When I got my mock results back, I panicked.

I had visions of getting top marks in my Leaving Cert. And then, unexpectedly, I read out my results, stick them into a calculator to see a total of 430 points.

Shoot. I really panicked to be honest.

But I took a breath. Put my head down for 3 months and kicked on (my story). I went from 430 in my mocks to 625 points in June. Here’s how I did it.

Consistency Beats Cramming

Cramming the night before? Nah. This is a marathon, not a sprint. If you try to cram, you will get frustrated and give up or else you’ll burnout. Studying needs to be consistent, even if its only for 1-2 hours per day. But it’s something that needs to be done every day lads. You won’t see massive progress in a single day, but you will see it over time. If you did only 1 hour between the mocks and June, you’d have over 100 hours of study done! That much work alone would guarantee you a fantastic grade. 12.5% get a H1 in LC HL maths. And only 2-3% of students get 625 in their LC, so it may be difficult but it’s is definitely not impossible. If you feel like you’re way behind other students in your class, try a free grind with us and we’ll give you that extra help you need.

Make the Examiner’s Job Easy

Lads, the reality is that examiners don’t want to correct hundreds of exam papers. It may be their job, but nobody wants to work harder than they have to. The best way to do this is through showing your rough work. Never leave a question blank, but also show your rough work for every. single. question. The examiner follows a marking scheme and they’re ‘ticking the boxes’ when going through your paper to make sure you’ve shown every step. No rough work means no marks. It’s almost like they’re a child and you’re holding their hand and guiding them through the paper to show them each step. You don’t have to embellish your work – just make it clear. The results are given. Check out a video I made on how to outsmart the examiner:

Gladiator Mode

Studying isn’t just mental—it’s physical too. I ate loads of fish for Omega-3 (apparently good for the brain), ran daily, and slept well. I treated myself like an athlete in training. When your body’s in top form, your brain’s in top form too. *Warning* burnout is very real so remember to pace yourself. If you push yourself hard, you risk burning out. But if you’re chasing that massive grade leap, you might need to go all in. Keep an eye on your energy levels—crashing completely won’t do you any favours. When I did my Leaving Cert, I just found it easier to focus when my body was as physically sharp as my mind was mentally sharp. Here’s an article from The Irish Times about managing your stress through sleep, exercise etc.

You WILL Improve… But How Much?

I’ve taught thousands of students over 13 years, and on average, their grades jump up by about 15-20% between the mocks and June. So, if you remember these tips, you will definitely see a boost in your results if you start now. The only question is, how big of a boost do you want? If you’re going for 625, you need to commit to studying. I recommend students begin with the blurting technique. Then, once you have a grasp on each topic, set aside 2 hours and take on a previous exam paper. This is the most effective way to study by far. It familiarises you with the exam and you can see the areas where you struggle the most.

So, with 3 months until the state exams, it’s time to start studying and think about what grade you want to achieve. I’ve given you the methods, now you need to give the effort.

If you want to read more about my thoughts on the Leaving Cert, check out 10 Leaving Cert Myths or watch this video of our tutor Niamh going through a full LC HL exam paper: