The Student Room Group

Free Gcse Help/Tutoring

Hi darlings! After offering someone whilst responding to a thread, I thought I might as well make a post about it. I’ve just finished year 11 and going into sixth form now.

If you need help with English (AQA), History (OCR) or triple science (AQA) feel free to contact me on insta @vicky._.hale or snap @vickyhale1 and we can sort some time where we can FT & I’ll talk you through your subjects :smile:

Even if you don’t do the same exam board as I did for English, I can still help with essay writing/ analysis/exam spec/questions/poems/creative writing and Macbeth/Inspector Calls/A Christmas carol

Or just if you have any general questions about GCSEs don’t be afraid to ask <3
Reply 1
What would u recommend for mcbeth
Reply 2
Original post by vickyhale
Hi darlings! After offering someone whilst responding to a thread, I thought I might as well make a post about it. I’ve just finished year 11 and going into sixth form now.

If you need help with English (AQA), History (OCR) or triple science (AQA) feel free to contact me on insta @vicky._.hale or snap @vickyhale1 and we can sort some time where we can FT & I’ll talk you through your subjects :smile:

Even if you don’t do the same exam board as I did for English, I can still help with essay writing/ analysis/exam spec/questions/poems/creative writing and Macbeth/Inspector Calls/A Christmas carol

Or just if you have any general questions about GCSEs don’t be afraid to ask <3

How do you know you haven’t flopped your GCSE’s ?
that’s nice of u
Reply 4
Original post by SlightlySummer
What's the best revision technique, apart from practising questions, for English lang?


For things like creative writing I severely recommend planning themes. There’s this website called descriptionari and you can search for a certain descriptor and it’ll show up example paragraphs. I used to do theme pages, ie. write phrases/words to do with that theme. I also used to just write good words and phrases I’d want to use in general and look over them before my exams to get my head into that writing style.Essay plans are veeeryyy helpful as well, also story plans! Think about what direction you’d like to take your essay/story and techniques you can include (eg. Cyclical structure). I used to just make a quick plan where I would write zoom in/motif/zoom out/motif/final zoom etc, representing where I’d talk about the surroundings, then the image, then the character. You need to focus on describing things without really saying oh she ran, talk about the character as a being and also their surroundings and how that effects them. You can kindof already guess the types of atmospheres you’ll be asked about and be able to predict them, one thing I used to focus on was trying to build that intensity and shift in suspense while writing. If you can make plans for what can come up, make sure you knoooowwww what’s on the papers and what part of the spec each question is asking you before you go in so you’re aware of exactly what’s ahead of you. For paper 2 big boi question at the end, again, wording. Practice papers don’t mean a lot to you unless you’re looking at the feedback you’re given. My best revision tool for English was using this almost mind map of words and phrases to really encapsulate me into the vibe I knew I had to write about. Other than that I hate to say it but practice questions really are the best way to go about it for English Lang, but nit pick what it is that’s losing you the marks (what AO) and then direct your revision towards that. There’s no point doing countless past papers if you’re doing the same thing you’re already getting full marks on, break down the marking. Look at the marking schemes that’s super good!! Be aware of what the examiner is actually looking for in that question so your writing has a purpose. Hope that helped :smile:
Reply 5
Original post by Nick.M
How do you know you haven’t flopped your GCSE’s ?


In my first mock for English I got 8/9 and then 9/9, I’ve done almost every practice paper under the sun and the actual exam didn’t feel erroneous in comparison. I did make some slip ups for other subjects exams but I don’t think it’s enough to severely diminish not getting a good grade, plus I could be exaggerating those mistakes due to being anxious about results. You’re right, I could open my results slip and find I completely bottled it, but that still doesn’t take away the fact I am able to get those marks outside of an exam hall. Inevitably yes we all have to be in an exam hall that’s what you’re prepping for but seeing as I’ve been in the situation I can advise people to not make same mistakes I did. Some people buckle under pressure and make silly mistakes however the actual fact I can perform outside of that doesn’t give a specific disadvantage to helping someone else practice for their long term goal. A lot of students who actually need specific help tend to be foundation tier students or people trying to bridge the gap between foundation and higher tier grades. Whether I get a 7 or a 9 I’m still able to help them with their goal grade. I get where you’re coming from,I could open my results and see I absolutely messed an exam and got way below my indicator, but I’m still just trying to help people achieve :smile:
Reply 6
Original post by Shafiabi
What would u recommend for mcbeth


that’s very vague, what aspect?
Reply 7
Original post by NoTearsLeftToCry
that’s nice of u


thank you 💖
Reply 8
Original post by vickyhale
In my first mock for English I got 8/9 and then 9/9, I’ve done almost every practice paper under the sun and the actual exam didn’t feel erroneous in comparison. I did make some slip ups for other subjects exams but I don’t think it’s enough to severely diminish not getting a good grade, plus I could be exaggerating those mistakes due to being anxious about results. You’re right, I could open my results slip and find I completely bottled it, but that still doesn’t take away the fact I am able to get those marks outside of an exam hall. Inevitably yes we all have to be in an exam hall that’s what you’re prepping for but seeing as I’ve been in the situation I can advise people to not make same mistakes I did. Some people buckle under pressure and make silly mistakes however the actual fact I can perform outside of that doesn’t give a specific disadvantage to helping someone else practice for their long term goal. A lot of students who actually need specific help tend to be foundation tier students or people trying to bridge the gap between foundation and higher tier grades. Whether I get a 7 or a 9 I’m still able to help them with their goal grade. I get where you’re coming from,I could open my results and see I absolutely messed an exam and got way below my indicator, but I’m still just trying to help people achieve :smile:

