i got all 9s/8s in gcse - ask me anything!

i feel like its a bit late posting this but if anyone in yr 11 has any questions feel free to ask!!

i did triple science aqa, higher maths edexcel, l2 furthermaths aqa, rs aqa, eng lang and lit aqa, higher spanish aqa, business edexcel and persian edexcel and now im doing bio chem maths and english !!

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Reply 1

meowmeowses

Original post

by h3artara

i feel like its a bit late posting this but if anyone in yr 11 has any questions feel free to ask!!
i did triple science aqa, higher maths edexcel, l2 furthermaths aqa, rs aqa, eng lang and lit aqa, higher spanish aqa, business edexcel and persian edexcel and now im doing bio chem maths and english !!

hi i’m in year tenn and asking for study tips

Reply 2

𝕷𝖆𝖎𝖇𝖆

oooh well done on your grades!!! Honestly any tips for triple science, maths, english lanuage and languages in general would be great! What was your study routine like and how do you prevent burn out? sorry for the long list of questions!! thank youuu :smile:

Reply 3

written-basket

Original post

by h3artara

i feel like its a bit late posting this but if anyone in yr 11 has any questions feel free to ask!!
i did triple science aqa, higher maths edexcel, l2 furthermaths aqa, rs aqa, eng lang and lit aqa, higher spanish aqa, business edexcel and persian edexcel and now im doing bio chem maths and english !!

oooh wow those grades are really really good well done. Do you have any tips for speaking for languages?

Reply 4

ABU DORY

tips for maths and science

Reply 5

how_to_exist?

how on earth do you study for rpe i'm actually so lost the timings actually killing me it feels like exams are right around the corner...if possible could you share your study schedule and how you revised it,and also what you would change if you could do it again tyy!!(sorry for the long request)

Reply 6

h3artara

Original post

by meowmeowses

hi i’m in year tenn and asking for study tips

hii!! lmk your subjects so i can be more specific but honestly since ur in year 10 just make useful resources and dont waste time on notes you wont use during yr11, understand the content and implement active recall. most importantly have fun!

Reply 7

h3artara

Original post

by how_to_exist?

no worries and not long at all!!

content wise my teacher had summary sheets which i put into gizmo and quizlet and generated flashcards from. tbh i did sort of neglect re so i wasnt consistent with them but i visited them every so often. also we'd get check lists which were based off the spec and for each subpoint id write down 4 for arguments and 4 against arguments, all backed up by quotes and different religions. that way, i basically had for and against arguments for any prompt they could give whether it be for the 12 markers or 4-5 markers. for 12 markers you should also have a structure, i think that helped me out sm!! i dont remember mine exactly but im pretty sure ur teacher should've given you one, but mine was something like having 2 for argument paragraphs (which were pretty short ngl) with quotes and where the quote was from, like 1-2 sentences about if this side was strong or weak, and repeat for the against arguements, alongside a short conclusion which introduced my own point of view backed up with evidence (if i had time lol).

with timing, i personally read the 12 markers, jotted some of the for and against arguments i previously mentioned next to the statements and did the questions. id say prioritise easy marks that you know you'll get, then the 12 markers because you could lose a lot of marks, and then the other questions which i wasnt so sure about.

also dw you still have time! treat your mocks like the real thing, i know it sounds cliche but i genuinely wish i took mocks a little more seriously because theyre basically conditioning you to the same environment as actual gcse exams, and its really good practice. i didnt have a specific study schedule but i do wish i didnt leave most of re last minute.

just to note i i did get extra time, so the timings thing wont be the same but i did end up missing out on a few questions (woops...) but still got a 9, so dont be too worked up over it!! but then again dont get complacent.

im assuming you do aqa, and i just checked their website and it looks like theyve changed up some of the structure so my tips may not be specifically tailored to their new style but i hope it helps regardless!! sorry for the long msg 😞

Reply 8

h3artara

Original post

by 𝕷𝖆𝖎𝖇𝖆

thank you so much!! 😋 sorry for the huge message...

