The Student Room Group

GCSE Subject Breakdown

Hi I'm Harry a Yr11 GCSE student who is preparing for my gcses in about 2 months!
I study these subjects:
English Lit and Lang (EDEXCEL)
(Higher tier) Maths (EDEXCEL)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (AQA)
Geography (AQA)
(Higher Tier) French (AQA)
Food (Eduqas)
Photography (Edexcel)

My Grades as of right now:
English Lit (5)
English Lang (4)
(Higher tier) Maths (4)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (54)
Geography ( a 4 from november but a 2 from paper 2 resit)
(Higher Tier) French (6)
Food (3)
Photography (5)

What I hope to get:
All 4-6s

What resources I have used so far for each subject:
English
So for this subject, I mainly have used some SENECA to reinforce my learning and some essays to practice timed writing but honestly I take way too much time planning cause I wanna get better grades so it's hard for me and time consuming as I try to plan my narrative writing/creative writing/transactional writing/story or answering the questions directly.

Maths
I usually do a lot of sparx and some SENECA again to help me with my knowledge and I have done a few past papers on the go usually get around 4s through them.

Combined Science
I use sparx science mostly and a bit of SENECA to help me with information based.

Geography
I have not tried any revision except past papers to help me.

French
I usually use languagenut or SENECA to help me with information although my listening is the worst as I am deaf (Sorting that out dw)

Food
I have not tried any revision except SENECA to help me.

Photography:
There is no written exam just 100% based on coursework.


What I need:
Can you help me to revise as I have tried to revise literally some subjects like geography or maths as they are hard and I have tried following a strict timetable for revision - which i left some days to be relaxing but if you do have any tips, PM me or comment below

Many thanks!

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Original post
by Harfan654
Hi I'm Harry a Yr11 GCSE student who is preparing for my gcses in about 2 months!
I study these subjects:
English Lit and Lang (EDEXCEL)
(Higher tier) Maths (EDEXCEL)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (AQA)
Geography (AQA)
(Higher Tier) French (AQA)
Food (Eduqas)
Photography (Edexcel)
My Grades as of right now:
English Lit (5)
English Lang (4)
(Higher tier) Maths (4)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (54)
Geography ( a 4 from november but a 2 from paper 2 resit)
(Higher Tier) French (6)
Food (3)
Photography (5)
What I hope to get:
All 4-6s
What resources I have used so far for each subject:
English
So for this subject, I mainly have used some SENECA to reinforce my learning and some essays to practice timed writing but honestly I take way too much time planning cause I wanna get better grades so it's hard for me and time consuming as I try to plan my narrative writing/creative writing/transactional writing/story or answering the questions directly.
Maths
I usually do a lot of sparx and some SENECA again to help me with my knowledge and I have done a few past papers on the go usually get around 4s through them.
Combined Science
I use sparx science mostly and a bit of SENECA to help me with information based.
Geography
I have not tried any revision except past papers to help me.
French
I usually use languagenut or SENECA to help me with information although my listening is the worst as I am deaf (Sorting that out dw)
Food
I have not tried any revision except SENECA to help me.
Photography:
There is no written exam just 100% based on coursework.
What I need:
Can you help me to revise as I have tried to revise literally some subjects like geography or maths as they are hard and I have tried following a strict timetable for revision - which i left some days to be relaxing but if you do have any tips, PM me or comment below
Many thanks!

Hey I can help. This is coming from a 7-9 student, so I believe my work can help, but may only work for me.

1.

English Lang - Especially with the writing paper, ambitious vocab would help you alot. So, download this app called "Word of the Day" and you can learn a new word every day, and then test yourself upon all new learnt words.

2.

English Lit - If you are doing a play, watch the play. If you are doing novels, have an audio-book or listen to Spotify (they have all GCSE English books). If you expose yourself to someone reading you words, it will help massively; the quotes will stick in there better.

3.

Maths - Just do past papers. No 2 ways around it. Try to familiarize yourself with formulas and identities, but this is more of a person-based subject. If you are good at maths, you will do well.

