The Student Room Group

Mannys GCSE Journey (A Blog sort of thing)

Summer is almost over...meaning I start GCSE :vroam:
In any case that means I have to get to work in order to reach my ambitious goal of 8-10 A*s and the rest A.

Who am I?
I am a 15 year old student studying at a Grammar school (currently crapping myself because of a certain set of exams *hint* *hint*) and I want to invest myself in a career in medicine, particularly cardiology for personal reasons. I am writing this blog not only to motivate myself and keep track of my studies, but also to let others learn from my hopeful success :crossedf: and inevitable failures.

Subjects

Maths (AQA)

Biology (AQA)

Chemistry (AQA)

Physics (AQA)

English lit/lang (WJEC)

RS (Can't remember-will update soon)

Business (Edexcel)- Hate with a passion

Design & Technology (AQA)

History (will update)

German (AQA)

In order to do well in my exams I must do the following:

Learn material ahead of time- so lessons seem to be revision sessions

Do homework as soon as school finishes/ I get home to allow for maximum revision time

cut down TV/ Game time to one hour maximum

Only use phone when in bed/ revising (ONLY FOR MUSIC)/ walking home...etc

After revising for about 3-4 hours do a few past papers (NOT FOR ONES YOU ALREADY ARE "GOOD AT":wink:

In the months leading up to an exam no junk food as it makes me drowsy...less time in a day.

Do all homework on Saturday...the rest of the day can be used up to revise or chill

TV time can be increased (4-5 hours max on Saturday...3 hours max on Sunday)

On Sunday, revision is the subject- revision must be done for >5 hours (including past papers).

Spoiler


That's all the official info I have to offer at this point in time but I will update this thread every week (hopefully:biggrin:) and my next update will hopefully have my schedule for revision.

THX
















(edited 7 years ago)
Nice one, good luck. Blogging about it is heading in the right direction.

3-4 hours each day is probably overkill but I would say try it at first and modify as necessary. 1 hour for gaming/TV on a weekday is probably not enough but again, try it and see what happens.
Original post by msj/rsj
Summer is almost over...meaning I start GCSE :vroam:
In any case that means I have to get to work in order to reach my ambitious goal of 8-10 A*s and the rest A.

Who am I?
I am a 15 year old student studying at a Grammar school (currently crapping myself because of a certain set of exams *hint* *hint*) and I want to invest myself in a career in medicine, particularly cardiology for personal reasons. I am writing this blog not only to motivate myself and keep track of my studies, but also to let others learn from my hopeful success :crossedf: and inevitable failures.

Subjects

Maths (AQA)

Biology (AQA)

Chemistry (AQA)

Physics (AQA)

English lit/lang (WJEC)

RS (Can't remember-will update soon)

Business (Edexcel)- Hate with a passion

Design & Technology (AQA)

History (will update)

German (AQA)

In order to do well in my exams I must do the following:

Learn material ahead of time- so lessons seem to be revision sessions

Do homework as soon as school finishes/ I get home to allow for maximum revision time

cut down TV/ Game time to one hour maximum

Only use phone when in bed/ revising (ONLY FOR MUSIC)/ walking home...etc

After revising for about 3-4 hours do a few past papers (NOT FOR ONES YOU ALREADY ARE "GOOD AT":wink:

In the months leading up to an exam no junk food as it makes me drowsy...less time in a day.

Do all homework on Saturday...the rest of the day can be used up to revise or chill

TV time can be increased (4-5 hours max on Saturday...3 hours max on Sunday)

On Sunday, revision is the subject :h:- revision must be done for >5 hours (including past papers).

Sample-Weekends
Sample-Weekdays

That's all the official info I have to offer at this point in time but I will update this thread every week (hopefully:biggrin:) and my next update will hopefully have my schedule for revision.

THX


















You really don't need to do this for good grades. But I admire your work ethic if you do pursue it.
Reply 3
Thanks for taking an interest,
This routine is only a little more "extreme" :mmm: than the one i used when i did my maths GCSE last academic year, and that was ONE subject i did a couple hours a day and pretty much didnt touch TV or consoles...etc. I will definitely take your advice and modify the schedule as i need to (i have made a basic schedule for every normal week).

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by msj/rsj
x

I think you should definitely learn material ahead of time - but if you don't, it's not a problem as it's just GCSEs. But, don't ever think like that - I'd rather you finish the content earlier and use the lessons just to ask everything you possibly struggle with.

Do homework as soon as possible or I'd rather say, whenever you revise those topics before (that's my new plan for A-levels since I'm changing). Every homework is linked to what you've studied or what you're going to study in terms of topics. If it's what you've studied then just do it today, so you remember what you've learnt and can also test your understanding in that way if the homework includes questions. If it's what you're going to learn, just do it before the lesson so that when you come into the lesson you already know some of the stuff and just reinforce your knowledge.

Watch TV if you want to - just make sure what you're watching is good and not stupid stuff like I do lol which is of no use. Try to cut down on game time, PLEASE. I played 8 hours a day and I don't even know - I'm just really lucky or clever, no idea which one - or both? :biggrin:. Use your phone whenever you want to, but again - stick to your limits.

I'd recommend to create a revision timetable if you're going to follow it, at least try to. Revise for 3 hours a day at GCSE - it's way more than enough I think considering you've got a lot of talent. I never did anything compared to that, but again - I wish I did. Do past papers the next day - but only do past papers once you've finished learning the content required for the syllabus, don't do past paper questions just to test that topic's knowledge. Use questions from textbooks to do that - past papers are only meant to be done after you've learnt it all.

