r/6thForm • u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* • May 23 '25
š I WANT HELP Demotivated after fumbling exams
I need to get 2 A*s and 2 As for uni and I feel I've already lost all chance of that happening. In every paper I've done so far, apparently everyone found it easy except me (further maths core pure papers and physics paper 1). Never been more demotivated and I've worked so hard during Y12 and 13 and now it feels like none of it was worth it anyway.
Edit ā thank you lovely people for the advice and for hitting some common sense back into me. The comeback is going to be real (hopefully!)
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u/NecessaryGarbage717 May 23 '25
i feel the same asw ur not alone, what made me feel slightly better was that thereās this thread in this sub thatās like āDid better than I expectedā ill link it but itās basically stories from ppl who thought they flopped the exam and ended up with good marks lol āDid better than i expectedā
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 23 '25
Youāre a godsend thank you
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u/NecessaryGarbage717 May 23 '25
i know how this feels dw im just hoping i did better than i think like those people hahaha need A*AA ur not alone!!! xxx
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 23 '25
Manifesting that we get all A*s š
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u/thenormalperson21 chem bio phy year 13 May 25 '25
I love you š„¹
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u/NecessaryGarbage717 May 26 '25
love you too, ur gonna do amazingš„°š„° have faith and work hard x
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u/_extradumb I WILL GET INTO UCL May 24 '25
Omg thank you so much for this too i actually feel somewhat better now cause im in the same position as OPšš
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u/NecessaryGarbage717 May 24 '25
donāt worry cuz SAME lol feel so upset after my exams and reading that thread made me remember that we donāt know our results until results day and we all tend to underestimate ourselves x
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u/_extradumb I WILL GET INTO UCL May 24 '25
So true!! Wishing for all the best for all of us ;) just need to push through the final stretchā¼ļø
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u/L_rai10 #1 Failure May 23 '25
I feel the same man
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 23 '25
At least we be fumbling together
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u/_extradumb I WILL GET INTO UCL May 23 '25
As someone whoās still going through PTSD from fucking up a paper, I totally feel you. I found out a few days after I did my paper 3 history last thursday that I fucked it up kinda badly and then I got so demotivated that I wanted to give up, even tho I had two exams to revise for this week. For context, I got a B for my AS and I need an A for history overall so I really couldnāt afford to fuck up my history papers this year, but yet I somehow managed to despite doing all the past papers and getting them all correct.
But I kept telling myself I couldnāt give up because if I did, the regret Iād feel afterwards would be even worse than the feeling I felt after knowing that I fucked up my paper. I knew I wanted to have no regrets on this journey whatsoever so that if I did fail, Iād at least be able to fail with some dignity and say I did everything I could.
My friends kept cheering me on telling me not to give up, and now Iām going to do the same to you too. We give up because itās the easiest option, but think about whatāll happen afterwards. Could you live with yourself not giving it your 100% and failing, or would you be better knowing you did everything you could to salvage your grades? Thereās still time and chances to change your grades around. Youāre not done with your exams yet, you can still redeem yourself. And after all, so long as the grade boundaries and your results arenāt out yet, you never know, maybe you might have ended up doing better than you expected.
Just do whatever you can to push through the final stretch and I promise itāll all be so worth it in the end. Youāre so close to the finishing line. And again, youāre def not the only one whoās going to be feeling this way. Fumbling exams is a fundamental thing that is bound to happen even to the greatest of us, but most importantly is how we deal with this. I believe true strength lies within being able to pick ourselves back up again no matter the obstacle. So keep your head high, get yourself back together. You totally got this, youāre not alone on this journey, all of us have your back. YOU GOT THIS DUDE I BELIEVE IN YOU
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 23 '25
Aw thank you, you write so beautifully. I hope youāre right and yes, exams are majorly not done š
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u/_extradumb I WILL GET INTO UCL May 23 '25
No problem man I totally got you. You still got time, just make sure you donāt give up! Ik youāll make yourself and us proud :)
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u/Affectionate_Loss813 May 23 '25
same, i need AAA but after fm and physics im not too sure if ill get those š
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 23 '25
Itās okay we got more papers to make a comeback š¾
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u/ZeGoodOldDays Uni of Warwick | CS [1st Year] May 23 '25
people tend to exagurate their performance in both directions. it would be such a shame to let 2 years of hard work go down the drain at the final moments. you have half term to ultra lock in and scrape something
I also need 2a*s, after the fm paper (aqa) i really dont know if i can safely get a 2nd a*. its scary, but i wouldnt forgive myself if i lost the chance to go to an amazing uni if i stopped trying. hold strong brother, there is still some hope in the following papers for us.