4.

Science - Use Cognito. They have the majority of GCSE exam boards, and they offer the basic services for free. Still, the free version contains stuff like daily quizzes, video lessons, flashcards, and past papers.

5.

I don't do Geography, but I do History, which is another humanities subject. What helps me is flashcards, filled with little content questions, like "Describe the key features of a ... " and then you fill in the rest

6.

I don't do French either, but what helps most people is the integration of the language into everyday life. When talking to your family, include French phrases or add in French words in your conversation. Also, try Memrise for quick vocab quizzes.

7.

Can't help you with Food or Photography - Have no clue how they work.

Hopefully, some of my tips help, and I wish you the best of luck in your GCSEs.

Reply 2

Original post
by barca_fan
Hey I can help. This is coming from a 7-9 student, so I believe my work can help, but may only work for me.

1.

English Lang - Especially with the writing paper, ambitious vocab would help you alot. So, download this app called "Word of the Day" and you can learn a new word every day, and then test yourself upon all new learnt words.

2.

English Lit - If you are doing a play, watch the play. If you are doing novels, have an audio-book or listen to Spotify (they have all GCSE English books). If you expose yourself to someone reading you words, it will help massively; the quotes will stick in there better.

3.

Maths - Just do past papers. No 2 ways around it. Try to familiarize yourself with formulas and identities, but this is more of a person-based subject. If you are good at maths, you will do well.

4.

Science - Use Cognito. They have the majority of GCSE exam boards, and they offer the basic services for free. Still, the free version contains stuff like daily quizzes, video lessons, flashcards, and past papers.

5.

I don't do Geography, but I do History, which is another humanities subject. What helps me is flashcards, filled with little content questions, like "Describe the key features of a ... " and then you fill in the rest

6.

I don't do French either, but what helps most people is the integration of the language into everyday life. When talking to your family, include French phrases or add in French words in your conversation. Also, try Memrise for quick vocab quizzes.

7.

Can't help you with Food or Photography - Have no clue how they work.

Hopefully, some of my tips help, and I wish you the best of luck in your GCSEs.

Thank you so much! What physical resources would you prefer?

Reply 3

Original post
by Harfan654
Hi I'm Harry a Yr11 GCSE student who is preparing for my gcses in about 2 months!
I study these subjects:
English Lit and Lang (EDEXCEL)
(Higher tier) Maths (EDEXCEL)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (AQA)
Geography (AQA)
(Higher Tier) French (AQA)
Food (Eduqas)
Photography (Edexcel)
My Grades as of right now:
English Lit (5)
English Lang (4)
(Higher tier) Maths (4)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (54)
Geography ( a 4 from november but a 2 from paper 2 resit)
(Higher Tier) French (6)
Food (3)
Photography (5)
What I hope to get:
All 4-6s
What resources I have used so far for each subject:
English
So for this subject, I mainly have used some SENECA to reinforce my learning and some essays to practice timed writing but honestly I take way too much time planning cause I wanna get better grades so it's hard for me and time consuming as I try to plan my narrative writing/creative writing/transactional writing/story or answering the questions directly.
Maths
I usually do a lot of sparx and some SENECA again to help me with my knowledge and I have done a few past papers on the go usually get around 4s through them.
Combined Science
I use sparx science mostly and a bit of SENECA to help me with information based.
Geography
I have not tried any revision except past papers to help me.
French
I usually use languagenut or SENECA to help me with information although my listening is the worst as I am deaf (Sorting that out dw)
Food
I have not tried any revision except SENECA to help me.
Photography:
There is no written exam just 100% based on coursework.
What I need:
Can you help me to revise as I have tried to revise literally some subjects like geography or maths as they are hard and I have tried following a strict timetable for revision - which i left some days to be relaxing but if you do have any tips, PM me or comment below
Many thanks!

