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Dear Mel & Ma,

I’ve got my GCSE’s at the end of this year and I don’t know how everyone else has managed to do them! There’s so much to learn and all the exams are so important. How do I revise? When should I start? What do I do?

From a very stressed out student

Dear stressed student,

You’re right, everyone has been through GCSE’s and we are all okay! No matter how scary things seem you will be alright! Although they seem like the end of the world right now, in a few months when they’re finished you’ll realise that they are just a stepping stone to A-levels, and whatever you want to do next. When it comes to starting revision you should probably be starting now, the earlier you start the less stressed you will be when the exams are happening, you definitely don’t want to be cramming because you won’t do as well as you can and it’s undeniably more stressful. If you’re worrying about how to revise and what to do you can procrastinate away a few more hours and make a timetable, nobody wants to stick to them but they’re really helpful if you do. Schedule in breaks, give yourself a free evening and if you’re working all through the week have Saturday or Sunday off so that you can properly relax. If you don’t have any down time you might burn out early and that wouldn’t be good. Everyone revises differently; you could rewrite your notes, make flash cards, make spider diagrams, do past papers and learn what you don’t know. I would suggest having a look at the specification for your exams so you can work out what you’re going to need to know and if you don’t understand anything ask your teacher or email them if you don’t want to ask in person.

Good luck revising! Ma x