Advice from previous Year 11's to upcoming Year 11's
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1) How was year 11 for you?
It went by so quick! Before I knew it it was already April and the stress of exams was piling up. However Year 11 is the best year. Its when you make all the important choices before your life really begins. Between choosing what you want to do next and the pressure from exams and revision, it may seem horrifying but once you're done with it its like a massive relief.
2) How many exams did you sit?
14 - I was lucky that I did 2 in year 9 and 4 in year 10.
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11's?
I know it sounds annoying when everyone keeps telling you to revise, but trust me. Listen to them! You don't have to revise loads everyday, all day. Just start really early and do 30 minutes each day and by the time its May/June you'll be finished with your revision and I promise, you'll ace the exams.
Don't put it off. That's what I did. All of my revision was last minute and you don't want to face the amount of stress I faced during those two months. I managed to get adequate grades but that was only because I always did my homework and classwork well. If I hadn't done that I probably would have barely passed
.
But don't stress over things. Its not as bad as it all seems. Just make sure you don't leave it till the end. I remember I didn't revise for history until the day before and trust me that is NOT something you will enjoy doing - especially for information crammed subjects like History.
It went by so quick! Before I knew it it was already April and the stress of exams was piling up. However Year 11 is the best year. Its when you make all the important choices before your life really begins. Between choosing what you want to do next and the pressure from exams and revision, it may seem horrifying but once you're done with it its like a massive relief.
2) How many exams did you sit?
14 - I was lucky that I did 2 in year 9 and 4 in year 10.
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11's?
I know it sounds annoying when everyone keeps telling you to revise, but trust me. Listen to them! You don't have to revise loads everyday, all day. Just start really early and do 30 minutes each day and by the time its May/June you'll be finished with your revision and I promise, you'll ace the exams.
Don't put it off. That's what I did. All of my revision was last minute and you don't want to face the amount of stress I faced during those two months. I managed to get adequate grades but that was only because I always did my homework and classwork well. If I hadn't done that I probably would have barely passed
. But don't stress over things. Its not as bad as it all seems. Just make sure you don't leave it till the end. I remember I didn't revise for history until the day before and trust me that is NOT something you will enjoy doing - especially for information crammed subjects like History.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by funkydee19
Wow.. why so many subjects?
My school puts us in for things early (year 9/year 10) and tries to give us more diversity I guess...I know, doing 16+ subjects is a lot. I don't think that many people at my school find it that stressful though, we're allowed to drop some if we feel under too much pressure.
1) How was year 11 for you?
Year 11 for me was stressful because I worried too much, but I actually sailed through even with all the panicking!
2) How many exams did you sit?
29
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11s?
Dont leave your coursework to the last minute! The quicker you get your coursework out the way, the quicker you can start reading over things you learnt at the beginning of year nine, the stuff you'll find easiest to understand, but the hardest to remember.
If your school does mocks, use this to your advantage! When I did my mocks in december I learnt how I remembered information best, and made revision resources (like flashcards) as I went. This meant when I got to revising in April, I already had things to revise from, and spent more time revising rather than making things look pretty
Don't freak out about exams if you dont think youve done enough revision. GCSE exams are always super close together; if I had done all the revision I would've liked to I wouldn't of slept, yet I still did well considering.
Remember to look after yourself! It's very easy to become bogged down in all this work and revision and exams, but remember to take some time out for you. Relax, and if you find you are struggling, talk to a teacher! They can do so much to help, even if it does seem daunting
Overall, try and enough the year, I know for me, it was when everyone started to become adults, and realised that GCSEs are important. That sheet you threw across the room in year 10 that you thought you'd never need? find it. Get everrything organised and sort out everything into modules/exams, and have fun with it! This is the last chance you've got with most subjects so make it count!
Year 11 for me was stressful because I worried too much, but I actually sailed through even with all the panicking!
2) How many exams did you sit?
29
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11s?
Dont leave your coursework to the last minute! The quicker you get your coursework out the way, the quicker you can start reading over things you learnt at the beginning of year nine, the stuff you'll find easiest to understand, but the hardest to remember.
If your school does mocks, use this to your advantage! When I did my mocks in december I learnt how I remembered information best, and made revision resources (like flashcards) as I went. This meant when I got to revising in April, I already had things to revise from, and spent more time revising rather than making things look pretty
Don't freak out about exams if you dont think youve done enough revision. GCSE exams are always super close together; if I had done all the revision I would've liked to I wouldn't of slept, yet I still did well considering.