@DerDracologe

Reply 4

Original post
by Harfan654
Hi I'm Harry a Yr11 GCSE student who is preparing for my gcses in about 2 months!
I study these subjects:
English Lit and Lang (EDEXCEL)
(Higher tier) Maths (EDEXCEL)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (AQA)
Geography (AQA)
(Higher Tier) French (AQA)
Food (Eduqas)
Photography (Edexcel)
My Grades as of right now:
English Lit (5)
English Lang (4)
(Higher tier) Maths (4)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (54)
Geography ( a 4 from november but a 2 from paper 2 resit)
(Higher Tier) French (6)
Food (3)
Photography (5)
What I hope to get:
All 4-6s
What resources I have used so far for each subject:
English
So for this subject, I mainly have used some SENECA to reinforce my learning and some essays to practice timed writing but honestly I take way too much time planning cause I wanna get better grades so it's hard for me and time consuming as I try to plan my narrative writing/creative writing/transactional writing/story or answering the questions directly.
Maths
I usually do a lot of sparx and some SENECA again to help me with my knowledge and I have done a few past papers on the go usually get around 4s through them.
Combined Science
I use sparx science mostly and a bit of SENECA to help me with information based.
Geography
I have not tried any revision except past papers to help me.
French
I usually use languagenut or SENECA to help me with information although my listening is the worst as I am deaf (Sorting that out dw)
Food
I have not tried any revision except SENECA to help me.
Photography:
There is no written exam just 100% based on coursework.
What I need:
Can you help me to revise as I have tried to revise literally some subjects like geography or maths as they are hard and I have tried following a strict timetable for revision - which i left some days to be relaxing but if you do have any tips, PM me or comment below
Many thanks!

Have you used Dr Frost or MathsMadeEasy for Maths? Has you teacher shared the shadow papers?

Reply 5

Original post
by Muttley79
Have you used Dr Frost or MathsMadeEasy for Maths? Has you teacher shared the shadow papers?

nope to both of them

Reply 6

Original post
by Harfan654
nope to both of them

OK

Dr Frost to target weak topics: https://www.drfrost.org/explorer.php?coid=12809

MathsMadeEasy for revision and graded worksheets: https://mmerevise.co.uk/gcse-maths-revision/ [free stuff only]

Ask your teacher about shadow papers - when you've done a past paper and gone over it, the shadow paper is good to do.
(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 7

Original post
by Harfan654
Hi I'm Harry a Yr11 GCSE student who is preparing for my gcses in about 2 months!
I study these subjects:
English Lit and Lang (EDEXCEL)
(Higher tier) Maths (EDEXCEL)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (AQA)
Geography (AQA)
(Higher Tier) French (AQA)
Food (Eduqas)
Photography (Edexcel)
My Grades as of right now:
English Lit (5)
English Lang (4)
(Higher tier) Maths (4)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (54)
Geography ( a 4 from november but a 2 from paper 2 resit)
(Higher Tier) French (6)
Food (3)
Photography (5)
What I hope to get:
All 4-6s
What resources I have used so far for each subject:
English
So for this subject, I mainly have used some SENECA to reinforce my learning and some essays to practice timed writing but honestly I take way too much time planning cause I wanna get better grades so it's hard for me and time consuming as I try to plan my narrative writing/creative writing/transactional writing/story or answering the questions directly.
Maths
I usually do a lot of sparx and some SENECA again to help me with my knowledge and I have done a few past papers on the go usually get around 4s through them.
Combined Science
I use sparx science mostly and a bit of SENECA to help me with information based.
Geography
I have not tried any revision except past papers to help me.
French
I usually use languagenut or SENECA to help me with information although my listening is the worst as I am deaf (Sorting that out dw)
Food
I have not tried any revision except SENECA to help me.
Photography:
There is no written exam just 100% based on coursework.
What I need:
Can you help me to revise as I have tried to revise literally some subjects like geography or maths as they are hard and I have tried following a strict timetable for revision - which i left some days to be relaxing but if you do have any tips, PM me or comment below
Many thanks!

