Author Archives: Mark Richards
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Parents! How to Help Your Kids Handle the Pressure of Exam Season
Leave a CommentAs exam season kicks off, it’s time for cool heads and calm.
For students, exam season will be (for many) the most nerve-wracking, stressful, and downright horrible few weeks of their young lives so far.
For parents, it can be an extremely difficult period too. It can definitely be a really stressful time for Mum and Dad as well – although don’t expect too much sympathy from your son or daughter!
When parents are stressed and teenagers are stressed, it can make the home a volatile environment, so the big question for any parent is:
How do you help your kids (and yourself) handle the pressure of exam season?
Stay Calm!
You might not feel calm – or anywhere close to it – but regardless of whatever happens over the next few weeks, it is vital that parents stay calm. Now is not the time for falling out and family rows.
Maintain routines and boundaries… but be prepared to bend a little
By this point, most students – either on their own or in collaboration with you – will have worked out a revision timetable.
With a bit of luck, they will be using it already and will stick to it (most do, when it comes down to it). As a parent, it’s part of your role to ensure that your child keeps to the routine of their revision timetable. You might need to gently reinforce the importance of this. You do need to be firm about things but there’s no need to be overbearing.
A ‘we’re in this together’ approach will always work best. Now, more than ever, the family needs be a team working towards a shared goal.
It’s also important to be prepared to bend a little, if necessary.
In an ideal world, the whole exam period will go perfectly and go absolutely swimmingly. However, we all know that life has a nasty habit of not panning out like that!
A bad exam – or one your child feels went badly – can really dent a young person’s confidence and throw them (and everything) of course.
Nobody knows your child better than you do, so instinct and intuition is likely to kick in when necessary. They might need a night off or a day out with the family, a shoulder to cry on, or just a bit of space.
Praise, reassurance and support
Parenting a teenager can sometimes be an unforgiving and thankless task.
But, though it feels like the complete opposite of this sometimes, deep down all teenagers need praise and reassurance, and your complete support.
If they feel supported, they will respond in a positive way! Mind have a good article delving into exam stress, give it a read so that you can understand more how your child may be feeling.
Reward, reward, reward!
You may have seen stories in the media recently about parents paying their kids for good exam results.
Some reports have suggested that parents up and down the country will be shelling out as much as £150million in total as reward for exam grades.
Now, of course, for many families this isn’t really an option, and some might view the whole idea as simply wrong, or nothing more than a bribe.
However, while most teens will work hard of their own accord, sometimes a little bit of extra motivation works wonders – and we’ve spoken about it before here. Ultimately it can help to reinforce the link between the value of hard work and money.
Cash, holidays, driving lessons… there are many ways to incentivise the whole business of exams.
If it works for them, it works for you!
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How to Instil the Importance of Exams Upon Your Students
Leave a CommentHow do you instil the importance of exams upon your students without putting the fear of God into them?
This conundrum is one of the biggest challenges facing teachers today in the classroom.
It’s a real problem because of 3 factors: the nature of teenage life, human nature in general, and the nature of schools.
The Nature of Teenage Life
Young people, it’s worth remembering, go through a lot of change and upheaval during their teenage years. Their bodies are developing; their emotions and minds are developing; and they are beginning to find themselves and their identity.
There’s a lot going on, a lot to handle, and an awful lot to deal with during your teenage years.
Not least the pressure of exams.
Human Nature
The psychology behind our actions and behaviour is extremely complex. However, when it comes down to it – in certain aspects – human nature is really straightforward.
When we are faced with pressure, some people seem to thrive on it – even seeing it as some kind of incentive. In essence, we rise to the challenge.
On the flipside, many of us seem to do the opposite when faced with pressure. We find it really difficult to cope with. In essence, we buckle under the challenge.
That can manifest itself in several different ways. We might try to deny the importance of something or put off dealing with the issue head-on – kind of hoping that whatever it is that is causing us the pressure or stress will somehow magically go away.
Which, of course, it never does.
Part of our ability to deal with challenges in our lives comes from experience.
This makes dealing with pressure especially challenging for teenagers. For more help understanding what’s going on inside the teenage brain, check out this BBC article.
The Nature of Schools
Schools exist under the lingering and looming threat of Ofsted. Not only that, schools are at also the mercy of government decisions and education budgets. All of this piles pressure onto schools.
