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