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Reply 2320
Original post by Saracen's Fez
No, it's just a running joke about people who row wanting to tell everyone about it (and sign them up for rowing) a bit like vegans outside the Cambridge bubble.


/A gentle nudge in the general direction of @vincrows lol :wink:
18 hours of revision so far this week, another 6 hours tomorrow. :redface: Wonder if I'm pushing myself too far, but exams feel like they're in 2 minutes not 2 months.

Think I'm gonna start running my GYG blog again though
(edited 6 years ago)
I stuck my offer letter to the wall above my desk

I hoped it would act as motivation

Now it just looks down on me, intimidating me with its scary words

0/10 not recommended
Haven't been more scared about missing my offer till today... like in past papers i'm on the boundary for a lot of my papers for where I need to be... first exam upcoming in less than 29 days now :redface:

Just gonna hope the paper is nice for me and I perform!
Original post by Xphoenix
Haven't been more scared about missing my offer till today... like in past papers i'm on the boundary for a lot of my papers for where I need to be... first exam upcoming in less than 29 days now :redface:

Just gonna hope the paper is nice for me and I perform!


I know the feeling.. except I'm miles away in maths... Like getting a D grade.

Does anyone reckon that if I got my head of sixth form to write to my college explaining the issues that we've had with maths teachers this year and I got say A* A* in chem and bio and a B in maths (rather than A to make the offer I have) it might save me, especially considering I got one unit from a U to a B on my own in like 10 weeks?


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Reply 2325
Original post by rayofsunshine98
I know the feeling.. except I'm miles away in maths... Like getting a D grade.

Does anyone reckon that if I got my head of sixth form to write to my college explaining the issues that we've had with maths teachers this year and I got say A* A* in chem and bio and a B in maths (rather than A to make the offer I have) it might save me, especially considering I got one unit from a U to a B on my own in like 10 weeks?


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If you have ANY extenuating circumstances it's much better to notify the College before rather than after taking your exams.

What did you get in AS Maths?


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Original post by rayofsunshine98
I know the feeling.. except I'm miles away in maths... Like getting a D grade.

Does anyone reckon that if I got my head of sixth form to write to my college explaining the issues that we've had with maths teachers this year and I got say A* A* in chem and bio and a B in maths (rather than A to make the offer I have) it might save me, especially considering I got one unit from a U to a B on my own in like 10 weeks?


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Can I help you at all with A level maths? What exam board are you with and which papers (or even better, topics) are you finding hard? Maths can feel so hard but once you get it it can feel easy as well. My teacher was absent for like 4 months in A2 year and I still did fine, try not to let it worry you and make sure you put extra work in on your own to make up for lack of teacher
Original post by k.russell
Can I help you at all with A level maths? What exam board are you with and which papers (or even better, topics) are you finding hard? Maths can feel so hard but once you get it it can feel easy as well. My teacher was absent for like 4 months in A2 year and I still did fine, try not to let it worry you and make sure you put extra work in on your own to make up for lack of teacher


I'm certainly getting there and I can do the questions in my textbooks and revision guides, it's just more when I get to an exam situation I just seem to mess everything up... Probably because I'm only like 90% confident so I panic on stuff. We had a really good teacher until like October of A2 year but she is pregnant and the baby due in late May, so she is only back for like 3 weeks after the holidays (we don't go back until Monday) so they then got this other guy in so we would have a teacher through to our last exam in mid June, leaving us with just 1 lesson a fortnight (out of 9) with our old teacher. But this other guy was awful, he basically made us feel really stupid and explained things in the most complicated way possible. The last lesson we had him we as students managed to work the answer out to a question in about 15 minutes less than him... And it was only a three mark question 😂😂. Anyway he was replaced as of the last week before the holidays and the new guy is loads better, and the confidence is kind of there, but I'm worried in case it's too little too late, you know what I mean?? And I'm certainly putting in extra work but it's also hard to find the balance between putting extra work in for maths and covering topics I'm weaker at in bio and chem


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Original post by Doonesbury
If you have ANY extenuating circumstances it's much better to notify the College before rather than after taking your exams.

