How to Survive Your IGCSE Exams

Hello fellow IGCSE students (or soon-to-be IGCSE students)! As a current Year 12 student who had just done the IGCSE exams this summer, I can say that I learned a lot about different revision and exam tips through this experience. So, here are my 5 top tips for surviving your IGCSEs:

1. Do not leave all your revision for the study break!

This is one of the most important things you need to know because it is something a lot of people including myself have done before the IGCSEs. Once you start revising in detail, you will see that there are many things to be covered for each subject and it is unlikely that spending 2 or 3 days for each will be enough. Instead, use your study break to finish some last bits of revision and to rest well to prepare mentally for the difficult months ahead. Your future self will thank you! 2. Find your own study method

It is important to find the study method that suits you best instead of using the same methods as your friends. Making flashcards was a popular choice amongst my peers which I personally did not find as useful as they described it to be. Your time is precious, try another method if you feel like something isn’t working for you!

3. Try watching ‘study with me’ videos

If you find it particularly hard to sit at your desk for a long time, you can try ‘study with me’ videos on YouTube. If you don’t know what these are, they are basically recordings of other people studying which you can play in the background to make you feel as if they are your study buddy. As most of these videos include timers (study sessions and breaks), they can help you make your day more structured and therefore productive. 4. Take frequent breaks if you need to

If you find that during a one-hour study session, your ability to concentrate gradually decreases, then maybe you should try reducing the length of each session (e.g., to 30 minutes) to ensure an efficient use of your time. It is not a problem if you need to take frequent breaks, flexibility is important when revising!

5. Don’t waste time feeling disappointed about tests you have done

I think it is hard for all of us sometimes to not let our past exams affect our motivation and confidence. However, feeling disappointed cannot change the past and it can sometimes even negatively affect your performance in future exams for the subjects you are confident in. Therefore, as hard as it is to move past a bad test experience, try to use this feeling as motivation to perform better in your next exam. I hope some of these tips were able to help you. Thank you for reading and best of luck!