Under constant pressure to continually improve exam results, the pressure school leadership teams feel feeds down to curriculum team and subject leaders. This, in turn, is passed onto classroom teachers.
And – you’ve guessed it – teachers then pass this pressure down to their students.
Teachers are feeling it, so the students they teach feel it too.
It is a vicious cycle that needs to be broken.
So, What’s the Solution?
In all honesty, there are probably at least another couple of blogs waiting to get out (possibly even a book!) on this topic. We’ve actually posted another blog ourselves on the matter. But to keep things short and sweet here, let’s leave it with this:
Just because exams are important doesn’t mean that we have to talk about them all the time.
We don’t have to mention exams in every lesson or every assembly.
Learning, exam preparation, and performance in exams all have a process. Refine those processes and have faith in them.
Think how an athlete responds after a disappointing result or performance. They don’t panic or make any knee-jerk reactions; they trust in the process that got them there in the first place.
Trust in the process is the key.
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Why is PPA Time Important on a Teacher’s Timetable?
Leave a CommentIt doesn’t really matter what stage of their career they are at – PGCE student or veteran with 20 years of experience in the classroom – all teachers will agree on one thing…
There is just simply never enough time!
There is never enough time to do all the work you have to do. There’s never enough time to do all the work you think you have to do. And there’s definitely never enough time to do all the work you’d like to do.
And it doesn’t matter how much you try to work smarter rather than harder.
It never seems to make any difference.
That’s why PPA time is so important on a teacher’s timetable.
What is PPA and What is it for?
Planning, preparation, and assessment (PPA). This time is a statutory entitlement for all teachers in England and Wales who work under the STPCD (School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document.) Therefore, it applies to most teachers who work in state schools.
PPA time is non-contact time that is allocated on a teacher’s weekly timetable. The statutory requirement is that PPA should amount to at least 10% of their teaching timetable. The National Education Union has more resources on their website if you want to find out even more about PPA.
During the allocated PPA time, teachers cannot be directed by school leaders or managers to do any particular tasks. Teachers should be free to use the time to plan lessons, mark work, or to catch-up on any other work.
Why is PPA time so important in a teachers timetable?
Hours that teachers work and the holidays they get have always been a source of misunderstanding among the general public – and misrepresentation in the media.
Comments such as, ‘All the holidays teachers get!’ or ‘I wish I could just work from 9-3!’ echo in teachers’ ears.
Only if you are a teacher yourself – or live with one – do you truly understand the number of hours that teachers have to put in outside the classroom.
This is why PPA time is absolutely vital.
The idea that all a teacher’s planning, preparation, or marking can somehow be rattled off in a couple of PPA periods a week is an absolute nonsense.
In reality, it isn’t even enough to scratch the surface.
It’s also fair to say that the way PPA is delivered across the nation’s schools is inconsistent. Many schools do allocate more PPA time to their teachers than the statutory requirement. For those who do, this time is seen – as it should be – as absolutely sacrosanct.
However, in some schools there is still an unwritten expectancy that ‘if duty calls’ then PPA time could be either taken away, rearranged – or that teachers might still be directed to do other tasks during their PPA time.
All in all, though, while PPA time is not perfect and not enough… it is something.
Yes, it only goes some way in lessening a teacher’s workload. However, it goes a long way in terms of its benefits for a teacher’s wellbeing. For more advice on how to better your wellbeing as a teacher, check out this blog post.
Even if it just gives a teacher the opportunity to catch their breath during the hectic school day, PPA is well worth it.
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The Easter Holidays: Revise and Re-energise!
Leave a CommentThis year’s exam season is almost upon us: GCSE exams begin the week beginning 6 May, and AS/A levels kick in the week after. That leaves – at the time of writing – just 6 full weeks left before the exams begin. And, of course, 2 of those weeks are not weeks in school or college; they are the Easter holidays.
And that’s the subject of our latest blog – the importance of making the most of the Easter holidays and of using the time to revise and re-energise.
Making the Most of the Easter Holidays
The Easter break really is – excuse the pun – a Godsend!
After a full day at school or college, it’s difficult to do a significant amount of revision in the evening as well because students are bound to be tired.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that once the exams have begun, they come thick and fast – and they really take it out of you, so revising during this period should be no more than a last chance to go over things; a last minute refresher and putting the proverbial final icing on the cake before each exam.
This is why the Easter break is so important. It offers a run of full days that can be used to really knuckle down to some serious revising.