English:
I recommend having a clear structure for everything because it makes planning so much easier.
I didn't do edexcel so i cant help too much for specific questions but generally speaking PEAR (point, evidence, analysis, reader) works quite well for analysis paragraphs. I recommend looking at a mark scheme and/or examiner report for a past paper and highlighting what you are marked on for each question so you know what to do to get marks and also what isn’t getting you marks (eg: if effect on reader doesn’t earn you marks on a question don’t waste time writing about it!). For literature Id recommend practicing writing some nova fiction writing (you can only write 9 sentences) with 3 sentences each for the beginning, middle and end so youre really thinking about quality of writing. Before you start writing, have a basic idea of what will happen in each section and also make a list of the punctuation, language techniques and structural techniques you’ll use. Then you can tick stuff off as you go. Dont worry if it looks messy, if you dont write much you might even have time to write it out neat once you’re done but if not examiners are used to reading messy work lol.
Also i recommend watching some videos from YouTubers like Schofield on Shakespeare, tutoring with gavin and dr Aidan because they have amazing analysis and theme type videos for English lit. In general, watching videos from teachers or reading model answers will help your work sound more insightful which gets marks.

Maths:
Corbett maths 5 a day, watch YouTube videos on weak topics, do Corbett practice questions, mark and review, repeat. Might help you to keep a RAG checklist for maths so you can keep track of what specifically you’re struggling with topic wise.
When you do a past paper make sure you go through and understand every single mistake you made and then practice more of similar questions. If its an exam tech error like misreading a question then write down how you’ll avoid this in the future (eg: underlining the details).

Science:
Cognito is a lifesaver! Also freesciencelessons is great on YouTube, especially for the working scientifically content which is worth 15% of your grade but everyone seems to forget about it! ScienceShorts have a video for each science on the practicals you should have done too which I recommend watching.

French:
ActiveLearn is a fantastic resource if you have access to it. Vocab flashcards really helped me, im sure you could find some on anki/quizlet/studysmarter.

Hope this helps 🙂 As usual happy to answer questions!

Reply 8

Original post
by Harfan654
Hi I'm Harry a Yr11 GCSE student who is preparing for my gcses in about 2 months!
I study these subjects:
English Lit and Lang (EDEXCEL)
(Higher tier) Maths (EDEXCEL)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (AQA)
Geography (AQA)
(Higher Tier) French (AQA)
Food (Eduqas)
Photography (Edexcel)
My Grades as of right now:
English Lit (5)
English Lang (4)
(Higher tier) Maths (4)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (54)
Geography ( a 4 from november but a 2 from paper 2 resit)
(Higher Tier) French (6)
Food (3)
Photography (5)
What I hope to get:
All 4-6s
What resources I have used so far for each subject:
English
So for this subject, I mainly have used some SENECA to reinforce my learning and some essays to practice timed writing but honestly I take way too much time planning cause I wanna get better grades so it's hard for me and time consuming as I try to plan my narrative writing/creative writing/transactional writing/story or answering the questions directly.
Maths
I usually do a lot of sparx and some SENECA again to help me with my knowledge and I have done a few past papers on the go usually get around 4s through them.
Combined Science
I use sparx science mostly and a bit of SENECA to help me with information based.
Geography
I have not tried any revision except past papers to help me.
French
I usually use languagenut or SENECA to help me with information although my listening is the worst as I am deaf (Sorting that out dw)
Food
I have not tried any revision except SENECA to help me.
Photography:
There is no written exam just 100% based on coursework.
What I need:
Can you help me to revise as I have tried to revise literally some subjects like geography or maths as they are hard and I have tried following a strict timetable for revision - which i left some days to be relaxing but if you do have any tips, PM me or comment below
Many thanks!
I got 8 and here are things helped me do better in math and revise a lot of stuff and also have time for other things too!

go on physics and math tutor or sparx and do the independent learning or print out sheets to do ,start with easy then move to harder and harder,do each topic and write hard questions down so you can practice them later

also ,for revision I used to do small sections of the work in different times, only 15-20 min each time the I have brake and come back that really helped me stay focused and motivated also because when you revise too much at one go you will be tiered and only waste time.


days before your exam ,if you are aiming for top grades , do final questions of past paper and have one or two note to collect all things you think you will forget so you don’t get distracted with too much notes

Most importantly, don’t just leave something you don’t get ,ask a teacher or even ChatGPT and practice it until you know it by heart ,you must do much more past papers to know how to answer exam style questions and also do them under exam conditions and see how much time you take.and to be prepared for exam stress


Be serious and take these two months seriously,I know you have to revise for other subjects as well but math is hard and you have to start early!

