GCSE Revision Without Burning Out (UK Boards: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC, CCEA)

GCSE revision tends to fall into two camps. Camp one starts at Christmas. Camp two starts at Easter. Both are wrong. The students who hit grade 9s start in October — but with twenty minutes a day, not a death march.

The October-to-May plan

• Oct–Dec. Twenty minutes a day per subject. Active recall on what you cover in lessons that week.
• Jan–Feb. One past paper a week. Use Past Papers to generate fresh ones in your board's style.
• Mar–Apr. Two past papers a week. Mock exams under time. Drill weak topics.
• May. Light review only. No new material. Sleep nine hours.

What to use

• Mark My Answer — grades in AQA / Edexcel / OCR / WJEC style
• Math Solver — for the maths and physics calculation papers
• Flashcards — for English literature quotes, biology vocab, history dates
• Mock Exam — once a week from January

Per-subject quick rules

• Maths: the calculator paper is mostly about reading the question carefully. Half the lost marks are not maths errors.
• English Lit: memorise five quotes per text. That is enough for any question they ask.
• English Lang: Paper 2 Question 5 (writing) is worth 40 marks. It is the most underprepped question of all of GCSE.
• History: four-mark questions are about describe. Eight-mark are explain. Sixteen-mark are evaluate. Different command, different structure.
• Science: the practicals come up. Memorise the method for each required practical, not just the outcome.

What burnout actually looks like

Forgetting things you knew last week. Not enjoying anything. Sleeping badly. Snapping at your family. If three of those four hit, you need a day off, not a longer study session.