Getting Ready for Revision– Advice to Students

• Start revision early. The sooner you start the less you will have to do each day and the less stressed out you will be.

• The most important thing is to make a realistic revision timetable that you will stick to.

• Get one good revision book or aid for every subject.   They do much of the initial work for you by breaking the subject down into ‘do-able’ chunks.

Time Management

Reviewing previous work helps you move information from your short-term memory to your long term memory

1. Split your revision time into small sessions

2. Take small breaks

3. Review previous sessions

4. Briefly review previous days revision

5. Each week, dedicate a session to reviewing your revision from the previous week

Reviewing previous work helps you move information from your short-term memory to your long term memory

Where should students revise?

• Try and work in the same place each time and ensure that it has:

• No distractions e.g. TV or family members.

• A proper surface to work on at the right height.

• Enough light to see by comfortably without peering.

Go to all lessons and make them work for you –especially the ones you don’t like or find hard.

When your teachers tell you about exam technique – try them all out to see which one will work for you best (it might even be the one you thought wouldn’t work).   The key thing is to reduce the notes you work from to a single A4 by the night before the exam.

Match the revision notes you make to the sort of questions you will be asked.   Get hold of old papers (ask teachers which websites to look at).

Have a clear goal for each revision period.   For example –‘at the end of these 2 hours I will be able to label a diagram of the heart and answer a question on how the heart works.’

Have a start and finish time –and stick to it!

Get into the routine of following your revision plan –if you really don’t feel like it, tell yourself you will do 15 minutes and then decide whether to carry on.  At least you will have done fifteen minutes.

STOP and take a break if you are becoming frustrated, angry or overwhelmed.   Put aside the problem.

Don’t waste time struggling – note down anything you are finding hard and take it into your next lesson and ask your teachers.

DO NOT BE INFLUENCED BY FRIENDS WHO TALK ABOUT HOW LITTLE WORK THEY ARE DOING.   

Get your head down – your results don’t matter to your friends –but they are crucial to your future.                                                                                                                   

Tell yourself it’s not for long and think about that long summer holidays.

Make yourself start however much you don’t want to –the hardest bit is over with then.

What you can do as parents/ carers to help support your child through their exams

• Ensure that your child attends school regularly and completes all homework set.

• Ensure that your child attends subject support sessions.

• Show an interest in what they are doing –you don’t need to understand it!

• Support your child with revision.

• Plan family time e.g. holidays and visits to relatives around their revision not the other way round.

The most important role you will play is that of the person who will support your child through the exams and be proud of them whatever happens. Studies show that high parental interest is linked with better exam results.

How can I help my child cope with exam stress?

Encourage them not to be frightened of exam stress, but to see it as a positive force - after all, it keeps them on their toes mentally, and can help them focus on the task in hand.

Learn to recognise when they are stressing out, and understand its causes. Often, am break or a chat with someone who knows the pressure they are under will get things into perspective.

Make sure that they get a good night’s sleep before each exam - it will be much easier for them to concentrate during the exam if they are not feeling too tired.

Encourage them to eat healthily during their revision and exams: Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Bananas are brilliant for brains!

Avoid caffeine, especially energy drinks, it makes stress worse and it dehydrates their brains.