summer holidays before year 11

It is now the middle of the summer holidays before year 11.

At the end of year 10 I got a grade 9 in english language and an 8 in lit. I got a 9 in maths, a 9 in physics, 8 in chem, 8 in bio, 9 in history, 8 in gcse pe and a 7 in latin.

Should i chill or should or revise?

It is now the middle of the summer holidays before year 11.

At the end of year 10 I got a grade 9 in english language and an 8 in lit. I got a 9 in maths, a 9 in physics, 8 in chem, 8 in bio, 9 in history, 8 in gcse pe and a 7 in latin.

Should i chill or should or revise?

Hello!
I’d like to say, those are great grades to get at the end of Year 10, well done!!

Have you finished all the content for your subjects? Or have you only done half the course’s content? When did you start your GCSE content? Some schools start in Year 9 and others start in Year 10.

Summer holidays are important as they’re a break for you from schoolwork, which can get stressful the further you get into secondary and then into sixth form/college. Please do relax and use this time to have some fun and rid yourself from the previous year’s school stress.

Year 11 will fly by very quickly. If you still have content left for your subjects, I would suggest firstly to improve in areas that you struggle with so that you don’t find them difficult once you start school in September, especially in your sciences as you often find that some units/topics contain content from previous ones. But also make sure to go over areas you find easy as not to forget them. Make this light revision, not hardcore as you will burn yourself out and Year 11 will not be great for you. Maybe like an hour in each subject per week, 2 hours if you find a particular subject difficult. There’s about 3 weeks of the summer holidays left, so make a timetable based on this time left. Remember to have some off days, and to take breaks. Maybe do your revision during the weekdays and have the weekend to relax and go out with your friends/family.

This will probably be the last nice break you have as you will most likely have mocks every term in Year 11 and your half-term holidays may have to be spent on revision.

Your grades can change. You may have scored 7/8/9s but you might do another mock at the start of Year 11 where you find those grades have dropped (hopefully not!). And that’s okay. Exams all have different difficulties, some are difficult and others are the opposite. If you want your grades to be consistent, your revision needs to be consistent and you need to be at the top of your game with time management/planning.

I know it is unasked for, but some advice for Year 11:

PLEASE take the advice of previous students seriously when they tell you to plan your revision in Year 11. Although I did greatly in my GCSEs, I wish I had taken that advice. I left my revision very late (literally the nights before my exams) and it was especially difficult for me due to a situation at home. I spent the 2 months after my GCSEs very stressed out about my results that I simply could not relax or do my summer work for the sixth form I wanted to go to. You never know what can happen, so it is important to dedicate some time to compensate for revision in case things do change and you are unable to stick with your original timings.

Do not listen to fellow students who tell you they haven’t revised and end up standing with the best grades. They HAVE revised. Some students will see you as competition and will lie to you.

Surround yourself with friends/peers who get good grades. I know it may be a bit cliché, but honestly, they will have a positive influence on you, encourage you to revise and to do whatever it takes to get the best possible grades. There will be students who will not take their education seriously and will disrupt the learning of others, it is best to stay away from them.

Lastly, through the year, spend some time researching what you want to get into (career-wise). Look at different universities and their requirements. You can do this in Year 12 too, but it would be good to have some background info for when you start Year 12. Find some work experience, do some volunteering if you can in Year 11 (just not around exam season!)

I do apologise as this post got very long but I hope it helps you and any other Year 10s going into Year 11 if they’re reading.

I do wish you the best, you have a lot of potential, do not waste it. Whatever you’re doing is working, hence you got those fantastic grades. Hopefully you can achieve these for your actual exams!