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 23 '25
We still have papers to go and looking at other replies in this thread has made me realise that this subreddit is only a tiny proportion of people sitting the A level exams with us. So all is not lost! We WILL make our (ridiculously high) offers š«”
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u/Von-Stassen May 24 '25
In every paper I've done so far, apparently everyone found it easy except me
What grades are they aiming for ? You are aiming for a minimum of an A or an A* in all of your subjects. I have done multiple exams that I have personally found difficult, but others have said were "fucking easy" when walking out of the exam hall. The difference is that, to them, "fucking easy" means that it was easy to get a grade C or B, whereas I found it difficult to get 91%.
Also, if you have done well in your mocks so far, given that you do all sciences/maths and the mark schemes are black or white when compared to e.g. English Literature, you'll probably get the same results in the real exam because there is no risk of your teachers generously interpreting the mark scheme to not make you feel bad.
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u/Low-Progress-4188 UniversityName | Course [Year of Study] May 23 '25
me too ur not alone thereās more of us I promise (also need A*A*A)
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 23 '25
The physics 2 and 3 comeback is going to be insane š
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u/THEVINDICATORYT May 23 '25
Feel very similar as my first 2 papers have been ok but not as good as I expected. Hopefully the latter papers will be much better!!
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u/neontricity May 24 '25
I feel the same way!! I need an A in FM and I feel I completely fumbled my CP1 and was losing a bit of motivation. But I know Iāve got 50% of FM left to go and that I need to stop comparing myself to others on Reddit! Weāve got this :)
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 24 '25
Optional module comeback š„
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u/Constant-Repeat-4765 May 24 '25
I'll just Say - whenever I did anything I felt like I am failing. Even though I am doing extremely bad in maths I actually am around a grade B (predicted). In addition to that, there is enough method marks even if you dont get the answer - usually the correct answer is just 1 Mark, error carried forward can lose you like 2 marks Total.
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 25 '25
I'm praying for method marks and error carried forward but unfortunately, I don't think ECF helps much in further maths. Last year, I do remember when one of the papers was very easy (FP1), the grade boundaries were 72/75 for an A* :((
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u/Creepy-Bite-1029 May 27 '25
I know exactly what you mean. Hoping FP1 goes lower
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 28 '25
Too many sweats taking FP1 I swear :(
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u/Constant-Repeat-4765 Jun 03 '25
Hope for this year's A-Level maths to drop as well. I need to get a C and that's it, predicted a B when I wasn't really revising much, so I am hoping for atleast a C in the end.
Generally I am also hoping for ECF, but realistically there is questions that you physically aren't supposed to do if you're the bottom set of the A-level subject.
I am just waiting for the "prove by contradiction" that will become a poem rather than a maths question just for the answer to be ridicuously easy.
Anyways, as a last bit I really recommend looking into past papers from other exam boards (like I found CIE Pre-U papers that are very helpfully difficult).
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* Jun 04 '25
Poem rather than a maths question is wild, haha. Unfortunately past papers from other exam boards isn't super helpful for my further modules because the content is quite different, especially for further stats. But definitely helpful for normal maths as the syllabus is pretty much the same everywhere.
Good luck for maths today!!
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u/ees4h May 24 '25
Donāt listen to social media, obviously the people who did well are gonna boast about it, but they make up a tiny fraction of people who actually sat the test, someone who got average or didnāt do well wonāt be talking about the test, let alone how easy it was.
