get it. And, again don't mean to sound rude, but I dont get in a panic because I get a bit stuck I get in a panic because I know that I know how to answer some questions but it just doesnt happen and my brain gets all muddled.
Well, already your making progress. You have identified that your brain gets blocked or muddled. So firstly you need to find a way to unblock it. Perhaps when you go into a maths lesson you're already dreading it because you know your brain will get blocked, and you said you don't like your teacher? Try finding a teacher who is patient and is good at teaching, the worst thing is having a teacher that can't teach. Next time you go into a maths lesson try listening to music or breathing slowly to get rid of other thoughts and make your brain focus on maths. You might also be overcomplicating things, which unfortunately I do about everything. Try highlighting key words in the question, read as many times as you need in order to understand what it is asking you. If your predicted grade is a C, then you can't be doing that bad. My predicted grade for AS was an E but could slip to a U so I don't think you are that bad. Have more confidence in yourself that you can do it, and try finding ways of unblocking your brain :smile:
Original post by harrietbh12
Hi guys,

So basically, maths is my worst subject. I've always found the basic stuff difficult and I've always been stressed out by it.(If you want anymore specifics on what I can/cant do in maths I can give you that)

I just cant seem to revise maths. I find it so difficult. One of my main problems in maths is that if someone explains a certain question to me I will understand it, but when I try a different question with different numbers I struggle so much.
When I try and revise maths I just end up getting really stressed/anxious and getting frustrated at the fact I cant do it. Most of the time it ends in tears because I get so annoyed at myself.

As maths is my worst subject I obviously need to revise it (I'm on a C grade but I'm very on the borderline, at risk of slipping into a D) but i just...cant.

Thanks for any help, any rude comments will be blocked!
:smile:


Don't worry about getting questions done, it's more important that you are actually thinking about them. If it's been an hour and you've got nothing done, take a break and look at it another time. Take it all slowly, look through your book if you need a reminder of how to do something, or ask your teacher for help if that fails.

As an undergraduate maths student, getting stuck on maths problems is a daily part of life. You just need to deal with them calmly and sensibly instead of getting worked up.

Also try to remove all distractions from where you study. Phone, iPod etc. You will probably get bored multiple times, but you need to be able to stay focused if you're going to get anywhere.

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