Thousands of youngsters across the North East will be nervously preparing for their GCSE exams.

But Top Class is giving pupils a head start by finding out what the examiner will be expecting and how to pick up some easy marks.

We have teamed up with SAM Learning to give pupils an insight into the mind of the examiner and find out on what they could be marked up or down.

Former examiner David Jaffa, founder of SAM Learning, said: "If you want to do well, the first thing you need is a little inside information about how exams are marked.

"Examiners use something called a mark scheme for each question, which is a list of points they will award marks for.

"If your answers are on their mark-scheme, you'll get the marks. And if not, you won't. It's as simple as that.

"The good news is there are lots of easy marks.

"For example, there are marks in maths exams for writing down your method even if you get the answer wrong.

"In science, there are often extra marks for writing down units. For example, the answer `3cm' would score one more mark than `3'.

"In English comprehension, back up each of your points with a quote. There is an extra mark for each quote.

"And in English essays go through your answer at the end and make some corrections - you'll get extra marks simply for doing this.

"Never leave a blank. If you're not sure about an answer, guess. Examiners are surprisingly generous and usually award marks if your answer is not quite right but they can see you're on the right lines.

"But you won't get any marks if you leave a blank. Even if your answer is completely wrong you can't score less than that. So you've nothing to lose by guessing."

However, one of the best ways to understand what examiners will and will not award marks for is to do some exam practice.

"If you're lucky enough to go to a private school or have a private tutor, they'll probably spend a lot of time taking you through past exam papers," explained Mr Jaffa.

"If you're at state school you could ask your teachers to take you through some past exam papers, especially if they have experience as an examiner.

"Also, revision websites are accessible from school and home computers.

"SAM Learning (, for example, contains loads of exam-style questions and mark schemes designed so you can mark your own answers and get a level or grade.

"In fact `SAM' stands for Self-Assessment Method because it's by marking your own answers - self-assessment - that you learn what the examiner is looking for.

"There are even examiners' hints to help with the hard bits. Many students get stressed about exams and the best antidote is to find out what you're up against. So if you're feeling stressed, simply do some exam practice."