Doing GCSES with a Chronic Illness

CFS buddy!

I'll move this over to GCSEs in a second so you might get some more replies. But it is a really hard situation. All you can do though is your best, and remember that health comes first always- without that you can't do anything. It's so easy to say I know but you need to look after yourself, and doing too much before the exam means you'll just be ill on the day. So try and resist that temptation if you can.

That aside, organisation helps a load! I really struggle with it too, but I set alarms and notes to myself for absolutely everything, and the calendar on my phone is an absolute lifesaver. The other thing I do is write a (REALISTIC) list of five things I want to get done each day. They can be anything from showering and doing the washing up to a paragraph of an essay or reading something. It makes me think about what I need to prioritise and helps me to pace myself.

When you get up tomorrow write a list of what you need to do for your exam and break it into little chunks. Then you can tick them off as you go. Do a little bit on each topic first so you have a vague idea, learn a couple of quotes from each or whatever and you can go into more depth if you have time. If you haven't already take a look at a couple of past papers too, so you know what's expected of you. It might be you only have to answer a couple of sections, in which case pick the topics you're most likely to go for and focus on them. It's still a good idea to do a little bit on your others in case the questions are horrible or something, but it does save you a little bit of time.

Good luck! You've got this

Edit: I'm an idiot it's already in GCSEs. Not sure why I thought otherwise- ignore me

Cfs buddy!!

This is all very helpful and I'll take all of this on board, especially the list idea, that'd definitely help me. Pacing is one of the main things I need to work on, especially with an exam coming up.

It feels good to know that someone's been through it too & I'm not alone in my experiences

Thank you so so much!!

If you want any help/advice with fine art just give me a shout

Pacing is so difficult, especially this time of year with exams and stuff. I'm way better than I used to be at it but after six years it's still te thing I struggle with most. We'll get there though let us know how it goes!

Hi,
So I have just finished year 11 with chronic migraine and yes I found it extremely tough but I got through it in the end💪 since year 6 I have had less than 40% attendance with even less time spent in class (I was mostly in the learning support unit). My school were extremely unhelpful to say the least.

I ended up taking 9 GCSEs which was alot more than we thought I would be able to manage. I am under he care of gosh and they never ever thought I'd sit 4/5 let alone 9. I am luckily (not to sound like a pr!CK) naturally kinda clever but am not expecting grades anything like my targets (all 7s-9s). I think the first thing is to accept that you aren't going to necessarily get those top grades because you are not well and any time you are marginally better you spend catching up with all the lost time whilst being ill (I hope you understand that!!) You have to cut yourself some slack and remember you have extenuating circumstances and even to do the most basic of tasks is an achievement. I did drop 1 GCSE (and do wish I dropped more cause it would have made it alot easier) so I think that is a positive step you have taken) I have friends with chronic illnesses that did a couple GCSEs a year or took 3 years over their a levels and they are still getting into unis so do not worry about next steps or anything like that because your illness will be taken into account. In terms of keeping up with work whilst not in I usually just worked through textbooks myself with whatever work teachers sent (lots of teachers gave up sending me work in the end though cause they got fed up😔) and I found it way less exhausting doing the work myself (and visiting the teachers in break or emailing them) than being in class on a bad day when I really should be resting at home. I could barely revise so did most of my revision outside in the garden (liked the change of scenery) in half term and Easter I spent most of my evenings sleeping and perhaps catching up with some work I may have missed. At that point (after Xmas) my mental and physical health was deteriorating greatly and I was in school for maybe 3 mornings a week focussing on attending classes like drama and art that kept my mood up and I was learning more in and then doing the rest in half the time of a lesson at home 😂

Okay I know this is super long but I just wanted to mention the dreaded exam access stuff (you may know all of this and have it sorted out with school but my school ****ed us around and lied about what I was entitled to so incase your school is the same here is what you can get😂) okay so if you can prove your chronic illness has flared up in the last 3 months or something you can get 3% added onto your grade (not much ik but it's something) I also got rest breaks and a separate room. During rest breaks they would stop the clock and I could relax and try and calm my symptoms down and then start again later. You could ask for a scribe or laptop if you find that easier and qualify. I did miss a few exams which i had to send a medical certificate in for along with a TON of other medical stuff (hopefully they accept this and they make up my grade from the missed exam through averaging it out and stuff - yes it won't be as high but at this point a 4/5 is a 9 to me). There were definitely exams I regretted going to as I was way too ill and at one point (I get severe visual aura with my migraines) I couldn't see the questions.

This has been so long but I just wanted you to know that you are not alone and there are alot of us fighting chronic illnesses and we get through what we can in the end. Ignore all your schools expectations and target grades and just do your best in your exams with your CFS but do not let exams take over from your recovery and needing time out from revision to relax. The main days I revised were the weekend in tiny 30 minute chunks (maybe 3 of these in the day) was all I could manage but it got some revision in without being detrimental to my health (apply the spoon theory) . My health did get alot worse after Xmas mocks (as it does for everyone with chronic illness apparently) and it has taken a good month after GCSEs to "settle" back into the usual rather than flaring up. Best of luck and feel free to message me xxx im super scared for results day but I am so so proud of myself for getting through school with so much extra **** going on 💪🥰 and whatever my results I am proud for completing some exams