CGP Revision Cards: The Essential Guide To Smarter Studying (And A Better Alternative Most Students Don’t Know About) – Before you buy another box of cards, read this and see how to upgrade your revision.

CGP Revision Cards Are Good… But You Can Do Even Better

CGP revision cards are kind of a classic at this point – colourful, simple, and way better than staring at a blank page.

But here’s the honest truth: physical cards have limits.

You lose them.

You can’t search them.

You can’t get reminders.

And they definitely don’t adapt to what you personally keep forgetting.

That’s where a smarter upgrade comes in: using a flashcard app that does all the boring stuff for you.

If you want that CGP-style revision but supercharged, check out Flashrecall on iPhone and iPad:

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

It gives you the same idea as CGP revision cards, but with:

• Automatic spaced repetition
• Active recall built in
• Study reminders
• Instant cards from PDFs, images, YouTube, and more

Let’s break it down properly.

CGP Revision Cards: What They’re Great For

To be fair, CGP revision cards are popular for a reason:

• Clear, bite-sized info – Perfect for topics like GCSE sciences, maths, and A‑Level content.
• Pre-made – No need to sit and design your own from scratch if you’re short on time.
• Good for quick testing – You can flip through with a friend or test yourself.
• Nice for screen breaks – If you’re sick of looking at a laptop all day.

If you just want something simple to hold and read, they do the job.

But if you want to actually remember things long-term and study more efficiently, they’re missing a few powerful ingredients.

The Big Problem With Physical Revision Cards

Here’s where CGP cards (and any paper cards) start to fall short:

1. No Smart Spaced Repetition

The most efficient way to revise is spaced repetition:

• Review hard stuff more often
• Review easy stuff less often
• See each card right before you’re about to forget it

With physical cards, you have to manually guess when to review what.

Result: you either over-review (waste time) or under-review (forget everything).

2. No Tracking What You Actually Know

Paper cards can’t:

• Track which topics you’re weak on
• Show you stats
• Automatically prioritise difficult cards

You just keep flipping and hoping for the best.

3. Hard To Update Or Customise

What if:

• Your teacher explains something better than the card?
• You want to add your own example?
• The spec changes?

With paper, you’re scribbling, rewriting, or buying new cards.

4. You Can’t Bring Everything Everywhere

You’re not carrying 5 boxes of CGP cards to school, the bus, your friend’s house, and your nan’s.

But you do always have your phone.

How Flashrecall Gives You “CGP-Style” Revision, But Smarter

Flashrecall basically takes the idea of revision cards and gives it a brain.

👉 Download it here (free to start):

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

Here’s how it helps:

1. Built-In Spaced Repetition (So You Don’t Have To Think About It)

Flashrecall has automatic spaced repetition baked in.

You just:

1. Study your cards

2. Rate how well you remembered each one

3. Flashrecall schedules the next review for you

Hard cards come back sooner.

Easy cards come back later.

You don’t have to remember when to revise – the app does it.

2. Active Recall Done For You

You don’t just read cards in Flashrecall. The app is designed around active recall – actually pulling the answer from your brain before you see it.

• Question on front
• You try to answer in your head
• Then you reveal the back and rate how you did

This is exactly what revision experts recommend, and Flashrecall makes it the default way you study.

3. Study Reminders (So You Don’t “Forget To Remember”)

You know that “I’ll revise later” lie we all tell ourselves?

Flashrecall helps with that.

• You can set study reminders
• The app nudges you when reviews are due
• No more realising at 11pm that you haven’t revised all day

Perfect for exam season when everything feels chaotic.

How To Combine CGP Revision Cards With Flashrecall

You don’t even have to choose one or the other. You can use CGP and Flashrecall together.

Option 1: Turn Your CGP Cards Into Digital Cards (Fast)

Flashrecall lets you create flashcards instantly from images.

You can:

• Take a photo of a CGP revision card
• Let Flashrecall turn it into a digital flashcard
• Then study it with spaced repetition and reminders

You keep the CGP content, but with all the smart features on top.

