Ultimate GCSE Revision
The Ultimate GCSE Revision Site.

So You've got an exam coming up soon, huh? Don't panic! Here are some handy tips to get you through...

1) Some exams require the use of pens (for example, English Exams), whilst others need to be completed in pencil (e.g, Graphic Products) Make sure you know exactly what you should be using in every paper BEFORE you go in.
2) All the major examination boards have websites these days, usually with sample papers and examiners' reports that you can download. These sites are well worth a visit as they may offer a lot of sound advice. The examiners' report, for instance, can give you an idea of exactly what it is that they are looking for, so make sure you have a quick look before the exam.
3) It may sound obvious, but it might be a good idea to take spare pens and pencils just in case the one you are using stops working!
4) Arrive on time! Allow for problems, hold-ups and traffic jams on the way and make sure you arrive with time to spare so that you can put your things in your locker or in your form room, maybe have a quick chat with your mates and then go in calmly, rather than in a frantic rush.
5) In the exam, don't forget to read the instructions and make sure you know exactly what you are being asked to do. You should go into the exam well aware of what is expected of you, but you should always check. Some classic mistakes are when you're asked to tick the box NOT to do with a certain subject, but you don't read the 'not' and tick something random. As my old maths teacher used to say... 'RTFQ!' I'll leave to you work out what the 'F' stands for, there.
6) You don't have to tell the truth! A language exam is not a test of honesty and you will not be penalised if you tell the examiners that you are Cancer rather than Sagittarius in a written question, simply because you are sure of how to spell it. Language Tests are quite simply that; they are designed to test your language and not your honesty- don't worry about lying or being economical with the truth in order to show off your accurate language use. Go ahead, tell them that your best friend is David Hasselhoff. 
7) Try to get a good night's sleep the night before any exam.
8) We realise it's obvious, but try to avoid alcohol the night before an exam, especially in quantity, as a bad hangover is among the very worst things to be suffering from in an exam room, and you definitely won't get any sympathy from your mates!

And this is why you should never, ever try and cheat!

- Apparently, a philosophy student got a first class grade for a paper which had "Is this a question?" as an essay title. Instead of going into the nature of essay answers etc, he or she simply wrote "Yes, if this is an answer." Perhaps you should read the next bullet point before feeling encouraged to do likewise.
- When asked "What is courage?", another philosphy student wrote "This." Needless to say, they failed, even though it was, indeed, courageous to stake their degree on such an answer, it was not held to have answered the question. The answer was an example and not an explanation.
- An Oxford undergraduate, or so the story goes, discovered an ancient regulation that allowed a gentleman to send the invigilator to buy a quart (Two pints or 1.14 litres) of ale (beer) during the exam for the student's refreshment. He duly ordered it and produced his evidence and was bought the beer. The following day, the invigilator approached him with a hat, gown and sword, which another old regulation stated had to be worn at all times. So, the student had to to sit through the exam in a stuffy hall on a hot day in a heavy hat, etc. Not so clever...
- A student used amphetamines (a chemical stimulant) to stay awake to study all night in the days leading up to an exam, hoping to make up for lost time. Feeling shattered on the morning of the exam, they took a huge dose to make sure they were bright and alert and didn't fall asleep halfway through. Throughout the exam, they scribbled away frantically; writing page after page. Unfortunately, they'd taken so much of the stimulant that they failed to notice that they had written everything on the same side of paper, which meant that instead of handing in a dozen sheets of paper, they just had the one, so covered in writing that it had turned black and couldn't be read. Oh dear.