23rd issue

IGCSE is tough. Beginning in Y9,
it’s a two year course culminating in over a
month’s worth of exams. If I look back, it all
felt like a blur of learning, studying and
worrying. But that doesn’t sound very
helpful. If you’re an upcoming IGCSE
student, you probably want advice on how
to approach them, and preferably advice on
how to get good results. So, this is my
experience.
Like many other students can attest
to, time management is hard. It can be
difficult to juggle the content of ten subjects
(eleven if you take English Literature!), and
you’ll still want time for personal interests
and socialising. To deal with this, it’s
important to create schedules and set
yourself time frames. If you have a
Chemistry quiz tomorrow, you might want to
remind yourself to revise for that from 8 to
9pm. It’s also good to put your phone away
to avoid getting distracted. Believe me, it
really does help.
Another thing that many struggle with
is stress, particularly as exams approach.
COVID restrictions and sporadic online
lessons weren’t exactly helpful for me
either. Therefore, don’t spend all your time
on academics. Spend some time with
friends, family, and on interests that you
enjoy. Maybe it’s an instrument, a sport, a
game, anything to help you relax when
you’re feeling down. Just don’t try and pick
up, say, League of Legends two weeks
before exams start.
In terms of studying, my best tip is to
study with your friends. Having fun when
revising really does help make time fly by,
and you’ll generally be more comfortable
asking questions. Hop on a voice call and
look at powerpoints, go through past paper
questions or just compare notes. It makes
the process much more enjoyable. Also,
fully utilise available online resources.
Teachers will provide plenty of materials on
Google Classroom, but you can look for
past papers online, or study guides and
summaries on unfamiliar topics. Moreover,
getting into the habit of doing past papers is
critical. You’ll want to familiarise yourself
with question formats and know how to earn
marks. Understand the difference between,
for example, a 6-marker and 8-marker in
Economics. Time yourself and mark it when
you’re done, and learn from your mistakes.
Of course, I have to thank my family,
friends and teachers for supporting me
through this journey. Many thanks also to
Po Leung Kuk for their support and
encouragement. I’ve gained some valuable
skills, such as better time management,
determining priorities and a better capability
to cope under pressure, which will probably
come in handy for IB. For those of you in Y9
and 10, IGCSE isn’t easy, and there’s no
guarantee for high marks, but just know that
sometimes, all you can do is try your best.
Good luck!
11E Christian Lau
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