Plan your time carefully and you’ll be able to achieve a lot during the two weeks. Looking for some extra help? Check out our blog post on how to make a revision schedule.
Getting the Balance Right
Not that we are advocating spending entire days revising for two weeks solid!
That is absolutely not what you should be doing!
Yes, as students start ‘the final push’, they are bound to up the ante a bit – but it is vital that students (and families) get the balance right between revision and relaxation.
There’s a tendency to think that all the rewards and free time can come once all the exams are over.
But, in a way, regular rewards are as important as regular revision.
Do a Little a Lot… but do a lot of it!
The general consensus about good exam revision advice is to revise a little a lot.
Regular and frequent short chunks of revision are always going to be more effective than a 12-hour shift of non-stop revision. BBC bitesize has a helpful article on some top revision techniques to help you find a way of revising which works for you.
And scheduling in little rewards and treats are important to keep the motivation going.
You don’t want to feel completely knackered at the end of the Easter break; you want to feel re-energised!
The Home Straight
Once students return to school or college after the Easter break, they really are in the home straight. The start line will now be in sight.
The Easter holiday provides an opportunity for a young person to take stock and assess where they are at in their various subjects.
A few last minute tutoring sessions can often be just the thing to get you fully ‘match ready’.
Sometimes, it’s a just a bit of tweaking, a fresh pair of eyes and a fresh face that can help solve any last minute worries, problems or concerns a student might have in a subject. Get in touch for a chat if you would like to book a tutor.
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What is PHSE?
Leave a CommentPHSE – Personal Social & Health Education – has taken many forms and gone under several different names over the last 30 or so years in our schools.
At various points over that time, it has been pushed to the fore of the curriculum. However, at times it has also been left for schools to ‘fit in somewhere’ – almost as an afterthought – onto the curriculum.
However, one thing has remained constant: its genuine importance.
Of course, exams and results matter. But they don’t guarantee your personal, social, emotional, and economic wellbeing – or your happiness.
Life is a little bit more complicated than that!
And that’s why PHSE is, was, and always will be a really important part of the school curriculum.
PHSE might not be a compulsory exam subject, but you could argue that there is nothing more vital than supporting a young person’s personal, social, and emotional wellbeing.
At the end of the day, is there anything more important than happiness and good health?
Exactly. That’s why PHSE really matters.
Why PHSE is important
Although the fact can get lost sometimes under the relentless focus on exams, exams, and more exams, there has always been much more to schools than just results.
Schools play a crucial role in young people’s personal, social, and emotional development. Not only that, but schools can also support children’s mental health. To find out more about supporting kids’ mental health in schools, check out our blog post on the matter.
Emotional well-being and self-esteem should not be underestimated, not just during your school days but also in later life.
A carefully planned PHSE curriculum delivered well in schools can go a long way in breaking down a young person’s self-limiting beliefs and perceptions. Such a mindset can seriously stifle aspirations and make it much harder to achieve.
Happiness is the key
Happiness in life trumps everything else.
When you are happy, it is much easier to cope with the challenges of GCSEs. When you are happy, you are best placed to thrive in your chosen career. You are also far more likely to be able to build and maintain friendships and relationships.
What brings you happiness is a complex question, and a lot will depend on the individual. However, a common denominator is confidence.
Having confidence in yourself and who you are and the confidence to cope with anything that life throws at you will go a long way in bringing you happiness.
And that’s another reason why PHSE is so important.
No other element of the curriculum has such a focus on the developing ‘the whole person’.
No other subject has the potential to future proof a young person for later life.
Nothing else at school can help young people to develop the resilience, confidence, and emotional intelligence needed to lead a happy and successful life.
The Talk is a new video learning platform aimed at providing teachers with all the information, tools and resources needed to deliver an engaging and modern PHSE syllabus.
The Talk’s vision is to revolutionise the way PHSE education is delivered in schools. The platform is designed to teach young people essential skills for life through dynamic content.
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The Difference Between Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Leave a CommentLearning Objectives and Learning Outcomes have been a fixture of most lessons in schools for close on thirty years now. But there is still a fair bit of confusion around what they are, how they are different, and why they are important.
So, let’s try and make everything crystal clear!
How Are Learning Objectives and Outcomes Different?
In simple terms, an objective sets out the knowledge or skill that is being introduced, developed, and learned by students during the lesson.
