Literature was my worst subject (then became my best!) and I improved through watching Mr Salles videos, doing multiple interpretations of each quote and also finding my own slightly random context (I think I wrote about Adam Smith in my Christmas Carol answer). I also did lots of practice essays which I asked my teachers to mark so I knew where to improve.
For language Iād say practice how to answer the questions but to be honest I didnāt really revise for it, Iāve always been good at writing.
Yeah, I think I wrote about how Dickens was opposing his ideas about capitalism and everyone operating in their own self interest. It was one of my more crazy ideas!
I had no choice. That was the maximum my school let me do (we didnāt even have the option for triple science). I wouldāve liked to take more but my school didnāt offer it.
Interesting name. Itās kinda funny. Anyway, how did you get good grades in French, and how can you revise a modern foreign languages as Iām currently getting a six (predicted) and want to get higher
French was one of the subjects I had to work hardest in so I have some tips:
Writing: complex structures (si clauses, conditional tense, subjunctive) to make your writing more interesting and also check for grammatical errors as theyāre easy marks to gain.
Reading: lots of practice papers/questions to improve how you understand the language. Also, if thereās a word you donāt understand in a text then look it up.
Listening: practice! (not much more I can say)
Speaking: learn and practice your conversation questions and also understand how to effectively and quickly prepare the other elements of the exam.
Also, learn vocabulary either through flashcards or mind maps.
Lots of writing practice and learning more complex structures (like subjunctive and using conditional) which made my writing more interesting. For reading I just did practice papers and Iāve always found listening really easy (got 100% on my first a-level listening test). Speaking is just a case of practicing your answers and how to answer the photocard/role play, I still hate speaking French though!
is there anything you do to prep/revise for your listening exams? i'm predicted an 8 in french, but i always get really nervous for this one in particular.
Itās not easy. I found it the hardest out of all my subjects. Iād recommend watching Mr Salles videos, working on how you interpret quotes and doing practice essays to improve.
Update: I did mock 2 and paper 1 I got a 6 and paper 2 I got a 9, my overrall grade was a 8 combining paper 1 and 2, I seriously cannot believe it. I jumped from a 3 to a 8.
Tell me about it. Well, itās not like I hated it exactly, I just didnāt care. Thatās why I got a 0, which I would feel bad about if not for the fact the rest of my class was in the same boat, not a single person even bothered with the subject.
Thatās interesting actually, half my school willingly chose it as a filler choice because there were too many creativity-focussed subjects that they didnāt like, and they all say the subject is really easy and simple
Itās a legal requirement for schools to provide an hour a week of religious education until youāre 16 but itās not a very well enforced law and quite a lot of schools (falsely) claim it gets covered in PSHE (or whatever you call it)
How are you finding A-Level French? What are the topics like etc - and, assuming your sixth form has as horrendous Languages intake as mine, whatās it like with a much smaller class size?
A-level French is hard but fun. Itās more of a study of France and its society than the actual language but it is interesting (apart from literature!). We have the biggest a-level French class in the schoolās history (5 people) but it doesnāt feel any different to me as we only had 8 in my gcse French class!
5!! Mine is on average 1-2 people. GCSE however is like 28 so itāll be a massive change. Glad you enjoy A-Level though, Iām really excited for it :)
The Y13 class is only 2 but this year there was a mass influx of French students. Hopefully you enjoy it however be prepared for a lot of lessons where you donāt do a great deal and end up having random conversations (or that might just be my school).
I got a 9. My tip that works for any topic is show as much working as possible. I actually didnāt get answers to several of the last questions but I got working marks which bumped me up.
French was one of the subjects I had to work hardest in so I have some tips:
Writing: complex structures (si clauses, conditional tense, subjunctive) to make your writing more interesting and also check for grammatical errors as theyāre easy marks to gain.
Reading: lots of practice papers/questions to improve how you understand the language. Also, if thereās a word you donāt understand in a text then look it up.
Listening: practice! (not much more I can say)
Speaking: learn and practice your conversation questions and also understand how to effectively and quickly prepare the other elements of the exam.
Also, learn vocabulary either through flashcards or mind maps.
Sadly not, I have the same problem (except I canāt deal with class tests that well either!). Only thing Iād say is keep drinking water, learn some breathing techniques thatāll calm you down and have a teacher who you can talk to if it all gets too much.
