GCSE Advice for Year 10
With lockdown finally easing, comes the inevitable stress of what next for those doing GCSEs in 2021. If you're in year 10 and worried about catching up, plans are afoot but here's what can help.
Talk to your school before the summer break
Year 10 teachers and your school will know the pressure you are under so should be your first port of call around how to catch up. Speculation is currently rife about 2021 exams and what will happen to Year 10 students. There are calls for open book examinations, reduced content, assessment and more. However, until changes are confirmed, all students need to work, as usual, planning for mocks at the end of year and exams in May and June 2021.
An Ofqual spokesperson has said: "We recognise students expecting to take exams next year, and their parents and teachers, are concerned about the disruption to their teaching and learning caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Our overriding aim is to ensure exams and assessments are as fair as possible, and we are working closely with the Department for Education, exam boards and groups representing teachers, to consider a range of possible measures carefully. We will provide further information in the coming weeks."
Use a tutor over the summer
Rather than having a one-off session consider building a longer-term good relationship with a tutor. The right tutor not only understands your short-term needs and knowledge gaps but will also have a long term plan for how to help you catch up and work with you towards this goal.
Check out tips from study vloggers
Youtube is a fantastic academic resource if you know what to look for. There are some excellent videos that will enhance your studying and revision methods and give you valuable tips in subjects you are struggling with. UnJaded Jade - Jade Bowler, is a 20-year-old student who has been a study vlogger for three years. With over 445k subscribers on Youtube.and more than 156k followers on Instagram she offers brilliant academic support. Jade's sound academic advice vlogs cover everything from her revision routine to 10 things I did to get all A's at GCSE.
Know the whole exam specification
Get to grips with the exam specification for each subject as this will help come up with a plan of action. Your school can supply this information, as can the examining board for each subject. The specification will give you an idea of what you currently know in a subject, what you don't yet know and what you will need to focus on. It will also give you an idea of the marking scheme and the marking guidance.
Keep working
With the summer break coming up it's easy to think you can relax and catch up in September. However, with a more significant workload than usual, it will pay off to keep doing some work over the summer.
Try to:
* Go over your home learning notes from the last four months
* Revise what you have done so far in class (from September to lockdown)
* Work through a subject revision guide
* Practice with past examination papers
* Get into the practice of checking your answers and looking for mistakes in past papers that will cost you marks. If you do this every time you do a practice paper, you will become adept at finding these in your actual GCSE paper.
* Past papers will also help you to identify your areas of weaknesses. Keep a list of these areas handy and work through them with a tutor or when you return to school.