How to Achieve Success in Exams?

Our I/GCSE results this year were by far and away the best that we have ever had, particularly with regards to the number of A*/A/9/8/7 grades that were achieved by our students.

For October’s Student of the Month, we invited students who have achieved outstanding I/GCSE results to share their secret of success with us.

Ellyza joined BSB in Year 4, Hazel in Year 6, Yiran in Year 6, Victoria in Year 8 and Eva in Year 8. As such they are very much the products of a BSB education!

To each of them we posed the following questions in the context of examinations; “What is your advice to students that will be taking examinations in the Summer?”

There were very similar responses but Hazel Lee (who achieved 8 A*, 1 A) managed to encapsulate them as follows:

• Try not to Procrastinate - In my opinion, it is alright for someone to procrastinate once in a while, although as a student you should not make it a habit. This is because homework only piles up if it is left undone. The best way to get around this requires a lot of self-discipline. Whenever I found myself procrastinating, I’d make it a goal to burn the midnight oil and complete it for the next day. Despite finishing my work, or not, I would punish myself by cancelling plans for the next week and grounding myself so I can catch up with other homework I might’ve had left to pile up!
• If you have extra free time, Study - During the holidays, I always made it a goal of mine to complete at least 1 subject’s worth of revision. For example, during the Golden Week holidays in 2019, I spent the majority of my break studying for Psychology and Biology. This included rewriting my notes accumulated over the years and making sure I understood concepts that I was not initially familiar with. I recommend trying out different methods of revision (particularly when studying for an end of unit test) and seeing which method is the most effective. This may include studying from Quizlet, making flashcards, watching YouTube videos, or the most fool-proof would be using past papers as practice.
• Finding a middle ground between Work & Personal Life - Many people think that to achieve good grades, you have to completely eradicate having any sort of personal life. This is a common misconception, which I believe does more harm than good to a person. Personally, I had a healthy balance of work and social time where I got to spend more than enough free time with my family and friends, while managing to juggle schoolwork, which I am very grateful for. Alongside many other students at school, I actively participated in school productions and events outside of school that momentarily took stress off my shoulders.
• Be Competitive - This connects well with our school motto of ‘Be Ambitious’. I always aimed to do better, or to be the best because even if I wasn’t the best, I know I tried my best and gave it my all.  I always admired those that did better than me and they were my sole motivators to do better each time.
• Be Independent - Teachers exist to guide you towards success, but they aren’t there to spoon feed students. A lot of self-study will be necessary, especially if you want to thoroughly understand a concept. This also includes being independent and asking teachers for more guidance if necessary, rather than having to rely on your friends to help you. You will definitely need your teacher’s guidance when doing projects or coursework.

In addition to the 5 common factors mentioned above, our other students mentioned things that were either unique or felt had contributed towards their success:

Having spoken to the students, I came away thinking that the factors for success were simple and can be overlooked by so many students. However, they did not happen by accident, they had to happen by design.

With Ellyza, Eva, Hazel, Yiran and Victoria all continuing their studies at BSB, I am confident from the discussions had, that they will be equally as successful in their IBDP final examinations in two years’ time.

Good luck and thank you for your contribution to BSB to date.

Secondary Leadership Team

Please click below to see our 2020 IGCSE results