Revision

Hi!
I am currently in year 12 and I got all 9s in my GCSE.
I think that at this stage learning how to revise is already a bit late, instead you should get as much revision done as possible and maximise your day by setting yourself a timetable everyday.
What I did was I create a timetable every night for the next day, which proved to be quite helpful and helped me stay motivated and push myself till the end of GCSE.

My advise would be doing as much pass papers as possible, and remember to review it by memorising the mark scheme, as there is only so much that the examinors will test you on the exam.

Also, check out 'udoka fintelmann' on youtube for timetable strategies.

Remember, reading a textbook will only retain around 60 percent of the knowledge you've learnt (idk if it's true but that's what I heard), so active revision is needed (like memorising at the same time).

Hey, I was just wondering if anyone had any advise for revision? I have my GCSEs coming up and the thing is, I'm struggling with "how to revise". By that I don't mean like getting good grades, it's more to do with how I go about my revision since GCSEs are right around the corner. I'm still learning content at school and we get homework + I get home late too so I don't really get how I'm supposed to fit time in for revising 10 subjects! Does anyone have any tips or maybe could share a revision timetable that works well for them? (This is kinda stressing me out a lot ngl and I haven't properly started revising for my exams yet also - it feels so overwhelming and, knowing me, I can't study for hours on end either so I don't really wanna burn out before the exams...)

Maybe I'm not revising the right way which is why I find it difficult to revise for longer periods of time... Normally I just read the CGP textbooks and do past papers and I use quizlet for languages but I find this so mentally draining.... Memory is not my strong point. For me, I have to be able to understand each concept to apply it (I'm more of a "logic" type of person tbh and I love critical thinking - I got a 9 in my religious studies gcse last year...)

The thing is even if I do start revising now using these methods, I'm not going to be able to sustain it and this really worries me. I found that spaced repetition works well for a few tests I've done in the past but I really don't understand how I'm supposed to do that for ten different subjects and since I get home late I probably can only spend max 1.5 hours on revision a day during the weekdays.

Does anyone have any strategies or different methods and techniques that worked for them that I could try? Perhaps if any older students who scored highly in their GCSEs have any tips too including what you revised each session? (E.g. first study session: read the whole textbook, second session: watch videos on all topics, third session onwards: do past papers..) How can I go about all of this without getting burnt out?

Thanks x

Hi,
I sat my GCSE's last year and I achieved 9/9 GCSE's between with grades ranging from 5-9.
I am not 'naturally' smart and lacked motivation a lot. I begun properly revising for my GCSE's around the beginning of April (don't recommend). I had to cram in a lot of stuff and revise for ridiculous amounts of hours each day which burnt me out a lot but I kept going cause I live off of academic validation.
Methods of revision I found most useful were,
Revision Cards/ Flashcards, I think this is a great way to re call information, however making flashcards is quite time consuming so I'd recommend making them online as it is quicker, saving you time. I used flashcards for quotes in English Literature as well as subjects that have an exact answer like, science, geography.
Active Recall, this was honestly really beneficial as a part of my revision, to actively recall information I like to make mind maps, I would get a piece a paper and make a mind map writing all the information I could remember about a certain aspect of the spec in one colour. Then, get out a revision guide and in a different colour fill in any missing knowledge gaps. I would repeat this until I could remember it all.
Mind-maps, writing out notes as a part of revision is really tedious, I found making mind-maps instead of notes was more fun resulting in me being more engaged.
Past Papers/ Exam Questions, great way to revise throughout year 11 as you become familiar with the types of questions and what topics get repeated often, although I wouldn't recommend diving straight into past papers in the early stages of revision. I would wait until you have an adequate knowledge of the subject before attempting past papers.
Mark Schemes, these are a really important part of your revision especially after attempting past papers, in order for past papers to be effective you need to know how to use a mark scheme effectively. When marking past papers don't just look at the answer and tick it, you need to understand what the question was looking for in terms of answers. Write in the correct answer when you get an answer wrong and notice where you went wrong so you don't make the same mistakes.
Examiners Reports, I found these were quite useful, examiners reports get published after a set of GCSE's to show where students on average were making mistakes. Looking through these can be useful to ensure you don't make the same mistakes as past years.

