Most people taking GCSE or AS/A2 Modules in May and June will have taken their mock exams by now and know the results. If you didn’t do as well as you were expecting, hoping or need to, don’t panic! There is still time to sort out the problems before the exams, but you need to take action now.

Preparation

Ask yourself honestly, did you do enough preparation for the mocks? Chances are you probably didn’t. Make sure you prepare properly for the exams and give yourself the best possible to chance to do as well as you can.

Learn from your mistakes

Look carefully at any questions you lost marks on in the mock. Make a list of all the topics covered in the questions where you dropped marks, so you know which topics to spend extra revision time on.

Don’t understand? – Ask!

If there is anything you couldn’t answer, or got wrong in the mock, and you still do not understand the topic and how to answer the question correctly, ask your teacher.

Plan your revision

Planning your revision might seem boring but it can save you a lot of time. If you plan your revision well, you will benefit more from the revision you do and you will need to spend less time revising. All the time you do spend revising should be productive – no time wasted on wondering what to look at next. List the topics you had trouble with in the mocks, and any other topics you know you struggle with. Use the list as the basis of your revision planning. It’s tempting to simply avoid the topics you have trouble with, but that doesn’t solve the problem!

Take a break!

Don’t revise for more than an hour or so before taking a break for 10 to 15 minutes. Get up, move around, get some fresh air, and then go back to your revision feeling refreshed. A healthy snack during a break can be a good idea – your brain needs feeding to work well.

Even if you did as well as or better than you expected to in the mocks, it’s still worthwhile preparing properly for the exams.

If you’re feeling like you need some extra help to get the grades you need in the exams, check to see what extra help is available at school and ask your teacher. Disappointing mock results don’t have to mean disappointing exam results, you just need to put some extra time and effort in if you want to improve your grades.

If you can’t get the help you need at school, why not try a few hours of individual tuition?