Mock exams are a good opportunity to practice and develop revision skills ??it?™s an opportunity to try things out in the mocks and to see which different methods of revising are useful.

Unfortunately students often don't do this, so the usual outcome is for the mock results to 'shock' them into working ??such a wasted opportunity, and a lot of time spent to get such a negative result.

OUR ADVICE: Find out when the mock exams are, then plan revision and start to revise 8 weeks before the mocks.

(2) Completing Coursework

There are 2 coursework tasks, each worth 10% of the final mark in GCSE Maths. The problem with coursework (in all GCSE subjects) is that students tend to focus too much on each subject's coursework task, as they know that these tasks are more important than their usual homework. Coursework tasks are also much more time consuming than a usual homework, so frequently other subjects' homework is not done.

Because there is so much coursework, it is very easy for a student to fall behind during this coursework period. This prioritising of coursework (to the detriment of other subjects) can continue for 2 or 3 months.

OUR ADVICE: Keep ALL subjects??homework going when coursework starts.

(3) Finishing the syllabus

This tends to be out of the student's control - the earlier the syllabus is finished then the earlier students can start to revise and practice in school lesson time. It is usually a good thing to finish early, but it has been known that by finishing too early some students relax too much and concentrate on their other subjects that they haven't yet finished! More of a problem is when the syllabus is finished too late ??so not enough school time is available for revision.

OUR ADVICE: Students should ask their teacher politely when the syllabus will be finished - students can then plan revision time accordingly and see which subjects will need more revision work at home.