math grade troubles :(

im currently taking my gcse's, and i have my first maths one this friday. back in january for mocks, i so every disappointingly got a 6, when in class i am one of the best students, but have a terrible exam technique. i want to do engineering for university and a job, so for my a-levels i chose physics, maths, computer science, and further maths. however my school requires a grade 8 in the gcse to do it. they careers officer had an issue with it at first, but then i spoke to them and explained the situation and they became more supportive, my teacher is supporting me too and is optimistic in the fact that i am capable of getting an 8. since january, everyday i have been practicing maths, when i tell you i grinded down and did it, i did. i recently did a past paper and gave it to my teacher to mark, i received a mark of 89/100, which i was so pleased with.
however, im just so scared about the exam, i really want this 8 but i dont know why im feeling so scared. i dont want to go in there and blank out. if anyone can give any tips or such in hopes to give a bit of confidence i would really appreciate it.
good luck to anyone who's going through the same

im currently taking my gcse's, and i have my first maths one this friday. back in january for mocks, i so every disappointingly got a 6, when in class i am one of the best students, but have a terrible exam technique. i want to do engineering for university and a job, so for my a-levels i chose physics, maths, computer science, and further maths. however my school requires a grade 8 in the gcse to do it. they careers officer had an issue with it at first, but then i spoke to them and explained the situation and they became more supportive, my teacher is supporting me too and is optimistic in the fact that i am capable of getting an 8. since january, everyday i have been practicing maths, when i tell you i grinded down and did it, i did. i recently did a past paper and gave it to my teacher to mark, i received a mark of 89/100, which i was so pleased with.
however, im just so scared about the exam, i really want this 8 but i dont know why im feeling so scared. i dont want to go in there and blank out. if anyone can give any tips or such in hopes to give a bit of confidence i would really appreciate it.
good luck to anyone who's going through the same

im currently taking my gcse's, and i have my first maths one this friday. back in january for mocks, i so every disappointingly got a 6, when in class i am one of the best students, but have a terrible exam technique. i want to do engineering for university and a job, so for my a-levels i chose physics, maths, computer science, and further maths. however my school requires a grade 8 in the gcse to do it. they careers officer had an issue with it at first, but then i spoke to them and explained the situation and they became more supportive, my teacher is supporting me too and is optimistic in the fact that i am capable of getting an 8. since january, everyday i have been practicing maths, when i tell you i grinded down and did it, i did. i recently did a past paper and gave it to my teacher to mark, i received a mark of 89/100, which i was so pleased with.
however, im just so scared about the exam, i really want this 8 but i dont know why im feeling so scared. i dont want to go in there and blank out. if anyone can give any tips or such in hopes to give a bit of confidence i would really appreciate it.
good luck to anyone who's going through the same

I never actually sat my gcse's(first year of covid so can't talk about dealing with the pressure, we'll find out when i sit my a-levels next week), but if the past paper was done in exam conditions and you hadn't seen any of the questions before then i be worried. A score that high shows you understand the majority of topics very well and have strong exam technique. With regards to blanking, if you find yourself not being to recall much then just just skip some questions and find one you can do to regain your confidence( obviously come back to the skipped ones later).

Best of luck

You don't need Further Maths to do an Engineering degree - the non RG unis are often better.

Read questions carefully - twice - before starting and check answers as you go .

Hi there.

Exam anxiety is normal and you're not the only one feeling this. For Maths I found answering the Qs I was comfortable with useful to help build my confidence in the exam and sometimes from answering them I was able to answer more challenging Qs.

Otherwise try to attempt all Qs even if it's guessing multiple choice Qs, writing or rearranging a formula or doing a conversion (also don't forget units in answers!). As Muttley says read the Q carefully and also double check answers (for silly mistakes) and show working out to gain some marks if you do get the wrong answer.

Good luck!

i understand, it's just i have spoken to a few engineering students who had found it helpful when they took it, so i guess that kinda influenced by decision! nevertheless, thank you so much for your help, it's appreciated!!

I teach Maths so many of my students go on to Engineering - some who just did Maths have fantastic jobs. Its importance is over-stated.

Remember a uni course will cover the bits of F Maths you actually need if they don't require it.

ahh i understand, thank you for the insight, will definitely keep this in mind!

As the others have said, its not the end of the world if you cant do further maths. I didnt take my gcses cos of covid and Ill be sitting my a levels next week. I have an offer to study Aerospace at QM and I took physics, maths and cs for a levels. Honestly fmaths is only required for the top top unis like camb and imp and even then ik some guys whove been offered a place to study at these unis without doing fmaths. If it all goes bad, you can still go to an average russel group to study eng without further maths. Dw about it! You will do great.

As for exam techs, just make sure u read the question carefully and check the units. If you dont know how to answer a particular question, look at the context, imagine it check the num of marks try and fit it into a topic that you know and just reverse engineer the steps. cos ik with some questions u just dont even reognise the topic on which the question is being tested. 89/100 is truly incredible! so dw.

thank you so much, this honestly means a lot. good luck on your a levels next week and i wish you the best!!

Thanks!!
You will do great and tell me how it goes okay?