Here to help with GCSEs! (tips and specific questions)

So I've seen a few Year 11s post, but not Year 12s. So I've been through the whole GCSE Results Days and awaiting my AS/2 results now!

Anyway, I did a whole host of GCSEs, and did decently in them, so can answer any questions you may have or advise you if need be.

Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Mathematics
Statistics
English Language
English Literature
Religious Studies
Welsh
Media
History
Art
Photography
Geography
French
Business Studies

I can also probably help with Spanish and Further Maths qualifications :smile:

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Reply 1

L'Evil Fish

Original post by AlphaNick

What grades did you get in each GCSE?

Let's just say Majority A*

But my Photography was a C :tongue:

Reply 2

JanitaTwain

Original post by L'Evil Fish

My Subjects

I can also probably help with Spanish and Further Maths qualifications :smile:

How hard is Further Maths? I'm starting it in September (assuming I get an A or higher the maths exam). Also, I've only been in my current school for less than a year, therefore they've basically predicted me a C in every subject despite the fact that I'm getting A*s in most of them. Will they change my predicted grades in time for when I have to apply for sixth form?

Reply 3

L'Evil Fish

Original post by JanitaTwain

Not too bad at all! When applying to sixth form I just wrote grades down I thought I'd get as opposed to what they predicted me.

Plus you'll have sat exams by then so they should change your grades :smile:

Reply 4

JanitaTwain

Original post by L'Evil Fish

Not too bad at all! When applying to sixth form I just wrote grades down I thought I'd get as opposed to what they predicted me.

Hahahahahahahaahahaha, seriously I'll be a real bighead and put A* down for everything :smile:

How was prom?

Reply 5

L'Evil Fish

Original post by JanitaTwain

Hahahahahahahaahahaha, seriously I'll be a real bighead and put A* down for everything :smile:

How was prom?

Might as well :wink:

gets you in :tongue:

Prom...

I dunno, in a way it was nice, but we had some cheap and nasty thing.

Reply 6

L'Evil Fish

Bump.

Got my AS Results.

Now doing A2 Physics, Chemistry, French (self taught) and Further Maths.

Reply 7

xXxSharkxXx

I'm struggling with revising, I feel like I can just wing the exama but I really want a good amount if A*s. When should I start revising and what techniques do you use?

Reply 8

L'Evil Fish

Original post by SSpringer20

I'm struggling with revising, I feel like I can just wing the exama but I really want a good amount if A*s. When should I start revising and what techniques do you use?

If you feel you can wing it and get a good amount of A*s, you probably can. BUT will you be content missing out on one or two just because you wanted to wing it?

I know I could have easily gotten a few more if I bothered, and that annoyed me for a bit.

So I'd say you can start Easter time, do one subject a day, cover the content, get comfortable with it all. Do one past paper, or two.

Then the day before each exam, do another past paper and go over everything to see if you remember it all.

Techniques wise, are you a visual learner? Or do you like to just do things yourself? If you can just read textbooks and remember that's fine, but if you feel you'll improve through writing out your own condensed notes that's also fine!

Reply 9

xXxSharkxXx

Yeah I guess I can just read the book and know stuff but I do not want to be too cocky and I would rather just go through the pain of revising.

Another question I have is about A-Levels. I want to do a Economics degree and I have chosen Maths, Further Maths, Economics, Computer Science.

Will these choices prevent me from the possibility of getting into oxbridge. I know comp science is not greatly looked upon but I might change my mind and want to do comp science at uni

Books*

Original post by SSpringer20

Those are perfect :smile:

for compsci and Economics too.

One thing you might be able to do is design write sort of code to do with maths/economics perhaps and that'll get you a lot of love from unis.

Original post by SSpringer20

Books*

Original post by Mr...

So I've been lucky enough to pick up Spanish as an extra language GCSE but I only have very basic prior knowledge. How can I build my knowledge up over the holiday? How did you find doing two languages at the same time?

Do you have any tips for the statistics coursework?

Two languages at the same time complement each other to be perfectly honest. Which other language do you do? (French?) if so, you can just translate all your coursework into Spanish and use that!

To improve Spanish, I'd say just think in Spanish, and when you don't know a word, look it up! Also, look at basic tenses. Present, preterite, future, conditional etc

Stats coursework... What's your title? It was a pain in the ass and mine was moderated down because of the teachers marking everyone else's too high (they gave them marks before they'd even done it) and sent those off. And when the real thing didn't match... Lol

Reply 12

xXxSharkxXx

Thanks! May I ask what degrew do you plan to do and where? And what a levels do you do?

Reply 13

L'Evil Fish

Original post by SSpringer20

Thanks! May I ask what degrew do you plan to do and where? And what a levels do you do?

