Aim for the Moon, Land on the A*s

Same boat got AABB and got an A*A*A prediction.

One of the main tips I learnt from Year 12 was the importance of having a study timetable from the very beginning. A study timetable keeps you focused and means that instead of worrying about what to revise (and if you're revising enough) you can dedicate more time to actually getting more revision done. The recommended study hours for a successful Year 13 kid is 25+ hours, and I had thought about that when doing my timetable.

How to construct a study timetable

Sleep is very important when it comes to consolidating long-term information.

Do you have a part-time job? need to visit relatives every week? God forbid - do you go to the gym?!

This helps when it comes to organising holiday revision - you already have a timetable ready for those school hours you're missing out on.

And that's your timetable sorted. Please let me know if you have any trouble or any questions - I am all for helping you. A great tool for constructing a study timetable by the way (I used it in Year 12) is getrevising.co.uk.

Remember the pomodoro technique! Once you're done with your timetable it will look incredibly packed - turns out 25+ hours is a lot. However you can't expect yourself to study for a whole hour each time and I'd recommend experimenting with the pomodoro technique of typically 25 minutes of work with a 5 minute break (25/5) with longer periods of focus for productivity masters: 50/10, 45/15 - or if you really need to practice your focusing skills two 20/10s per hour.

The Hierarchy of Pomodoro Times (according to me)
Beginner (20/10s)
Intermediate (25/5s)
Advanced (45/15s)
Super advanced (50/10s)

That is: 20 minutes of work with a 10 minute break. One super awesome (and flexible and really aesthetically pleasing) pomodoro app. Much like the Momentum chrome extension it has a cool picture as the background, it plays "white noise" sounds such as rain, cafe noise, and forest, and even has a inspirational quote at the bottom. Currently I don't think there's an android version.

What are you hoping to do at university? What gcse grades did you get in those subjects?

Hi everyone,

I'm Mahima and I'm currently studying three a-level subjects: maths (edexcel), history (ocr) and english literature (aqa).

For AS Level I got an ABB for these subjects with the A in English Lit. And for UCAS predictions I managed to weasel my way into getting A*AA predictions (so I have a lot to attain!).

I'd learnt a lot from the troubles of surviving Year 12 and feel like I have the tools needed in order to aim for the highest marks in Year 13 (I want three A*s, but I'll settle for two A*s and an A). I'm prepared to work damn hard to get to where I need to be.

We can do it!