What did you get in AS Maths?


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I got an A at AS but only just, so I have to still really exceed the A grade boundary in each paper. It would be better for a letter on something like that to come from school not me, wouldn't it?? I might see what my mocks come in as next week and then possibly speak to my head of sixth form.


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Reply 2329
Original post by rayofsunshine98
I got an A at AS but only just, so I have to still really exceed the A grade boundary in each paper. It would be better for a letter on something like that to come from school not me, wouldn't it?? I might see what my mocks come in as next week and then possibly speak to my head of sixth form.


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Definitely better to come from your school. And do reach out to the TSR Maths Study Help forum too.

Original post by k.russell
Can I help you at all with A level maths?


Nice one.

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(edited 6 years ago)
Well I've just finished making my own revision guide for English language. 22 pages. Normally I'd consider something like that a waste of time, but we don't have textbooks and the teaching has been a bit piecemeal over the two years so it's been pretty helpful to get it all down in the same place and properly evaluate what I need to know. :smile:
Original post by Steliata
Well I've just finished making my own revision guide for English language. 22 pages. Normally I'd consider something like that a waste of time, but we don't have textbooks and the teaching has been a bit piecemeal over the two years so it's been pretty helpful to get it all down in the same place and properly evaluate what I need to know. :smile:


Woo!!!
Original post by rayofsunshine98
I'm certainly getting there and I can do the questions in my textbooks and revision guides, it's just more when I get to an exam situation I just seem to mess everything up... Probably because I'm only like 90% confident so I panic on stuff. We had a really good teacher until like October of A2 year but she is pregnant and the baby due in late May, so she is only back for like 3 weeks after the holidays (we don't go back until Monday) so they then got this other guy in so we would have a teacher through to our last exam in mid June, leaving us with just 1 lesson a fortnight (out of 9) with our old teacher. But this other guy was awful, he basically made us feel really stupid and explained things in the most complicated way possible. The last lesson we had him we as students managed to work the answer out to a question in about 15 minutes less than him... And it was only a three mark question 😂😂. Anyway he was replaced as of the last week before the holidays and the new guy is loads better, and the confidence is kind of there, but I'm worried in case it's too little too late, you know what I mean?? And I'm certainly putting in extra work but it's also hard to find the balance between putting extra work in for maths and covering topics I'm weaker at in bio and chem


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well my best tips for A level maths revision are as follows;

Try to maximise every past paper you do, by this I mean always try to do them in timed conditions, and most importantly, see where you are going wrong and analyse to find your weakest areas (also repeat questions you got wrong, unless it is only a trivial mistake i.e. signage error or losing an exponential)

Once you have found your weak areas, hit them hard with questions until they are your strongest areas, for me this was D.E's in C4.

Try to find relevant material which is slightly more challenging than official papers, if you are on edexcel the Madas maths C3/C4 papers are amazing (I think @TeeEm produced these? If so, thank you). I really can't recommend them enough.


When it comes to the exams my tips are;

Become expert in timing papers, learn to eat up easy questions in as little time as possible and be sure to leave anything you don't make meaningful progress on quickly on your first pass of the paper, as the problem will stay on your mind as you work through the other questions and you will be able to focus more in a relaxed manner once you have almost completed the paper.

Don't be phased by questions that seem hard, as they will be solvable using A level techniques you've learnt, sometimes it is just presented in a bit of a different way. Make sure you are one of the people who sees through the examiners tricks.

Believe in yourself! You are one of the better candidates sitting this exam and you will be successful. Trust yourself and the work you have put in, I have always felt that the revision stage is the stressful/difficult phase and the exam is a bit of a relief.
Original post by rayofsunshine98
I know the feeling.. except I'm miles away in maths... Like getting a D grade.

