GCSE

I know this may be a silly question but I’m trying to save a bit of money and I have a general question on the revision books I should get in year 9. I’m doing combined science so should I also get the biology chemistry and physics book separately aswell?

Also should I get the complete revision guide for the sciences, maths English lat and lit etc or get the revision guide + exam workbook. Or instead get the exam workbook and complete revision guide ?

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 1

*LifeHappens*

12

Original post by brainystudent

I know this may be a silly question but I’m trying to save a bit of money and I have a general question on the revision books I should get in year 9. I’m doing combined science so should I also get the biology chemistry and physics book separately aswell?

Also should I get the complete revision guide for the sciences, maths English lat and lit etc or get the revision guide + exam workbook. Or instead get the exam workbook and complete revision guide ?

Luckily a lot of great helpful resources are online, so using websites/online resources like PMT, MME revise, past papers/mark schemes/examiner reports, specifications, save my exams, freescienclessons, GCSE maths tutor + exam Q for example can help you a lot with revision; so revision guides/workbooks aren't 100% essential if you're looking to save money.

I'd say get the cgp combined science practice workbook as you don't need the separate books if you're not doing triple science and that workbook has a lot of good practice questions with answers too. Like this one:

https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/secondary-books/gcse/science/combined-science/sahq42b-gcse-combined-science-aqa-exam

For maths, most of the revision lies within understanding (which you can get from a youtube video explanation) and practice (where there are plenty of questions online), so unless if you specifically struggle with maths, you don't really need a workbook or revision guide for it.

For english lit, you can get revision guides from either cgp or york notes for the specific text you're doing (like an inspector calls for example) - I highly recommend the channel glow up your grades for english lit and language as it helps me a lot.

For english language, it's mainly a skill, but if you want a revision guide for it, then the cgp one is quite helpful; but for english overall, I think the workbooks are a bit of a waste of money:

https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/secondary-books/gcse/english/english-lang/enar42-gcse-english-language-aqa-revision

For other subjects, if you need more practice questions like for geography for example, then you can get the workbook if you think it will help. Or if you want something to help you in making notes with some practice questions here and there, you can get the complete revision guide + practice books from cgp.

I hope that helps a bit!

Reply 2

Hatekittens12345

12

Yeah I agree with this. Also, if you're on Instagram @ateamacadrevision have started doing mini summed up topics for they key things you need to know for each topic regardless of exam board.

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 3

brainystudent

OP

2

Original post by *LifeHappens*

Luckily a lot of great helpful resources are online, so using websites/online resources like PMT, MME revise, past papers/mark schemes/examiner reports, specifications, save my exams, freescienclessons, GCSE maths tutor + exam Q for example can help you a lot with revision; so revision guides/workbooks aren't 100% essential if you're looking to save money.

I'd say get the cgp combined science practice workbook as you don't need the separate books if you're not doing triple science and that workbook has a lot of good practice questions with answers too. Like this one:

https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/secondary-books/gcse/science/combined-science/sahq42b-gcse-combined-science-aqa-exam

For maths, most of the revision lies within understanding (which you can get from a youtube video explanation) and practice (where there are plenty of questions online), so unless if you specifically struggle with maths, you don't really need a workbook or revision guide for it.

For english lit, you can get revision guides from either cgp or york notes for the specific text you're doing (like an inspector calls for example) - I highly recommend the channel glow up your grades for english lit and language as it helps me a lot.

For english language, it's mainly a skill, but if you want a revision guide for it, then the cgp one is quite helpful; but for english overall, I think the workbooks are a bit of a waste of money:

https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/secondary-books/gcse/english/english-lang/enar42-gcse-english-language-aqa-revision

For other subjects, if you need more practice questions like for geography for example, then you can get the workbook if you think it will help. Or if you want something to help you in making notes with some practice questions here and there, you can get the complete revision guide + practice books from cgp.

I hope that helps a bit!

Thank you so so so much, you are genuinely a lifesaver. This has truly helped me and I’m going to go and order the books now 👍

I just have one or two other small questions, about GCSE and revision. I’m going to take history for GCSE is it wise to get the revision books or just go for YouTube videos, because I’ve heard that the work for GCSE history is not easy.

Also, is it worth it take computer science for GCSE, would it be help you in future careers, if you don’t know what you want to be when your older? - (also sorry if this question is too much I just haven’t been able to receive a clear answer from anyone)

Reply 4

brainystudent

OP

2

Original post by Hatekittens12345

Yeah I agree with this. Also, if you're on Instagram @ateamacadrevision have started doing mini summed up topics for they key things you need to know for each topic regardless of exam board.

