Five Tips For GCSE Success by Saskia Haley

When someone says the word 'exam', what do you think of? A large, overly-bright hall, filled with wobbling desks and angry-looking invigilators pacing around between them? Row upon row of students looking anxiously at a loudly ticking clock, scribbling furiously on papers? A dreadful, smothering silence, so much so you could hear a pin drop? For some reason, GCSEs have developed a villainous reputation, leaving anyone preparing for them with a sense of terror. But does it have to be like this? To quote Marie Curie, 'Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood'. In other words, it isn’t the exams themselves which cause us all such grief, but, as is often the case, the fear of the unknown. Therefore, the solution is to know exactly what’s being asked of us, so we can prepare as efficiently as possible.
Clearly, this is easier said than done. However, having sat the GCSEs last year, I’ve tried to compile a list of five revision tips, some of which have helped me personally, and others which, looking back on it, I wish someone had told me sooner. Obviously, it goes without saying that everyone approaches exams in different ways, so some (or maybe even all) of these tips may not work for you. But I hope this will help you to consider possible revision techniques and to come up with your own.

1. Make an efficient timetable

Draw up a detailed schedule in advance...
The first step to revision is knowing what you’re going to revise, and when. It’s important to be specific here; for example, instead of writing ‘revise Chemistry’, if you write ‘go through Chemistry flashcards on Structure’, you’ll immediately know what to do. This not only makes the revision seem less daunting, as you are faced with a smaller topic to study, but it also allows you to prioritise parts of the same subject (e.g. you can RAG^[1] a list of topics to decide what to do first), allowing you to focus on your weaknesses. You’ll then be able to start revising quickly as you’ll have a clear plan prepared.

…But adapt it if necessary
The schedule doesn’t have to be set in stone, so you should adapt it if you think an area needs more work, or even if you’re just too fed up to revise one subject. Many times during my revision, I checked my schedule, exhausted, and saw I was to complete a tedious timed paper, so the only way to stop me losing the will to live was to do something more fun and less taxing instead. This also shows how important it is to study what you find hardest when you’re most focused – for most people, this is earlier in the day. Then, when you’re tired, you can reward yourself with your favourite subject, or do a fun quiz.

Reward yourself for what you’ve done and take regular breaks…
Another way to reward yourself for revision, although it sounds a little ridiculous, is to cross the slot off once you’ve completed it, as it’s bizarrely satisfying. I colour any completed boxes green, and I now associate this colour with feelings of gratification. There are other ways to reward yourself too; whether you eat a sweet, listen to a song, or do something you enjoy after each session, you’ll come to associate this happiness with the studying itself, making you more inclined to work.
This also demonstrates how essential it is to schedule breaks in the timetable.

This shows, to reach optimal performance, you should have a certain level of stress, but not too much, as you risk burning yourself out. It’s like cross-country running; if you begin sprinting as rapidly as you can, you’ll quickly find you don’t have enough energy to complete the race, and you’ll end up being overtaken. However, equally, if you begin too slowly, it’ll take you ages to finish, and you’ll constantly be behind, so it’s also important not to go too far the other way and not work enough.

…But ensure you give your studies your best effort
One of my teachers once said the GCSEs are like a higher-stakes Marshmallow Test and, looking back on it, I agree. The Marshmallow Test was a study conducted by a professor at Stanford University, in which preschool children were told to choose their favourite out of a pretzel and a marshmallow. The children were told if they waited for 15 minutes, they could eat what they chose, but if they were too impatient to wait, they’d only be allowed to eat the treat they hadn’t picked. The experiment tested the toddlers’ self-control, much like the GCSEs test ours. It’s tempting to just get out your phone and scroll on social media during the time you’ve set aside to study, and being teenagers in the 21^st century does mean we face more challenges on this front than our parents did. But we can overcome this, by reminding ourselves studying will be worth it ultimately. It’s difficult to resist the lure of instant gratification, but with effort, it is possible.