Remember to look after yourself! It's very easy to become bogged down in all this work and revision and exams, but remember to take some time out for you. Relax, and if you find you are struggling, talk to a teacher! They can do so much to help, even if it does seem daunting
Overall, try and enough the year, I know for me, it was when everyone started to become adults, and realised that GCSEs are important. That sheet you threw across the room in year 10 that you thought you'd never need? find it. Get everrything organised and sort out everything into modules/exams, and have fun with it! This is the last chance you've got with most subjects so make it count!
Original post by maary
I hope I haven't forgotten everything as I haven't done any work or revision in the summer holidays - should I have done?
I'd say just read through your last couple of lessons work again to get yourself back on track, that's all I did in year 10 and I did fine!
Original post by Its_Tito
My school puts us in for things early (year 9/year 10) and tries to give us more diversity I guess...I know, doing 16+ subjects is a lot. I don't think that many people at my school find it that stressful though, we're allowed to drop some if we feel under too much pressure.
Oh okay.. at least you do have the option to drop.. all the best
Original post by funkydee19
Oh okay.. at least you do have the option to drop.. all the best
Yeah, it's somewhat frowned upon but it is a lot of stress... thank you
I'm taking 11 GCSEs and 1 BTEC.They are:
AQA English language
AQA English literature
AQA Spanish
OCR Biology
OCR Chemistry
OCR Physics
OCR Computing
Edexcel Mathematics A
Edexcel History A
(unknown exam board) RE
(unknown exam board) BTEC sport
I've done my BTEC sport exam and will get my results this month. In May and June 2015, I have a total of 19 exams.
I've already received some results for my coursework too.They are:
English language unit 2-B
English language unit 3-A
Spanish unit 3-A*
Spanish unit 4-A*
Computing practical investigation (A452)-A/A*
AQA English language
AQA English literature
AQA Spanish
OCR Biology
OCR Chemistry
OCR Physics
OCR Computing
Edexcel Mathematics A
Edexcel History A
(unknown exam board) RE
(unknown exam board) BTEC sport
I've done my BTEC sport exam and will get my results this month. In May and June 2015, I have a total of 19 exams.
I've already received some results for my coursework too.They are:
English language unit 2-B
English language unit 3-A
Spanish unit 3-A*
Spanish unit 4-A*
Computing practical investigation (A452)-A/A*
(edited 9 years ago)
1) How was year 11 for you?
Overall, I enjoyed it, I think people exaggerate the stress etc. I was able to have enough time to do the things enjoy, spend time with friends and remain on top of the work.
2) How many exams did you sit?
I sat 23 exams, in the summer as I took triple science. I had 2 exams on about 5 different days. I started revising around Easter, and would recommend the same. I also revised 2 weeks before mocks as these are important for my sixth form.
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11s?
Minimise absences; have fun and always do your homework. Don't start revising too early, as I knew people who burned out. Don't feel too under pressure, at GCSE if you're predicted an A, and have a terrible exam that module will at worst be a C
Overall, I enjoyed it, I think people exaggerate the stress etc. I was able to have enough time to do the things enjoy, spend time with friends and remain on top of the work.
2) How many exams did you sit?
I sat 23 exams, in the summer as I took triple science. I had 2 exams on about 5 different days. I started revising around Easter, and would recommend the same. I also revised 2 weeks before mocks as these are important for my sixth form.
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11s?
Minimise absences; have fun and always do your homework. Don't start revising too early, as I knew people who burned out. Don't feel too under pressure, at GCSE if you're predicted an A, and have a terrible exam that module will at worst be a C
Any tips for AQA Music? So regretting taking it, nothing seems to go right for me xD
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Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by SampleX
Any tips for AQA Music? So regretting taking it, nothing seems to go right for me xD
Posted from TSR Mobile
Posted from TSR Mobile
Work hard on your compositions! Don't leave them until the last minute because they are not something you can hurry.
Have you done your performances yet? Try to get a good mark on them as they might boost your final grade.
And for the listening, go with your instinct! I found that, generally, if I changed my answer to a listening question, my original answer would be correct, so only change it if you are sure.
Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you have any other/specific questions
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Past papers are your best friend in lots of subjects, but especially so in langauages because the vocabulary is repeated, but remember to go further back than the previous year, you need to do as many past papers as you can. I found with my maths I had the same problems in different papers, e.g. upper and lower bounds have always confused me tons, so when you find your weaknesses go online and look at videos/pages explaining them. Hope this helps!
