Congratulations, you’ve reached a milestone in your education career! Studying your GCSEs is an exciting time, but it also comes with responsibilities. Here’s what you need to know about writing your AQA GCSEs, how best to prepare yourself and how we can help you.
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While the GCSEs are more or less standardised across the different examination boards, there’s still some variation between them and knowing where these variations lie can help you in your exam preparation by understanding how these relate to your strengths and weaknesses. The AQAs are more theory-based than the context- and practical-based material of the OCRs, for example.
A brief history of the AQAs is that, through a series of mergers of exam boards starting in 1992, the AQA or Assessment and Qualification Alliance emerged in 2000. Your AQA GCSE exams will consist of between five and 12 subjects that you’ve covered over a two-year period with mathematics, science, English language and literature being compulsory. You’re required to pass a minimum of five subjects with a C-grade or higher in order to proceed to your IB Diploma or A-levels.
The key to AQA GCSE success is in planning and support. Speak to your parents, guardians or teachers about ways that will help you feel supported, motivated and able to manage your responsibilities healthily. Find ways to include healthy eating, exercise, downtime and stress management into your revision period so you can perform well while maintaining balance.
Planning is the next most important element to successful AQA GCSE preparation. Start by creating a study plan that covers your required subjects and gives you sufficient time to dedicate to each subject. It’s ideal to cover your material at least four times before writing your exam, but you don’t want to create a bottleneck and end up rushing or cramming important study material.
Ideally, you should dedicate a few hours each day to your revision so that your brain has time to process the information and deep learning occurs. Three to four hours a day should provide sufficient study time while allowing you to enjoy other activities.
To prevent becoming overwhelmed or fatigued, break your revision down into manageable chunks so that you can take five-minute breaks every 40 minutes to one hour. Drink plenty of water, as your brain is mostly made up of water, and have healthy snacks that won’t cause sugar spikes or affect your concentration.
Speaking of concentration – it’s important not to distract yourself with the Internet, social media, mobile devices or TV. Rather use these as rewards for completing your daily routine. Your environment should also be conducive to studying. Find somewhere that’s quiet, has few distractions and is light and airy. A good environment also means seeing positive and encouraging comments that will motivate you along the way – it’s much easier to do something that you believe in! Visualise your success, but also manage your expectations.
The next step is to find an active study technique that works for you. While you may think you’re learning just by reading it’s passive. It’s important to include activities such as note-making, flash cards, or mind mapping as it keeps your brain engaged. When you start daydreaming, it’s time for a break or to change tactics.
As you proceed with your revision, bring past papers into your preparation. These will help you assess where there are gaps in your knowledge, the number, kinds and styles of questions asked, as well as train you with time management.
We at GCSE Guide are rooting for your success and we’ve got loads of materials such as quizzes, mind maps and past papers to help you achieve. Let’s get started!
