How to Cope with Waiting for GCSE Exam Results

When it comes to taking your final GCSE exams in Year Eleven, you want to try your best, right? So, you go into the exam hall and do the paper to the best of your ability. When you get out, you ponder over how you did. Was the question that seemed easy really that easy or was it just you trying to kid yourself? The more you think about it, the more you become anxious to know how you did. But one set back: results don't get in until August.

When I took my final GCSE exam in June, I felt a weight lift off of my shoulders. I was free from school and my exams, never to have to sit another compulsory maths exam again. However, that weight soon came crashing down again after the moment of relief had passed. It hit me that I would have to wait two whole months until I would get my results, not just for my maths exam, but for every single subject I took an exam for. Eleven subject grades I would be receiving in August, none of which I knew beforehand, but each one vital for whatever I planned to do in the September to follow. So how have I managed so far?

I tried not to worry about it. It's not easy. Trust me, I know, but it's better to not think about the results than it is to worry constantly about whether or not you're going to fail. I have days where I spend hours fretting about whether I'm going to make the grades I need for Sixth Form, but for the majority of the time, I try not to think about it.

How well prepared did you go into your exams? For me, I know I could have gone in better prepared in almost every one of my exams. But, if you've gone in feeling confident about it, and you managed to leave the exam with the same confidence, then that's one less worry. If you feel that you've done well, then just accept it, at least until you actually find out. If you're lucky, you might have done better than you first thought.

Occupy your thoughts with other things. It's the summer for crying out loud, and unless you're like me, who hates the sun and everything that comes with it, then you should be out there having fun. Spend time with your friends, go on holiday, go camping, dye your hair, anything! Personally, I've been trying to occupy myself by participating in JulNo and Camp NaNo, the former of which didn't go so well and the latter that I'm determined to win. It keeps my thoughts occupied so I don't have time to fret about whether or not I failed all my exams.

Don't count down the days until you can pick up your results. It will only make it worse because the days will drag on, and you'll get restless, just wanting the day to come quickly. I was like this after my last exam in June. I stopped after my Prom, something that I had been counting down to, and it ended up being less than pleasing. It taught me that I didn't want to count it down and anticipate it when there was a chance that the day would be a total disaster for me. So, it's best to just not think about it, and whether or not there's over a month until you can collect them, or whether it's just under a month. Just let it be for the majority of the time, and you won't become anxious and restless for the day to arrive.

Hopefully, these tips will help anyone who needs to calm their thoughts during the two months of waiting time until results.