Take our quiz to find out what your revision personality is! >>

Need advice to get straight A*/ 9s in GCSE

So right now i procrastinate alot to do revsion but i am motivating myself to start doing some early. However, the fact that i am really bad at subjects such as Maths, French and Physics really brings me down and i dont know how to get better at these and all my subjects as i have high aspirations.I would like to become an engineer and go to Cambridge or Oxford but i feel like i have no chance to even go to a decent Uni. Does anyone have some really good methods that are really efficient to revise. Also, how much should i revise per day, as i will still be getting some work as i am in year 10 and my school is not focusing on revsion just yet?

Reply 1

ReadingMum

The best idea is to do your revising as you go along, rather than leaving it to the run up to exams.
For sciences you study a topic then maybe have an end of topic test then you move on. What you need to hold in your mind is that you basically will not go back to that topic again. Once you finish a topic check the exam board specification to see if everything has been covered, then look through every past paper you can find and pull out the questions for that topic. Can you answer them? Check the mark scheme to see if you would get all the marks - if not then go back over the topic while it is fresh in your mind. Make flashcards/mind maps at this time too if they are helpful for you. Classes are quite often trying to fit all the syllabus in before the start of study leave - don't assume you will have lots of time to revisit the stuff you did at the start.

Reply 2

Compost

Reading engineering at Oxford or Cambridge is a tricky ambition if you are "really bad at subjects such as Maths...and Physics" as Maths and Physics will be essential A levels to take, with Further Maths a real advantage as well. What makes you want to be an engineer if you are bad at these subjects? - you are going to have to study them, or closely related subjects for another 7 years at least and then use related skills through out your career. Are you sure engineering is really your subject?

For Maths, I can only suggest practising lots and lots of questions until you've done every possible varaint.

Reply 3

Interesting name

In all honesty, and also not to brag but I was a maths genius, however, my stress and panic in exams is what leads me to think I'm really bad at maths. I feel confident in class, but then I start panicking for no reason at exams. For physics, my latest grade was an A but it was JUST an A, I would like to secure all my subjects with 9s.

Reply 4

apaul291003

Original post by Interesting name

Hey, I am currently developing a website which gives original GCSE questions and answers for Maths and Sciences, made by me and other students who got all 9s so we know what we are talking about. For English you can read the preview of my stories here or even purchase them:

https://www.stuvia.co.uk/doc/742685/grade-9-mystery-story