The outcome, meanwhile, is the work or evidence that the students will produce during the lesson. Typically, this is used to measure how effectively the objective has been met.
Why are Learning Objectives Important?
It is slightly punitive and unfair to judge the quality of a lesson on its shared learning objective. An appropriate and suitable learning objective has the power to bring all the elements of a quality lesson together.
And many a lesson has lost its effectiveness because of an unclear or inappropriate learning objective.
What Should a Learning Objective Include?
To achieve consistency, many schools instruct their teachers to follow a particular model. Some will ask their staff to frame learning objectives in a certain way. Of course, this makes sense as it helps it to become familiar for the students.
So, there are several possible ways that you can word a lesson or learning objective. And while it’s all just an issue of semantics, there are couple of non-negotiables when it comes to writing a good learning outcome.
Firstly, a learning objective should focus purely on the learning that is going to occur in the lesson. Essentially, lessons should be focused of one of two things: knowledge or skills.
If you want to understand more about which one to focus on, check out this helpful blog about balancing the two.
Include anything else and it will be flannel, superfluous – and quite possibly unclear.
Secondly, learning objectives should always be student-focused.
An objective needs to be concise and accessible for all students. The aim is to make it clear to students the point of the lesson ahead.
To this end, it’s always important to take time at the start of a lesson to introduce and explain the learning objective – especially if there are any specific key words or terminology to be covered in the lesson.
Should Learning Objectives Be Measurable?
Yes, and this is where the learning outcome comes in.
If there is an objective or aim to any lesson, there must be some form of measurement to check that this has been achieved by the end of the lesson.
Therefore, the learning outcome should measure the progress students have made towards meeting the learning objective.
This means that the wording of a learning objective needs to be precise, focused, and really specific to the aspect of knowledge or the skill that the students need to know.
The broader, more general, or less specific an objective is, the less effective the learning will be.
Finally, a learning objective should never be task-driven. Studies around how we learn best indicate that an objective acts like a North star to help guide the learner. If you want to learn more about the science behind learning, check out this article.
Therefore, the objectives are not the activities the students will complete during the lesson.
The objective must come first, this should then be followed up with a sequence of activities that work together and help the students to achieve the objective.
The tasks in the lesson should be seen as the implementation of the learning.
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A New Year’s Resolution, For Teachers… Finally!
Leave a CommentThe new term is underway, and you’re settled back into the swing of things.
Now is the time for teachers to think about setting a New Year’s Resolution or two for the months ahead.
Here are a few suggestions:
New Year’s Resolution Number 1: Be More Organised
Many teachers start the year well but then things start to slide.
Being organised doesn’t necessarily guarantee you will have a great lesson, day, or week, of course. However, if you are continually disorganised and running around chasing your tail, those good and great days will be few and far between.
And the thing with being disorganised is that it never gets better – it always gets worse.
So, Resolution Number 1 has got to be to get more organised!
Whether it’s to try to get to school 5 or 10 minutes earlier, or to vow to keep your desk tidier, any small way that you can try to be more organised will help.
It should even result in you having a calmer and less stressful day.
It will make you feel on top of your workload. For any teacher, this is massive.
If you’d like to read more around how you can get a little more organised on a weekly basis, check out this handy blog from asana!
Resolution Number 2: Take Less Work Home
Work/life balance is a major issue for any teacher. That’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
However, teachers are sometimes their own worst enemies. If you set out to take less work home – either on certain days or at the weekend (occasionally), you will stop the blurring of school and home.
And it might even stop you feeling like you are working all the time.
How do you do this?
You can try to work smarter when you are setting homework to reduce the marking load.
Is there a day of the week when you could stay in school to work later to finish things off and prepare for the next day? It’s a great feeling to get home and know that all your time that evening is for you, your kids, or your partner.
Listen, you’re a teacher, so realistically you’re never going to make every night like that.
But once or twice a week, or just every once in a while, would be nice, wouldn’t it?
Resolution Number 3: Prioritise Your Own Wellbeing
As teachers, we are wired to put our students first. It sometimes seems difficult to prioritise our own mental health and wellbeing. We feel guilty if we put ourselves first.
However, this is the most important resolution of all.
Putting your mental health first will not only make you a better teacher, but it will also make you a better parent, partner, family member, and friend.
You will know what it is that is good for you and what works for your wellbeing, but typically if you try to eat healthily, get regular exercise, and give yourself time to spend on a hobby or interest, you will get a big mental health boost.