Good luck

Reply 9

Original post
by maiden-hysteria
I got 8 and here are things helped me do better in math and revise a lot of stuff and also have time for other things too!
go on physics and math tutor or sparx and do the independent learning or print out sheets to do ,start with easy then move to harder and harder
also ,for revision I used to do small sections of the work in different times, only 15-20 min each time that really helped me stay focused and motivated also because when you revise too much at one go you will be tiered and only waste time.
days before your exam ,if you are aiming for top grades , do final questions of past paper and have one or two note to collect all things you think you will forget so you don’t get distracted with too much notes
Most importantly, don’t just leave something you don’t get ,ask a teacher or even ChatGPT and practice it until you know it by heart
Be serious and take these two months seriously,I know you have to revise for other subjects as well but math is hard and you have to start early .
Good luck

Hi, I think we only have one month left now, how to be serious like u said cuz i will also take exams this year.

Reply 10

Original post
by CelestialMD
Hi, I think we only have one month left now, how to be serious like u said cuz i will also take exams this year.

Just don’t feel overwhelmed..start tomorrow and do just one topic until you master it and then search up all the past questions about it and exam style questions and do same for other topics .then do one past paper a day and make sure you mark it..that should be enough

Reply 11

Original post
by maiden-hysteria
Just don’t feel overwhelmed..start tomorrow and do just one topic until you master it and then search up all the past questions about it and exam style questions and do same for other topics .then do one past paper a day and make sure you mark it..that should be enough

I will do that thank you

Reply 12

Original post
by CelestialMD
Hi, I think we only have one month left now, how to be serious like u said cuz i will also take exams this year.

Yeah i'm getting there

Reply 13

Original post
by maiden-hysteria
I got 8 and here are things helped me do better in math and revise a lot of stuff and also have time for other things too!
go on physics and math tutor or sparx and do the independent learning or print out sheets to do ,start with easy then move to harder and harder,do each topic and write hard questions down so you can practice them later
also ,for revision I used to do small sections of the work in different times, only 15-20 min each time the I have brake and come back that really helped me stay focused and motivated also because when you revise too much at one go you will be tiered and only waste time.
days before your exam ,if you are aiming for top grades , do final questions of past paper and have one or two note to collect all things you think you will forget so you don’t get distracted with too much notes
Most importantly, don’t just leave something you don’t get ,ask a teacher or even ChatGPT and practice it until you know it by heart ,you must do much more past papers to know how to answer exam style questions and also do them under exam conditions and see how much time you take.and to be prepared for exam stress
Be serious and take these two months seriously,I know you have to revise for other subjects as well but math is hard and you have to start early!
Good luck

Thank you! I do mostly use sparx but revision wise - thank you!

