I got all 9s at GCSE - AMA

Congratulations. I'd like to achieve highly too but have absolutely no idea how to study or where to start. I have the syllabuses and a few books ... but I don't know how to study effectively. Thanks.

for the maths-y and science-y subjects past papers are your best friend. you can find plenty online just by googling "[exam board] [subject] gcse past papers", and you should try to do as many as you can for each subject. best way to be prepared imo. you might want to do them in the given time as you would in an exam, but i found it better to just do one or two questions at a time, there's less pressure that way. the most important thing is to mark them yourself from the mark scheme, because after a while doing this you'll get the hang of what exactly you get each mark for, so you'll know exactly what you need to write when it comes to the exam.

for english lit (and probably for the more essay-based subjects, although i didnt do many) i found it best to work "smarter not harder" - by first figuring out what the least amount of stuff i could memorise and still comfortably answer all of the questions, and then actually memorising it. that way you're not wasting your time learning a bunch of stuff you don't actually need.

anything that i needed to memorise, i wrote notes about it, then re-wrote those notes condensed down into the only the very necessary bits, then copied these notes again and again until i had them committed to memory. very boring i know, but it's what worked for me.

the cgp revision guides are a great place to start - they are already quite condensed and you can start out making notes by just writing some even more compact notes from them (in your own words! this is very important - if you can't put it in your own words then you probably don't understand it, so either get a friend to explain it to you or ask a teacher). and when i say compact, i mean it - i limited myself to 1 side of A4 for each module in biology, for example.

obviously what worked for me might not work for everyone, but this is at least a decent place to start. hope this helps :smile:

Reply 121

matthewlenahan

4

Original post by snazzy viking

how do you become motivated to get a 9 for subjects you aren't doing at A level / don't need ? feels like a lot of effort when a 6 wouldn't be looked upon too differently to a 9 in those circumstances

if you think you can stretch yourself and get the 9, you might as well go for it. no harm in trying, and its nice to show that you're good academically, not just in the few subjects that you want to carry on with. obviously if you don't think it's worth the effort then i don't think i can change your mind :smile:

Reply 122

snazzy viking

17

Original post by matthewlenahan

if you think you can stretch yourself and get the 9, you might as well go for it. no harm in trying, and its nice to show that you're good academically, not just in the few subjects that you want to carry on with. obviously if you don't think it's worth the effort then i don't think i can change your mind :smile:

that's fair enough

for me I was never really motivated for subjects like R.E. and German as I was forced to pick both and I was never going to do them for A level so doing flashcards , memorising essays, and timed practice papers were something I didn't do for those .

when I look back at GCSEs I kinda wish I did more practice papers and started earlier with a more positive mindset. I feel like I could've done better but I'm still really proud of what I've achieved as I got 4s and 5s in my year 10 mocks to getting 7s and 8s in my actual exams

my no.1 life lesson I took from GCSEs is that your mindset is the key thing stopping you from reaching the top, that's why it's so important to pick subjects you love and are motivated to study at GCSE + A level

Reply 123

IQuitTSR

21

Original post by SlightlySummer

What's your best tips and advice for maths, for someone who doesn't have an interest in it at all?

About to study math at uni and I completely get you. I found GCSE math very uninteresting too.

Reply 124

SlightlySummer

19

Original post by TheTroll73

About to study math at uni and I completely get you. I found GCSE math very uninteresting too.

Wow 😮
How did you ‘make’ yourself become interested because I would love to find maths fun, and I do-but only when it’s not difficult

Reply 125

Stephanie220

2

Can you upload your triple science notes?!

Reply 126

IneedHelpAtMath

3

for all of my classes im in he higher set except for math and the highest you can get is a c in the foundation paper.Does that mean despite any high grades i get in my other subjects i still cant get into a good college / sixth form?

Reply 127

IneedHelpAtMath

3

Original post by Pang13

Hi guys! This is definitely not meant to be a brag post, I’m just bored and want to help by answering any questions you guy

math is the only subject im not in top set in so next year we are going to do the foundation paper and the highest you can get is a 5.does that mean despite any high grades i may get in my other subjects i cant get into a top college or sixth form

(edited 4 years ago)

Original post by Pang13

Hi guys! This is definitely not meant to be a brag post, I’m just bored and want to help by answering any questions you guys might have. So ask away :smile:

What exam board did you do for Further maths and how did you study it?
Also, how did you learn grammar for French?

Reply 129

average_human

16

can you give me feedback on this English paragraph?

Through establishing a bond between Utterson and the reader,
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first meets someone new. Thus, the reader can see that Utterson doesn't
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society was organised into a strict class system. We then see this proven later
in the chapter where Stevenson tells us that Utterson is the ‘last good
influence in the lives of down-going men'. This informs the reader of why Utterson
is such a likeable character: he doesn’t judge people based on their backgrounds
or identity. Through this, Stevenson is building trust in Utterson in the
reader.

