Mocks really are a fantastic time for you to try out all those revision techniques your teachers have been relentlessly throwing at you since around October. They're your chance to take as many risks as you want; if they pay off then great, if they don't then that's also pretty great - at least your mock results don't actually matter.
But I didn't come here to lecture you on what you should have done because there really is no point whatsoever in making you feel bad. In fact I'm aiming to do quite the opposite. And I can promise you there will be more chances to come for you to try new techniques and test your revision abilities. By the time you reach the final exams, you'll have done virtually every past paper available to you. Each and every single paper you attempt is a chance to test not just yourself and your ability but your techniques also. For I believe GCSEs examine both equally.
It's important to remember that the grades you receive after christmas (and in the summer) are not necessarily a reflection on you but a reflection on how well you approached the exams and how effective your revision, however minimal, was. Remember that your mocks are not a projection of exactly how well you'll do in the summer. They simply serve to prepare you for the real thing and to inform you of how you can improve. And there's still plenty of time to do so.
Your exams aren't for a while yet and although I'm sure they'll come around very quickly, as they did for me, they're not quite looming yet. And the most important thing you can do for yourself now is just to relax. Enjoy the christmas break because you won't really get another until the summer. Use this time to go ice skating with your friends, spend evenings at home with your family, and just enjoy the fact that this time is your own.
GCSEs are stressful; you have so many subjects to balance and such a massive array of different skills to master. Year 11 is a journey - you go from having little experience of exams and responsibility to suddenly having an incredibly overwhelming amount. Learning to destress and take time for yourself is just another part of the process. So relax and have fun! And have a very merry Christmas.