Mine was good: i would say do coursework on time all the time to avoid feeling stressed out about being behind and start revising early for your exams like 4 months before so you can cover everything or recheck things youre unsure of also its not that stressful its just the teachers who keep going on and on about the summer exams that make you feel stressed
I'm actually starting year 13 in a few days but I thought I'd answer anyway aha
1) How was year 11 for you?
Honestly, it wasn't bad at all. For me personally, I found I was only doing slightly more than in year 10, and again I still managed to have a pretty good social life as well as maintain my grades. ART WAS SO TIME CONSUMING THOUGH
2) How many exams did you sit?
I cant remember the exact number as some of mine were sat in year 10... I'd probably say around 15
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11s?
Don't stress yourself out too much over GCSE's. I know at the moment it may seem like the most important thing ever, but as long as you get B's you're pretty much guaranteed a place at wherever you apply for A-level. (I know this sounds like pretty bad saying it doesn't really matter but it's half true :P ) Also, I guess it really depends on how well you cope with exams, but again even doing too much revision can actually be bad. On the reverse however, don't do what I did and revise the morning or the night before for exams - I mean I still did well and managed to get all A's and A* but I really wouldn't advise it!
Anyway to whoever is going into year 11, good luck with everything!
1) How was year 11 for you?
Honestly, it wasn't bad at all. For me personally, I found I was only doing slightly more than in year 10, and again I still managed to have a pretty good social life as well as maintain my grades. ART WAS SO TIME CONSUMING THOUGH
2) How many exams did you sit?
I cant remember the exact number as some of mine were sat in year 10... I'd probably say around 15
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11s?
Don't stress yourself out too much over GCSE's. I know at the moment it may seem like the most important thing ever, but as long as you get B's you're pretty much guaranteed a place at wherever you apply for A-level. (I know this sounds like pretty bad saying it doesn't really matter but it's half true :P ) Also, I guess it really depends on how well you cope with exams, but again even doing too much revision can actually be bad. On the reverse however, don't do what I did and revise the morning or the night before for exams - I mean I still did well and managed to get all A's and A* but I really wouldn't advise it!
Anyway to whoever is going into year 11, good luck with everything!
My advice: always revise as much as possible for January exams; put in a lot of effort to get the best grade possible - it'll save you the rushed revision you need to do for summer exams, and also mean you might get fewer exams in the summer, when everything is cramped together.
As for the summer exams - start revising in late Jan/ early Feb (15-16 weeks before). It pays off and is probably why I got A*s
Also, don't get dragged down with thoughts about your A Levels. Or University. Just focus on the present.
As for the summer exams - start revising in late Jan/ early Feb (15-16 weeks before). It pays off and is probably why I got A*s
Also, don't get dragged down with thoughts about your A Levels. Or University. Just focus on the present.
Original post by Halimaliba
My advice: always revise as much as possible for January exams; put in a lot of effort to get the best grade possible - it'll save you the rushed revision you need to do for summer exams, and also mean you might get fewer exams in the summer, when everything is cramped together.
As for the summer exams - start revising in late Jan/ early Feb (15-16 weeks before). It pays off and is probably why I got A*s
Also, don't get dragged down with thoughts about your A Levels. Or University. Just focus on the present.
As for the summer exams - start revising in late Jan/ early Feb (15-16 weeks before). It pays off and is probably why I got A*s
Also, don't get dragged down with thoughts about your A Levels. Or University. Just focus on the present.
January exams don't exist anymore though, unless you meant mocks, in which case ignore me xD
Original post by Hannah_Dougherty
Also, I guess it really depends on how well you cope with exams, but again even doing too much revision can actually be bad. On the reverse however, don't do what I did and revise the morning or the night before for exams - I mean I still did well and managed to get all A's and A* but I really wouldn't advise it!
Does a quick flick through the book ten minutes before the exam count as revision? Cause that is what I did
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Are you taking ocr triple science? And I know how you feel. I've finished year eleven and I had 28 exams, partially due to me being an idiot and opting to do extra gcse's outside of the curriculum, and all of my options had multiple exams. But once exams get started, you are just trying to get through them. Being a geek, i actually enjoyed some of my exams, such as for history and rs, and science and english, but that was because I knew my stuff, and I have now left with 3A*', 8A's and 2B's.
Personally, I also started quiet early, so just make sure that even if people around you are chilling out, you keep on top of your stuff, and make sure your COURSEWORK is the best it can be. My biggest stress was from course work, and not having teachers.
Course work can mean the difference between grades, and if you are really unlucky, it can mean 60% of your grade.
