Anyone's dc achieved top grades at GCSE with just textbooks and workbooks?

Seems like most dc do notes or flashcards

Flashcards = self-testing which is a highly effective way of revising. However it is not the only way to self-test. The online apps also incorporate this.

Simply reading a textbook or workbook isn't a good way of revising, but using the textbook or workbook to answer questions, check answers and improve them is a good way of revising.

There’s no need for paid-for resources apart form textbooks, if that’s what you’re asking. Revision will involve more than just reading the book over and over though. Just practising using the limited number of past papers available is also unlikely to be enough. Making some sort of notes, practising the example questions in the textbook, making and self testing with flash cards or by some other means is usually an important part of revision for most teens. It’s what they do with the textbook that really matters and they should try to spend a fair chunk of their revision time working from memory and only checking against the textbook after they’ve tried without it.

The key is to revise in the way that suits the student. This will be variable - my three DC revised in very different ways.

A lovely pack of flashcards, created and never used, is not going to help. Flashcards that are used to revise from will help some, but not others.

IME one of the best ways to work us to try to explain a concept to someone else, like a mini teacher. Past papers are useful as you finish the syllabus, but the numbers of them are limited of course due to exam spec changes and then COVID.

So will what your DC is doing be "enough"? We can't say. Ds2 gained what we felt were good grades (not MN standard ) in 2019 exams and i barely saw him use a flashcard. He did better in subjects where he did some work tho as opposed to barely opening the revision guide Eng lit