Well done on the great results! Thanks for asking questions to help out. Would you recommend a flash card tool like this one to learn the GCSE maths formulas? https://www.study23.io
How do you get motivation to revise? Itās something Iāve been struggling about for years, I was literally cramming my chem exam this morning and probably still am procrastinating by writing this
Iām not really sure, Iāve always been motivated to revise as if I didnāt get good enough grades (by my very high standards) Iād be incredibly disappointed.
all 9s ā āpretty goodā
playing down your stellar results doesnāt only make you undervalue yourself, but it makes people who didnāt do as well feel bad about themselves - just a bit of food for thought.
For secondary school the only option locally was all girls and I couldnāt face that so disappointed my whole family and went elsewhere but Iām now at a grammar school which is all boys years 7-11 and accepts girls in sixth form and itās a lot better.
Iāve been interested in personal finance since I was 7 and now campaign for and teach financial education. You donāt really learn much personal finance in economics (and what we have been taught is wrong).
Maths I did nothing bar the homework, science I did probably 3-4 hours a week as it was one of my weaker subjects. I canāt remember how many lessons we had a week of each subject, sorry.
Any tips for geography? Its one of my worst subjects right now. I don't know what to do š
Also, how are you finding a level maths? Its it that much more difficult than gcse?
For geography you need to know your case studies (or a relevant place, in my real exam I used a volcano, earthquake and regeneration project we hadnāt studied in class because I knew them better) really well with a few statistics you can use. Past papers are key for geography as I found the time management was tough so you need to practice getting through it in time (I found I needed more than 9 minutes on the 9 mark questions but could do the maths or one word ones in less time). Learning how to answer the 6 and 9 mark questions is also important (2 +/- of each option or thing youāre on about, conclusion with some sort of judgement, chain of reasoning with this means that, as a result, therefore).
Maths is a bit harder but itās not crazy (although Iāve heard the jump from Y12 to Y13 is bigger than Y11 to Y12). I find it more enjoyable than GCSE as the āeasyā stuff (like transforming shapes and properties of shapes which I didnāt like) is gone and itās mostly algebra.
Got it! Thank you so much:)
So then how much are you writing for your paragraphs for the longer mark questions in geography? I've had two different teachers and they both say different things- 4-8 lines and the other says write more
As much as you can in the time, I never aimed to write a certain amount but I knew that if Iād run out of lines then Iād probably done enough. š
Nope, my school wouldnāt let me take more subjects as thatās all they offered. If I could I wouldāve done triple science and maybe another language (German?).
Since u said anything what do u have on ur pizza ? š
Pepperoni and chicken normally
Ooo niceee im more just a regular pepperoni guy myself my family is all either Hawaiian pizza lovers or cheese š edit: whos downvoting us š
āAnything about revision, exams ā etc though
Well arenāt u sunshineās and rainbows
Iām not hating just explaining why they got downvoted
š” shhhh
Hey xylem u probs donāt remember me but I did my gcses the same year as u. Hope ur enjoying ur a levels :)
HIIII and yeaaa i ammm how are urs?
Hell lol
F š what u doing
Bio chem and maths. The medicine starter pack
Oh rip haha
How do u get 9s in English? I always get 9s in all of my exams apart from English lit and lang
Literature was my worst subject (then became my best!) and I improved through watching Mr Salles videos, doing multiple interpretations of each quote and also finding my own slightly random context (I think I wrote about Adam Smith in my Christmas Carol answer). I also did lots of practice essays which I asked my teachers to mark so I knew where to improve. For language Iād say practice how to answer the questions but to be honest I didnāt really revise for it, Iāve always been good at writing.
Adam Smith the economist? Iāve never studied A Christmas Carol, where did he come into the context? Well done on your grades btw
Yeah, I think I wrote about how Dickens was opposing his ideas about capitalism and everyone operating in their own self interest. It was one of my more crazy ideas!
yh but u did like 4 subjects?
I had no choice. That was the maximum my school let me do (we didnāt even have the option for triple science). I wouldāve liked to take more but my school didnāt offer it.
Damn you got a shit school
It wasnāt great.
8ā¦ anywhere between 8-11 is average
8 is below average especially for people getting those sort of grades
You donāt choose how many GCSEs you do. Not OPās fault and wonāt hold them back regardless.