But you sound how I felt this time last year. Good luck
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Personally, I also started quiet early, so just make sure that even if people around you are chilling out, you keep on top of your stuff, and make sure your COURSEWORK is the best it can be. My biggest stress was from course work, and not having teachers.
Course work can mean the difference between grades, and if you are really unlucky, it can mean 60% of your grade.
But you sound how I felt this time last year. Good luck
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This is a great forum!
1) What GCSE's are you taking? Maths, English Lit & Lang, Double Science, History, Art & Design and Spanish
2) My expectations of Year 11 are obviously that it'll be much more difficult and stressful but I'm determined to get through it.
3) I'm kind of looking forward to it, seeing all my friends again and having a routine and whatever but not so much looking forward to lots of exams and deciding on colleges and so on!
1) What GCSE's are you taking? Maths, English Lit & Lang, Double Science, History, Art & Design and Spanish
2) My expectations of Year 11 are obviously that it'll be much more difficult and stressful but I'm determined to get through it.
3) I'm kind of looking forward to it, seeing all my friends again and having a routine and whatever but not so much looking forward to lots of exams and deciding on colleges and so on!
I've just left year 11 and I'm going on to do A-levels.
1) How was year 11 for you?
Year 11 was overall a pretty good year. Some parts were extremely tiring, especially long nights of revision, I will admit that! Other parts were exciting as I really got to develop my knowledge further. However, it was emotional due to the fact that the time had come that we were all going our separate ways and secondary school was over. Furthermore, it was extremely stressful for myself trying to figure out my next steps after year 11.
2) How many exams did you sit?
17
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11s?
- Start thinking of your future plans early, attend careers meetings, conventions and open events so you know what career you wish to pursue and the best way to get there plus, what feels right for you!
- Take any mocks that you have seriously as if they are the real thing. Revise for them, get the correct equipment. It gives you brilliant practice for the real thing and you can really get to know your best revision styles and how you remember things the best. Furthermore, you will refresh your brain on what you've learnt already.
-Take notes in your lessons and make sure they're clear as you will most likely have to refer back to them during revision.
(Highlighting important things, words, titles etc in my textbook really helped me)
- Try to go over everything when revising, at the time it my seem minor and you may think that it won't come up but it's happened to me, there was a whole page on the most smallest topic ever and I had to wing my way through it, it wasn't a good experience ahaha.
- Make a revision list/timetable to plan out what you've got to revise.
- Appreciate the time you have at school with all of your friends because it does go past fast.
- After an exam, try to leave it in the hall. Everyone will speak about how they feel. If you found it hard and people say they found it easy, there's no need to stress yourself out about it because you won't know until results day. I spent my summer believing I'd failed maths because I found the exams challenging however, I was pleasantly surprised on results day! So anything can happen, just try not to think about it as much!
- When you feel like you don't have the motivation to revise just remember if you ace it this time you'll never have to do your GCSEs again! Plus, think of the long summer of freedom you have ahead of you. (We had nearly 4 months!!
- Attend after school sessions or catch up sessions for coursework it really helps!
- Most of all be happy and healthy
I took: English lit and lang, maths, media studies, resistant materials, double award science and religious studies so if you need to ask any questions about those subjects I'd be happy to help!! Best of luck!!
1) How was year 11 for you?
Year 11 was overall a pretty good year. Some parts were extremely tiring, especially long nights of revision, I will admit that! Other parts were exciting as I really got to develop my knowledge further. However, it was emotional due to the fact that the time had come that we were all going our separate ways and secondary school was over. Furthermore, it was extremely stressful for myself trying to figure out my next steps after year 11.
2) How many exams did you sit?
17
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11s?
- Start thinking of your future plans early, attend careers meetings, conventions and open events so you know what career you wish to pursue and the best way to get there plus, what feels right for you!
- Take any mocks that you have seriously as if they are the real thing. Revise for them, get the correct equipment. It gives you brilliant practice for the real thing and you can really get to know your best revision styles and how you remember things the best. Furthermore, you will refresh your brain on what you've learnt already.
-Take notes in your lessons and make sure they're clear as you will most likely have to refer back to them during revision.
(Highlighting important things, words, titles etc in my textbook really helped me)
- Try to go over everything when revising, at the time it my seem minor and you may think that it won't come up but it's happened to me, there was a whole page on the most smallest topic ever and I had to wing my way through it, it wasn't a good experience ahaha.
- Make a revision list/timetable to plan out what you've got to revise.
- Appreciate the time you have at school with all of your friends because it does go past fast.
