my advice to current year 10s, going into year 11:

so i've been seeing a lot of threads like this pop up, so here's a lil something i found...

hey! here's some advice and some things that i wish that i had done earlier on in year 11 to make my gcse process go smoother
(n here are my results if you wanna know lol)

- start early: make all of your resources, as early back as you can, so it’s easier for you further down the line
- however, don’t do what i did and attempt to memorise things in february: there’s simply zero point- how are you going to remember all of that info over the next few months?

- REVISE FOR YOUR MOCKS PLEASE
- i didn’t take my mocks seriously, i revised for some of them, but not enough,
- mocks are a great way to get used to being in the exam hall, which is what all your teachers will tell you; however, i think the main underlying purpose of mocks is to force students to prepare, that way, when it comes to around Feb when you start revising properly, you have some resources already
- i honestly wish i revised for my mocks so much, it’s probably one of my biggest regrets tbh- if i took them seriously i would at least know where my weakness are

- keep alllll papers that your school gives you: they’re perfect for seeing where your problem areas are, and it saves you from printing more than you have to (and ask them for some as well! the worst they can do is say no)

- easter break is a literal blessing- please please please use it wisely

- take a break day once in a while- the first day of easter, i spent the entire day watching netflix and … chilling (shouldn’t have put those two words together but oh well) i then spent an hour in the evening watching planning videos on youtube to help me plan my half term, which i did shortly after

- this leads me onto the next thing- plan every day! i find that when i plan an entire week at once, i just never seem to follow it- i just make to do lists every morning, or the evening before, and tick each thing off as i do it- i make them very specific and occasionally include times- for example, i may have said i wanted to do 17 preplanned flashcards within 45 minutes

- use your teachers: get anything you can off of them, and don’t be afraid to ask questions and give them work to mark!

- don’t worry if “you’re not stressed enough”, it’s normal, it happens, and it’s a good thing

• DONT STOP REVISING AFTER YOUR MOCKS - this is a piece of advice that I was given that I will regret not taking for the rest of my life. If you revise 100 pages over 150 days, those last 50 can be used to consolidate what you already know. If you revise 100 pages in 50, you’re rushing and literally learning everything before you go in to the exam. (look up this thing called a 'retrospective timetable' - a literal godsend)

and finally some wise words i read about work to do over summer:

(Original post by icygrl)
Ok I see these types of posts a lot and I think this is the most plausible answer: the only person stopping you from revision is you.

You are in control of how little and how much revision you do.

You are in control of the way in which you revise.

Therefore, you are the only one who can tell yourself to revise, no one else.

I'm not saying this applies to everyone since there are many various factors that affect everyone's revision, as everyone is different and we all have different situations.

But at the end of the day, the only person who is responsible is you so it's much better to start your revision now, than to leave it the night before or not do any revision at all and end up failing.

in conclusion, the sooner the better, you'll feel less stress towards exam season and feel more prepared. don't burn out straight away, just keep on top of things, ask your teachers for help and make them work for the money they earn. it's a marathon, not a sprint. little and often is best. you've all got this ok, the fact you're even reading this shows you care about your grades and are wanting and willing for them to be the best they can be.

good luck for next year, enjoy it.
it seriously goes by so so quick..

(edited 4 years ago)

Thanks

Yes Mez

Funny thing is, I remember seeing threads like this in the summer before Year 11 and I barely listened to any of the advice. Year 10s-11s, please TAKE THIS ADVICE. I regret not planning revision early. I regret not having enough resources before my exams. I regret saying to myself that I'd do a task and then leaving it all to the last minute.

Don't be like me.

Thanks

Original post by mez_merising

so i've been seeing a lot of threads like this pop up, so here's a lil something i found...

hey! although i haven’t yet received my results, i have some advice and some things that i wish that i had done earlier on in year 11 to make my gcse process go smoother

- start early: make all of your resources, as early back as you can, so it’s easier for you further down the line
- however, don’t do what i did and attempt to memorise things in february: there’s simply zero point- how are you going to remember all of that info over the next few months?