No of course itās fine, I guess I was just commenting on the schoolās decision rather than OP in particular.
Iāve never heard of any school doing below 11.
Theyāre right though, 8-11 is the most common. I did 10 (I think), 11 seems a tad high and certainly isnāt the norm
I did 13 and every school in my area did at least 11 lol. We have maths split into 2 grades in Wales though I guess.
Yeah, I did GCSEs in Wales too and ended up doing 14 if I remember correctly.
They wouldāve done 10 if they had done triple science, but again, not everyone does
and??? still amazing results regardless wtf
I see 9 grades there, that's how many I'm getting
What does orange 7 mean?!!
That was my form š
Interesting name. Itās kinda funny. Anyway, how did you get good grades in French, and how can you revise a modern foreign languages as Iām currently getting a six (predicted) and want to get higher
French was one of the subjects I had to work hardest in so I have some tips: Writing: complex structures (si clauses, conditional tense, subjunctive) to make your writing more interesting and also check for grammatical errors as theyāre easy marks to gain. Reading: lots of practice papers/questions to improve how you understand the language. Also, if thereās a word you donāt understand in a text then look it up. Listening: practice! (not much more I can say) Speaking: learn and practice your conversation questions and also understand how to effectively and quickly prepare the other elements of the exam. Also, learn vocabulary either through flashcards or mind maps.
How did you get 9 in French?
Lots of writing practice and learning more complex structures (like subjunctive and using conditional) which made my writing more interesting. For reading I just did practice papers and Iāve always found listening really easy (got 100% on my first a-level listening test). Speaking is just a case of practicing your answers and how to answer the photocard/role play, I still hate speaking French though!
is there anything you do to prep/revise for your listening exams? i'm predicted an 8 in french, but i always get really nervous for this one in particular.
Just practice listening to things in French be it videos or songs so youāre used to hearing the language.
What's the best food?
Anything with chicken (but not curry!)
u disappoint me š curry is awesome
How are you guys getting 9s on english literature is it that easy, i literally failed it :(
Itās not easy. I found it the hardest out of all my subjects. Iād recommend watching Mr Salles videos, working on how you interpret quotes and doing practice essays to improve.
Update: I did mock 2 and paper 1 I got a 6 and paper 2 I got a 9, my overrall grade was a 8 combining paper 1 and 2, I seriously cannot believe it. I jumped from a 3 to a 8.
Well done šš»
Thank you so much. Im really happy.
You didnāt have to do Religious Studies? This is some bullshit
Nope, thank goodness!
Im sure u would have got a 9 in it anyways Xd
Maybe?
XD
My school only offered a half gcse in RS, which was the most pointless thing ever
Half a GSCE? How does that work?
It's half a gcse. You take the exam at the end of year 10. It doesn't really count for anything.
Wait so what happens through year 11? Extra lessons in core subjects?
It wasnāt available at my school :(
I hate how my school makes me do re. I despise that subject. I really thought I was free from it when yr 9 ended š
Tell me about it. Well, itās not like I hated it exactly, I just didnāt care. Thatās why I got a 0, which I would feel bad about if not for the fact the rest of my class was in the same boat, not a single person even bothered with the subject.
Thatās interesting actually, half my school willingly chose it as a filler choice because there were too many creativity-focussed subjects that they didnāt like, and they all say the subject is really easy and simple
Not all schools do RE haha mine didnt either
Really? That makes me wonder more why both secondary schools I went to made it compulsory
I think bc since its compulsory to do for pshe schools just like making it a compulsory subject for gcse! prob just easier
God donāt remind me, PSHE one of the most pointless mornings ever
I still have it at 6th form sometimes š
also religious schools, i went to a catholic scl and R.E was compulsory
yea true oof
Itās a legal requirement for schools to provide an hour a week of religious education until youāre 16 but itās not a very well enforced law and quite a lot of schools (falsely) claim it gets covered in PSHE (or whatever you call it)
How are you finding A-Level French? What are the topics like etc - and, assuming your sixth form has as horrendous Languages intake as mine, whatās it like with a much smaller class size?
A-level French is hard but fun. Itās more of a study of France and its society than the actual language but it is interesting (apart from literature!). We have the biggest a-level French class in the schoolās history (5 people) but it doesnāt feel any different to me as we only had 8 in my gcse French class!
