Panicking about GCSE's

So I am in Year 10, and I have my final GCSE exams in roughly 14 months. I am aiming for 8s and 9s across the board, with the exception of French, where a 6 is fine.

Time is running out quickly and I am overwhelmed by the amount of things I have to study, and I don't think I will be able to do it all by the exams without a good, stable plan.

My actual grades right now are:
Biology aqa : working at 7, predicted 7
Chemistry aqa : working at 5, predicted 6
Physics aqa : working at 6, predicted 6
Maths edexcel: working at 6, predicted 8
Geography edexcel B: working at 7, predicted 8
Computer science OCR: working at 6, predicted 8
French : working at 5, predicted 7
English lit aqa: working at 3, predicted 4
English lang aqa: working at 5, predicted 6

So obviously, not 8's and 9's. For Science I already use Cognito and FreeScienceLessons so I am not worried about Science, I am also not worried about French because a 6 or 7 is fine with me.

But for the other subjects do you have any advice on how to get an 8 or 9? Through certain websites, any study methods, etc.

Also is there enough time to get 8's and 9's?

And lastly can anyone help me make a sound, effective study plan; I can study every day of the week. Just tell me what to study on different days and HOW to study them (websites, flashcards or exam questions, actually how to LEARN stuff etc).

Thanks, just been worried a lot
Would really appreciate any response

Hi, I got all 8s and 9s in my GCSEs (one 8 in RSE). Firstly there is definitely time so don't worry and don't count down months because that just makes you stressed, plus some of your grades are pretty good. I know GCSEs sound scary but the fact you're seeking help and trying to achieve high grades is a good start and I’m sure you’ll do well. It seems like you're struggling most with English which I struggled most with too, watch Mr Salles videos (as he is brilliant!- 9 all thanks to him) and Mr Bruff as a supplement too and try to collate resources into revision notes from CGP revision guides and physics and maths tutor and add your own thoughts as well, also using quizlet to memorise little facts and figures can help a lot, the most important thing to memorise is quotes as a starting point. Cognito is a good resource for science however it isn't directly related to the specification sometimes so you can miss out on some important info, so I would suggest using the CGP revision guide to make specification based revision cards on each topic. Also use the specification as much as possible in all your subjects as sometimes teachers can miss things which you will find in the specification. I made specification based red amber green lists to try to work out my weakest areas to target, this worked especially well for maths, where I made lists on my weakest areas and did practice questions on these before branching out to my stronger areas and memorising formulas. CGP books, mathswatch and corbettmaths are all great resources, especially mathswatch if your school has a subscription. Also one of the most important things is doing practice questions and past papers but don't try to target questions that you believe will appear in your mocks, try to avoid them because if you already know what will come up it doesn't give you good practice for the real exam, a good way around this is using exam practice workbooks or corbettmaths as these are similar to real exam questions but not identical so you won't have seen anything before. For French (if you don't want to give up on it), watching French TV shows, speaking to yourself in French, listening to podcasts, doing grammar and translation books and writing practice answers and memorising them, and memorising vocab on quizlet can all help. This is language is great if your school has a subscription. I have tried to attach my revision timetable but couldnt do it maybe you can try work one out for yourself try to colour code time for homework as well as different revision methods e.g. practice papers, making revision resources/ notes. Good luck on your GCSEs and don’t panic you have plenty of time especially if you use your summer holidays well

Hey! This is going to be quite a long response.

I got 4&5s in my first set of mocks and was never really predicted higher than a 6, but walked out of my actual exams with mainly 7s, 8s and 9s:
History - predicted 6; achieved 9
Photography - predicted 9; achieved 9
Spanish - predicted 5; achieved 8
RE - predicted 6; achieved 8
Maths - predicted - 5; achieved 7
Combined science- predicted 5,5; achieved 8,7
English literature- predicted 5; achieved 7
English language - predicted 5; achieved 7
Art - predicted 5; achieved 5 (due to personal health reasons I was absent during the majority of my coursework which really impacted this grade).
You’re already starting to plan earlier than I did so I’d say there’s definitely time! (The panic only hit me a few months before the actual exams…I’d definitely recommend trying to avoid this by starting sooner rather than later).

In regards to recommendations on what websites/ resources to use:
• Seneca is a good website - you just need to sign in with an email and there will be a range of courses you can find there.
• If you haven’t already I’d recommend buying or downloading revision materials such as books and flashcards from the exam board you are studying (if they have them and if you are in a position to do so - if you can’t don’t worry because there will be lots of free resources, or you could create your own if necessary)
• Mr Bruff on YouTube is FANTASTIC for English - I was off for ages when I was in high school, and I missed out on half of the poems and the entire Inspector calls sessions, and he really helped me to understand the concepts and teach myself the key parts.
• For maths, my school had a subscription to MathsWatch - I’m not sure if this is something that you can get outside of school so you could take a look and see.
• Past papers can be quite helpful - they help you see the format of the exams which can help you feel more comfortable but I’d recommend saving some until after you have learnt all the content.
• Quizlet - you may be able to find really good and relevant flashcards you can use.
• Blooket - allows you to play a ‘game’ while answering questions which might help you to remember the answers more effectively.

How to revise:
Try and do around 1-2 hours everyday (if possible), and then maybe at the weekend spend more time on your ‘weakest’ subjects. You can obviously up the timings when it gets closer to the exams, but since you’re only in Y10 I wouldn’t recommend pushing yourself too much as you might burn out.
I’d recommend using a range of techniques including flashcards (have a look at quizlet if you don’t have any), practice questions, watching video, reading books/guides and blurting.

Revision plan:
I’d recommend spending more time on your ‘weakest’ subjects. I’ve made a very very brief plan which you can obviously adapt to fit your requirements and preferred revision techniques:
Focus on a different topic each week - at the end of your sessions note down how confident you feel and how much you think you know so that on the weekend you can prioritise the topics you need to look back over (perhaps colour-code them red, Amber and green):

I’m sorry this is so long hahah - if you need any more help feel free to ask. Similarly if you want a better revision plan I’m more than happy to spend a bit of time trying to help you make one that works better for you - just let me know!

Hope something here has been helpful - just believe in yourself and I wish you the best of luck!

Katie

Thanks so much for the amazing answer, you have reassured me and you have been very helpful, thanks!
Is Maths Genie good for Maths revision? Also, are CGP books enough for English or do I have to watch videos such as Mr Salles?

Thank you so much, have a great weekend!

I never used maths genie for maths but my friends said she found it good she was targeted a 3 and she got a six. I would definitely recommend mr salles over cgp for English because he gives you techniques and he’s more engaging and he teaches you exactly specifically how to get a 9. Usually CGP is really good but for English I found it was a bit limited in its usefulness.

Cool, thank you very much for all your help!

Thank you so much for the amazing answer, it is incredibly helpful; thank you so much!