(4) Practising with past exam papers

This is a very important stage - students can see what they will be up against, and the standard that will be needed in the exam. Also it helps to practice getting up to the speed needed in the exam.

Past papers are a useful tool but students still need to be careful - just from doing a FEW past papers it is not possible to see what the most important exam topics actually are.

Typically students will do between 3 and 6 past papers. This is good, but it does not always reveal all the important exam topics to the students. Of equal importance are the different types of question that could be asked. This will not be revealed from just doing a few past papers.

OUR ADVICE: Use past papers, but also get a good overview of what all the important exam topics and what the different types of exam question actually are.

(5) Revising for the GCSE Maths Exam

Revising for the GCSE Maths exam typically starts for many students during the Easter holiday. This therefore tests a student?™s personal motivation and dedication. Many students find it difficult to revise and don?™t have the self-discipline or some of the study skills needed to revise efficiently.

Revision time can also be cut down for many other reasons. Illness, teenage relationships and time consuming hobbies can all stop a student from putting in the revision time needed. Often it is the less organised students who are the most affected by this, and who will be the ones finishing off coursework late or realising too late that they need to start revising !

The ideal approach is to start early and to be very organised - if however this hasn't happened then you need to find a method to help you revise quickly for the GCSE Maths exam.

OUR ADVICE: If you can start revising early then you will find it a lot easier. If you have left it too late, then investigate how you can revise as quickly as possible ??don?™t give up !