You could probably do without mocks giving you a headache right now. 

At least when you do your actual exams, they're spread out over four or five weeks. But with mocks, they generally get squashed into a single week - creating an incoming exam overload.

It’s easy to end up procrastinating. Or maybe easing your revision guilt with the classic 'I won't revise for my mocks, cos then I'll know what I really know'... 

But, since you’ve made it as far as this article, you're probably thinking about getting some prep done now. You’re unlikely to regret it. Do your mocks right and it can be a huge help for your exam prep in the summer.

Here we’ve got a quick guide to getting through your mocks, based on tips from A-level and GCSE students in The Student Room community.

See what works for you - and remember there are plenty of people to chat with in the study help forums.

Doing your mocks gives you valuable practice of sitting an exam. But it also gives you the chance to practise preparing for an exam.

Building out an exam study plan can help give you focus - and it can be a dry run for the summer.

Start with the exam dates and build your plan working back from there. We’ve got a guide that goes into much more detail on creating a revision plan, using more advice from members of The Student Room.

(And, if you're reading this and thinking 'that's no use - my mocks are next week', head over to this article where a former teacher explains how to cram effectively.)

With your study plan sorted, you've made a big step into the exam mindset.

Try to focus on these as if they were the real thing. That way, summertime revision will be a little less of a shock to the system.

We’ll go into some study tips below - but for more detail this article explains how to study effectively for your exams.

So, what’s the best way to revise? It depends on how you like to learn - so now is a good time to find out what works for you. 

‘Active learning' is popular within The Student Room community. This is basically being creative and developing a stock of revision resources: flashcards, mindmaps, notes, quizzes – whatever helps you learn best.

Making these revision resources for your mocks means you’ve already made a start on the prep for your summer exams. You can just develop them by adding new subject topics as you get closer to the real thing.

Here's where you can find free revision resources online as recommended by members of The Student Room, to create flashcards, mind maps, quizzes and more. 

If you’re doing A-levels, you’ll already know they’re pretty different from GCSEs. It might be that your revision methods are also going to be different. 

It’s a good idea to be open to different ways of revising, rather than assuming that what you did before will still be relevant

Past papers are a key revision method for many people on The Student Room. These test your knowledge and show what you need to recap. Find them on the exam board websites - and make sure you get the mark schemes and examiner reports at the same time.

One of the busiest areas of The Student Room is our study help section. In here, you'll find thousands of other GCSE and A-level students to chat with. 

Find your subject on the main study help page, or go straight to the GCSE or A-level sections. You can read through existing discussions or create a new one yourself.

You might even decide to start up a study blog in our Grow your Grades section - just as some of the students quoted in this article have done. It's a great way to focus your mind on what you want to achive over the coming months. Good luck with your mocks!