Coping with GCSE exam stress

Exams are like less than 3 months away :s-smilie:

and I am genuinely bricking myself. Have already started on revision but I am aiming for at least 10 if not all A*s. Any advice for getting through this unquestionably crap period of my life. Also, how much did you revise and from when, and were you happy with your results?

Reply 1

Mayhem™

19

I'm aiming for A and A*'s , revision can wait :smug:

revising already?

I did my RE GCSE last year and revised one day before the exam and managed to get an A* out of somewhere but I'm going to slowly start revising from next week and I'm aiming for 8 A*s at least :cry2:

I just genuinely don't get how to revise effectively :tongue:

And the fact that you get no time to revise because you're being set essays each week doesn't help.

Reply 4

MersennePrime

1

Hi! I'm sort of in the same position as you. If you're stressed, you need to take it back a notch. Stop revising so much - 3 / 4 months until exams is a lot of time. It isn't too late to get lots of A*s. If anything, it's too early! Do gradual revision: an hour a night maybe? Do some revision on weekends, but, more importantly, have a social life. Go out, enjoy yourself - it'll be important in trying to keep the stress down.

Best of luck!

Reply 5

Sora_

3

START REVISING NOW
I know it's hard to keep motivated but I learned from my mocks last month that a lot f time's needed to cover everything properly

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 6

samb1234

13

No need to worry - you still have plenty of time. Anyway I'm an A2 student now so have had public exams for the last 2 years so I'd say the following:

1. Be honest with yourself about where you are in relation to where you want to be. If you want an A* in maths say and get an A* with no revision currently, then you probably don't need to spend huge amounts of time on maths which could be better used elsewhere (obviously don't get complacent though), and obviously the opposite applies where your current achievement is drastically dissimilar to your aims.

2. If you prepare properly, you should never be worried about an exam. As long as you have prepared properly the exam is just an opportunity to show off what you know. At the upper ends of the spectrum, i.e. you want an A*, for stuff like sciences and maths you should be able to get to a point where you know everything they can ask you, and if you reach this point there is no need to be worried because they can't ask you anything you don't know (use the spec). If you get stuck in the exam on maths or sciences, you just need to work out what part of knowledge which you already have if you prepared properly can be applied to the situation in the question.

3. Revise hard but also make time to do other stuff. As a general rule I typically don't do revision after around 8:30 meaning i have plenty of time to relax watch tv etc. Obviously in the middle of exams you've got to do what you've got to do, but if you know you are ready for something don't feel as if you have to do more just because other people are.

Reply 7

0lut0

20

Original post by hxfsxh

I did my RE GCSE last year and revised one day before the exam and managed to get an A* out of somewhere but I'm going to slowly start revising from next week and I'm aiming for 8 A*s at least :cry2:

I just genuinely don't get how to revise effectively :tongue:

And the fact that you get no time to revise because you're being set essays each week doesn't help.

Me too I did my RE GCSE in Yr10 came out with 100% A* in the mocks then came out with a B :s-smilie:

Reply 8

username2337813

21

Original post by 0lut0

Me too I did my RE GCSE in Yr10 came out with 100% A* in the mocks then came out with a B :s-smilie:

That's so annoying! I got a B in the mock and revised LOADS and then I cba to revise in the real thing and got 5 marks short of 100%.

Reply 9

Reader106

9

Sleep tight knowing that GCSE is the best thing to ever happen in your life compared to the stress of college, work and life in general. It's just a phase and tbf you're gonna feel really horrible by the end of the exam period, but trust me, this is just practice. You're gonna be an emotional cripple for the next 5-6 years so brace yourself.

Reply 10

Science_help

6

Don't mean to sound cocky or anything, however you will realise next year how easy gcse actually are, so my advice is to enjoy yourself and work hard, however don't stress too much. I think of gcse as prep for as levels, the real deal is as level and then after that a2 level.
Good luck.

Reply 11

Edosawr

13

My advice is to make that sure you know the subject content inside and out, like knowing the revision guide off by heart. It settles your nerves loads because you will know that you have the knowledge to answer really any question except those pesky suggesting questions! Good luck!