It will certainly help to eliminate stress – something we’ve discussed here previously.
You will be happier, have more energy, and be far better placed to take on the challenges of teaching, and whatever else life throws at you.
It’s a no-brainer, isn’t it?
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A Guide for new Year 7 students: What to expect in the first week of high school
Leave a CommentStarting secondary school is a major milestone in anybody’s life. It’s quite possible that it’s the most nerve-wracking event that any 11-year-old has had to face in their young lives up to that point.
For some, there might be a degree of excitement about the prospect of starting at ‘big school’. However, those feelings are likely to be mixed up with a lot of worry, nervousness, and anxiety.
And that’s the first important point to make here: those feelings are completely normal.
It’s totally okay to be feeling that way.
If you talk to your friends about it, you’ll probably find that they are feeling the same way too.
If you talk to an older brother or sister – or your parents – about how they felt about going into secondary school, you’ll probably find that they understand exactly what you are going through because they felt the same way when they were your age.
Don’t bottle your feelings up inside though – talk to people.
It is a bit of a cliché… but it really is good to talk!
The biggest difference: Size and scale
The biggest single difference of secondary school is the sheer size of it.
Typically, Year 6 at your primary school will have been just 1 class of kids. Year 7 at your new high school might have 6, 7, 8… maybe as many as 10 classes (called forms). This means that the year group you are becoming a part of in September could have more kids in it than the entire primary school you have just left!
And remember there are Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 (and possibly a sixth form) as well.
Because of that, everything just seems to be on a much bigger scale at secondary school.
The thing is… your old primary school will have seemed huge to you at first too when you started there.
But before you knew it, you got used to it and knew your way around it like the back of your hand.
The same thing will happen in secondary school. It might take a bit longer, but you’ll get there.
You’ll be given a map of your school and advice about how to get around. In the first few days many schools ask teachers to collect students and take them to classrooms to make it easier for you to get used to it all.
On that note, you won’t just be thrown in at the deep end at all as you begin secondary school. The start of the school year is usually staggered – so you’ll find that on the day you start, there might only be one or two year groups in school. This makes it less overwhelming.
Similarly, Year 7 often have a longer lunch or have it at a different time from the rest of the school for the first few days – again, this is to make you feel more comfortable and to help you get more used to things.
Don’t worry about the ‘rest of the school’ either. Yes, those Year 11s might seem big and scary but, in general, they are far more bothered and interested in each other to give the new Year 7s a thought.
5 lessons a day: Different subjects and teachers
The other major difference between primary and secondary school is that you have different teachers for different subjects. Whereas in primary, you largely found that you stayed in one place with one teacher, there’s a lot more moving about and changing around during the high school day.
This will take some getting used to – but you will get used to it!
Information, information, information
Secondary schools go to lot and time and trouble to make the transition from primary school easier for students. But one thing you can be sure of is that you will be bombarded with a lot of information: rules, policies, expectations, advice – you name it, you’ll get a lot of it in your first week.
Although it might all might seem a bit overwhelming and too much to take in, the good news is that most of this info will also be written down for you – in your planners, on posters, on the school website.
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask your new teachers if you don’t understand something. They are there to help!
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How To Motivate Your Teenager
Leave a CommentDo you struggle to motivate your teenager?
Don’t worry if you do – you’re not alone!
After all, parenting isn’t easy – and it can get particularly difficult during the teenage years.
So, how do you get them motivated? How do you get them to pay attention and try harder at school? How do you get them to put more effort into homework and revision?
And just how do you get them to care about their futures as much as you do?
Well, if we had all the answers, we probably wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing now. We’d be sitting on a beach, sipping cocktails, counting the millions we’d earned from solving the problems of millions of parents the world over…
So, no, we haven’t got a water-tight, fool-proof set of genius answers – unfortunately.
But we have got a few great tips that we know work well…
Rewards and Sanctions
The go-to approach for many parents and teachers is some sort of system of rewards and punishments. Indeed, this is the cornerstone of most school behaviour policies.
The thing is – although the carrot and stick approach seems like a simple way to motivate teenagers – research shows that rewards and punishments don’t usually lead to long-term motivation.
It can have limited, short-term success and – for example – if your teen is currently in Year 11 and approaching their GCSEs, it might just be the thing to give them an incentive for ‘a final push’ before their exams.