Does anyone reckon that if I got my head of sixth form to write to my college explaining the issues that we've had with maths teachers this year and I got say A* A* in chem and bio and a B in maths (rather than A to make the offer I have) it might save me, especially considering I got one unit from a U to a B on my own in like 10 weeks?


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Examsolutions.net - great resource.

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Original post by Obiejess
Examsolutions.net - great resource.

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Thanks for this - I've been using it for a while already to revise.


Does anyone else feel like everyone is trying to stop them doing anything other than revise?? My mum just had a go at me because I've agreed to go on a trip with guides to an event less than an hour away that they only do every 4 years for a day at the weekend before my final two exams. When everything in those exams could have been on one of the previous papers in that subject, so I'll have had to revise it all already. Anyone else feel this is a little bit unfair??


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Original post by k.russell
well my best tips for A level maths revision are as follows;

Try to maximise every past paper you do, by this I mean always try to do them in timed conditions, and most importantly, see where you are going wrong and analyse to find your weakest areas (also repeat questions you got wrong, unless it is only a trivial mistake i.e. signage error or losing an exponential)

Once you have found your weak areas, hit them hard with questions until they are your strongest areas, for me this was D.E's in C4.

Try to find relevant material which is slightly more challenging than official papers, if you are on edexcel the Madas maths C3/C4 papers are amazing (I think @TeeEm produced these? If so, thank you). I really can't recommend them enough.


When it comes to the exams my tips are;

Become expert in timing papers, learn to eat up easy questions in as little time as possible and be sure to leave anything you don't make meaningful progress on quickly on your first pass of the paper, as the problem will stay on your mind as you work through the other questions and you will be able to focus more in a relaxed manner once you have almost completed the paper.

Don't be phased by questions that seem hard, as they will be solvable using A level techniques you've learnt, sometimes it is just presented in a bit of a different way. Make sure you are one of the people who sees through the examiners tricks.

Believe in yourself! You are one of the better candidates sitting this exam and you will be successful. Trust yourself and the work you have put in, I have always felt that the revision stage is the stressful/difficult phase and the exam is a bit of a relief.


Thanks for this, it really helps 😀😀


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Original post by rayofsunshine98
Thanks for this, it really helps 😀😀


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One thing I would recommend though, is 'do them timed' as in be aware on how long you are taking but don't actually care too much about doing 1 question per 5/10 minutes or whatever. It doesn't usually help you're work quality. In fact it's probably just worth sitting there as long as you want for areas you are not great at.
Original post by rayofsunshine98
Thanks for this - I've been using it for a while already to revise.


Does anyone else feel like everyone is trying to stop them doing anything other than revise?? My mum just had a go at me because I've agreed to go on a trip with guides to an event less than an hour away that they only do every 4 years for a day at the weekend before my final two exams. When everything in those exams could have been on one of the previous papers in that subject, so I'll have had to revise it all already. Anyone else feel this is a little bit unfair??


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I know what this is, it's fine. Basically parents hear about 'normal' kids who say they've done loads of revision but haven't, end up blowing it off and being lazy, and :innocent::innocent::innocent::innocent: up their lives. She knows how much you want to get into Cam, so she is terrified of this happening to you, little does she know you're more terrified of your failure than she is, so have it under control. Just trust your own judgement, but she has your best interests at heart :smile:

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Original post by EnglishMuon
One thing I would recommend though, is 'do them timed' as in be aware on how long you are taking but don't actually care too much about doing 1 question per 5/10 minutes or whatever. It doesn't usually help you're work quality. In fact it's probably just worth sitting there as long as you want for areas you are not great at.


Yeah that's what I've been doing


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Original post by Obiejess
I know what this is, it's fine. Basically parents hear about 'normal' kids who say they've done loads of revision but haven't, end up blowing it off and being lazy, and :innocent::innocent::innocent::innocent: up their lives. She knows how much you want to get into Cam, so she is terrified of this happening to you, little does she know you're more terrified of your failure than she is, so have it under control. Just trust your own judgement, but she has your best interests at heart :smile:

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Yeah I know she does, I just wish she'd lay off me a bit


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