Option 2: Build Your Own Decks From CGP Notes

If you prefer to rewrite in your own words (which is actually great for memory), you can:

• Read a CGP card
• Summarise the key idea into a question + answer
• Type it into Flashrecall as a new flashcard

This forces you to process the information, not just copy it – and that alone makes you remember it better.

Flashrecall vs CGP Revision Cards: Quick Comparison

Cool Things You Can Do In Flashrecall That CGP Can’t

This is where it gets fun.

1. Make Flashcards From Literally Anything

With Flashrecall, you can create cards from:

• Images – textbook pages, handwritten notes, CGP pages
• Text – copy-paste from notes, websites, or docs
• Audio – great for language learning or lectures
• PDFs – upload and turn key bits into cards
• YouTube links – grab info from videos and turn them into revision cards
• Typed prompts – tell Flashrecall what you’re studying and generate cards

You’re not stuck with just one source. If it has information, you can probably turn it into flashcards.

2. Chat With Your Flashcards When You’re Stuck

One of the coolest features:

If you’re unsure about a card, you can chat with the flashcard.

Example:

• Card says: “Explain osmosis.”
• You’re like: “I kind of get it, but not really.”
• You can ask follow-up questions in the app to get a clearer explanation, extra examples, or simpler wording.

It’s like having a mini tutor sitting inside your deck.

3. Perfect For Any Subject (Not Just Exams)

CGP is mainly GCSE/A‑Level focused.

Flashrecall works for basically anything:

• School subjects
• University courses
• Medicine and nursing
• Law, business, finance
• Languages (vocab, phrases, grammar)
• Tech skills, coding, certifications

Once you’ve got your decks, you can keep using them for years.

Example: Turning CGP-Style Content Into Flashrecall Cards

Let’s say you’re revising GCSE Biology with CGP.

Topic: Enzymes

Instead of just reading the page, you might create cards like:

• Q: What is an enzyme?

• Q: How does temperature affect enzyme activity?

• Q: What is the “lock and key” model?

You add these into Flashrecall, study them with spaced repetition, and actually remember them for the exam instead of cramming and forgetting.

Why Most Students End Up Preferring Digital Cards

Once you switch from pure paper to a smart app, a few things usually happen:

• You revise more often because your phone is always with you
• You waste less time because the app shows you what you actually need to review
• You feel less stressed because you can see your progress and know you’re on track

You still get that flashcard feeling, but with way more control and less guesswork.

So… Should You Still Use CGP Revision Cards?

Use them if:

• You like having something physical
• You want a quick overview of a subject
• You’re just getting started and need structure

But if you actually want to:

• Learn faster
• Remember more with less effort
• Keep everything in one place
• Be reminded when it’s time to revise

Then you’ll get way more long-term value from using an app like Flashrecall.

Try Flashrecall With Your Next Study Session

You don’t have to throw away your CGP cards.

Just upgrade how you use them.

• Snap photos of key cards
• Turn your notes into flashcards
• Let spaced repetition and reminders handle the rest

Grab Flashrecall here (free to start):

👉 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashrecall-study-flashcards/id6746757085

Use CGP for content.

Use Flashrecall for memory.

That combo is seriously powerful.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the fastest way to create flashcards?

Manually typing cards works but takes time. Many students now use AI generators that turn notes into flashcards instantly. Flashrecall does this automatically from text, images, or PDFs.

Is there a free flashcard app?

Yes. Flashrecall is free and lets you create flashcards from images, text, prompts, audio, PDFs, and YouTube videos.

How do I start spaced repetition?

You can manually schedule your reviews, but most people use apps that automate this. Flashrecall uses built-in spaced repetition so you review cards at the perfect time.

What is active recall and how does it work?

Active recall is the process of actively retrieving information from memory rather than passively reviewing it. Flashrecall forces proper active recall by making you think before revealing answers, then uses spaced repetition to optimize your review schedule.

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