When you finish school after your GCSEs, you’ll have one of the longest summers you’ll probably ever get. Whilst you should obviously take this time to relax after the stress of exams, it’s also a great time to get ahead on the subjects you hope to do next year.

1. Do the summer work

If your sixth form or college is like ours, you may get summer work for the subjects that you’re going to apply for on results day. If you get this then you should obviously do it as it gives the teacher a good first impression of you and it gives you a nice introduction to the course before you actually start. Typically this is just revision of things you covered at GCSE, or looking at basic vocabulary. It won’t be too overwhelming as you won’t have teacher help for it, so don’t worry too much about it.

2. Do some general research on the subjects you’re taking

We’d also suggest maybe doing some general research on the subjects you’re taking. This doesn’t mean go and look up any complicated concepts that show up on the course, but a general introduction can help you get ahead when you do start sixth form. Looking at TED Talks about what you’re going to study and reading articles about it in the news can be great but simple introductions to course content. This can also help you to decide if it is actually a course that interests you before you sign up for it on results day.

3. Look at the exam board specification

You could also look at the specification for the exam board you are specifically studying and maybe even any resources that they provide. This will give you a very clear idea of what you’ll be doing when you head back to school which can make it easier to settle in to the course; you could also research the first topic if you are really keen to get started.

4. Find online revision guides

There are also revision guides for some subjects online which are specifically for bridging the gap between GCSE and A Level. They typically cover a few basic new concepts, but the majority of the content is going over things that you will have learnt at GCSE and maybe applying them to new situations that you may not have covered before.

Whilst this is all great to make sure you hit the ground running when you get back to school, don’t forget to relax. This is one of the last holidays you’ll get when you don’t have school work or revision to do so make the most of it. After all, GCSEs are stressful so you deserve some time off and you won’t fall behind if you don’t spend your whole summer doing work.