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GCSE Resits!

Hi guys, so I'm sure like many others today, I got my GCSE results. They were for WJEC P2,B2 and C2. Last year I got A, A*, A respectively. Today, I got B's in biology and chemistry and a C (albeit a high C:/) in physics.
I'm absolutely gutted and am going to resit. For those who have resat exams before, how did you balance your revision time effectively. Or if you were one of those P2,B2,C2 high achievers, how did you revise for them? Because clearly what I did wasn't enough :frown:
Original post by 3mma_gal96
Hi guys, so I'm sure like many others today, I got my GCSE results. They were for WJEC P2,B2 and C2. Last year I got A, A*, A respectively. Today, I got B's in biology and chemistry and a C (albeit a high C:/) in physics.
I'm absolutely gutted and am going to resit. For those who have resat exams before, how did you balance your revision time effectively. Or if you were one of those P2,B2,C2 high achievers, how did you revise for them? Because clearly what I did wasn't enough :frown:


Do not ever feel that you never did enough. You should know that if you have done something plausible in life, then there is no room for doubting your efforts. Even if it is sitting an exam, getting a job or confessing your love. These are many things people are scared of doing. I have met people who do not want to go and sit their exam because they are too scared or feel they have not done 'enough'. So, do not doubt your efforts.

With that over, as you say you are going to re-sit, the first thing to consider is how your learning techniques are? Most people do not know what type of learning suits them best and just stick to the old ways. So, go over past papers and look at what you may have missed out, fill in any knowledge gaps.

Now, with a revision timetable and balancing studies, that is easy and will be if you look at it in a simple way.

1. Set your priorities and look at what needs to be done first and make a checklist.

2. The checklist should contain areas where you are weak and where you need to spend time on - allocate time to subjects or topics that you need to improve.

3. Your timetable should consist of realistic times where you learn and not just revise for a set amount of time with no music, distractions, social websites and just simple concentration.

4. After that, your timetable should contain a time where you simply relax. Whether it is going out for a walk to free your mind, sleep for a while.

Eg. You revise two hours (full concentration) and relax for 40 minutes or an hour (depending on your timetable), then you can tick your tasks and topics of easily.

The last part is dependent on you and your motivation levels. Like I said before, do not feel as if you have not done enough as long as you are aware that you have completed and done the most you can. Sacrifice will be need to considered during this time of your life. You need to let go of a few things that may collide with your studies. As I said before, you need to set your priorities straight. Have patience and strength to eliminate activities that you dont need, and when the exam period is over, you can relax do those things and fill up for the time you have missed out.

WARNING: DO NOT GIVE UP.
Reply 2
Original post by Silver Lining
Do not ever feel that you never did enough. You should know that if you have done something plausible in life, then there is no room for doubting your efforts. Even if it is sitting an exam, getting a job or confessing your love. These are many things people are scared of doing. I have met people who do not want to go and sit their exam because they are too scared or feel they have not done 'enough'. So, do not doubt your efforts.

With that over, as you say you are going to re-sit, the first thing to consider is how your learning techniques are? Most people do not know what type of learning suits them best and just stick to the old ways. So, go over past papers and look at what you may have missed out, fill in any knowledge gaps.

Now, with a revision timetable and balancing studies, that is easy and will be if you look at it in a simple way.

1. Set your priorities and look at what needs to be done first and make a checklist.

2. The checklist should contain areas where you are weak and where you need to spend time on - allocate time to subjects or topics that you need to improve.

3. Your timetable should consist of realistic times where you learn and not just revise for a set amount of time with no music, distractions, social websites and just simple concentration.

4. After that, your timetable should contain a time where you simply relax. Whether it is going out for a walk to free your mind, sleep for a while.

Eg. You revise two hours (full concentration) and relax for 40 minutes or an hour (depending on your timetable), then you can tick your tasks and topics of easily.

The last part is dependent on you and your motivation levels. Like I said before, do not feel as if you have not done enough as long as you are aware that you have completed and done the most you can. Sacrifice will be need to considered during this time of your life. You need to let go of a few things that may collide with your studies. As I said before, you need to set your priorities straight. Have patience and strength to eliminate activities that you dont need, and when the exam period is over, you can relax do those things and fill up for the time you have missed out.

WARNING: DO NOT GIVE UP.


Thank-you, I appreciate the advice :smile: Do you think it's worth me paying to have my exam papers sent back to me, so I know where I went wrong and how to improve?

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by 3mma_gal96
Thank-you, I appreciate the advice :smile: Do you think it's worth me paying to have my exam papers sent back to me, so I know where I went wrong and how to improve?

Posted from TSR Mobile


You should ask yourself that question. Is it really worth you to pay for your exam papers and re-sit?
Reply 4
Original post by Silver Lining
You should ask yourself that question. Is it really worth you to pay for your exam papers and re-sit?


I don't know :'( Ahhh I need to pull myself together!

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by 3mma_gal96
I don't know :'( Ahhh I need to pull myself together!

Posted from TSR Mobile


OP, take your time with these decisions. Do you feel that you have 'failed' or done bad? Remember, it is not failure unless you see it as one. Just because the world may not see it as great, it does not mean that you are not great.

You can still grow and move on from these obstacles, as long as you know that you are capable of more than just a grade.
For me what made my grades improve was to not stress. The day before the exam (for whatever resit it was) I only done a half hour of skimming pages for that particular resit- knowing you've revised effectively a while beforehand calms you down more:smile: Also try websites your school might have, if your school has it, SAM learning is a good one, I also done the activities on BBC bitesize and then done the mini-tests. Additionally doing a few practise papers and then going over the mark scheme is very helpful. As for balancing the revision, try revising about a half hour of each every day, or if you prefer you could do an hour an a half of one of them...think of parts of the unit you may've concentrated on too much before and concentrate on them less while concentrating on things you struggled with in the exam more. (I went up 2 grades in biology and I didn't get my original paper back for marking)...good luck!
What's SAM learning really good for ? So the best way to revise and spread your time is to to spend Bout 2 hours per night split up... Then just chill out. Is two hours in chunks good enough ? What do you mean never doubt yourself ? Anyway excellent post :-P

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