Should I start revising for GCSEs in year 9?

Education concept. Student studying and brainstorming campus con

As a student, you might be wondering when you need to start revising for those pesky end of school exams. After all, students now start learning the GCSE specifications in year 9. So, do you need to start revising for GCSEs in year 9?

The individual

As with most things, it’s up to the individual when they feel they need to start revising. Academic students might find GCSEs fairly easy, so, they might only need to start revising later than less able students. Furthermore, students might decide on the time they start revising based on exterior influences. This can include their institution, teachers, and parents. Furthermore, the hardest working students usually decide to start revising earlier than lazy students. However, should they be revising as early as year 9? Let’s discuss this argument.

The advantages to revising in year 9

There are some benefits to starting this revision early on. After all, learning the GCSE specification now starts in year 9. This means that it makes sense to be going over this content if you have access to it. Revising from year 9 will also benefit you in the long run. The constant revision provides memorisation, making you familiar with the content. If you’ve been revising it for years rather than just a couple of weeks, this will provide more familiarity. This could make your revision more efficient in the long term.

A teacher smiling at camera in classroom

Furthermore, revising at this early stage could help you uncover any weak areas you have. You’ll be able to determine what parts of the course you struggle with. Therefore, with plenty of time, you can improve in these areas rather than leaving them until the last minute. Additionally, revising in year 9 will help you in mock exams. Most schools provide mock exams for year 9s and 10s, so revision will help you perform well in these. Whilst many argue that mock exams don’t matter, they can provide you with a good indication of your position. It could show you if you’re ready for the real exam or not.

Why revision isn’t important in year 9

Year 9 is a long way away from your GCSEs, meaning you don’t technically have to revise this year. Whilst revision can be beneficial, it’s not essential, and you still have plenty of time to work on your performance. GCSEs are often considered easy – especially compared to A levels. Therefore, it’s doable to just revise even in just year 11. There isn’t much content to remember in each subject compared to A level too. The specifications are often short, making knowledge easy to memorise. Some students struggle with GCSEs, but having a tutor in year 11 could help. Some students even attend Easter GCSE revision courses a couple of weeks before the exams in year 11. With a small amount of content, this can be doable for most academic students. However, a couple of months of revision is often recommended to perform well.

Therefore, it isn’t necessary to start revising in year 9, although it could provide a few benefits.

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If you, or your parents would like to find out more, please just get in touch via email at info@exam.tips or call us on 0800 689 1272

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