with triple science, once you do a lot of exam qs you come to realise soo much of it is repeated!! rn i would make sure i understand and can recall all the content, and if you dont ask your teachers. i honestly wish i made use of my teachers more during gcses because theyre there to help you, and i realised that too late 💔 once you're comfortable with content and have memorised it, you should do exam questions. i would personally leave actual full papers till you've completed all the content and when its closer to exam time eg around april-mayish. lmk if u wanna know what i did for any of the sciences specifically i got 9s in all 3

for maths its genuinely just practice. id watch videos or get my teacher (or a friend i had who was extremely good at maths lol) to understand a certain topic then id go on mathsgenie and do practice questions. i started doing maths past papers earlier since a lot of the topic specific questions were too easy and they didnt mix and match topics in 1 question like they would in the actual exam papers. i did edexcel, but dont limit yourself to just the edexcel past papers... maths is going to be the same regardless of the exam board so maybe if you do run out of the past papers (which did happen to me...) try other exam boards or textbooks! one thing i will say tho please PLEASEE check over your work at the end of the exam if you have time. literally ask for extra paper to redo the questions without looking at your working out and see if you get your initial answer or not. its so tempting to just sit back in your chair and day dream till its time to go but spend that time wisely. i didnt do this properly and i was 1 mark off a 9 which made me unable to do fm alevel D:

for english language, just get the structure down. im pretty sure theyve changed up some stuff so it wont be the same for you but i would read the questions, look at the lines specified and box them up in the extract and write the focus of the question next to the allocated areas so that when i read the extract i knew what to annotate for. make sure you know what the questions asking too eg whether theyre testing and awarding marks for your skill of comparison or talking about writer's methods and its effects. with the creative writing aspect, i think having a good bank of phrases and words and building up on your vocab gets you those high marks eg having generic descriptive language for a dismal place vs a jovial place. i personally always stuck to descriptive writing so im no use regarding the narrative option but just practice planning some pieces rather than actually writing them, then afterwards try writing a few and getting familiar with your style + improving it!

for languages tbh its all about vocab and knowing your tenses. id practice conjugating like once every week till i got really familiar with it which took like max 15-30 mins per week. with finding vocab just go on the aqa website and theres a huge list of them and i generated flashcards for them. i believe theyve changed the structure for languages too so im not sure how useful my tips will be 😔 reading is just knowing vocab and being able to detect tenses and positives and negatives. same with listening, but to improve being able to pick up tenses etc. i listened to spanish music and just did some practice listenings on bbc bitesize. for writing, again its everything ive mentioned but actually being able to write it out plus i would reccomend you get some interesting phrases from different websites eg for spanish i used to always write 'si tuviera mas tiempo...' which would be considered high level phrases that could be used for most contexts. for speaking my teacher gave us a set of questions which i had prepared answers for and memorised, which helped out with writing too!!

i didnt have a specific routine, id come home from school and list out tasks i had to get done. closer to gcse time i started going to sleep late and waking up early which i regret so please dont sacrifice anything for work or you'll burn out! im gonna be honest, you just have to be disciplined enough to carry on no matter how 'demotivated' or 'burnt out' you feel. but ofc take this with a pinch of salt, moderation is key. give yourself meaningful breaks, and make your study time worth it!! most importantly tho, have fun !! it stressful but you dont have to sacrifice everything for gcses.

lmk if you want any clarification on anything ive said, dw about how long the questions are im more than happy to help!!

