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FIVE TIPS FOR PASSING YOUR GCSES 

In the UK, everyone has to take a bunch of pointless exams called GCSE's: these things are creatures of death, will have you sweating for a month or so in a crammed exam hall, wondering why you will ever need to know the velocity of an egg, or when you will ever really need to use simultaneous equations in real life. (I mean, last years question in the P3 Physics Exam paper about pushing people over in Wheelchairs over definitely scored as unforgettable in my view anyway) I was your average nerdy B Grade student, but 

I got 9 A/A*s in my GCSEs, and revised around two hours a night from April until the exams. I also achieved 98.5% in my RE exam, the highest in my year. 

My ego is about to explode. 

How I managed to get 9 A/A*s at GCSE 

(excluding that shameful D Grade in dance I do not like to talk about) 

1) Using a subject textbook, I made mind maps from the information in the textbooks. Mind maps are supposedly the best way to remember information, so I had over twenty stuck up on the wall. The best way to do this is just gather all the important notes and make them pretty.

2) Do not make a strict timetable. Those things were the bane of my life. Instead say to yourself you will merely revise e.g two hours a night on a school night and three on a weekend day. If you are thinking 'Two hours a night! I can't be bothered to do that!' Then close this article, go have fun and then you can cry at your results in August. How do you expect to get good grades without actually putting the work in?

3) Revise with friends if it helps, but only friends who actually care about getting high grades. Actually, try and revise with friends who get higher grades than you.

4) Past papers. Printing those things out are a nightmare, but its worth it. I think doing those really put my grades up - sure you can learn all the information, but at GCSE they like being awkward and wording the questions so stupidly you cant work out what answer they want. 

5) Start revising around the end of March or April if you can. I would say earlier but if you do that then you will forget all the re visited information. Focus on the subjects you know you need to revise. Do not go over stuff you already think you know, because that will not get you anywhere.

Remember, it may seem tough but you can get a C at GCSE if you do not revise. I was nearly a D grade in maths before the exam, spend the night before jumping off a bridge into a river, cried in the exam and still managed to get a B.