GCSE revision planning

[holiholiholidays]

Hi, my year11 child is really struggling with gcse revision and is becoming overwhelmed. I’m trying to support them putting a revision plan in place but they’re insistent that having a plan makes the feeling of overwhelm worse. Has anyone come across any useful resources to help with this? Or anyone got any tips? Many Thanks.

I haven't used this but I think this Revision Planning System | End Exam Stress | The Study Buddy was created from a MN parent going through your struggles.

I think a plan would help if it is do able.

For DD1 we did it like this using spreadsheets:

Estimate work required:
For each subject listed all the key topics.
DD estimated time needed for each
Added on time to do practice papers
Add up total time.

Estimate time available:
Using past performance, estimate time available for revision between now and when exams start (or end of the May half term).eg 1hr after a school day, 4hrs at a weekend, 3hrs daily over Easter.
Add up total time.

Compare the two. Adjust until they fit. Which might mean reducing revision for a subject, or deciding you really can do a bit more revision.

Put together a plan for next couple of weeks (or now until end Easter holidays) giving subjects roughly equal time (ie don't spend all the time on favourite subjects but be aware of what is examined when). Distinct planned time, with breaks, realistic, play to when they work best.

Then a week ahead for each revision slot identify the topic to be studied (eg bonding in Chemistry, causes of WW1, Islam beliefs). Things can be flexible if eg they cover something in school so it doesn't need doing at home any more.

Thank you so much - this is very helpful. will take a look.

GCSEs can be daunting as there is so much content to cover now. Good susggestions from @TeenToTwenties .

Exams start in just over seven weeks but that’s still time to make a difference to outcomes.

You’ve not given much detail @holiholiholidays so here’s what I would look at:

How is he doing in maths and English lang? Is he on target to get a grade 4 or ideally a 5? If not he should prioritise those.

Otherwise look at subjects he might take further – A levels, college – and focus on those, whether that’s science, history, PE, food tech, MFL.

It might be the case that he has to let a couple of subjects slide, and while that’s not ideal, depending on PGs and post-16 plans, that may be better if it means he can gain required grades in key subjects.

Having worked all that out, he can then be quite pragmatic. He should have covered most of the content by now, if not all (subject dependent for sure). So could he try a past paper in each subject he is focusing on (as there shouldn;t be any gaps in what has been covered), see how he does, mark it against the mark scheme (or can you support here? It’s important to be honest) and see where there are gaps in his knowledge. Then focus on those gaps.

There are lots of ways of revising but the important thing to do is targeting. So if he identifies he is weak on topic xxx in biology, make revision cards and get you to test him, use look cover check, make a mind map focused on that topic. Short bursts can be good – 20 mins on one topic then switch to another, then after an hour take a 15-min break.

If you can give more specifics (which subjects, what plans for after GCSEs) maybe we can help more.

Apologies @holiholiholidays I thought you said DS but I see you said DC.

Thank you. We have feedback and for each subject the topics are rated red/amber/green based on recent mocks. Mock results weren’t great - science was 6/5 and need 6/6 and maths is a 5 which is what’s needed. English came out as a 3/4 and they’ve previously been targeted for a 7.

a lot more knowledge is there than the results show - they seem to fall apart in the exam hall.
It also feels as though it’s the number of different subjects to keep up with which is proving too much. I’ve already suggested putting German on the back burner but it doesn’t seem to have helped. School are upping the pressure which is leading to less work being completed and we’re now in a vicious cycle.

i want to find ways of helping and supporting at home without adding to the pressure and thought by having a better laid out plan might help make the work needed seem more achievable.

Also, how many hours work at home on an evening and weekend would you say they should be doing at this point?

OK that’s helpful.

You say science needs to be 6-6 – is this to take science A-levels? If so I might be wary as 7s are probably a better foundation, especially is 6s are hard-won and maths is at a 5. But if it’s for a non A-level course then no worries.

English at 3-4 – is that lit or lang? If it’s lang that should be a focus. Which board? (I know AQA best is why I ask). So for AQA (and I imagine other boards too) the answers required are very specific – you need to use xyz terms for this question, abc terms for this one. So targeted work. Can be very helpful here. There are also lots of video resources which can help – make sure you have the right board. If it’s lit it’s less of an issue, but it’s good for this to be a 4 at least if possible. Again, lots of resources out there. Which texts are they studying? If looking at a grade 4-5 in lit, keep it simple, looking at text structure, simpler quotes and why they are relevant, simple context, basic analysis of relevant aspects.

Is timing in exams an issue? If so, they need to be strict about that. Far better to finish the Shakespeare essay with three bullet points and move on to the ACC one with the time needed than to spend an extra 30 mins on Macbeth and not have time to make your points for ACC.

Science also requires specific vocab and terms – this is not my area but I gather that’s the case. Worth looking at online resources here for guidance.

In terms of time spent – better to do a productive two hours (broken by a break) that actually achieves some learning than four hours spent aimlessly gazing at books.

Often it helps for the revision to be interactive; is there a sibling they can teach? Can they work with a friend? Can you help by asking questions and checking answers?

A way to help is to support everything around the revision - so food, exercise, meditation, sleep and fun.
Keep telling her you think her mocks are a great start.
Don't ask her what she wants to dial back, ask her what she wants to prioritise and ask her how you can help with that.

Hi, there’s a year 11 thread here where we all share how things are going and support each other. So if you want to find out what others are up to feel free to join the thread.
www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/5396765-y11-202526-come-and-join

I’m in same position as you @holiholiholidaysDD overwhelmed. Knows she didn’t revise enough since start yr11 and now in panic mode.
Shes prioritising the subjects she wants to do at A to get 667 or above and a 6 for maths. She now just wants a 4 for her language and other subjects. It’s so stressful

The overwhelm is so real and I feel for your DC. Our DS is 15 and went through exactly this — the thought of sitting down with a revision timetable actually made it worse because it made the mountain look even bigger. What helped us was completely ditching the idea of a "plan" and instead focusing on making revision feel less like revision. Anything with a gamification angle — short bursts, earning points, beating yesterday's score — took the dread out of it. He stopped seeing it as "I have to revise for 3 hours" and started seeing it as "I'll do 20 minutes and see if I can beat my streak." The consistency came naturally after that because he wasn't dreading it anymore. Sometimes the problem isn't organisation, it's that the whole thing feels too painful to face.