Reply 9

h3artara

Original post

by written-basket

oooh wow those grades are really really good well done. Do you have any tips for speaking for languages?

thank you so much!!

for speaking i got given a set of questions by my teacher and just memorised answers id previously written. thats honestly it. also knowing vocab helped me out sm and how to change verbs according to the tense, detecting tenses in general and positives and negatives in the lang ure studying. the exam boards website is so helpful for all of this, i used astarspanish for everything else. bbc bitesize can also be very helpful too!! practice saying the answers outloud or record yourself doing it. it might sound a bit goofy but its so helpful!!

lmk if u have any questions or if u wanna clarify anything

Reply 10

h3artara

Original post

by ABU DORY

tips for maths and science

hii!! i replied to another person on this thread about maths and science, check it out! if u have any questions about anything i said lmk

Reply 11

mint.ice_tj

Original post

by h3artara

i feel like its a bit late posting this but if anyone in yr 11 has any questions feel free to ask!!
i did triple science aqa, higher maths edexcel, l2 furthermaths aqa, rs aqa, eng lang and lit aqa, higher spanish aqa, business edexcel and persian edexcel and now im doing bio chem maths and english !!

Hi I am currently in Y11, since it is october half-term now do you think I should do extra revision? Many people are doing revision for their november mocks but my school does the mocks later, during February. So I am unsure on what to do this half-term and I dont want to waste it.

Reply 12

peanutbutterazzy

Original post

by h3artara

i feel like its a bit late posting this but if anyone in yr 11 has any questions feel free to ask!!
i did triple science aqa, higher maths edexcel, l2 furthermaths aqa, rs aqa, eng lang and lit aqa, higher spanish aqa, business edexcel and persian edexcel and now im doing bio chem maths and english !!

Heyy!! congrats , those are literally astonishing grades, for eng lit what texts did you do, and how can i revise for poetry ( i do power and conflict) , if you do any of christmas carol, animal farm, and much ado about nothing please lmk! :smile:

))

Reply 13

mint.ice_tj

Original post

by h3artara

thank you so much!! 😋 sorry for the huge message...
with triple science, once you do a lot of exam qs you come to realise soo much of it is repeated!! rn i would make sure i understand and can recall all the content, and if you dont ask your teachers. i honestly wish i made use of my teachers more during gcses because theyre there to help you, and i realised that too late 💔 once you're comfortable with content and have memorised it, you should do exam questions. i would personally leave actual full papers till you've completed all the content and when its closer to exam time eg around april-mayish. lmk if u wanna know what i did for any of the sciences specifically i got 9s in all 3
for maths its genuinely just practice. id watch videos or get my teacher (or a friend i had who was extremely good at maths lol) to understand a certain topic then id go on mathsgenie and do practice questions. i started doing maths past papers earlier since a lot of the topic specific questions were too easy and they didnt mix and match topics in 1 question like they would in the actual exam papers. i did edexcel, but dont limit yourself to just the edexcel past papers... maths is going to be the same regardless of the exam board so maybe if you do run out of the past papers (which did happen to me...) try other exam boards or textbooks! one thing i will say tho please PLEASEE check over your work at the end of the exam if you have time. literally ask for extra paper to redo the questions without looking at your working out and see if you get your initial answer or not. its so tempting to just sit back in your chair and day dream till its time to go but spend that time wisely. i didnt do this properly and i was 1 mark off a 9 which made me unable to do fm alevel D:
for english language, just get the structure down. im pretty sure theyve changed up some stuff so it wont be the same for you but i would read the questions, look at the lines specified and box them up in the extract and write the focus of the question next to the allocated areas so that when i read the extract i knew what to annotate for. make sure you know what the questions asking too eg whether theyre testing and awarding marks for your skill of comparison or talking about writer's methods and its effects. with the creative writing aspect, i think having a good bank of phrases and words and building up on your vocab gets you those high marks eg having generic descriptive language for a dismal place vs a jovial place. i personally always stuck to descriptive writing so im no use regarding the narrative option but just practice planning some pieces rather than actually writing them, then afterwards try writing a few and getting familiar with your style + improving it!
for languages tbh its all about vocab and knowing your tenses. id practice conjugating like once every week till i got really familiar with it which took like max 15-30 mins per week. with finding vocab just go on the aqa website and theres a huge list of them and i generated flashcards for them. i believe theyve changed the structure for languages too so im not sure how useful my tips will be 😔 reading is just knowing vocab and being able to detect tenses and positives and negatives. same with listening, but to improve being able to pick up tenses etc. i listened to spanish music and just did some practice listenings on bbc bitesize. for writing, again its everything ive mentioned but actually being able to write it out plus i would reccomend you get some interesting phrases from different websites eg for spanish i used to always write 'si tuviera mas tiempo...' which would be considered high level phrases that could be used for most contexts. for speaking my teacher gave us a set of questions which i had prepared answers for and memorised, which helped out with writing too!!
i didnt have a specific routine, id come home from school and list out tasks i had to get done. closer to gcse time i started going to sleep late and waking up early which i regret so please dont sacrifice anything for work or you'll burn out! im gonna be honest, you just have to be disciplined enough to carry on no matter how 'demotivated' or 'burnt out' you feel. but ofc take this with a pinch of salt, moderation is key. give yourself meaningful breaks, and make your study time worth it!! most importantly tho, have fun !! it stressful but you dont have to sacrifice everything for gcses.
lmk if you want any clarification on anything ive said, dw about how long the questions are im more than happy to help!!