Try to make Sunday your relaxing day, but also keep in mind you have to study. I'd say, revise the same amount on Sunday - 3 hours, but again it's your choice. At A-levels, I'd revise more on weekends because you'd have to, you're helpless.

Lastly, good luck with your GCSEs and I'll be checking this blog every now and then to see your progress and to motivate you, even though I need it more than you do lmao.
Reply 5
Thanks for the advice!
I have already made a schedule for my studies and saturday is pretty much my chill day (I dont have to be irritated coz of school the next day like i would if it was sunday) but only after homework and yes my weekday tv time will be 1-2 hrs and 3-5 hrs revision time a day...and also the advice on past papers is really appreciated

Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by msj/rsj
Thanks for the advice!
I have already made a schedule for my studies and saturday is pretty much my chill day (I dont have to be irritated coz of school the next day like i would if it was sunday) but only after homework and yes my weekday tv time will be 1-2 hrs and 3-5 hrs revision time a day...and also the advice on past papers is really appreciated

Posted from TSR Mobile


No problem, after all it's your life and you got your own decisions to make. This is just advice, but remember - social life is incredibly important. Remember, once you go to University - you'll have to be social and GCSEs are the easiest time to get this skill (at A-levels it's a bit harder lol)
Reply 7
Update 1- 29/08/2016
Ok so after some asking around...I have decided to tweak the things I have to do this year. Instead of doing 5 hours a day of revision I will begin the year with 3 hours a day as before I did not account for my social life and the fact that I have other things to do (also many people have said that would burn myself out) and then in April time or as I near exams I will increase to 5 hours a day. My next update may also come soon and in it I will have a spreadsheet of my 5 hour schedule and my 3 hour schedule

THX
Original post by msj/rsj
snip


I'm assuming you're in Year 11, as a start.

3 hours a day? Now? Don't. Keeping that up will burn you out, and you will ultimately be disinterested by the end. You'd also be going through past papers quite quickly, and you'll really need those closer to the exams, so save them. This is because it'll eventually get to the point where you're not learning, you're just learning answers to specific questions. Instead, I'd start slowly building your resources, instead of rushing into it, although there is an impulse to do it. You still have plenty of time, there really is no rush to do obscene amounts of revision yet. I am in no way saying, don't start now, I'd just advise approaching it slowly, by compiling your notes over time. But don't go over-board, as I mentioned earlier.

NOT FOR ONES YOU ALREADY ARE "GOOD AT"


Do past papers regardless of your confidence for the subject. Not doing so would likely result in you neglecting that subject, and essentially worsening your motivation and performance when it comes to mocks. By all means, concentrate on the subject you're weakest at, but don't neglect the subjects that you're strongest at. Doing so, you could reverse the situation.

cut down TV/ Game time to one hour maximum


No rush to do that now, but if you find it a distraction, go ahead! :smile:


I have similar aspirations, grade-wise, to you, and I too am keeping a blog (you can see in my sig) :biggrin:. Good luck in a future degree in medicine, just don't get too ahead of yourself, at the moment, especially if you're only just starting GCSEs.

Remember, quality > quantity, applies to pretty much anything, and the same goes for revision. If you feel you're unable to concentrate over such a long period of time, split up your revision into chunks to avoid losing interest., something that is very easy to do. Your work ethic seems great, though, which will definitely help come exam season.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 9
Thanks for the advice but in my opinion (for me) 3 hours a day is pretty good as in that time i will do 2-3 different subjects, also, even though its technically not revision i will use the time slot for a lesson to get ahead in that lesson (if that makes sense). But i will definitely taje into account your advice on pp's which i will be doing later in the year ( early on i plan to do questions from my textbooks and online...etc):top:

Posted from TSR Mobile
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by msj/rsj
Thanks for the advice but in my opinion (for me) 3 hours a day is pretty good as in that time i will do 2-3 different subjects, also, even though its technically not revision i will use the time slot for a lesson to get ahead in that lesson (if that makes sense). But i will definitely taje into account your advice on pp's which i will be doing later in the year ( early on i plan to do questions from my textbooks and online...etc):top:

Posted from TSR Mobile


Oh ok, just don't wear yourself out prior to the exam, or diminish your motivation.
Reply 11
Thanks for your concern i will try my hardest not to :yy::teeth::yy:

Posted from TSR Mobile
Good luck! I made one of these threads too which I'm going to start updating on September 5th. :h:
Reply 13
Original post by msj/rsj
Thanks for the advice!
I have already made a schedule for my studies and saturday is pretty much my chill day (I dont have to be irritated coz of school the next day like i would if it was sunday) but only after homework and yes my weekday tv time will be 1-2 hrs and 3-5 hrs revision time a day...and also the advice on past papers is really appreciated

Posted from TSR Mobile


Instead of 8-10 A*s I think you mean 8-10 Grade 9s because it changes to numbers for you guys...?
Reply 14
Only maths and english so i just count 9 and 8 as A* its just more managable imo
Reply 15
Not an update!- JUST A QUICK ANNOUNCEMENT!
Ok, so today I got my results back for an actual Maths GCSE and I got a...

Spoiler


Now some may wonder why I have already done my Maths GCSE early and it is because i am in the top (accelerated) set for maths, well it is good and bad for me. The bad news is that I still have to do another maths GCSE with the new grading system (1-9) as otherwise it seems as if my school has not put me through any maths GCSEs in the league table and the good news is that (to my knowledge) I can put forward either result I get for either GCSE for a job or uni placement, so I choose, this effectively gets me another shot at the GCSE if I did screw up the one in year 10! My actual REAL update will be coming on Saturday
THX

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