Are GCSEs really scary?

Hello,

So I am going into Year 11 and I feel so stressed about GCSEs already even though they are in spring. I feel like I will have this anxiety for the whole year because of this sense of finality. Like you studied so long for these exams, all the screenshots you made, all the videos you watched etc soon will be useless because it’s all coming to an end. I am so scared that I will mess up and won’t do as good. And I don’t know how am I supposed to sit an exam knowing that (more or less) my life depends on it. Because the grades I get will determine whether I get to college/uni and my future job.

Reply 1

username3477548

It's normal to feel that way. Remember that GCSES aren't that important in the grand scheme of things. Just relax and try to have fun this year. Revise in small chunks consistently. You'll be fine.

Reply 2

Scotney

Original post by Marxx

This is so common and is not helped by teachers going on and on about how important they are.However a lot of this talk is aimed at lazy students to try and motivate them into working,and secondly schools have league tables they want to do well in.For the hardworking student this rhetoric about failing your gcse's will be the end of the world is counterproductive
.As you say you are about to start your summer holidays when you should be having fun and a well earned rest from the books and instead are stressing about next summer.Relax.You will do your best and that will be good enough.Your life will not depend upon it as there are always other ways to achieve what you want.I too thought my life depended on my GCE's and remember hoping
my dad would crash the car on our way back from holiday so I would never have to get my results.I am sure you will agree this was ridiculous so do not make the same mistake.
They are just a set of tests which you will endeavour to pass but there is more to life than tests.A lot of life depends on things like people skills,having the ability to be adaptable, and being able to develop ideas. So go have some fun,try something new and put the exams into perspective.You will do just fine.

Reply 3

12RoMistry

Get your revision together at Christmas, keep pressing for the marks you didn't get and teach a family member and you should be fine. :smile:

Reply 4

smallessexgirl

Original post by Marxx

I won't lie, I felt the exact same! I messed up the way I studied for GCSEs but I've been able to help my younger friends plan out how they study. Firstly, don't overload yourself. It really is easier said than done, I know, but it is important to maximise your time. Finish homeworks and coursework the day you get them so you don't have arrears. If you don't have arrears you have more time to relax or fit in extra revision. Don't constantly revise: it won't work and you just overload yourself.

Also, depending on the subjects you take and which are your stronger subjects, you'll know where exactly to focus on. Prioratise your weaker subjects because by revising the stuff you are confident in, you're not letting yourself practise areas you need more focus on. Ask resources from older friends and family members, see if they can help. Teaching younger children can help but don't continue it if it just causes stress. I tried teaching my younger sister but she didn't co-operate and so I gave it up. Instead I now prepare resources to hand down to others.

Invest in a hobby because it can help! Reading and writing is a good one since it helps with English. I use a site called Quotev where you can read and write your own stories and get feedback from other users. I spent the first lockdown on it a lot reading stories and writing a few and I found it improved my analysing skills. Documentaries can nice to watch on particular subjects but if documentaries aren't for you, then YouTube videos are good too. Of course there's FreeScienceLessons but for history I watch a few channels that animate historical events. Oversimplified and Simple History are brilliant and Kento Bento has a few historical videos. Ted-Ed and CrashCourse are good for any subjects actually and a channel one of my old maths teachers reccomended is Numberphile. ASAP Science is amazing for science, especially their songs like the The Pi Song and The Periodic Table Song.

Practice papers are key. I didn't believe it at first but they do help. The more you practise, the more you can time your answers and get a better understanding for how to answer the questions. Depending on what types of questions there are, you can figure out which order you want to answer them in.

Honestly. I wish you the best of luck and you will be fine! :smile:

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 5

ektasmar

Original post by Marxx

I Believe,despite the fact that most of us thought that secondary school was 5 years of depression rising and rising up to a climax called Year 11 and GCSEs, that GCSEs are nothing in front of A-Levels etc.I must say that from January till May it was an emotional limbo,but I shall say secondary school allows for much more relaxation than sixth form.Well,it was somewhat the case for me this year,as I finished year 11 and secondary school altogether with only constant in-class assessments.Also,remember that even if you try hard but still not get the best GCSE results,colleges and sixth forms still accept you.In 2022 you will sit a slimmed-down exam,which means there will be more generosity and less content to study for,whilst I still had to study as much content as I could for the unit assessments I had each week to complete as many pieces of evidence possible for my Teacher Assessed Grades.However,you should still revise the required topics once in a while,especially from January onwards when those will be announced to you.So,relax a bit now,but also study and revise for your GCSEs once in a while whilst in Year 11.The situation very gladly is towards your favour this year,so take advantage of it!Good luck with your GCSEs and I hope you perform to the best of your abillity this year!!!

Reply 6

l.r.

To be honest I felt the same when I was about to go into year 11. But with the constant exams my school put us through and all the stress and pressure, me and a lot of my friends basically just became numb to the life changing fears of the GCSEs and were just tryna get through it. I think when it gets past January you stop looking at the bigger picture because it’s just too stressful and it’s much easier to just look at little stages (eg. thinking ‘I need to study the kidneys for biology so I can finish revising the human health topic’ rather than thinking ‘I need to do well in biology so I can do a biology A level so I can do a biomed degree’). I don’t know if covid made it more stressful this year, but for me I started to sort of become numb to the stress and so in the end it wasn’t too bad… may just be my way of coping though that’s caused that lol.
Good luck with your future studies

Reply 7

Mara1680

Original post by Marxx

A lot of people feel that way in year 11, but I would say not to worry about college at all because it's really not that big of a deal for them. Most colleges will take you in even without good GCSE grades. Most will let you resit Maths and English for free if you need to. Generally speaking, don't worry about college. Many teachers practice fearmongering, telling you about how if you don't get 8s and 9s you won't get in. That's a complete lie, believe me.

But with uni that's a different situation because they do tend to go off your GCSE grades until they get your results. Hence BTEC students are slightly better off in the sense that they have other results to show the univeristy, unlike A-level students.