What I Wish I Knew Before Starting My GCSEs

Hello everyone it’s Zainab here, welcome or welcome back! So, I go back to school in around 2 weeks but I realised a lot of people have already gone back or will do at the same time as me. I’ve gotten a lot of requests to do more school-related posts so I thought it would be fitting to do a GCSE Advice post considering last year, I finished my 1st year of courses! I asked on Instagram what kind of things you needed advice on, whether you’re doing GCSEs or just have exams. So, I’ll be sharing what I wish I knew about exams/GCSEs. Let’s jump into it!

Organising Folders From The Beginning Is Key

This is so vital – and I can’t stress this enough! If you organise your folders from the second you start your courses, you’ll already be that much more prepared. In this sense, I mean that every day after school, make structured notes of what you’ve learned from your subjects, and put them in a folder. That way, when it comes to your final exams, you would’ve already made your revision materials because you were organised!

When choosing folders, they can be very big and sometimes quite expensive! So, I would say, just get one to start with and separate by subject with dividers or plastic wallets for each subject. As you move along the course (and you see which subjects are the most content heavy) you can then think about other folders. For me personally, I’ve found Science and English to be the most content heavy, but it could be different for you!

Stress Is Okay – Just Not Too Much Of It

This is another important thing I wish I knew. When you’re a little bit stressed/nervous, it can actually push you to do your best. However, when your stress increases you won’t perform as well, and that could really put a damper on your mental health!

I remember, I used to put so much pressure on myself (too much in fact) to do well, that I actually didn’t do as well! When I started decreasing the amount of stress and pressure, I actually did pretty good (of course I didn’t do well on everything!) but I was happy with my grades and that’s all that matters. So remember to be content with yourself and just know as long as you try your best you’ve done amazing!

Focus On The End Goal

I find focusing on the end result is super motivating to me when I feel like I’m slightly slacking or don’t feel like working. I know I want to do well in my exams but in order to feel like that, I have to work hard. Just even thinking of my future motivates me!

So try that next time you feel unmotivated – I’m sure it will help boost your motivation!

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Thank you so much for reading this blog post guys, I hope it was useful for those of you starting your GCSEs or are going into an exam year. Let me know your goals for the school year in the comments!

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