Hi thank you for the amazing tips, I am really struggling with science: i do gcse combined science edexcel higher.
Do you have any specific tips for each science subject? I would really appreciate it, thanks.

Reply 14

h3artara

Original post

by mint.ice_tj

heyy!!

first of all congrats on getting through the first half-term ! its probably pretty daunting but trust me you'll be fine as long as you balance work and rest/having fun :>

right now, id imagine you still have content to cover, and since you dont have mocks that you need to revise for, the best thing you can do is consolidate your knowledge on each subject. make sure you know the content well, and what you know matches the specification so that in exams the way you word concepts will award you marks! do a little of 3-4 subjects everyday (or alternatively if that doesnt work for you try other ways to structure what you do) and make sure your revision is meaningful. understand and memorise concepts, do exam questions only after you're certain you know the topic like the back of your hand, make quotation banks for english or start blurting topics for science etc. this is the best time to identify your weak points and to fix up on them!

other than that, dont spend every single day revising, give yourself breaks and make sure you're having fun!! lmk if u have any specific questions or want specific tips on subjects :biggrin:

Reply 15

h3artara

Original post

by peanutbutterazzy

))

hii and thank you so much :>

so i got 159/160 in eng lit, and the only text we share is a chirstmas carol 💔 so my advice/ what i did wont be specific to your texts but more so generic... sorry about that D:

i did a christmas carol, an inspector calls, macbeth, and love and relationships for poetry.

first things first - engage with your texts. like genuinely try your best to enjoy them! i used to hate english but when i actually sat down and started thinking okay what do i find interesting? what does this particular line/scene/chapter/character etc mean to me? once you start doing this, youre going to subconsciously develop better analytical skills which will help with what you write about in essays/ what you annotate and so on!!

second, get a structure down for each question. if u want to know what i used lmk! this doesnt have to be something as rigid as speel or peach paragraphs but can be more os of a checklist or agenda so you know exactly what you should mention and include in your response.

i personally made a huge document (which i can no longer access since it was on my school account and ive moved 😔) where i would put quotes from the start middle and end of each text into sectioned parts of characters and what themes they represented. then underneath i put the method for each quote, why the writer used this, what its effect is, relevant context and linking it to other quotes. make sure you zoom into specifics and try not to give generalised responses.

i didnt really write essays until december where i'd finish all my texts, but i did plan a lot of essays, which helped out alot since i was able to put together ideas more easily when it actually came to the exam. so id say spend more time planning than actually writing (unless your weak point is actually writing out the response essay, then write essays or even small paragraphs and give them to teachers to mark!)

other than that, me and my friends randomly had conversations about texts, which helped me see different perspectives and was quite useful ! we also made a lot of jokes out of the quotes in the texts which helped with remembering them lmao so maybe you could do that too :biggrin:

again sorry for being generic, if you want me to clarify anything lmk !!