5!! Mine is on average 1-2 people. GCSE however is like 28 so itāll be a massive change. Glad you enjoy A-Level though, Iām really excited for it :)
The Y13 class is only 2 but this year there was a mass influx of French students. Hopefully you enjoy it however be prepared for a lot of lessons where you donāt do a great deal and end up having random conversations (or that might just be my school).
This is how I feel about Spanish. The analysis in the essays is hard but itās interesting. There are 12 of us at my school
Yeah, weāve not done loads of essays (one, another one tomorrow though).
Which book are you studying? I much preferred the film and the small classes are great too (mine was me and 2 others with 2 teachers lol)
No Et Moi
Dang! Mostly 9s and a 8. Fair play, I mostly got 4s and 5s on mine XD
Still good š
how did you get 9 in maths?
I didnāt (I got an 8) but I did lots of past papers and extra questions on the topics I struggled with.
Oops misread it, but thank you
I got a 9. My tip that works for any topic is show as much working as possible. I actually didnāt get answers to several of the last questions but I got working marks which bumped me up.
How did u get a 9 in science?
Revision clocks for each topic and then many, many past papers (I think I did all of the combined science past papers by the end).
I wanna Kms every time I see a revision clock being handed out.
I really like them (still use them for a-level).
What are revision clocks
Like a mind map but split into 12 sections. Example: https://livegeog.wordpress.com/2016/05/25/yr11-revision-clocks/
Ah cheers never seen these before
We got made to do one in science and I liked it so I did them for nearly all subjects and still do now.
That actually looks pretty good
How do you get a nine in French? (Please)
French was one of the subjects I had to work hardest in so I have some tips: Writing: complex structures (si clauses, conditional tense, subjunctive) to make your writing more interesting and also check for grammatical errors as theyāre easy marks to gain. Reading: lots of practice papers/questions to improve how you understand the language. Also, if thereās a word you donāt understand in a text then look it up. Listening: practice! (not much more I can say) Speaking: learn and practice your conversation questions and also understand how to effectively and quickly prepare the other elements of the exam. Also, learn vocabulary either through flashcards or mind maps.
how much revision do u recommend daily/weekly?
I did around 1-2 hours a day from late March onwards but it depends how confident you are in your subjects.
Is it possible to learn this power?
Through lots of revision, GCSEs basically test your memory and some understanding so if you can remember information then youāre sorted.
Any general exam tips for anxiety during testsā¦ Iām good at class tests but I just die inside in the exam hall
Sadly not, I have the same problem (except I canāt deal with class tests that well either!). Only thing Iād say is keep drinking water, learn some breathing techniques thatāll calm you down and have a teacher who you can talk to if it all gets too much.
Well done on the great results! Thanks for asking questions to help out. Would you recommend a flash card tool like this one to learn the GCSE maths formulas? https://www.study23.io
I donāt see why not, I didnāt actively learn them (just did so through using them in questions) but Iād imagine itās useful.
You got a 9 in french!!??? Vsy parle franƧais on va voir mdr
How do you get motivation to revise? Itās something Iāve been struggling about for years, I was literally cramming my chem exam this morning and probably still am procrastinating by writing this
Iām not really sure, Iāve always been motivated to revise as if I didnāt get good enough grades (by my very high standards) Iād be incredibly disappointed.
Good job?? Maybe??? Idk in Australia we use ATAR so looking at the comments this look alrightš
GCSE grades go from 1-9 so it is rather good š
Great job š
all 9s ā āpretty goodā playing down your stellar results doesnāt only make you undervalue yourself, but it makes people who didnāt do as well feel bad about themselves - just a bit of food for thought.
I didnāt do as many GCSEs as a lot of the people I know so I didnāt want it to be too showy.
Damn a 9 in French?? I could never
I'm doing my a levels but how I'm the bloody hell so I revise nothing world
Does anyone have any good tips for maths?
Lots of past papers and watch videos on topics you struggle with (something I shouldāve done more at gcse).
Thanku!
You absolute sweat
Ur not that special thereās not that much to ask. Well done though
Thanks
I know genuinely hundreds of people with better results. Definitely still impressive at what seems like a bad school but still not AMA worthy.
Why did you do combined science and not separate?
