A Guide to Smashing Year 10
Dear readers and fellow lovers of things,
I go to a school in England in which my GCSE course began officially in Year 10 giving me the chance to pursue subjects that I had selected myself alongside those that were necessary. Year 10 appealed to me as the year when things would ‘get real’. The year when my responsibilities as a student would heighten, the year that yearned for more work and revision and the year in which I would do what I love, the subjects that I loved and any extracurriculars that I already had loved. The latter appealed to me the most but I was very happy to enter Year 10 knowing what to do, or at least having an idea of what to do. Year 10 has had its challenges, as every year does, but I hope to pass on some lessons that I have learnt in the past few years that may guide you in the future.
This blog post is a bit long but it essentially covers these points:
1. Build good foundations before year 10.
2. Revise.
3. You don’t have to be the person who picks things up instantly in class to do well in your GCSEs.
4. Don’t be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone
5. Tests are there to help you with your learning. Value making progress over getting top marks.
6. Your life isn't just about GCSEs. Do other things.
7. Find a routine and find balance.
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Context for readers from abroad. Please skip if this doesn’t apply to you.
GCSEs stand for General Certificate of Education. Every pupil in England takes examinations for around ten subjects (in order to get 10 GCSEs) usually at the age of 15 or 16. They help us when we apply for Sixth Form or college which prepares us for post 18 education such as getting an apprenticeship or attending university. The GCSEs are now marked from 9-1. 9 is the highest grade you can achieve and 1 the lowest. 4 is a standard pass.
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Build Good Foundations
A mistake that I have seen others make is to start putting a lot of effort into their learning when GCSE examinations were looming. Although it is tempting to copy your friend’s homework, your lack of knowledge from not doing that piece of work will cause you to pay the price later. What you cover in Year 7,8 and 9 may not appear to be relevant to your GCSEs but they are. They are there to build foundations in your knowledge and to ease the process of learning what you need to learn as part of your GCSE course. In order to avoid future problems, you need to make sure you understand what you have already learnt. Commit to your learning as soon as you start secondary school and you will be on your way to a less stressful Year 10 and 11. Foundations are also important in Year 10. Make sure your notes are decipherable and understandable. This will help you when you are revising in the future even if it is last minute! By ‘decipherable’, I am alluding to the haphazard relationship some of us may have with our handwriting. You should at least be able to read your notes if possible. For those who are in a more fortunate position you may be able to buy a laptop to make notes on or a textbook to provide all the notes you need. You will save a lot of time and money by making notes that you can look at in a year's time and still understand. If you look back at your notes will you understand what they are about? I like to add further explanations to what my teachers have asked me to write down which is especially helpful in the sciences. This is especially useful when you are approaching difficult to understand concepts. Add a few sentences to break down the concept and voila, you save yourself time trying to reteach the concept to yourself again later.
Revise
The dreaded hard to swallow pill dawns on every pupil at different times. You must revise. Your brain is not able to remember something you have been taught one year ago in a maths lesson, two years later if it has not been revisited. The verb revise comes from the latin ‘revisere’ which means to look at again. You need to at least look at what you have studied again in order to strengthen your memory and to help you in Year 11.
Don’t make revision last minute. Don’t only revise the night before a test. This is like stuffing a really cheap suitcase with all of your clothes. It may last in the short term but the suitcase will break and your clothes will fall out. What you revised will only be remembered for a short amount of time unless you keep on covering it in the future. Space out your revision! It has been scientifically proven to work.
There are many different revision methods and techniques but I will be exploring this in a later post. It is important to keep in mind that we are still learning about learning. I find learning about learning interesting but my knowledge has its limitations. If you are slightly skeptical of whether my advice is reliable, which is a good thing because it means you want to make sure you are following the right advice, I am academically doing very well at school and my tank of ambition will not be running out anytime soon. I'm aiming for 9s but like to take care of my wellbeing. I have learnt from personal experience, from other teachers who are interested in learning about learning, the internet and books. I think this is also an appropriate time to mention that you can approach your teachers with questions about revision. During their teaching career they have to attend courses about learning and leadership among many other things and some will have learnt about (and will be very interested in) the theories behind learning. Retrieval practise, metacognitive learning, short term memory, you name it, they may know about it!