2. Be pleased when you get things wrong

Revise what you’re unsure about, not what you already know
I will always remember the beginning of my first GCSE Maths lesson. This is because the first thing my teacher did, before starting any content or even setting up the projector, was go up to the whiteboard and draw a circle on it. She then indicated, using the circle as a model, the difference between remaining inside our comfort zone, and leaving it. The more we do the latter, she said, the more we’ll challenge ourselves, and ultimately, the more we’ll learn. This unique start to the lesson has always stuck with me, and I now see how helpful her advice was. Time is certainly of the essence when revising, so it would be a little inefficient to waste it all reviewing topics you’re excellent at and neglect the areas needing the most work. In other words, your revision needs to be purposeful^[4] (i.e. you need to actually learn something new each time you revise) – you should be constantly improving, meaning you’re inevitably going to have to make mistakes.

It's a good sign when you make mistakes – it shows you’re learning!
Psychologist S.W. Tyler was interested in this concept of practice being efficient and purposeful, and conducted an experiment where he gave two groups of people a list of anagrams to solve. However, the crucial difference between the two lists was that the first group’s anagrams only required one letter to be moved to unjumble the word, while the second group’s anagrams were completely scrambled, making them a lot more difficult and time-consuming to solve. Although the first group almost certainly had an easier time completing their task, when the two groups were later quizzed on the words they were given, the second group performed staggeringly better. Why? Because they had to really think when solving the anagrams, which engrained the words into their memory. This is a prime example not only of how finding things difficult makes content more memorable, but also of how you only learn when you make mistakes.

Also, it’s important to remember every mistake you make when revising is a mistake you won’t make in the real GCSE. Therefore, you should almost be cheering every time you make an error, as the more you make now, the less there are to make when it really counts. But, there’s no point in making a mistake unless you learn from it. So, if you find you’ve answered a question incorrectly, write down the correction and add it to a ‘list of areas to improve’. This sounds a little tedious, but by the time you come to sit the exams, you’ll have a complete list of everything you’ve ever got wrong, which you can review before the exam to ensure you don’t repeat your errors. And, if there’s anything on the list that’s not already in your revision material, you can add it.

Try to adopt a growth mindset
Finally, possibly the most important message of this whole article is that your ability, grades and marks are not set in stone. You’ll make a lot more progress if you adopt a ‘growth mindset’. For example, rather than saying, ‘I’m no good at Biology; I’m going to fail’, you could say to yourself, ‘I may be struggling with Biology now, but I can improve if I work at it’. The most important factor which will ultimately decide your results is not innate ability, but your work ethic. This means, even if you find a subject difficult, with enough purposeful revision, you can achieve the grade you want. Don’t give up – all your hard work will pay off.

3. Seek out extra knowledge from a wide range of sources

Find elements of each of your subjects which really fascinate you
Imagine a topic that really interests you. It may be something for GCSE, like quadratic equations, or something completely unrelated, like Taylor Swift song lyrics or world flags. Now imagine having weeks of time to devote solely to researching this. It sounds great, doesn’t it? I certainly enjoy researching everyday, futile topics, and I think there’s nothing better than scavenging around for as much information as you can find. While it’d be highly unlikely you’d feel this way about every aspect of every subject at GCSE, it’s important to find areas of each course which really interest you, as that’ll increase your enjoyment of the subject as a whole and your motivation to revise, and so your grades.

It’s especially relevant for subjects like English Lit and humanities, as you often need to give a personal viewpoint, meaning a connection to the subject will help you write more convincingly. For example, when we began studying Macbeth, I enjoyed analysing Lady Macbeth’s character and how she appeared to have more ambition than her husband, as strong female characters were rarely found in plays of Shakespeare’s era. Interest in the subject also propels you to read notes from a large range of websites, so your essays will sound more informed and will include content not learned in the classroom. Since examiners have to read thousands of essays, if yours contains some really intriguing points others haven’t thought of, you’re likely to stand out, and be given a higher grade. Every time you read something on the text you’re studying which you personally find interesting, add it to your notes, as chances are, the examiners will find it interesting too. You’ll then build up a bank of useful ideas which can be used for a variety of essay topics.

Try out different revision websites
For non-essay subjects like the Sciences and Maths, revision websites like Seneca and Century use scientific research to help you learn content effectively. These are often useful to recap a topic when it’s been a while since you’ve visited it, as you are guided through everything clearly.

Go above and beyond
Reading around the subject, such as advanced textbooks, non-fiction books, or even just the rest of the spec ahead of time, is also extremely beneficial. Not only does it engage you more with how the subject is relevant in the wider world, but it also means there’s more chance of you knowing how to answer an unexpected question in the exam. Plus, it gets you into good habits for A-level; my teachers are now constantly advising me to do extra reading!