Just joking btw
Original post by vickyhale
Hi darlings! After offering someone whilst responding to a thread, I thought I might as well make a post about it. I’ve just finished year 11 and going into sixth form now.

If you need help with English (AQA), History (OCR) or triple science (AQA) feel free to contact me on insta @vicky._.hale or snap @vickyhale1 and we can sort some time where we can FT & I’ll talk you through your subjects :smile:

Even if you don’t do the same exam board as I did for English, I can still help with essay writing/ analysis/exam spec/questions/poems/creative writing and Macbeth/Inspector Calls/A Christmas carol

Or just if you have any general questions about GCSEs don’t be afraid to ask <3

this is so kind!! I do triple science AQA and in my year 10 mocks I got: biology-5, chemistry-5, physics-4 and I think I revised a lot so I am so so upset with this as I am aiming for: biology-8/9, chemistry-8/9, physics-7. already for revision I have made all my notes from free science lessons videos but now I don't really know what to do. I know I should do practice questions and past papers but I am so scared to do one then failing it ygm, non of my revision helps- what did you do for science revision and how did you make it effective?💞
(edited 4 years ago)
Original post by vickyhale
In my first mock for English I got 8/9 and then 9/9, I’ve done almost every practice paper under the sun and the actual exam didn’t feel erroneous in comparison. I did make some slip ups for other subjects exams but I don’t think it’s enough to severely diminish not getting a good grade, plus I could be exaggerating those mistakes due to being anxious about results. You’re right, I could open my results slip and find I completely bottled it, but that still doesn’t take away the fact I am able to get those marks outside of an exam hall. Inevitably yes we all have to be in an exam hall that’s what you’re prepping for but seeing as I’ve been in the situation I can advise people to not make same mistakes I did. Some people buckle under pressure and make silly mistakes however the actual fact I can perform outside of that doesn’t give a specific disadvantage to helping someone else practice for their long term goal. A lot of students who actually need specific help tend to be foundation tier students or people trying to bridge the gap between foundation and higher tier grades. Whether I get a 7 or a 9 I’m still able to help them with their goal grade. I get where you’re coming from,I could open my results and see I absolutely messed an exam and got way below my indicator, but I’m still just trying to help people achieve :smile:

9/9... how is that even possible lol. I struggle and study a lot to get a 4 in english. i just dont understand, how i do everything my teacher tells me but i cant get any higher grade than 4~?
Original post by vickyhale
Hi darlings! After offering someone whilst responding to a thread, I thought I might as well make a post about it. I’ve just finished year 11 and going into sixth form now.

If you need help with English (AQA), History (OCR) or triple science (AQA) feel free to contact me on insta @vicky._.hale or snap @vickyhale1 and we can sort some time where we can FT & I’ll talk you through your subjects :smile:

Even if you don’t do the same exam board as I did for English, I can still help with essay writing/ analysis/exam spec/questions/poems/creative writing and Macbeth/Inspector Calls/A Christmas carol

Or just if you have any general questions about GCSEs don’t be afraid to ask <3


Do you have any recommendations for things to do based around learning high level vocabulary for exams? I feel like sometimes thinking of better words to say in an exam situation causes me to slow down and prevents me from finishing well!
Reply 12
Original post by shady1402
this is so kind!! I do triple science AQA and in my year 10 mocks I got: biology-5, chemistry-5, physics-4 and I think I revised a lot so I am so so upset with this as I am aiming for: biology-8/9, chemistry-8/9, physics-7. already for revision I have made all my notes from free science lessons videos but now I don't really know what to do. I know I should do practice questions and past papers but I am so scared to do one then failing it ygm, non of my revision helps- what did you do for science revision and how did you make it effective?💞


Presuming that’s on higher not foundation? I think maybe what you’re struggling with is although you know what you’d like to say you’re not quite phrasing it right, or not saying enough to get the full marks from that question, orrr you haven’t actually understood what the question is asking. Free science lessons although it’s helpful realistically won’t get you the grades you’re looking for, it’s more of a simplistic version. Cgp guides do specially highlight things you need for higher marks and have tips. Don’t worry about the practice papers! Never be afraid to ask for help either, whether you don’t originally get a mark you’d like you can never get better if you don’t have a foundation to build on. After all you’re doing them to learn from them and to observe where you’re lacking. You’ll only ever actually find what your revision is missing until you look at where you’re losing the marks. Do you still have your mock papers? I could look over them for you and the mark scheme and help you out? Maybe go over some questions with you or something? I need more of a kinda depth into how you’re finding things currently to recommend something 💖
Reply 13
Original post by nic4338282
Do you have any recommendations for things to do based around learning high level vocabulary for exams? I feel like sometimes thinking of better words to say in an exam situation causes me to slow down and prevents me from finishing well!


