Y12 student who was fighting his way through GCSES this time last year as well.
First - breathe ..... take a step back and appreciate how well you are already doing. GCSEs are designed to be difficult, and with another 5 months until GCSEs start, there's a lot of time for improvement.
Advice that I would give to my younger self:
1) Use the pomodoro technique. I SWEAR by it. If you're unfamiliar, the pomodoro technique is where you do a long period of intense study followed by a short break, e.g. 50 minutes study and 10 minute break. There are lots of study with me videos on Youtube and these help motivate you to study.
2) Mixed opinions on this, but personally, I LOVE studying to music, which is quite unpopular, but music makes me associate studying with good things, but music without lyrics is better for concentrating.
3) Split your revision into these three main aspects - a) Understanding - actually learning and understanding what the content actually means is FAR more effective than simply remembering random facts that make more sense. This can involve writing and consolidating notes or watching a video. b) Memorisation - use active recall methods such as blurting or flashcards to remember the content that you have learnt. I'm not a personal fan of flashcards, but if you use flashcards, you can sort them into different piles, e.g. a pile for everything you recalled easily and a pile for everything you didn't recall easily.
4) part c) to three step revision. Exam Practise and Application of Knowledge. This is by far the most important part of your revision. Blitz through as many past exam questions as you can, do as many past papers under exam conditions, as you will quickly learn what the mark scheme is looking for and different tricks you can use in the exam.
5) Use the specification as your revision list. The specification contains EVERYTHING you need to know and you could possibly be tested on, and it's readily available on the internet.
6) Not only use the mark scheme, but read the examiner's report. The examiner's report is a document made based on an exam and it talks about all the questions, how well a question was answered, where most students did and didn't do well.
7) Take care of yourself. Make sure you consistently take breaks to avoid burnout. Sleep!!! You will function far better with 8hrs of sleep, all nighters are not worth it, please don't stay up until the crack of dawn cramming.
Hope this helps! And make sure you plan a nice holiday for when GCSEs are all over
