GCSE revision guides

[slimeyjoe]

My ds is in year 11 and I'm trying to get ahead of myself by ordering his revision guides now, but there's so many different ones relating to different examination boards.. Are they all completely different ? Do I need to speak to the school to find which board they're using? And will that board be the same for every subject or could they be using a variety of boards across different subjects? I don't want to buy him revision guides that have no relation to the exam he'll be doing in the end... Any advice gratefully received..

If you get a general revision guide then there is a fair chance it will contain topics which your ds will not be studying so you will have effectively wasted your money. Yes to finding out which board he's doing and specification too as they can vary especially in maths although I don't know how the new exams will work and yes the boards will vary from subject to subject.

Your son should know his boards. (Or it may say on school's website)

Different boards for different subjects.

Some like history have different topics so make sure you get the right ones (e.g. 20thC v American West).

DD's notes were useless so guides were essential. tbh You're not that much ahead of the game. Your DS could be being encouraged to make revision notes/cards/mindmaps for all topics completed so far, otherwise he will have a mountain to climb by the time mocks come around. (When are they? Dec, Jan or later?).

If you have an Oxfam Books they often have second-hand guides, but check they are up-to-date enough.

Just in-case you're not aware.

As part of revision, doing old exam papers is really useful. They can be found on line, together with relevant mark schemes (Search e.g. Edexcel GCSE Maths past papers). A great way for your DS to test whether he 'really' knows stuff, or just thinks he does ...

Great stuff, thanks for the advice.. Will get in touch with school to find out which exam boards etc and the old papers idea is fab.. I'll definitely have a look for them, although I don't think he's going to be as enthusiastic!!