The Student Room Group

GCSE revision tips???

Hi I’m in year 11 and want to get my grades up and looking for tips on how

what i want:
Biology: 8 (current grade is 6)
Chemistry: 7 (current is 6)
Drama: ong just want to pass
English Lang: 7
English Lit: 7 (currently on 6)
French: 7 or 8
History: 9 (currently on an 8)
Physics: 6 or 7 (im predicted a 7 though I don’t think I can get that)
Re: 7
Maths: 6 or 7 (im stuck on a 5, almost 6)

I’m AQA for all subjects except maths and re (Edexcel) and history (OCR)

Any advice is really appreciated

Reply 1

Original post
by aimessigma
Hi I’m in year 11 and want to get my grades up and looking for tips on how
what i want:
Biology: 8 (current grade is 6)
Chemistry: 7 (current is 6)
Drama: ong just want to pass
English Lang: 7
English Lit: 7 (currently on 6)
French: 7 or 8
History: 9 (currently on an 8)
Physics: 6 or 7 (im predicted a 7 though I don’t think I can get that)
Re: 7
Maths: 6 or 7 (im stuck on a 5, almost 6)
I’m AQA for all subjects except maths and re (Edexcel) and history (OCR)
Any advice is really appreciated

Hi @aimessigma

My revision tips are:

Answer as many practise exam questions as you can and look at the mark schemes for them. This will help you to know what kind of things you should be including in your answers to get top marks.

Make revision resources that work for you - whether that is mindmaps, flashcards or something else.

Regularly assess what you already know so that you can decide what to focus your revision on. You could then use this to make a revision checklist or a revision timetable.


Hope that helps!

Sophie.
BCU Student Rep.

Reply 2

Original post
by aimessigma
Hi I’m in year 11 and want to get my grades up and looking for tips on how
what i want:
Biology: 8 (current grade is 6)
Chemistry: 7 (current is 6)
Drama: ong just want to pass
English Lang: 7
English Lit: 7 (currently on 6)
French: 7 or 8
History: 9 (currently on an 8)
Physics: 6 or 7 (im predicted a 7 though I don’t think I can get that)
Re: 7
Maths: 6 or 7 (im stuck on a 5, almost 6)
I’m AQA for all subjects except maths and re (Edexcel) and history (OCR)
Any advice is really appreciated

Hey, I did my GCSEs last year and got 99999998888.

I got 999 in the sciences. For this, I'd recommend using Anki to make flashcards based on the specification. If you haven't done this already, then at this point it'd be better to get pre-made decks from Anki web. Then, I'd just go over these regularly. After you have a solid knowledge of the content, start doing as many past paper questions as possible. The best way to do this is to choose a topic that you struggle with and do a ton of questions for this until you feel confident.

I got an 8 in English Language. For this, I just wrote as many practice answers as possible and got my teacher to mark them and give me feedback. As well as this, I memorised around 15 high-level vocabulary words that I could use for any description/story. I also pre-learn mini-phrases, e.g. for hot and cold weather, nature, city, night and day.

I got an 8 in English Literature. The main resource I used was the Light up Hub, and pre-learnt analysis with context. When learning quotes, I would put a theme on one side (e.g. ambition in Macbeth), and then around 7-8 quotes on the other side. Once you've learnt enough analysis and quotes, practice loads of essays and get your teacher to mark them.

I got a 9 in both maths and further maths. For these, I did Corbett 5 a Day to ensure I was covering topics at random, and that I was addressing any gaps in my knowledge. This would also allow me to practice questions that required a high level of skill on a daily basis, whilst taking up a small portion of time. When I particularly struggled on a topic, I would use Dr Frost Maths to go over this topic in depth until I fully understood it - don't be afraid to go back to basics.

I got an 8 in French. I downloaded a pre-made vocab deck covering all of the AQA French words that could come up, and went over that for around 10-15 minutes daily. Then, I pre-learned my speaking answers and said these out loud. These can also be used in your writing exam. As well as this, for the writing exam I'd recommend learning some high-level, short phrases and vocabulary that could be applied to the majority of questions. For listening, I just practiced as much as possible - the more you can expose yourself to it, the better you'll get.