In terms of maintaining consistent revision, avoid revising in dim lit rooms like, your bedroom, try revising in a lit area or a different environment like, library or café's. When you are in your room there are too many temptations around you like, getting back into bed. Getting away from temptations helps to maintain your revision and keep you motivation up. Having an end-goal is also helped me a lot picturing where I wanted to be post 16 and picturing the results I wanted to get helped me find motivation to keep going.

I am now studying a-levels at sixth form, and wish to pursue a career in secondary teaching as an English teacher.

Hope this helps

Would definitely prioritise what you don’t know by doing practice papers, and then having a look at the answers and going over those topics that you get the most wrong in
Wishing you all the best with ur exams

Hey, I was just wondering if anyone had any advise for revision? I have my GCSEs coming up and the thing is, I'm struggling with "how to revise". By that I don't mean like getting good grades, it's more to do with how I go about my revision since GCSEs are right around the corner. I'm still learning content at school and we get homework + I get home late too so I don't really get how I'm supposed to fit time in for revising 10 subjects! Does anyone have any tips or maybe could share a revision timetable that works well for them? (This is kinda stressing me out a lot ngl and I haven't properly started revising for my exams yet also - it feels so overwhelming and, knowing me, I can't study for hours on end either so I don't really wanna burn out before the exams...)

Maybe I'm not revising the right way which is why I find it difficult to revise for longer periods of time... Normally I just read the CGP textbooks and do past papers and I use quizlet for languages but I find this so mentally draining.... Memory is not my strong point. For me, I have to be able to understand each concept to apply it (I'm more of a "logic" type of person tbh and I love critical thinking - I got a 9 in my religious studies gcse last year...)

The thing is even if I do start revising now using these methods, I'm not going to be able to sustain it and this really worries me. I found that spaced repetition works well for a few tests I've done in the past but I really don't understand how I'm supposed to do that for ten different subjects and since I get home late I probably can only spend max 1.5 hours on revision a day during the weekdays.

Does anyone have any strategies or different methods and techniques that worked for them that I could try? Perhaps if any older students who scored highly in their GCSEs have any tips too including what you revised each session? (E.g. first study session: read the whole textbook, second session: watch videos on all topics, third session onwards: do past papers..) How can I go about all of this without getting burnt out?

Thanks x

Hey, I was just wondering if anyone had any advise for revision? I have my GCSEs coming up and the thing is, I'm struggling with "how to revise". By that I don't mean like getting good grades, it's more to do with how I go about my revision since GCSEs are right around the corner. I'm still learning content at school and we get homework + I get home late too so I don't really get how I'm supposed to fit time in for revising 10 subjects! Does anyone have any tips or maybe could share a revision timetable that works well for them? (This is kinda stressing me out a lot ngl and I haven't properly started revising for my exams yet also - it feels so overwhelming and, knowing me, I can't study for hours on end either so I don't really wanna burn out before the exams...)

Maybe I'm not revising the right way which is why I find it difficult to revise for longer periods of time... Normally I just read the CGP textbooks and do past papers and I use quizlet for languages but I find this so mentally draining.... Memory is not my strong point. For me, I have to be able to understand each concept to apply it (I'm more of a "logic" type of person tbh and I love critical thinking - I got a 9 in my religious studies gcse last year...)

The thing is even if I do start revising now using these methods, I'm not going to be able to sustain it and this really worries me. I found that spaced repetition works well for a few tests I've done in the past but I really don't understand how I'm supposed to do that for ten different subjects and since I get home late I probably can only spend max 1.5 hours on revision a day during the weekdays.

Does anyone have any strategies or different methods and techniques that worked for them that I could try? Perhaps if any older students who scored highly in their GCSEs have any tips too including what you revised each session? (E.g. first study session: read the whole textbook, second session: watch videos on all topics, third session onwards: do past papers..) How can I go about all of this without getting burnt out?

Thanks x