- REVISE FOR YOUR MOCKS PLEASE
- i didn’t take my mocks seriously, i revised for some of them, but not enough,
- mocks are a great way to get used to being in the exam hall, which is what all your teachers will tell you; however, i think the main underlying purpose of mocks is to force students to prepare, that way, when it comes to around Feb when you start revising properly, you have some resources already
- i honestly wish i revised for my mocks so much, it’s probably one of my biggest regrets tbh- if i took them seriously i would at least know where my weakness are

- keep alllll papers that your school gives you: they’re perfect for seeing where your problem areas are, and it saves you from printing more than you have to (and ask them for some as well! the worst they can do is say no)

- easter break is a literal blessing- please please please use it wisely

- take a break day once in a while- the first day of easter, i spent the entire day watching netflix and … chilling (shouldn’t have put those two words together but oh well) i then spent an hour in the evening watching planning videos on youtube to help me plan my half term, which i did shortly after

- this leads me onto the next thing- plan every day! i find that when i plan an entire week at once, i just never seem to follow it- i just make to do lists every morning, or the evening before, and tick each thing off as i do it- i make them very specific and occasionally include times- for example, i may have said i wanted to do 17 preplanned flashcards within 45 minutes

- use your teachers: get anything you can off of them, and don’t be afraid to ask questions and give them work to mark!

- don’t worry if “you’re not stressed enough”, it’s normal, it happens, and it’s a good thing

• DONT STOP REVISING AFTER YOUR MOCKS - this is a piece of advice that I was given that I will regret not taking for the rest of my life. If you revise 100 pages over 150 days, those last 50 can be used to consolidate what you already know. If you revise 100 pages in 50, you’re rushing and literally learning everything before you go in to the exam. (look up this thing called a 'retrospective timetable' - a literal godsend)

and finally some wise words i read about work to do over summer:

(Original post by icygrl)
Ok I see these types of posts a lot and I think this is the most plausible answer: the only person stopping you from revision is you.

You are in control of how little and how much revision you do.

You are in control of the way in which you revise.

Therefore, you are the only one who can tell yourself to revise, no one else.

I'm not saying this applies to everyone since there are many various factors that affect everyone's revision, as everyone is different and we all have different situations.

But at the end of the day, the only person who is responsible is you so it's much better to start your revision now, than to leave it the night before or not do any revision at all and end up failing.

in conclusion, the sooner the better, you'll feel less stress towards exam season and feel more prepared. don't burn out straight away, just keep on top of things, ask your teachers for help and make them work for the money they earn. it's a marathon, not a sprint. little and often is best. you've all got this ok, the fact you're even reading this shows you care about your grades and are wanting and willing for them to be the best they can be.

good luck for next year, enjoy it.
it seriously goes by so so quick..

Thnks x

Reply 5

jemima0103

Yes, you should all listen to this advice. i didn't i just brushed it all off and that was a big mistake
Can i just add that if you are struggling then ask for help. I let my stress build up to a point where i was burnt out and emotionally exhausted. I wish i'd listened to all the people at the start of the year. You have so much support and you can all do this

Reply 6

Kroznox

1) Prioritise your mental and physical state over your studies
2) If you know that you're capable, you might not need to do useless homework. If you underperform in your mocks, use that as motivation and don't let it act as a depressing burden
3) GCSEs don't really matter unless you are aiming for highly competitive courses.
4) Understand your concepts, memorise the mark schemes (especially for CIE)
5) Exam success is based on this 30% Strategy, 30% Luck, 35% Knowledge & Revision, 5% Whether your examiner is doing their job. For CIE students, First Language English is basically 95% Luck...
6) Embrace your exam board, don't get triggered by it. You guys in the UK have nice grade boundaries when compared to CIE for instance. Always acknowledge that you have an opportunity to succeed in your exams, but it is completely up to you if you want to utilise it.
7) Look at memes the day before your exam, it's pretty fun tbh.