Other than that, we didn't do any overlapping subjects (I did Geography, Business, and Economics). Let me know if you'd like to find out about anything more in-depth! :smile:

Reply 3

Original post
by g3orgiaa
Hey, I did my GCSEs last year and got 99999998888.
I got 999 in the sciences. For this, I'd recommend using Anki to make flashcards based on the specification. If you haven't done this already, then at this point it'd be better to get pre-made decks from Anki web. Then, I'd just go over these regularly. After you have a solid knowledge of the content, start doing as many past paper questions as possible. The best way to do this is to choose a topic that you struggle with and do a ton of questions for this until you feel confident.
I got an 8 in English Language. For this, I just wrote as many practice answers as possible and got my teacher to mark them and give me feedback. As well as this, I memorised around 15 high-level vocabulary words that I could use for any description/story. I also pre-learn mini-phrases, e.g. for hot and cold weather, nature, city, night and day.
I got an 8 in English Literature. The main resource I used was the Light up Hub, and pre-learnt analysis with context. When learning quotes, I would put a theme on one side (e.g. ambition in Macbeth), and then around 7-8 quotes on the other side. Once you've learnt enough analysis and quotes, practice loads of essays and get your teacher to mark them.
I got a 9 in both maths and further maths. For these, I did Corbett 5 a Day to ensure I was covering topics at random, and that I was addressing any gaps in my knowledge. This would also allow me to practice questions that required a high level of skill on a daily basis, whilst taking up a small portion of time. When I particularly struggled on a topic, I would use Dr Frost Maths to go over this topic in depth until I fully understood it - don't be afraid to go back to basics.
I got an 8 in French. I downloaded a pre-made vocab deck covering all of the AQA French words that could come up, and went over that for around 10-15 minutes daily. Then, I pre-learned my speaking answers and said these out loud. These can also be used in your writing exam. As well as this, for the writing exam I'd recommend learning some high-level, short phrases and vocabulary that could be applied to the majority of questions. For listening, I just practiced as much as possible - the more you can expose yourself to it, the better you'll get.
Other than that, we didn't do any overlapping subjects (I did Geography, Business, and Economics). Let me know if you'd like to find out about anything more in-depth! :smile:

I was just wondering if you know the name of the AQA french vocab deck still? Well done on your GCSEs, I'm jealous!

Reply 4

past papers, theres no saving for drama (i got 5) compared to 7+s for the rest of em

Reply 5

Original post
by VaBook7
I was just wondering if you know the name of the AQA french vocab deck still? Well done on your GCSEs, I'm jealous!

I used one like this, which has all of the specification vocab:
https://quizlet.com/gb/315135737/aqa-gcse-french-vocabulary-flash-cards/
I just exported it so that I could use it on Anki

Reply 6

Original post
by g3orgiaa
Hey, I did my GCSEs last year and got 99999998888.
I got 999 in the sciences. For this, I'd recommend using Anki to make flashcards based on the specification. If you haven't done this already, then at this point it'd be better to get pre-made decks from Anki web. Then, I'd just go over these regularly. After you have a solid knowledge of the content, start doing as many past paper questions as possible. The best way to do this is to choose a topic that you struggle with and do a ton of questions for this until you feel confident.
I got an 8 in English Language. For this, I just wrote as many practice answers as possible and got my teacher to mark them and give me feedback. As well as this, I memorised around 15 high-level vocabulary words that I could use for any description/story. I also pre-learn mini-phrases, e.g. for hot and cold weather, nature, city, night and day.
I got an 8 in English Literature. The main resource I used was the Light up Hub, and pre-learnt analysis with context. When learning quotes, I would put a theme on one side (e.g. ambition in Macbeth), and then around 7-8 quotes on the other side. Once you've learnt enough analysis and quotes, practice loads of essays and get your teacher to mark them.
I got a 9 in both maths and further maths. For these, I did Corbett 5 a Day to ensure I was covering topics at random, and that I was addressing any gaps in my knowledge. This would also allow me to practice questions that required a high level of skill on a daily basis, whilst taking up a small portion of time. When I particularly struggled on a topic, I would use Dr Frost Maths to go over this topic in depth until I fully understood it - don't be afraid to go back to basics.
I got an 8 in French. I downloaded a pre-made vocab deck covering all of the AQA French words that could come up, and went over that for around 10-15 minutes daily. Then, I pre-learned my speaking answers and said these out loud. These can also be used in your writing exam. As well as this, for the writing exam I'd recommend learning some high-level, short phrases and vocabulary that could be applied to the majority of questions. For listening, I just practiced as much as possible - the more you can expose yourself to it, the better you'll get.
Other than that, we didn't do any overlapping subjects (I did Geography, Business, and Economics). Let me know if you'd like to find out about anything more in-depth! :smile:


Hi do you have your anki cards to share??!! I’d love you know if you can pass them on to me!

Reply 7

Original post
by aimessigma
Hi I’m in year 11 and want to get my grades up and looking for tips on how
what i want:
Biology: 8 (current grade is 6)
Chemistry: 7 (current is 6)
Drama: ong just want to pass
English Lang: 7
English Lit: 7 (currently on 6)
French: 7 or 8
History: 9 (currently on an 8)
Physics: 6 or 7 (im predicted a 7 though I don’t think I can get that)
Re: 7
Maths: 6 or 7 (im stuck on a 5, almost 6)
I’m AQA for all subjects except maths and re (Edexcel) and history (OCR)
Any advice is really appreciated


I recommend looking through the mark scheme instead of doing past papers as it saves time and help you to identify any pattern (e.g. keywords - especially the sciences).

Reply 8

Original post
by g3orgiaa
Hey, I did my GCSEs last year and got 99999998888.
I got 999 in the sciences. For this, I'd recommend using Anki to make flashcards based on the specification. If you haven't done this already, then at this point it'd be better to get pre-made decks from Anki web. Then, I'd just go over these regularly. After you have a solid knowledge of the content, start doing as many past paper questions as possible. The best way to do this is to choose a topic that you struggle with and do a ton of questions for this until you feel confident.
I got an 8 in English Language. For this, I just wrote as many practice answers as possible and got my teacher to mark them and give me feedback. As well as this, I memorised around 15 high-level vocabulary words that I could use for any description/story. I also pre-learn mini-phrases, e.g. for hot and cold weather, nature, city, night and day.
I got an 8 in English Literature. The main resource I used was the Light up Hub, and pre-learnt analysis with context. When learning quotes, I would put a theme on one side (e.g. ambition in Macbeth), and then around 7-8 quotes on the other side. Once you've learnt enough analysis and quotes, practice loads of essays and get your teacher to mark them.
I got a 9 in both maths and further maths. For these, I did Corbett 5 a Day to ensure I was covering topics at random, and that I was addressing any gaps in my knowledge. This would also allow me to practice questions that required a high level of skill on a daily basis, whilst taking up a small portion of time. When I particularly struggled on a topic, I would use Dr Frost Maths to go over this topic in depth until I fully understood it - don't be afraid to go back to basics.
I got an 8 in French. I downloaded a pre-made vocab deck covering all of the AQA French words that could come up, and went over that for around 10-15 minutes daily. Then, I pre-learned my speaking answers and said these out loud. These can also be used in your writing exam. As well as this, for the writing exam I'd recommend learning some high-level, short phrases and vocabulary that could be applied to the majority of questions. For listening, I just practiced as much as possible - the more you can expose yourself to it, the better you'll get.
Other than that, we didn't do any overlapping subjects (I did Geography, Business, and Economics). Let me know if you'd like to find out about anything more in-depth! :smile:


Thank you so much this is so helpful, by any y chance, could you give advice on business?

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