I think I mentioned this in an earlier reply but here’s what I did;
Look for synonyms of basic conjunctive words that you think will work, make sure you thoroughly understand what that word means because you can use the most judicious language you can blurt but if you don’t know the meaning the examiner will clock and it won’t really aid your marks. Just google synonyms for “...” and look what comes up. Write these on a piece of paper. I used to look over this piece of paper before my English exams and then further more on the day of my exams n that helped LOADS. Again its mindset, gets you into the groove of preparing for what you’re about to write. You see one word and start thinking of others. Mini brainstorm. If you have these words fresh in your mind before you even look at any of the questions you can quickly scribble them down on the back of ur exam to refer back to later once you’ve approached the questions. I would flick back and look at the vocab to give me a boost while writing. Hope that helps :smile: <3
Reply 14
Original post by vickyhale
I think I mentioned this in an earlier reply but here’s what I did;
Look for synonyms of basic conjunctive words that you think will work, make sure you thoroughly understand what that word means because you can use the most judicious language you can blurt but if you don’t know the meaning the examiner will clock and it won’t really aid your marks. Just google synonyms for “...” and look what comes up. Write these on a piece of paper. I used to look over this piece of paper before my English exams and then further more on the day of my exams n that helped LOADS. Again its mindset, gets you into the groove of preparing for what you’re about to write. You see one word and start thinking of others. Mini brainstorm. If you have these words fresh in your mind before you even look at any of the questions you can quickly scribble them down on the back of ur exam to refer back to later once you’ve approached the questions. I would flick back and look at the vocab to give me a boost while writing. Hope that helps :smile: <3


Good to mention that I had like three of these? All with different kinds, so one is language to do with English (triadic structure,hyperbole etc) , one with conjuctive essay type words, and then good descriptors for language writing
Original post by vickyhale
Presuming that’s on higher not foundation? I think maybe what you’re struggling with is although you know what you’d like to say you’re not quite phrasing it right, or not saying enough to get the full marks from that question, orrr you haven’t actually understood what the question is asking. Free science lessons although it’s helpful realistically won’t get you the grades you’re looking for, it’s more of a simplistic version. Cgp guides do specially highlight things you need for higher marks and have tips. Don’t worry about the practice papers! Never be afraid to ask for help either, whether you don’t originally get a mark you’d like you can never get better if you don’t have a foundation to build on. After all you’re doing them to learn from them and to observe where you’re lacking. You’ll only ever actually find what your revision is missing until you look at where you’re losing the marks. Do you still have your mock papers? I could look over them for you and the mark scheme and help you out? Maybe go over some questions with you or something? I need more of a kinda depth into how you’re finding things currently to recommend something 💖


omg that would be amazing for you to go over them with me!! I only have chemistry and biology with me, my physics teacher has my mock for that which is annoying. yep people have told me that free science lessons is a bit simplistic so I also ready my cgp revision guides whilst I'm reading the notes. I think what I struggle with is: 1, I know what it's asking me but I don't know how to get it down on the page, 2, I'm not saying what the mark scheme wants, 3, I mix stuff up. these are the three things I struggle with the most. I don't like to ask for help because some of my teachers, my biology teacher specifically, is telling me that I'll fail, I'm not smart enough, I don't deserve my place in my school (I go to a private school) and stuff like that so I don't really want to be near them, ik it sounds stupid. I have a list of things I need to do before going back, I am gradually getting through it, so do you recommend me doing a past paper for each science? I'm scared to do it though because I've made the notes but I've not actually read through them because I haven't had time, I was planning on doing that throughout the year. tysm for the help xoxoxoxxoxoxox
Original post by vickyhale
I think I mentioned this in an earlier reply but here’s what I did;
Look for synonyms of basic conjunctive words that you think will work, make sure you thoroughly understand what that word means because you can use the most judicious language you can blurt but if you don’t know the meaning the examiner will clock and it won’t really aid your marks. Just google synonyms for “...” and look what comes up. Write these on a piece of paper. I used to look over this piece of paper before my English exams and then further more on the day of my exams n that helped LOADS. Again its mindset, gets you into the groove of preparing for what you’re about to write. You see one word and start thinking of others. Mini brainstorm. If you have these words fresh in your mind before you even look at any of the questions you can quickly scribble them down on the back of ur exam to refer back to later once you’ve approached the questions. I would flick back and look at the vocab to give me a boost while writing. Hope that helps :smile: <3


Thank you so much!

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