GCSE Tips and Advice

Hello everyone, so I was meant to post this the day before my results but I was really busy and really nervous so I didn’t get a chance to. I hope you all got the GCSE and A-Level results that you wanted (or any other exams you've done).

For GCSE I took: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths, English Language, English Literature, French, Philosophy and Ethics (RS), Drama and History.

I just wanted to write down some advice for people starting their GCSEs and just some general revision tips to help you guys. Most of them I've tried myself or my friends have done them so I hope these help you in some way. Here are 10 tips to help you during your GCSE's. 

Tip #1 – Revise as you go

Okay so this is really important because I didn’t do this and I found I had to work really hard in the last few months leading up to my exams and I may have been able to do even better if I hadn’t crammed 3 years of work into 3 months. Start as you mean to go on, if you have an end of topic test, a vocab test, end of years or mocks (especially mocks): revise. I honestly can’t stress that enough because it will make those weeks leading up to your exams that little bit easier.

Tip #2 – Review your work

So, this is a good tip if, like me, you hate making notes and don’t want to spend all your time making them right before exams. When you come back from school in the evening or maybe at the end of the week, summarise the work you did in class and condense that work into mind maps or on your computer (or whatever way you prefer), so come exam time you know you have clear notes that you can revise from. Equally if you take a subject which requires you to learn formulas or definitions make flash cards as you learn them in class so you don’t waste valuable revision time before exams writing 2 years’ worth of physics definitions out and trying to learn them last minute (because I definitely didn’t do that).   

I haven’t tried this personally, but I’m going to start doing this in September to try and keep on top of my work in sixth form, so it will be easier to remember the things I did at the beginning of Y12 when I’m taking my A levels in Y13.

Tip #3 – Complete homework on time

I would 100% recommend doing your homework the night it is set, or if you have too much the day after. I’m sure everyone has had those days when they can’t be bothered to do their homework so they leave it and leave it until it’s the night before it’s due in and you either rush it and don’t do very well or even worse copy a friend’s and you don’t learn anything from the task set rendering it pointless. Also doing it the night it’s set gives you more time to have free time and relax. Be proactive and if you are struggling with your homework then go and ask a teacher for help, don’t just turn up to the lesson without even attempting it because it makes you look lazy and makes more work for your teacher.

Tip #4 – Make a revision timetable

So this one kind of seems a bit obvious but managing my time is a skill I learnt during Y11. I took 10 subjects and had 24 exams, which is a lot to juggle so making a revision timetable is really helpful. I made one for my MOCK exams in January but never made one for my GCSE’s, which would have helped me balance my revision more equally. I recommend not only making one and putting ‘Biology’, but write down what topic you would be studying, for example: ‘Biology – The Heart’ so you’re clear on what you are doing when and don’t spend the first 20 minutes thinking about what you are going to revise. I would also recommend putting in any commitments you have and planning your revision around them so you don’t miss out on certain subjects because you are not actually revising. There’s no point making a timetable if you don’t stick to it so make sure you are ready to start revising at 10 if that’s what you planned.

Tip #5 – Go to clinics

In my school, they have subject clinics where you can go and see teachers of a certain subject to help you with your homework or help you understand a certain topic. In my experience teachers teach things differently so if you don’t understand the way your teaching has explained something go find another teacher as they will probably explain it differently. Another bonus of clinics is I found that not too many people actually went to them so some days you get full attention which means you get more done. For me, physics and chemistry clinics were my lifeline because I didn’t always listen in class so it was good to go over the things I didn’t understand slower and in more depth than it would have been explained in class.

Tip #6 – Listen in class

This leads nicely onto my next tip, listening in class. This may sound obvious but I now how easy it is to stop listening because you're bored or you don't understand. Listening is essential, especially during your GCSE's. I day-dreamed during Y9 and Y10 in some subjects because I found them boring but all that meant was that I had to work extremely hard in Y11 to learn the basic information that everything I was taught was being built upon. Keep yourself engaged and don’t be afraid to ask questions, it shows you are paying attention and are concentrating on your work.

Tip #7 – Use your revision guides

At the beginning of Y10 I was given a choice to purchase a CPG revision guide and honestly, they helped me a huge amount with my GCSE’s. I would completely recommend investing in one because they condense all the information you need and are set out clearly. There are also work books which go with the revision guides which give you questions you might be asked on all the different topics of your course.

Tip #8 – Keep your work in folders

In Y11 not many of our teachers gave us exercise books because everyone began putting all their work in their folders. I recommend using plastic wallets and dividers to keep your folders organized and makes it easier to find work. I used the contents of the revision guide to arrange the topics in my folders so they were roughly in the same order.

Tip #9 – Use online resources

There are so many useful websites and apps which have resources for GCSE and A Level free for you to use. I know it gets really boring constantly revising from a text book or your own notes and it's good to use different types of media to revise from. I have listed my top favourites below.

Websites:
·         Get revising
·         BBC Bitesize
·         Word Reference
·         The Student Room
·         Memorize
Apps:
·         My Study Plan
·         Quizlet
·         BBC Bitesize
·         Duolingo
·         Chegg Flashcards

Tip #10 – Work hard play hard

My last tip is to have a balance of social life and school life. Don’t overwork yourself too hard and take some time for yourself. Go outside, go out with friends, anything to take your mind off work and refresh your brain before starting revision or homework again.

Hope some of these tips will help you with your GCSE’s or any other exams you have. Let me know in the comments below which tip helped you the most and if you want me to do anymore revision related posts.

B xo