4. Test yourself and complete lots of past papers

Explain things to others (or to a sheet of paper) in your own words…
How many times have you sat in your room the night before a test, desperately trying to read all your notes and cram the information into your brain? We’ve all been there, but reading things passively is not necessarily a recipe for success. Various studies have shown that explaining things in your own words makes content more memorable than just reading it, as you have to truly understand it. This means writing out notes from memory or lecturing to a wall can be beneficial as you are retrieving and applying what you need to learn. It’s also useful (and a lot more enjoyable than revising alone) to ask someone to test you, as they can provide instant feedback on what you don’t know, and you can review this afterwards, indicating where you should next focus your revision.

…But completing exam questions is even more useful
However, revision should also involve practising questions in the format they’ll be given to you in the exam, so what better way to revise than with a stack of past papers? Some of the best websites for free past papers are Save My Exams, PMT, Revision World and MME Revise, as well as official exam board platforms. If you run out of past papers, some websites generate mock papers based off the standard structure of the exam papers (e.g. for English Language), and legacy papers are sometimes helpful, but beware that they may contain content no longer on the syllabus.

If possible, print out the papers and complete them with a physical pen instead of typing or writing digitally, as this is the format you’ll be faced with in the real exam (unless you’re a laptop user for the exams, obviously!). Various studies have been conducted on this topic, and they all indisputably show that writing by hand massively improves recall compared to typing on a computer. Not to mention the fact that you’ll have to write for an extended period in the GCSE, so it’s good practice for your hand muscles. That’s not to say you can never use your computer, but it’s a good idea to complete at least some of the papers by hand, especially for subjects like English Literature where long answers are required; you don’t want your hand to seize up in the GCSE!

The ‘three-pen rule’ is a revision technique consistently recommended by teachers. It involves using three coloured pens: one for using your own knowledge, another for looking at your notes, and a third for using the mark scheme. This tells you the cause of any gaps in your knowledge; if you have to read your notes, you need to learn the content, which is just memory work. However, if you have to use the mark scheme, it’s likely a question of understanding the topic. As I mentioned earlier, although it’s tempting to just ‘cherry pick’ questions you’re comfortable with, this is a waste of time. If you’re going to ‘cherry pick’, go for what you’re unsure of, as this’ll teach you the most.

Completing past papers is sort of like having a vaccination. When you’re vaccinated, your immune system is exposed to an attenuated strain (a harmless version) of the pathogen, so it can learn how to fight it off effectively. This means when you catch the actual illness, the immune system can immediately respond in the right way, so you don’t feel so rotten. Similarly, when you complete mock papers, you learn how to answer the different types of questions thrown at you so you’re quicker and more confident in the actual exam. As someone who’s afraid of needles, I strongly believe having a jab is far more painful than doing past papers, but the point is that both involve an unpleasant experience in the short term so you can learn and do better in the long term. And no, I unfortunately didn’t make up this analogy myself – you can find it on page 38 of the GCSE Biology textbook.

As you draw closer to the exams, it’s a good idea to complete past papers under exam conditions. This is especially important for tests which are pressured for time or involve extended writing, as you need to figure out how long to spend on each question. A strange discovery I made while revising was that writing out my candidate and centre number^[5] when completing a practice paper made me feel a bit calmer, as I always knew that this would be the first thing I’d write in the exam hall!

5. Make useful revision resources as you go along

Make your material in advance
Imagine sitting down in April, a month before the GCSEs, about to begin a period of intense revision. Then imagine the gratefulness and relief you’d feel if you found you had complete sets of revision material on every single topic of every single subject, so that all you have to do is go over it until it sinks in. That would be a pretty nice feeling, wouldn’t it? Making thorough revision resources for everything as you go along does, admittedly, sound like a very daunting prospect, but it’s not as daunting as rushing to do it a month before the exams. This is something I wish I’d been told earlier, as it would’ve massively sped up my revision. Each time you have to revise for an end-of-topic test, don’t just think about the need to pass this, but also about how the work you do now will be beneficial in future. If you make, say, flashcards on Forces for Physics, not only will it help you do well in the in-class test, but also to revise for the Forces questions in the GCSE.