Hope this helps :smile:

Thank you so much, and yes it will help 👍

Reply 5

*LifeHappens*

12

Original post by brainystudent

Thank you so so so much, you are genuinely a lifesaver. This has truly helped me and I’m going to go and order the books now 👍

I just have one or two other small questions, about GCSE and revision. I’m going to take history for GCSE is it wise to get the revision books or just go for YouTube videos, because I’ve heard that the work for GCSE history is not easy.

Also, is it worth it take computer science for GCSE, would it be help you in future careers, if you don’t know what you want to be when your older? - (also sorry if this question is too much I just haven’t been able to receive a clear answer from anyone)

Hey I'd be happy to answer your questions

For the one about GCSE History, I don't do gcse history, but like you said it does require some effort to be able to do well in the essay work. I'd say when you start your history course in year 10, wait for a few weeks or until you do a mini test to see which revision method works and what type of resource you need to target any weak areas (so weak areas could be understanding of content or being able to memorise the content/statistics or the actual essay writing).

If weak areas are either in understanding of content or practicing essay writing then you can accordingly look for a revision guide that will suit your revision. Here are a few examples, however always check your exam board before buying any revision guide!

https://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/secondary/subjects/history-secondary/revise-aqa-gcse-9-1-history

For the link above, if you scroll down it will show you some revision guides

https://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/secondary/subjects/history-secondary/pearson-edexcel-gcse-history-91/revise-pearson-edexcel-gcse-9-1-history-migrants-in-britain-c800-present-revision-guide-and-workbook

If you really want to buy any revision guides to either look at the content beforehand or to just familiarise yourself with the course, then ask your teacher which topics you'd do and what exam board it is (because sometimes schools change their exam boards for certain subjects randomly).

For your second question about picking computer science GCSE, I currently do it and I think that if you're a person who is quite logical minded (so you often do well or enjoy maths/science/content heavy subjects) then you would be able to formulate good revision methods easier - however don't worry if you aren't that type of person, because everyone starts at the same level of knowledge when you start the course and your understanding will develop within time.

Usually employers/universities look at GCSE grades more than subjects (unless if it's core subjects) so you can think of the GCSE course time as a time to develop your understanding in subjects you enjoy or are interested in rather than as something that can directly get you to a career - and often you can apply lots of the gcse computer science content to your future job if you're working with technology and having done computer science gcse might put you at a sort of advantage at the workplace if your work heavily relies on using computers. However, if you enjoy the computer science course at GCSE, you can always do it at A level and then move onto an apprenticeship/university course where you might reach a computing career (and computing based careers usually pay well, although they can be challenging sometimes).

Computer science gcse isn't very difficult in terms of the actual exam (because once you know all the content, the questions become a lot easier as they're direct not very applied) - but understanding the content can sometimes be really tough, especially if you aren't confident with the basics (as the content mostly builds up from the basics requiring you to understand basic concepts first). Usually when that happens, I watch a video explanation of it and I understand it a bit better. If you're good at memorisation, then that can get you at perhaps a grade 6/7 - the rest of it relies on understanding the content.

One thing I want to say about picking GCSEs is try not to get influenced by other people and what they're telling you to do, because at GCSE level, it's mostly about enjoying your subjects at this stage rather than thinking about further education/university/jobs etc. and whichever subjects you pick now, won't necessarily narrow down your options for the future - for example, if someone didn't do computer science GCSE, then can still do it at A level or if someone picked music, drama, art and pe at gcse that doesn't mean they can't study more content-heavy subjects at A level like RS or geography.

Let me know if you want to know more about computer science at GCSE and I'd be happy to share more things!

Reply 6

Sonia334

8

Original post by brainystudent

I know this may be a silly question but I’m trying to save a bit of money and I have a general question on the revision books I should get in year 9. I’m doing combined science so should I also get the biology chemistry and physics book separately aswell?
Also should I get the complete revision guide for the sciences, maths English lat and lit etc or get the revision guide + exam workbook. Or instead get the exam workbook and complete revision guide ?

Actually you can find CGP books for free online. Many students post them to help others. Or you can buy cheap, used but new CGP books on Amazon.

Reply 7

Sonia334

8

Original post by brainystudent

I know this may be a silly question but I’m trying to save a bit of money and I have a general question on the revision books I should get in year 9. I’m doing combined science so should I also get the biology chemistry and physics book separately aswell?
Also should I get the complete revision guide for the sciences, maths English lat and lit etc or get the revision guide + exam workbook. Or instead get the exam workbook and complete revision guide ?

There are combined science CGP books, I think they have a different specification.

GCSE

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you