Reply 130

matthewlenahan

4

Original post by _Mia101

What exam board did you do for Further maths and how did you study it?
Also, how did you learn grammar for French?

i did the aqa level 2 certificate in further maths and i learned it all from the cgp revision book, because we weren't taught it in class. that and lots and LOTS of practice questions & papers.

for learning grammar in spanish i made a big table of all the tenses & structures etc then learned them one by one by writing as many sentences as i could, using the sheet to help. i think french grammar is quite different though so this might not work the same

hope this helps :smile:

Reply 131

Brendan0686

13

Are you aware of how hardcore ALevels are? I have known people who have got all A*s (NI) at GCSE and struggle to replicate at ALevel.

Reply 132

IQuitTSR

21

Original post by SlightlySummer

Wow 😮
How did you ‘make’ yourself become interested because I would love to find maths fun, and I do-but only when it’s not difficult

When I studied A levels, I was interested in going in more details (for example, if something was not explained I would find a reason or i would prove a theorem that you are given without proof for use the in exam)!

But to be fair I started finding math more interesting when I did additional math GCSE which gave me the strength of choosing further math for my A levels. At the time I was more interested in physics (although it turns out I dislike large parts of physics that simply are not looked in the slightest in GCSE) and was planning to study physics or engineering.

When I started my A levels, further math quickly became my favorite subject, and started realizing that I really only liked physics because I used math more creatively there than I did in math GCSE. However to do that you have to challenge yourself to go a bit beyond the syllabus.

But then again, most GCSE subjects are quite dull...

As for the difficulty, there is a sense of satisfaction once you conquer a difficult problem. You could also take a break from said problem and take a break/do easier math to then finally come back with a fresher mind.

Reply 133

username4196456

14

i am not the smart girl but i am trying to work as hard as possible. in year 10 i was only getting 4s, 5s and 6s but at gcse i want 7s and above in everything. do you think its possible? a lot of teachers are telling me to "aim more realistically" but i really want those grades and I'm scared that no one has faith in me, not even myself. i am staying on top of my work and I'm revising and making my revision resourses before we have learnt them in school because it makes me learn better, but do you think that my goals are too unrealistic or do you think i should keep pushing? x

Reply 134

alexander00000

3

Original post by Pang13

I studied:
Maths
English Lit + Lang
Triple Science / Separate Science
History
RE
French

I also took up Further Maths in Y11

only 10 subjects, smh

Reply 135

á´… á´€ É´ Éª á´‡ ÊŸ

13

Original post by shady1402

i am not the smart girl but i am trying to work as hard as possible. in year 10 i was only getting 4s, 5s and 6s but at gcse i want 7s and above in everything. do you think its possible? a lot of teachers are telling me to "aim more realistically" but i really want those grades and I'm scared that no one has faith in me, not even myself. i am staying on top of my work and I'm revising and making my revision resourses before we have learnt them in school because it makes me learn better, but do you think that my goals are too unrealistic or do you think i should keep pushing? x

I am in Year 11 as well and I'm in the exact same position as you. In Year 10, I also was getting grade 4s (in average) and I want to achieve 7s/8s and possibly a 9. Tbh, it is possible for you to achieve phenomenal grades if you actually work hard and consistently. Don't listen to your teachers because they don't know what you're truly capable of. I believe that you can get top grades ! Believe in yourself, okay. I know that you can do it :smile:

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 136

username4196456

14

Original post by OkDan_

I am in Year 11 as well and I'm in the exact same position as you. In Year 10, I also was getting grade 4s (in average) and I want to achieve 7s/8s and possibly a 9. Tbh, it is possible for you to achieve phenomenal grades if you actually work hard and consistently. Don't listen to your teachers because they don't know what you're truly capable of. I believe that you can get top grades ! Believe in yourself, okay. I know that you can do it :smile:

Thank you for this this have given me hope ! We will both get the grades we want 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾Xoxo

Reply 137

SlightlySummer

19

Original post by TheTroll73

When I studied A levels, I was interested in going in more details (for example, if something was not explained I would find a reason or i would prove a theorem that you are given without proof for use the in exam)!

But to be fair I started finding math more interesting when I did additional math GCSE which gave me the strength of choosing further math for my A levels. At the time I was more interested in physics (although it turns out I dislike large parts of physics that simply are not looked in the slightest in GCSE) and was planning to study physics or engineering.

When I started my A levels, further math quickly became my favorite subject, and started realizing that I really only liked physics because I used math more creatively there than I did in math GCSE. However to do that you have to challenge yourself to go a bit beyond the syllabus.

But then again, most GCSE subjects are quite dull...

As for the difficulty, there is a sense of satisfaction once you conquer a difficult problem. You could also take a break from said problem and take a break/do easier math to then finally come back with a fresher mind.

That's quite interesting, thanks for sharing :smile:

I actually rejected the offer to do fm just last week, as it would be out of my comfort zone by quite a mile
And yeah, I totally get the part about satisfaction lol