I have applied for NatSci at Cambridge. If that doesn't work out, then most probably Chemistry at Bristol :smile:

ATM I do Chem, Physics, Further Maths and French on the side

Reply 14

Optimum

I'm currently in year 11, and during this crucial year of my GCSEs I reckon I need new exam techniques for the following subjects:
- (Exam board AQA) I'm studying French at the moment, and I've got and A and an A* on my controlled assessments so far (I've just submitted my second writing result and it's being marked by my teacher now). However my problem is listening papers. I get As in reading but if I tried really hard I reckon I'd get an A* in it, but listening is difficult. I tend to always get Bs. My overall grade then is always pulled down by it and always ends up being a B. What exam technique would you suggest me to do in order to improve my listening skills?
- (Exam board OCR) How would you suggest revising for History? I have just gotten an A* in my mock exam, but I feel like I need a new technique that I can use to remember the key facts/numbers that will really boost me from a solid A* to a high A*.
- (Exam board OCR) What methods would you suggest for Religious Studies and could you share your exam technique? I got one mark off an A* in my mock exam, and I was absolutely gutted, though my school do do harsh grade boundaries (90% of the 96 marks to get an A*). How many quotes do you reckon I need in order to get full marks in the 12 mark questions? I got 12 marks on one of my 12 mark questions but in the others I got 11, 10, 10. Also how many dominations do you think I need to mention in order to get full marks?
- (Exam board AQA) I got an A* in my English literature mocks because I did revision booklets over the summer and did mind maps from these booklets, is this a technique that will work well in the exam, or have you got any others in mind?
- (Exam board Edexcel) I got an A* in my Maths grade but I really don't know how. This one is the exam I find it most difficult to revise for, but I can get Maths in the lesson easily. I've just recently been doing mind maps but they didn't really work. Mymaths is the website I've been using in order to get questions and I've been getting past papers from the internet and using class revision booklets, but still, you can only have so many questions. What technique would you suggest for me to keep the information in my brain. For example, I can't mind map a transformation or a loci, and in my year 10 mock this was the thing that I forgot, so I was wondering if you have any techniques to share for me.
- (Exam board AQA) In my real core science I got an A* and this year in my additional science mocks I got A* Chemistry and Physics and then an A in Biology. I tend to revise off the specification and then do past paper exam questions, but I feel like the spec is only the minimum you need to know for the exam, so it won't serve me well in the real thing. What other resources should I use to revise from? Also what techniques would you recommend for doing well in the ISA? Also, data analysis is the most difficult thing for me in Biology as well as using information I've revised and implementing it in an exam question so I'm just wondering what techniques and resources you would recommend me to use to improve this skill?

Reply 15

L'Evil Fish

Original post by Optimum

French:
Contrary to popular belief, I don't feel listening to radio and films is particularly helpful. However, I would recommend watching a film just to get the feel of the sound of French. It won't really improve vocab but watching with English subtitles might just help you fine tune your ear to French.
In the actual listening paper, read the questions before the tape starts playing, and write down some key words you'll need to listen out for maybe. And then when you hear them, write down notes and answer questions quickly. I normally use my first time to just listen for key points, and then second time to write answers down, and third time for checking.

History:
I honestly just memorised the notes for content and then just wrote them out in a nice sounding way in the exam. It's all about knowing stuff, but also, how to get that across and what affects certains things have on history. If your mock exam was fine, just carry on as you are. Don't fix things that aren't broken.

RS:
Can't really advise as I don't even know what domination are! A few quotes will get you through, but with RS it's pretty hit and miss imo.

English Lit:
Again, if your method is working, don't change it.

Maths:
I find once you fully understand something in maths, you don't forget it. So just understanding the concepts behind things, and it'll be fine. So for transformations, for example.

f(x) = x^2
If you have f(x+2) you know that your x values have to be 2 less to create the same y value. So your graph shifts 2 to the left. So now you know when it's in the bracket it moves in the opposite direction as to what you'd expect.

Then just do past papers until you're sick of them!

Science:
They can't really ask anything that isn't on the spec. If I'm honest, just read the textbooks, then do a past paper. Look at what went wrong, and then rectify it.

Data analysis... You'll have a hypothesis. If your data matches, you'll say, yes it matches, then offer an explanation as to why it matches. If not, but you know it should, you can mention what might have gone wrong. Were temperatures too high perhaps.

Hope that helped.

Reply 16

Optimum

Thanks, this has helped a lot, especially french! Also my exams start mid may, when would you suggest I start revising? Take in consideration I just had my mocks in November, so some of the information is still quite fresh in my brain.

Reply 17

L'Evil Fish

Original post by Optimum

When are your latest holidays before exams start? I'd say then.

Also, if you make sure you understand every concept in class, you'll find revision super easy!

Best of luck :smile:

Reply 18

Optimum

April, and thank you.

Reply 19

L'Evil Fish

Original post by Mr...

The language is French :yep:

! Is that even allowed :confused:

Okay thanks :biggrin:

I am doing Puzzles and Games but I have 3 hypotheses that I can't remember off the top of my head.
Really? :zomg:

Why didn't they modify the marks before sending them off?

Yeah it is :tongue:

De nada

si quieres hablar, puedo ententar

Ah, well just use a variety of statistical techniques, explain them, and why they are useful, how they can be made more useful, limitations etc

Because there was a deadline to send marks off by, and people hadn't finished... Was horrendous, we had 2 months to do the whole course, so naturally we didn't even finish the syllabus or anything