Reply 12

annashukru2001

1

Original post by Kevin:)

Exams are like less than 3 months away :s-smilie:

and I am genuinely bricking myself. Have already started on revision but I am aiming for at least 10 if not all A*s. Any advice for getting through this unquestionably crap period of my life. Also, how much did you revise and from when, and were you happy with your results?

Hi Kevin
I am going through the same thing as you and if you didn't get the grades you achieved then you know that you tried hard and just keep on revising
Good Luck!

Anna x :smile:

Reply 13

Crammyandcrabby

1

I'm currently doing GCSEs and half term holidays are next week so it's the best time to start revising. Personally, I think I left mine too late because right now I'm not even memorising anything, I'm just writing notes. If worse comes to worse and you can't stop procrastinating, get off your phone or give it to your parent's and tell them not to give it back to you until X time, it's suprising how much you can get done. Set yourself clear and concise targets.
For instance instead of: Monday: Physics Revision do...
Monday: P1, Topic 1 revision for max 3 hours.
Tuesday: P1, Topic 2 revision for max 4 hours review P1 Topic 2 for an hour.

Just remember it will be over soon and you'll have a nice long summer break and a clean slate for sixth form.

Reply 14

glowanti

14

Original post by Crammyandcrabby

I'm currently doing GCSEs and half term holidays are next week so it's the best time to start revising. Personally, I think I left mine too late because right now I'm not even memorising anything, I'm just writing notes. If worse comes to worse and you can't stop procrastinating, get off your phone or give it to your parent's and tell them not to give it back to you until X time, it's suprising how much you can get done. Set yourself clear and concise targets.
For instance instead of: Monday: Physics Revision do...
Monday: P1, Topic 1 revision for max 3 hours.
Tuesday: P1, Topic 2 revision for max 4 hours review P1 Topic 2 for an hour.

Just remember it will be over soon and you'll have a nice long summer break and a clean slate for sixth form.

5 hours work after school on a tuesday night, finishing at 9 pm yeah? LMFAO

Reply 15

glowanti

14

Just be chill about it and you'll be fine, I went into my English lit exam in year 10 knowing it was 100% exam and however I did determined my grade, and I was so chilled and got an A* (of course I revised my butt off but I just didn't stress myself out) live the laaaaaaaidback life and you'll do well

Reply 16

Crammyandcrabby

1

Original post by caitlinford3

5 hours work after school on a tuesday night, finishing at 9 pm yeah? LMFAO

I was talking about half term. You could do lets say 2 hours in the morning from 9 am to 11am, 2 hours in the afternoon from 2 pm to 4pm and then an hour in the evening from 6-7 pm

Reply 17

bslevin

11

The exams are just a little over 3 months away so what I'm doing is just building it up gradually, like and hour a night now but then after half term 2 hours a night and so on. Also the Sundays are good to get lots of work done since most people don't go out then. Prioritize each unit of each subject this will make sure that you work on the stuff you don't know so well.

Reply 18

ritchxe

1

I took 15 exams in year 10, another 15 this year. I managed to get 5 A's 2 B's and 1 C, however I started revision in March and found myself struggling to keep up. I have started revising in January so I don't put myself in the same position as last year. I really advise you start revising now in order to get the best grades and work on topics you are finding more difficult.
TIPS:
- start revising now
- use the study planner under 'my tsr' (i find it very useful)
- ASK, if you need help from teachers get help now
- do past papers
- go to the library
- do at least 2 hours revision after school

Hope this helps!
Shaima

Reply 19

ritchxe

1

Original post by Science_help

Don't mean to sound cocky or anything, however you will realise next year how easy gcse actually are, so my advice is to enjoy yourself and work hard, however don't stress too much. I think of gcse as prep for as levels, the real deal is as level and then after that a2 level.
Good luck.

GCSE exams have become much harder over the years, and of course we're only taught what we must know, so no ones going to find them easy. Either way, GCSE/A-LEVEL exams are just as hard for either student. I wouldn't take GCSE's as a prep tbh, if you don't get the grades at GCSE you can't do A-levels.

Coping with GCSE exam stress

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