You don’t have to be the person who picks things up instantly in class to do well in your GCSEs.
I feel slightly upset each time I hear someone say ‘I can’t do [insert task]’ or more specifically ‘I can’t get a 9’. GCSEs are challenging. Not only intellectually but mentally. I believe that anyone reading this article can achieve great things. Yes, you! You can do so much! In the context of your GCSEs it is about how you approach them. They test your self belief. Sometimes you feel like a certain subject was not meant for you and you might feel like you just can’t excel in it. You can also see this in a classroom. Can you think of that person in your class who just understands things instantly? The one who comes out with really good results after what feels like every test? They have their weaknesses and strengths too and their abundance in knowledge does not mean that you can’t excel at school. Just because you feel a subject was not meant for you, it won’t stop you from excelling in it if you work hard. Hard work beats talent. Turn that ‘I can’t do [insert subject]’ to ‘I can do [insert subject] with a bit of extra effort’. Your mindset can change everything.
Don’t be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone
Don’t be afraid to approach your teachers with even the smallest of questions. They are there to help you and don’t mind being asked questions. No teacher is going to shout at you for asking questions. I really want to be a teacher when I am older and the last thing I would want from my pupils is to have them be afraid of asking questions. Curiousity is a wonderful thing. I once asked my physics teacher ‘Why is glass transparent?’, hesitant to ask a question that questioned something so simple. My teacher was not wavered by the question and spent around twenty minutes explaining all the science behind it. Twenty minutes! It was amazing.
Additionally, Year 10, similarly to other years, is about self improvement. Other people’s scores do not matter. They do not matter. Comparison is a thief of joy and I’ve had experience with letting other people’s scores and results hinder my self esteem and make me lose focus of the bigger picture. I’ve recently tried inculcating a habit of not divulging my score to my friends (unless I’m feeling particularly proud of my result). How will my score help them? I understand that in some cases it helps me and teachers build a bigger picture of the classes understanding in regards to a topic however it can also cause people to compare themselves to others for having one mark less than the other person. My happiness deserves better than that.
Change how you think about tests.
Tests have had a very long history of being daunting and stressful but research has shown that tests help you with your learning. They help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. You will have a chance to work on your strengths and weaknesses up to your GCSEs examinations. I know it is hard to rid yourself of the stress they bring but you will be on the road to a more calm self if you see tests as a friend rather than a foe. GCSEs are not a competition to see who is the cleverest. They are their to help you make progress. If you come out of year 10 having made a lot of progress by going from a 2 to a 5, that's wonderful even if you think 'that's not a 9'. Progress is so important and tests can give you an opportunity to measure that.
Do extracurricular activities
Year 10 may cause you to ponder about what career you want to pursue as an adult and the range of skills that they may require. Your GCSEs give you a wide range of knowledge that prepares you for the future however they don’t cover some skill sets that you might need as an adult. Are you a good salesperson? Can you teach, public speak and negotiate well? Pursuing a hobby that appeals to you or using the free clubs that are available to you at school give you the skills that will help you in the future. Even skills that aren’t extremely valued by some such as knitting or being a good football player can help you. It is worth mentioning extracurriculars not only give you good skills you might need in the future, they are great for your wellbeing. I find nothing better than sitting down to do a bit of knitting or attending a karate class. Extracurricular activities are wonderful for personal growth and your wellbeing.
Find a routine and find a balance
Routine may work better for some people than others but finding a way of life that works for you will help you. Don’t burden yourself with too much, it will lead to burnout but equally do not give yourself too little to do as you will find yourself bored. I'm personally struggling with finding this balance but Ia am determined to not let it worry me a lot. You may thrive under timetables and scheduled activities or you may thrive under crossing a bridge when you come to it. Your wellbeing also matters so don’t forget to have fun! Year 10 is a lot more fun than Year 9 even with your GCSE examinations in sight. You will make many good memories this year.
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