Don’t Compare Yourself to Your Peers, Run Your Own Race

"Who got the highest mark? What did your friend get? What is the class average? Am I the lowest in the class?"

I hear this ALL. THE. TIME. A bit of competition is healthy, but constantly comparing yourself to others can quickly turn into envy and lower your motivation.

Remember, mathematically speaking (of course I am a maths teacher), your class is a tiny sample.

You might be 15th out of 20 students and think you are terrible at the subject. But what if you happen to be in an incredibly strong class? Equally, being top of your class does not automatically mean you are performing at the highest level nationally.

Ultimately GCSE and A-levels are national exams alongside tens of thousands of other students. Your class ranking really does not matter.

More importantly, do not let someone else’s result take away from your own progress. If you improved from the last test - either you didn't make the same mistake, or even you have built better learning/revision/sleeping habits, that is something to be proud of. Run Your Own Race.

If someone is doing better than you, learn from them. Ask how they revise, what resources they use, or revise together. Turn comparison into something useful rather than envy, that is the biggest hurdle your mind has to jump.

Compare yourself to your previous self.

Aim high. Learn from the people around you, but RUN YOUR OWN RACE.

Who Am I

I am a qualified Mathematics teacher with a decade of experience teaching GCSE and A level Maths, including Further Maths. I have worked with students across a wide range of abilities, from those finding A level Maths challenging to those aiming for the very top grades.

I created BF Maths to support students who want to take more control of their learning.