Reply 14

Original post
by Harfan654
Hi I'm Harry a Yr11 GCSE student who is preparing for my gcses in about 2 months!
I study these subjects:
English Lit and Lang (EDEXCEL)
(Higher tier) Maths (EDEXCEL)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (AQA)
Geography (AQA)
(Higher Tier) French (AQA)
Food (Eduqas)
Photography (Edexcel)
My Grades as of right now:
English Lit (5)
English Lang (4)
(Higher tier) Maths (4)
(Higher Tier) Combined Science (54)
Geography ( a 4 from november but a 2 from paper 2 resit)
(Higher Tier) French (6)
Food (3)
Photography (5)
What I hope to get:
All 4-6s
What resources I have used so far for each subject:
English
So for this subject, I mainly have used some SENECA to reinforce my learning and some essays to practice timed writing but honestly I take way too much time planning cause I wanna get better grades so it's hard for me and time consuming as I try to plan my narrative writing/creative writing/transactional writing/story or answering the questions directly.
Maths
I usually do a lot of sparx and some SENECA again to help me with my knowledge and I have done a few past papers on the go usually get around 4s through them.
Combined Science
I use sparx science mostly and a bit of SENECA to help me with information based.
Geography
I have not tried any revision except past papers to help me.
French
I usually use languagenut or SENECA to help me with information although my listening is the worst as I am deaf (Sorting that out dw)
Food
I have not tried any revision except SENECA to help me.
Photography:
There is no written exam just 100% based on coursework.
What I need:
Can you help me to revise as I have tried to revise literally some subjects like geography or maths as they are hard and I have tried following a strict timetable for revision - which i left some days to be relaxing but if you do have any tips, PM me or comment below
Many thanks!

hii for geography, idk if this has been said before so apologies if im saying smtn someone has already said but for geography doing past papers is really not enough :frown:( i wish it was, however it is really important to learn case studies, and general processes for the paper1, as well as paper 2

paper 2 is really abt how well u can evaluate a case study from what i saw during my mocks, and past papers
paper 1- i would say have a look at the examiner reports and use save my exmas, as all there resources are on the platform

id say if paper 1 and 2 go really well u can defo achieve your target grade! but most important to know ur case studies :biggrin:

Reply 15

Original post
by nandinii___
hii for geography, idk if this has been said before so apologies if im saying smtn someone has already said but for geography doing past papers is really not enough :frown:( i wish it was, however it is really important to learn case studies, and general processes for the paper1, as well as paper 2
paper 2 is really abt how well u can evaluate a case study from what i saw during my mocks, and past papers
paper 1- i would say have a look at the examiner reports and use save my exmas, as all there resources are on the platform
id say if paper 1 and 2 go really well u can defo achieve your target grade! but most important to know ur case studies :biggrin:

dude thank you! We're supposed to be focusing on paper 3 for half-term but do you think its worth it?

Reply 16

Original post
by Harfan654
dude thank you! We're supposed to be focusing on paper 3 for half-term but do you think its worth it?

thats issue evaluation and fieldwork right!! ( i HATE fieldwork eek )

okay so what id say is

ur probably gnna be focussing on that during the last few weeks u r back at skl, however, during this break id say defo focus on paper 1 and paper 2 - its gnna be quite a bit of content i do have to warn u as im revising it rn haha but that is where u will get majority of ur marks - however don't completely neglect paper 3. try to do a little bit of fieldwork during this week as it is a lot! make sure ur issue evaluation has good notes, and i know this is not rlly ideal, but since paper 3 is after the lil half term in the middle of the exams, i'd use that weeks break of exam to do focus on paper 3 majorly

Reply 17

Original post
by nandinii___
thats issue evaluation and fieldwork right!! ( i HATE fieldwork eek )
okay so what id say is

ur probably gnna be focussing on that during the last few weeks u r back at skl, however, during this break id say defo focus on paper 1 and paper 2 - its gnna be quite a bit of content i do have to warn u as im revising it rn haha but that is where u will get majority of ur marks - however don't completely neglect paper 3. try to do a little bit of fieldwork during this week as it is a lot! make sure ur issue evaluation has good notes, and i know this is not rlly ideal, but since paper 3 is after the lil half term in the middle of the exams, i'd use that weeks break of exam to do focus on paper 3 majorly


sorry if this didn't helpp but i hope there is smtn useful in my adivce haha

Reply 18

Original post
by nandinii___
sorry if this didn't helpp but i hope there is smtn useful in my adivce haha

no no its fine i was just a bit confused lol

Reply 19

Just an update - Halfway through Easter break and I've done a lot of english and french revision (With guidance) but currently behind on maths,geography and science revision.

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