Try flashcards with the Leitner Method
If you’re partial to flashcards, try the Leitner method. This involves creating flashcards as you would usually. However, the difference is that this involves three different envelopes. Initially, you place all the cards in the first envelope – this is the set of cards to go over each day. Once you get a card correct three days in a row, move it to the next envelope, marked ‘every other day’. Then, when you get a card in this envelope right three consecutive times, move it to the third ‘once a week’ envelope, and continue until all cards end up in the third envelope, which shows you know it all thoroughly. But, if you get a card wrong, you should move it back to the previous envelope.

Record yourself speaking the answers you need to learn
Another useful revision resource you can make is recordings. Can you remember the lyrics of ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’ off by heart? The answer is probably yes. But why is this? How come you can recall every word, even though you (hopefully) didn’t spend lots of time learning it? The answer lies in the subconscious. Each time you hear a song, the tunes and lyrics engrain themselves in your mind, without you even realising. That’s why it’s a good idea to make up humorous rhymes or tunes to accompany facts, as you’ll quickly learn them the more you recite them. However, I found the same is true for anything you hear, even if it doesn’t have a ‘tune’ as such. To memorise my GCSE English Speaking speech, I listened to a recording of myself reciting it every night. This is also how I learned my French Speaking answers. Although very few of the GCSE exams are oral, this is still useful for written exams, too, as there may be a stock introduction to learn for essays, or a sequence of events in history to recall. You only need a few minutes per day, if that, and you can always listen while doing something else, like brushing your teeth. And if it becomes too dull, try recording different topics with different accents – this also makes the content for each subject more memorable as you can associate it with a certain way of speaking.

But above all, try Quizlet
However, my favourite resource is undoubtedly Quizlet^[6]. I depended immensely on it for my GCSEs, and still do for my A-levels, as it allows you to go over ideas until they’re engrained in your memory. It has many study modes, including digital flashcards and being tested by an AI bot (though I wouldn’t trust this too much as the bot often makes amusing errors!), but what I tend to use is just ‘Write’ mode. This is cleverly hidden away, but if you press ‘Learn’, there’s some small print saying ‘click here for Write mode’, and it’s this relatively unknown feature that, in my opinion, helps you learn fastest. You’re given the term or definition, and you type the other in. If you answer verbatim, it accepts it, but if there’s any doubt, it gives you its opinion (using ‘smart correction’), but allows you to override it if necessary. Your progress is tracked and after you finish, you can star any terms you got wrong so when you go back to each set, you can just focus on these, particularly if you’ve not got long to revise. This is useful for vocabulary for MFL, key terms for Sciences, formulae for Maths, and memorising essay plans, quotes and statistics for humanities. However, since GCSEs (unfortunately) rely heavily on learning the language of the mark scheme, you can create study sets with ‘stock answers’ to ensure you ‘jump through the hoops’ to get the marks, for almost any subject. This sounds like a bit of a futile exercise and perhaps even cheating, but I found learning the content in the words examiners were looking for using Quizlet worked well in conjunction with completing past papers, as I could learn the ideas and then test my understanding with real questions. And no, despite popular opinion, I strongly believe Quizlet Plus is unnecessary. I’ve never used it, and find the free version (which includes unlimited Write mode) perfectly satisfactory.

Thank you for reading my article, and I hope these tips are useful. Having sat the GCSEs myself, I know they’re stressful, but try not to lose faith in yourself; you will get through it if you put your mind to it. The important thing is to persevere, and your hard work will pay off. Good luck!

Notes

[1] RAGing means highlighting statements in Red, Amber and Green, depending on how confident you feel about them - this gives immediate insight into what you do and don't know
[2] You can find out more about this at: Pomodoro® Technique - Time Management Method
[3] You can read about the hippocampus at: Hippocampus: What It Is, Function, Location & Damage
[4] If you’re interested in the notion of purposeful practice, Bounce by Matthew Syed is a very interesting book exploring this, as well as the concept of a growth mindset – I found the book very helpful when writing this article, and have included many of its ideas
[5] The school centre number is 26252, but everyone has their own 4-digit candidate number
[6] Quizlet, originally a digital flashcard website, now has many helpful resources for revision – you can make your own sets, and use other people’s: https://quizlet.com/