What I wish I knew before my GCSES

As most of you are probably back to school you may be starting your first year of GSCES or your last year  of them. As I did them this year I thought that I would share my experience and advice I wish I knew/ listened to. Unfortunately due to the COVID situation I didn't end up doing the actual exams, however, this advice could still be useful as the future is not clear and no one is sure how the exams will take place this year. 

1. First of all the most important piece of advise I will give you is EXAMS ARE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THEY MAKE IT OUT TO BE! I know, for experience, that it might feel like the most important thing ever, however, it's not true - your mental health should be your top priority! Take time to see friends, family or just find sometime in the evenings or the weekends to do something you love. 

2. Be organised! Make sure you have all your files and books for your lessons, make sure to listen in your class and be on time! Due to COVID if we did have another lockdown your grades would be based on your work from the whole year so its important to show your teachers that you are working- don't just wait for the last month to start paying attention.

3. Revision! Even though exams are not the most important thing in the world it is important to revise hard and often. What helped me during holidays was to make checklists of topics I needed to cover and I timetabled them into my day. In this timetable, I gave each subject 45 minutes with a 15-minute break (not including lunch). This helped me figure out what I needed to do but also helped me stay on track as it was scheduled. Another tip is making notes- do this throughout the year so when the time comes to revising you don't have to focus on making notes but just focus on learning all the material. This is something I wish I did before as I spent all my revision time making notes and not revising!

4. Don't compare yourself to others! I found going into my final year of GSCES that I was comparing my work and my grades with my friends and students around me. This is not helpful as it just puts down your self-esteem and you get a bad attitude towards your work. Just focus on yourself and do the best YOU can! Another tip- try not to let outward pressure get to you, you should work hard for yourself and you should be happy with knowing that. Don't do these exams to make other people happy because in the long run your the one whos doing them! 

5. Finally- have a goal for after exams! My goal at the end of my exams was to go to Lovebox festival,  unfortunately, I couldn't go as everything was cancelled, however, this really helped me when I was revising as it was something to look forward to!

Hope this helps! 

Lots of love 

Aria xo