15 Weeks Left.. 2026 GCSE Exams Countdown! ⏰

As you can see in the title – we have exactly 15 Weeks left until the 2026 GCSE Summer exams begin! 

Many Year 10 and Year 11 students at this point in the year make the mistake of underestimating the time they have left. They decide they’ll “maybe” pick up practice and revision in February half term or Easter.

That’s a HUGE mistake.

Why? When students pick up revision and start practice in February and March (some even leave it to EASTER) – they realise some subjects like English can’t be crammed:

❌There’s just too much to learn

❌Too many quotes to memorise

❌Too little time to improve reading and writing speed

❌Being able to write several paragraphs in time pressure can’t be rushed or “crammed”

This is then what leads to the horrible statistics we saw in Summer where close to 40% of GCSE students ended up failing their English & Maths GCSE Exams.

If you are in Year 10 and Year 11 (or you’re the parent of a GCSE Student helping them!), here is what you should do to prime yourself for success in these final 15 Weeks:

1️⃣ REVIEW MOCK EXAMS FEEDBACK: at this stage, you should (hopefully) have had mock exams. Take out a sheet of paper, make a table (or use a spreadsheet) – write the subject on the left and weak areas for improvement on the right.

2️⃣ STUDY TIMETABLE: You MUST create a study schedule. Set out your topics, what you’ll revise after school across all your GCSE Subjects. At this stage, you must invest at MINIMUM 2 hours revision time per subject. Start by focusing on your weakest areas based on step 1.

3️⃣ ORGANISE YOUR NOTES: Now is the time to put together all your notes and organise it all. If you’re part of my GCSE Masterclass – DOWNLOAD all my model answers – put them somewhere you can easily find them.

4️⃣ PUT AWAY YOUR NOVELS & PLAYS: In English, if you’re done reading your set texts – put key quotes in your flashcards.. then put your books away. Do NOT waste time re-reading novels and plays. If you want to save time on putting together all your quotes for set texts – then join my Literature Week in February (https://www.firstratetutors.com/february-literature) and just use my 3-page cheat sheet for your revision.

5️⃣ GET STRUCTURED SUPPORT: Consider getting support outside of school, to know if you’re on the right track and get feedback from a tutor. You can consider joining my Sunday Masterclass (https://www.firstratetutors.com/masterclass) and getting feedback for Language Paper 1 & 2 in that class or getting a private tutor to help you. Either way, this is the time to know if you’re on the right track or not.

I hope this helps and have a lovely weekend!

✨PS: If you struggle with Language Paper 2, this Sunday (18 January) we will be working on Paper 2, Section A (2026 Exam) so join in: https://www.firstratetutors.com/masterclass