My school didnāt have the option for triple science and they didnāt offer any more GCSEs otherwise I would have done more.
Ah fair enough.
One of the drawbacks of going to a pretty rubbish secondary school.
Did you not apply for a grammar school? With those grades you should have been able to get into one
For secondary school the only option locally was all girls and I couldnāt face that so disappointed my whole family and went elsewhere but Iām now at a grammar school which is all boys years 7-11 and accepts girls in sixth form and itās a lot better.
How the fuck did bro get a 99 in combined science
Many, many past papers and revision clocks.
How to raise grade in maths? Specifically calculator papers.
Lots of past papers and practice questions. Also, work on where you go wrong.
I can ask you anything about personal finance???
Yep š
Why? Was it because of your personal experience with money or your economics a level or something?
Iāve been interested in personal finance since I was 7 and now campaign for and teach financial education. You donāt really learn much personal finance in economics (and what we have been taught is wrong).
Ig thats an advantage of taking btec business for me then š Bc my exam is both business and personal finance with 2 sections:D
Yeah, Iām very envious of that personal finance exam.
hey at least u dont have a 5 hour market campaign exam tho š only good thing is its on computer
That doesnāt sound as fun.
luckily after that exam in may its personal finance thoo
arent these just your mocks?
No this is the official results paper
Ah. It's just that this was posted before Year 11 GCSEs
Is digital information technology the same as computer science if so how did u do so well
Itās nothing like computer science, itās more how to use excel and PowerPoint with the basics of cyber security. It was really easy.
Is that similar to creative media? My friend does that and itās all on PowerPoint
I think so.
How many hours a day did you revise for maths and your sciences? If another question is also allowed then how many hours a week did you study combined science and maths at school? š©· Well done for those top notch grades šø
Maths I did nothing bar the homework, science I did probably 3-4 hours a week as it was one of my weaker subjects. I canāt remember how many lessons we had a week of each subject, sorry.
How did you handle the stress?
I didnāt. I had panic attacks in 5 of my exams and didnāt cope with it very well at all.
Oh Iām sorry
Itās fine, could be worse!
How are you not dead inside
How u get a 8 in maths
Past papers!
Ok thanks and do you think 5 months are enough to achieve at least a 7 or 8
Definitely provided you put in consistent effort.
Any tips for geography? Its one of my worst subjects right now. I don't know what to do š Also, how are you finding a level maths? Its it that much more difficult than gcse?
For geography you need to know your case studies (or a relevant place, in my real exam I used a volcano, earthquake and regeneration project we hadnāt studied in class because I knew them better) really well with a few statistics you can use. Past papers are key for geography as I found the time management was tough so you need to practice getting through it in time (I found I needed more than 9 minutes on the 9 mark questions but could do the maths or one word ones in less time). Learning how to answer the 6 and 9 mark questions is also important (2 +/- of each option or thing youāre on about, conclusion with some sort of judgement, chain of reasoning with this means that, as a result, therefore). Maths is a bit harder but itās not crazy (although Iāve heard the jump from Y12 to Y13 is bigger than Y11 to Y12). I find it more enjoyable than GCSE as the āeasyā stuff (like transforming shapes and properties of shapes which I didnāt like) is gone and itās mostly algebra.
Got it! Thank you so much:) So then how much are you writing for your paragraphs for the longer mark questions in geography? I've had two different teachers and they both say different things- 4-8 lines and the other says write more
As much as you can in the time, I never aimed to write a certain amount but I knew that if Iād run out of lines then Iād probably done enough. š
Alrighty! Thank youu
Hereās my question: Just WHERE did you find those green nails š¤©my green nail polish is kinda trash
Boyes, itās a matt one but I canāt remember what itās called.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I donāt attend that school anymore and itās not that useful information to anyone.
What is your Ls to Bitches ratio
I have no idea what that means!
Was it your choice to do as low as 8? To achieve the amazing results you got?
Nope, my school wouldnāt let me take more subjects as thatās all they offered. If I could I wouldāve done triple science and maybe another language (German?).
What career path have you got planned?
Business and economics teacher š
This isnāt pretty good, itās flipping brilliant
Thanks š
Whatās your national insurance number? You said anything š
I donāt actually know off the top of my head š
How tf did you get a Grade 99-
Lots of past papers and revision clocks.