Reply 16

h3artara

Original post

by mint.ice_tj

so i did triple higher aqa, idk how similar it would be but ill just tell you what i did!

i had flashcard sets for each subtopic of every science and i did this after every topic was taught, i dont think right now would be the best time to do this but you could use premade sets, or even upload the spec to quizlet or gizmo and then edit some of the flashcards to your liking! essentially this helps with having the specific vocab necessary to gain those stubborn marks that say 'ignore' or 'reject'

i would also blurt out a lot of these concepts, just on a random piece of paper or a whiteboard, write out what you remember and then look back onto premade notes, flashcards or the spec and see what you missed out and repeat.

as for how i learnt the topics, id watch videos eg freesciencelessons and read the spec, then id do the flashcards/blurting.

once i was confident with the content, then id do exam questions. the ones i got wrong, i put into another set of flashcards. id recommend online ones over physical ones tbh. once you do enough of these you realise questions are often repeated alot. with 6 markers id write in the corner next to the question what topics it was assessing.

around april-mayish was when i started doing actual past papers, id also put the questions i got wrong in flashcards and near exam times i reviewed these.

i did this for all sciences, but make sure you get the maths part down for chem and physics with practice (which is something i didnt do and kind of regret since thats where i lost marks)

hopefully this helped!! :biggrin:

Reply 17

user33713469

Original post

by h3artara

i feel like its a bit late posting this but if anyone in yr 11 has any questions feel free to ask!!
i did triple science aqa, higher maths edexcel, l2 furthermaths aqa, rs aqa, eng lang and lit aqa, higher spanish aqa, business edexcel and persian edexcel and now im doing bio chem maths and english !!

do you have any tips for revising business edexcel gcse, and were there any particular parts you found difficult like memorising formula?

also i struggle a lot with 9/12 Marker marker evaluation and for getting context into my answers )for 6 markers too). general rule of thumb i used was 1 use context per strand of analysis but do you recommend anything

Reply 18

gmbaox

Original post

by h3artara

i feel like its a bit late posting this but if anyone in yr 11 has any questions feel free to ask!!
i did triple science aqa, higher maths edexcel, l2 furthermaths aqa, rs aqa, eng lang and lit aqa, higher spanish aqa, business edexcel and persian edexcel and now im doing bio chem maths and english !!

i am an aqa gcse student
i have this a Christmas carol analysis here but can anyone tell me that this is plausible? (please read this all out ik it might sound weird at first)

According to Mary Shelley's book, Frankenstein, it states that when a human body dies, it weighs 21 grams lighter. this can be attributed the theory of the soul's existence. When scrooge says in stave 5 "... i am as light as a feather...' it can be said that according to Plato, and his theory of the Epithumetikon (The Appetitive Part), scrooges lightness that he feels is physical and metaphorical as the negative side of the soul physically is leaving his body and his mental state becomes one widely accepted by society. Perhaps the reason dickens employs this technique is to show to the Jacobean era what will happen if one redeems himself and the positive liberation and outcome that will appear. (no i dont do frankenstein and im stumped whether i can even mention another book especially frankenstein)

any and all help will be appreciated,
thank you

Reply 19

𝕷𝖆𝖎𝖇𝖆

Original post

by gmbaox

i am an aqa gcse student
i have this a Christmas carol analysis here but can anyone tell me that this is plausible? (please read this all out ik it might sound weird at first)
According to Mary Shelley's book, Frankenstein, it states that when a human body dies, it weighs 21 grams lighter. this can be attributed the theory of the soul's existence. When scrooge says in stave 5 "... i am as light as a feather...' it can be said that according to Plato, and his theory of the Epithumetikon (The Appetitive Part), scrooges lightness that he feels is physical and metaphorical as the negative side of the soul physically is leaving his body and his mental state becomes one widely accepted by society. Perhaps the reason dickens employs this technique is to show to the Jacobean era what will happen if one redeems himself and the positive liberation and outcome that will appear. (no i dont do frankenstein and im stumped whether i can even mention another book especially frankenstein)
any and all help will be appreciated,
thank you

For mentioning another book, I don't think it's a problem since I've done it and my teachers haven't stopped me before but just don't get too carried away with it if you do. Apart from that - love the analysis!