- After an exam, try to leave it in the hall. Everyone will speak about how they feel. If you found it hard and people say they found it easy, there's no need to stress yourself out about it because you won't know until results day. I spent my summer believing I'd failed maths because I found the exams challenging however, I was pleasantly surprised on results day! So anything can happen, just try not to think about it as much!
- When you feel like you don't have the motivation to revise just remember if you ace it this time you'll never have to do your GCSEs again! Plus, think of the long summer of freedom you have ahead of you. (We had nearly 4 months!!
- Attend after school sessions or catch up sessions for coursework it really helps!
- Most of all be happy and healthy
I took: English lit and lang, maths, media studies, resistant materials, double award science and religious studies so if you need to ask any questions about those subjects I'd be happy to help!!
Best of luck!!(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by yellowcopter
1) How was year 11 for you?
In all honesty Year 11 wasn't much different to Year 10. It was quite relaxed at the start, and most of it is just spent going over the same content you did in Year 10 but to a more refined standard (e.g. that was the case for English and Maths). The only difference was coursework and revision - and the fact that although you think you have time there isn't much of it to complete your coursework. This isn't really much of a problem for subjects like Science which were just the 1 or 2 after school catch up sessions, but it was hell for subjects like Art and Graphic Products (D&T) which I both did. I had to stay until 6:30pm everyday for a week for my Graphics CW because I was that behind.
Still got A* for the CW so although the after school coursework sessions are lengthily and tiring, they're most indefinitely worth it if you want those A* CW grades. Art is probably worse and required more time, but I hated Art and refused to do any after school work which is why I got a C for my Art CW and exam. So goes to show, the more work you put in the higher your grade will be.
As for exams, I didn't revise for mocks and for the real exams I just revised like a day or two before most of them. For Science I tried revising a week before them but I kept forgetting things, a day or two before actually works better. At least at GCSE level it does.
2) How many exams did you sit?
I think it was around 18-20 don't know the exact number!
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11s?
Work hard on your coursework, it'll help with your final grade. Also, make sure you find a revision style that works for you way before exam season - because unlike me I did no revision until the real exams and then I realised revision is useless for me if I revise a week before for each exam, but works great the day before the exam. I don't recommend this, I'm just saying that worked for me so figure out what works for you.
Also revise for mocks but only a little and don't worry about super revision - leave that until the real exams. Honestly even if you do crap in your mocks, your school will probably still give a decent grade. For example I seriously couldn't be bothered to revise for Science so ended up getting D's and E's in my Science mocks, still got predicted a B though since my teacher knows I just couldn't be bothered to revise.
In all honesty Year 11 wasn't much different to Year 10. It was quite relaxed at the start, and most of it is just spent going over the same content you did in Year 10 but to a more refined standard (e.g. that was the case for English and Maths). The only difference was coursework and revision - and the fact that although you think you have time there isn't much of it to complete your coursework. This isn't really much of a problem for subjects like Science which were just the 1 or 2 after school catch up sessions, but it was hell for subjects like Art and Graphic Products (D&T) which I both did. I had to stay until 6:30pm everyday for a week for my Graphics CW because I was that behind.
Still got A* for the CW so although the after school coursework sessions are lengthily and tiring, they're most indefinitely worth it if you want those A* CW grades. Art is probably worse and required more time, but I hated Art and refused to do any after school work which is why I got a C for my Art CW and exam. So goes to show, the more work you put in the higher your grade will be.
As for exams, I didn't revise for mocks and for the real exams I just revised like a day or two before most of them. For Science I tried revising a week before them but I kept forgetting things, a day or two before actually works better. At least at GCSE level it does.
2) How many exams did you sit?
I think it was around 18-20 don't know the exact number!
3) What advice will you like to give to the upcoming year 11s?
Work hard on your coursework, it'll help with your final grade. Also, make sure you find a revision style that works for you way before exam season - because unlike me I did no revision until the real exams and then I realised revision is useless for me if I revise a week before for each exam, but works great the day before the exam. I don't recommend this, I'm just saying that worked for me so figure out what works for you.
Also revise for mocks but only a little and don't worry about super revision - leave that until the real exams. Honestly even if you do crap in your mocks, your school will probably still give a decent grade. For example I seriously couldn't be bothered to revise for Science so ended up getting D's and E's in my Science mocks, still got predicted a B though since my teacher knows I just couldn't be bothered to revise.
i take take art for gcse and it is hard and I really don't know how to cope with it. Do you have any tips to do well and get an A star but not to overwork?
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