The Student Room Group

The most effective and best way to revise for GCSEs?

(Sorry if this thread has been done before)

Any suggestions, tips and techniques and if you have done GCSEs already then include your grades...



thanks :smile:

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Start early. You might think that if you revise a couple of months beforehand you'll forget it, and this may be true, but it'll be A LOT easier to learn again if you have already revised it. Also set specific time aside to relax, it really helps.
cgp revision books. all you need
Have you got exams in January?
Don't leave it to the last minute or do none at all, there's nothing worst than missing the grades you want and thinking that you could have done better if you'd done some work. I regret how little I did and got AAAAABBBCCD, I know I could have done much better but I've learnt from my mistakes.

When it comes to revising find a technique that works for you, there's lots so vary it so you don't get bored. Now having learnt from my GCSE mistakes for A levels I find that mindmapping, past questions and teaching other people works best for me. Try and make some sort of structure, not necessarily a strict timetable but work out what you will do by when and make sure you do it.
Reply 5
Do an hour revision before the exam?
Reply 6
I literally left it to the last 5 days and got AABBBBCCC, I didn't revise for all subjects either. I really regret not working hard throughout my GCSE years, but they're gone now, I'm working my ass off at A-level.

What did I do for revision? Read notes over and over again and repeat it until it sticks into your head, I regret not doing past papers and revising the whole syllabus though, don't start too early, don't start too late, 3weeks in advance 3 hours everyday sounds perfect.... Good luck.
Reply 7
I hate the way school bangs on about revision instead of just trying to teach you the damn stuff in the first place. In my experience in maths and science, 9/10 times if you have gone over something in class and understood it then, you will remember it. In essay subjects, practice questions help but if you're not up on the basics like structure, grammar, actually understanding the question you might want to go over that first. You can't revise for drama, history urrghhh, bad times for me but I still got a B by cramming as many relevant names and dates as I could think of in there and by already doing a practice question almost identical to the exam one. In French I tripped up on the little connecting words like to, of, on etc. I did maybe 10 hours of staring at revision guides, did all my coursework on time and got A*A*AAAAAABB.
Get drunk once a week and doss about in school a lot.
3A*s, 7As and 1B.
Hope this helps. :smile:
do absolutly nothing, enjoy your life, cos next year, A levels will make you work...

6A* 4A

seemed to work :smile:
Reply 10
I'm doing my GCSEs too.

Firstly, I drew my own revision table. Along the top I listed times from 11am to 7pm. Along the side I put Monday, Tuesday ..and so on up until sunday. Then I gridded up the sheet so that each time had it's own corresponding box with each day (posh ehy? :wink:). I then scribbled a line on times and days that I CAN'T revise on. Like CORRIE DAYS! Yeh, I'm a poof. But the point is I scribbled out 7:30 to 9:00 on Mondays, 7:30 on Thursdays and 7:30 to 9:00 Fridays. This is based on a school week, so I crossed 9-5 off from Monday-Friday..Yeh, you get the point? Cross off days you CAN'T do.

Then, write up 30 minute slots through the weekdays that you can devote to a subject. And on weekends, do three 10 minute slots, it seems like nothing seriously. But I know it's all going in. I normally do the hardass 30 minutes on weekdays for the most important subjects (for me) and then use the weekends as quick "review" sessions for all off them. It's better than ending up on facebook, because you know your addicted it it...You know :wink:. Lol, jokes, but yeh! It works for me.
simplifying formulas are concepts onto plaque cards and then carrying them around.
Reply 12
revise for GCSE?? no no... but seriously past papers - the questions never change - dont bother righting out notes, that's a bit girly
Reply 13
infernalcradle
do absolutly nothing, enjoy your life, cos next year, A levels will make you work...

6A* 4A

seemed to work :smile:


this :smile:
Reply 14
I didn't really do that much revision at home, but I suppose the reason I did well (12A* 1A) was because I did the work in school and did all my homework etc and it all sunk in. And nearer the exams all we ever did in class was revise, for weeks on end. Then I just read through my notes/ the CGP books the night before the exam :teehee:. Don't stress yourself out too much over GCSEs. :smile:
Reply 15
Constant revision. Just an hour every night. Won't have to cram so much in your study period and such.
I didn't really do that much, excepting: Spanish (I did a month of preparation for the oral, listening and reading - was much easier when it came to the real thing, however), History (I did about two weeks worth of revision - I was helped with the fact that my two papers were a week apart, meaning I could cram, cram, cram at my leisure) and ICT (only because I paid more attention to the coursework; though in the end, all my portfolio was marked incorrectly by my teacher and so, when it came to be moderated, the grade went down and the 100% and 90% I got on my two exams pulled it up. :ta:)

My grades were: A*A*A*A*A*a*a*AAAAB
Started revising about 3 weeks before the exams. A couple of hours a day. A lot of group revision I find really helps. Teach other people. Good luck!

I got 12 A*s, 3 As
Reply 18
Play computer games and do some half arsed revision the night before. It works.

GCSEs are even easier now than they were when I did them.
Reply 19
Ellerage
I'm doing my GCSEs too.

Firstly, I drew my own revision table. Along the top I listed times from 11am to 7pm. Along the side I put Monday, Tuesday ..and so on up until sunday. Then I gridded up the sheet so that each time had it's own corresponding box with each day (posh ehy? :wink:). I then scribbled a line on times and days that I CAN'T revise on. Like CORRIE DAYS! Yeh, I'm a poof. But the point is I scribbled out 7:30 to 9:00 on Mondays, 7:30 on Thursdays and 7:30 to 9:00 Fridays. This is based on a school week, so I crossed 9-5 off from Monday-Friday..Yeh, you get the point? Cross off days you CAN'T do.

Then, write up 30 minute slots through the weekdays that you can devote to a subject. And on weekends, do three 10 minute slots, it seems like nothing seriously. But I know it's all going in. I normally do the hardass 30 minutes on weekdays for the most important subjects (for me) and then use the weekends as quick "review" sessions for all off them. It's better than ending up on facebook, because you know your addicted it it...You know :wink:. Lol, jokes, but yeh! It works for me.



Hey, i am doing my GCSE'S This year aswell :biggrin:. Do you have an ms word document of the timetable you have drawn up? please can you post it up here somehow. I would really like to know what you mean. I just need to see how to set mine out, i'm thinking of doing your way sounds better :biggrin:. Btw if you don't mind be aksing what grades you expecting? thx

Regards, Kmaster

Quick Reply

Latest