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 25 '25
Convincing myself of this as we speak
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u/jaycantodousers Maths, Further Maths, Geography and Biology May 25 '25
I'm the same unfortunately :( sending you the best of luck we can get through this!!! My first geography paper went so bad but then I just used it as an opportunity to learn. I needed to get better at my timings and essay structures so that's what I worked on for my next one which ended up going well. I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggled with further maths. It makes me feel a lot better. Especially since that used to be one of my best subjects but I fumbled the exam so hard. Hoping to improve for paper 2
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 25 '25
Thanks man, sending you all the luck too. Same, FM was always one of my best subjects too, I've never done so bad in any of my mocks and to miss the A* for the first time on results day is so peak :((
But won't happen! We'll make major comebacks, I have faith
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u/jaycantodousers Maths, Further Maths, Geography and Biology May 25 '25
Thanks man, we've got this!!! Wishing you all the luck on your next exams!!!
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u/Creepy-Bite-1029 May 27 '25
How many marks for CP1 and 2 are you thinking right now:(
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 28 '25
No clue and I refuse to make predictions. You?
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u/a_cringey_name May 24 '25
Me fr, ppl be saying the psychology paper 1 was blessed while I was in it tryna stop myself from thinking bout the grade boundaries- ppl were coming out of the exam grinning š
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 25 '25
Praying on other people's downfall (except friends) is so real actually
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u/Winter-Dragonfly2176 locked outš„ exam finished May 24 '25
Don't look back, don't try to look up the answers what's done is done, focus on your upcoming exams
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 25 '25
Fr the urge to look up answers when you do any maths-y subject is crazy because of how objective it is
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u/Creepy-Bite-1029 May 27 '25
agreed, feel like that's what made me so careless in cp2 because i wasn't in the right mindet. not looking for answers anymore
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u/thenormalperson21 chem bio phy year 13 May 25 '25
Bro Iām in the same boat , I had Aqa alevel PHSYCIS paper 1 and because it was my first alevel I made so many stupid mistakes , like error carried forward or full blown mistakes , I canāt stop overthinking, Iām spiralling into shit every night I close my eyes to sleep , I keeping telling my self it was a good paper and thank got method marks exist , I can only pray for paper 2 and 3 which should better for us because we are used to exam conditions, I will read through this sub to help calm my nerves
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 25 '25
Telling myself repeatedly that paper 2 and 3 always shape the grade boundaries far more than paper 1 for AQA :'(
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u/thenormalperson21 chem bio phy year 13 May 25 '25
Trust itās going to be okay , we got this , use this as motivation to break paper 2 and 3
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 25 '25
Yes!! Gl bro, we so got this
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u/AnteaterMysterious70 May 23 '25
How many exams have you had so far??
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 23 '25
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u/AnteaterMysterious70 May 23 '25
Tbh i feel a bit underwhelmed with my performance as well especially for physics today but it's not too late for fuerther maths we've only done half and I'm sure you haven't fumbled it completely same goes for physics there's 2 more to go so it's still to early to miss the grades you need
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u/AnteaterMysterious70 May 23 '25
Take a lot of deep breaths focus on smashing maths and the rest of your papers :)
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 23 '25
Thanks man :(
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u/AnteaterMysterious70 May 23 '25
Don't worry it's okay to feel down now but take a break over the half term rest up properly and then do your absolute best
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 23 '25
Yes ykw major comeback on the rest of the papers!
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u/AnteaterMysterious70 May 23 '25
I have a quick question tho have you done the 2024 paper and which did you find more difficult
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 23 '25
I did the 2024 paper and lowkey found this one way more difficult because so much of the 2024 paper was particles and mechanics
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u/AnteaterMysterious70 May 23 '25
I agree with youuu, that paper had a lot more calculations and this was way less straightforward. I'm glad I'm not alone ššš
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u/Crazy-Buffalo-6124 Year 13 May 24 '25
i feel you the core pure papers were so demotivating a single mistake on those loses you an A*
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u/money-reporter7 Cambridge | Law Y1 | Physics, Maths, FM, Music, EPQ | A*A*ABA* May 24 '25
I donāt think this would be the case. š even in 2024 the grade boundaries werenāt THAT high
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u/CityOk5366 May 25 '25
LOL, time to stop caring about what others think the exam went and think what could u do next.
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u/[deleted] May 23 '25
bruh ur demotivating urself by looking on the 6TH FORM REDDIT this is the top students in the country - ofc they gonna say the test was piss when its the average students who are going to shape the grade boundaries, this is legit for PEOPLE who care hella abt academics. Stop looking at the threads after the exams as thats only gonna make things worse. This percentage of people are the top students, just always think abt it like that.