Lion tips: IGCSE advice from Pauleans

By: Nina De Lima

As Lower 6 students who recently went through the IGCSEs, we know how overwhelming this period can feel. The sheer amount of content, time pressure, and stress of final exams can make revision seem daunting. However, with the right strategies, you can make your studying more effective, reduce stress, and feel confident walking into each exam. 


We’ve put together some of the most useful tips that helped us succeed, from using past papers and flashcards to maintaining a balanced routine. Remember, every student studies differently, so take what works best for you and adapt it to your learning style. The key is consistency, good organization, and a positive mindset. 
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Here are our top IGCSE study tips to help you prepare efficiently and perform your best! 

• Past papers: Past papers can be extremely beneficial when studying for the igcse as questions can be repetitive and similar, so doing many papers will make the questions/ question style more familiar for when you take the actual IGCSE. 

• Flashcards for sciences: For Biology, Chemistry and Physics, making flashcards can be extremely efficient as you can practice definitions and key points everywhere you go, and they are not time consuming. 

• Revision everyday: Our biggest tip is revising every day. As we all know we are all extremely busy, but studying consistently every day is much better than studying excessively a week prior! By studying ahead of time and every day you will be less stressed and more prepared when you get to your study leave. When you are on your study leave you will have time to do past papers and revise specific content! 

• Watch videos after taking past papers: After taking math’s past papers, highlight the questions you struggled on. On YouTube there are several channels that correct IGCSE math’s papers! You only need to search your past paper code. Watching a video of someone solving the same past paper can help so much! As you can understand your mistakes and understand how to solve the questions. 

• Essay writing: For your humanities, English and Portuguese, practice essay writing and ask your teacher to correct it, so you can improve on your mistakes. 

• Computer studies practice: Computer studies may seem hard to revise. Try making flashcards for the theoretical part of the course! For the coding part, try watching videos so you really understand what is needed and expected. 

• Reminders: For History, try writing important dates on post its and sticking them in your room. This way, you will have a constant reminder of all the important dates you need to know that can be otherwise tricky to memorize. 

• Find the best revision method to organize: Although these tips are great, it is important to do what is best for you! Some people prefer one type of revision and others prefer another type. Do what feels more efficient and successful! 

• Good routine: Yes, revising is important, but it is necessary to have a good daily routine, so you don’t burn out! Don’t stop doing your activities and remember to prioritize your mental health!  

• Mindset: Walking in confident to an exam can make all the difference! Take care of your mindset and remember, you have done everything you could! Now it’s time to do your best. 

• Ask your teachers for help: The study leave can feel very stressful and cause anxiety as you remember you are only a few weeks away from your final exams! Ask your teachers for help if you need to! Don’t forget they are here to help you. 

• Read the mark schemes: Something that can complement your revision is reading the mark schemes of papers! Be careful as some mark schemes show some words that are needed to obtain specific words. 

• Move on: After finishing an exam, don’t keep thinking about it. Remember, you did your best and there is nothing left to do! Many times, you did so much better than you think, and thinking about these exams endlessly can make you think otherwise. It is also important to move on and focus on the next exam! 

• Get to school early: On the day of your exam, it is normal to feel a bit anxious, and the last thing you need is to have more stress by being late. Get to school early so you have time to go to the bathroom, drink water and relax. On that note, always pack your bag on the day before and make sure you have everything you need (and remove everything that is not allowed - this always happens)