However, on the flip side, use them too much and you run the risk of teaching your teenager that they only do something if there’s a reward at the end of it. The reward becomes an expectation.
And that’s a dangerous message to send out when all is said and done!
And, ideally, you want to motivate your teenager from Day 1 of Year 10 rather than just the last few weeks of Year 11. You want to instil in them a love of learning and taking on challenges.
It must come from them.
So, often a different approach is needed.
Inner Motivation is the Key
The secret to motivating your teenager is to fuel their self-motivation. The trick is to develop self-discipline.
The problem with micromanaging your teenager is it soon feels like nagging; the downside of giving pep talks is that they can quickly turn into lectures.
The problem comes with the territory. Most teenagers follow strict rules and schedules. To them, it can often feel like they have little control over their day-to-day routines. This all comes at a time in their lives when they are discovering their personality and developing their individuality.
Their desire for more autonomy and independence is only natural. When they don’t feel as if they are getting this, the result is that many teenagers feel powerless, frustrated, and unmotivated.
Want to know the secret to how to motivate your teenager? Give your teen autonomy
One great way of respecting your teen’s autonomy is to set rules, consequences, and routines together. Another way is to encourage open dialogue and communication. Talk to them and listen to what they have to say – even if it really isn’t what you want to hear!
Creating a positive environment in the home helps teenagers to feel understood rather than judged or criticised. Lack of confidence is often at the root of a lack of motivation. If your teenager is lacking either confidence or motivation in a particular subject, a tutor can be a great help. Get in touch with the TutorRight team to find out more.
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How to Make a Revision Schedule
Leave a Comment“How do I make a revision timetable?” It’s probably one of the most asked questions that students ask teachers and tutors. The bottom line is that there is no single right way to do it. Ultimately, if it works for you, it’s right!
However, there are some basic principles and top tips to follow. If you stick to these, you will be well on the way to creating your perfect revision schedule.
How to Make a Revision Schedule: Guiding Principles to Follow
There are a few guiding principles to bear in mind. Firstly, most of your effort should be focused on the topics/questions that carry the most marks and the topics that you are least confident with.
Secondly, you should measure your progress based on topic coverage, rather than how much time you have spent revising. Finally, be prepared to adapt your revision timetable according to the rate at which you can confidently understand and memorise information.
If you can, go Digital
It’s a really good idea to use Google Calendar. Not only is it available on both Android and iOS but it also means that your revision schedule will always be with you. After all, your smartphone is always with you, right?
The other (even more important) reason is the flexibility it gives you. You can make changes quickly and easily. Although a revision schedule is there to be followed, it isn’t set in stone. It’s likely that you will need to make adjustments to it from time to time. If you use Google Calendar, changes and updates can be made cleanly.
How much time have you got?
You need to figure out how much time you actually have to revise. There is a need to strike a balance between being ambitious and being realistic. You can’t revise every hour of the day. And, even if you feel you need to, it wouldn’t do you any good anyway – you would just burn yourself out.
You need to factor in all your normal commitments and day-to-day activities. Importantly, make sure that you include time for rest, relaxation, and free time. In the weeks and months running up to your exams, you might spend less time on these things – but you should never do away with them completely!
Prioritise by Subject or Topic
You need to decide which subjects you currently feel the most and least confident about. Other factors to consider are where your exams sit on your exam timetable and what your current grades look like. The key to prioritising is being honest about where you’re at right now.
On that note, don’t avoid the topics you are least confident about and find most difficult. In fact, these are exactly the ones you should be prioritising!
Revise a little, a lot
There’s a temptation to say you are going to spend 10 hours revising a certain topic so that you’ll know it inside out. The reality is that such a revision marathon will probably be a waste of time.
It’s much more effective to revise a little, a lot. 30-minute bursts are the best. Of course, momentum is a great thing. Just because you have allocated a 30-minute time slot, it doesn’t mean that you must stop the moment you reach the 30-minute mark. If you have built some momentum up, keep going for a bit longer! Don’t take a break just because your timetable says so – take one when you need it.
Finally, if at first, you don’t succeed, don’t give up!
There are bound to be times when things go wrong: topics you can’t master, sessions you might miss… there will be setbacks – but don’t let these set you back too much.
And remember, a private tutor can really help you make sense of it all. Get in touch if you think you could do with some help. It’s what we’re here for!