14 A*s GCSE. Ask me anything!

booklover3

4

Ask me any questions!!

Reply 1

𝕷𝖆𝖎𝖇𝖆

14

that's insane!! what subjects did you take?

Reply 2

Physician

21

Original post

by booklover3

Ask me any questions!!

Did you get those grades through your own hard work and research, or were you coached by a private school teacher and / or private tutor? There was a student on my MSc course who got 10 A* grades at GCSE, and AAA at A level, and gained entry for Medicine at a top uni, yet when he was doing the MSc he came across as just average in intelligence. I later discovered that he only ever attended private education his entire life up until university, meaning that he had been coached to the extreme in order to succeed. But when it came to thinking for himself, he couldn't do it well.

Reply 3

booklover3

OP

4

Original post

by 𝕸𝖆𝖑𝖊𝖊𝖍𝖆𝖍

that's insane!! what subjects did you take?

I live in Wales so I had to do some extra: welsh language, welsh literature, and numeracy. Apart from those, I did maths, additional maths, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history, drama, english literature, english language and welsh baccalaureate! x

Reply 4

booklover3

OP

4

Original post

by Physician

Did you get those grades through your own hard work and research, or were you coached by a private school teacher and / or private tutor? There was a student on my MSc course who got 10 A* grades at GCSE, and AAA at A level, and gained entry for Medicine at a top uni, yet when he was doing the MSc he came across as just average in intelligence. I later discovered that he only ever attended private education his entire life up until university, meaning that he had been coached to the extreme in order to succeed. But when it came to thinking for himself, he couldn't do it well.

valid question! i'd like to say i got my grades through hard work and research- i go to a state school in wales. the only subject i had a tutor in was welsh literature because neither of my parents speak welsh and i had to do all of my exams in it! i like my school and i think it is good, but it isn't competitive or particularly academic. I had 220 people in my year, and over 30 students in most of my lessons. so i had to work very hard and go above and beyond what was taught in lessons. there were only two of us who got all a*'s, so i wouldn't consider it the norm at my school! hope this helps x

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 5

𝕷𝖆𝖎𝖇𝖆

14

Original post

by booklover3

I live in Wales so I had to do some extra: welsh language, welsh literature, and numeracy. Apart from those, I did maths, additional maths, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history, drama, english literature, english language and welsh baccalaureate! x

That's so cool! Any advice for English language and literature, sciences and geography? Thanks :smile:

Reply 6

ibelieve-icanfly

18

whats exam board do u do for history?

Reply 7

booklover3

OP

4

Original post

by ibelieve-icanfly

whats exam board do u do for history?

wjec x

Reply 8

Talkative Toad

Volunteer Team

22

What was your favourite subject and do you have any tips for anyone studying such subject?

Reply 9

booklover3

OP

4

Original post

by 𝕸𝖆𝖑𝖊𝖊𝖍𝖆𝖍

That's so cool! Any advice for English language and literature, sciences and geography? Thanks :smile:

yes!!
for english language:
honestly, my school didn't prepare me much for this! we did some prep in early year ten- we went through slow writing and how to answer certain questions, and then went back to it after learning all of the content for literature. my biggest tip would be to read books! and a lot of extracts/ creative writing competitions online. a lot of people memorise certain creative writing essays for the big question but honestly i did not do this and i got full marks in that question. that being said, it was easier for me to write it because i did a lot of pastpapers and practised a few different creative writing essays. it told me to write about a day i enjoyed, so i just roughly remembered an extract i had written about a fun holiday. i would get very used to the question structures, practice with timed pastpapers and read creative writing extracts.
for english literature:
i made extensive notes. in hindsight, i probably didn't have to do so much but it meant that certain phrases and adjectives were really stuck in my brain. for example, i studied 'a view from the bridge' and i always remembered that the bridge symbolised the 'long stretch between the disparate wealth of manhattan and the poor communities of the longshore men'. i would make notes from loads of different websites on characters and themes, and then make essay plans. some people went straight to essay plans, and although this saves time, i dont think you memorise as many phrases or words. by the time i sat the exam, i barely had to think about how to write my essay because i knew my structure and had things memorised.
for sciences:
i made notes and then did about 5 pastpapers for each science before the exam. i made my notes over year 11, before each test at the end of every unit. i would read these, make a set of flashcards, and then answer the pastpaper questions. once i finished the pastpaper, i would mark it and find the grade boundary. i would also write out my mistakes and extra notes on the topics i was struggling in (this is such an important step so many people miss out!). for chem especially, the papers basically repeat themselves so i knew the answers to a lot of questions in the exam.
for geography:
honestly, i did not listen in lessons or concentrate because my class was very disruptive. i would not recommend my way of revising because it was last minute!! i basically memorised the content by making notes on the textbook a few weeks before the exams and then did two or three pastpapers in the days before. again, i would pay close attention to the marking scheme.
as a general note- get to know the marking schemes of your exam board very well! it really helps when you sit the exams, because you know exactly what will get you those top marks.
hope this helps! x

Reply 10

booklover3

OP

4

Original post

by Talkative Toad

What was your favourite subject and do you have any tips for anyone studying such subject?

honestly my favourite subject was drama! it was so different to every other lesson, and it was such a creative outlet for me. i really loved those lessons. my advice would be to fully emmerse yourself in it. for my production (my mark was 40/40) i reconstructed an old death penalty case. so, i read books on it, read articles online and watched documentaries. this meant that when i wrote my portfolio i had so much evidence and my interest was authentic. also, rehearse loads! watch videos! there are so many free resources online we take for granted. for example, for my performance from a script (20/20) i watched videos of different theatre companies doing it on yt which gave me so many ideas. hope this helps :smile:

14 A*s GCSE. Ask me anything!

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