Top Tips for Revision: A GCSE and A level Student’s Guide to Exam Success
A revision tips blog post in January?
It’s never too early to start planning for summer exams. With most schools in the UK setting mocks in December and January, students should use this opportunity to begin preparation. Leaving it to April or May will often add stress to an already stressful time and can impact final grades.
Revision can feel overwhelming, especially during GCSE and A-level exam years. However, with an early start and the right strategies and support, students can revise more effectively, reduce stress and achieve better results.
Below are some evidence-based revision tips, ideal for students and parents looking for support.
1. Plan Your Revision Early
Creating a realistic revision timetable is essential. Break subjects into manageable topics and spread revision over months rather than cramming. Research shows that spaced practice significantly improves long-term retention.
Cover topics from earlier in the course first.
Make revision notes and flash cards early.
Use short bursts of revision and note taking to cement learning and make recall easier in the run up to exams.
If you start early, finding one or two evenings a week will give you a great head start.
If creating a plan seems a daunting task, a tutor can help set out a timetabled plan for the run up to exams and then either continue support if and when needed, or provide regular check-ins and ensure understanding.
2. Use Active Revision Techniques
Passive reading or watching is far less effective than active recall and practice testing. Techniques such as writing flashcards or making mind maps, sitting past papers and teaching concepts aloud are proven to boost performance.
The more brain effort you use when revising, the higher the level of retention. So take a topic and see if you can present the information in a different format.
Changing a text into a table, or a list into a diagram, requires processing of the information and is more effective than copy pasting notes from a text book into your own workbook.
Try explaining a topic to a parent or friend. Did they understand it?
Can you write out all the important facts without referring to your notes?
3. Practice with Past Exam Papers
Past papers help you understand exam structure, timing and mark schemes. Exam boards such as AQA, Edexcel, and OCR provide official materials on their websites.
Start off practicing questions from older papers and save more recent ones for closer to the exams, when you can use them as timed practice.
4. Look After Your Wellbeing
Sleep, nutrition and breaks are vital. Academic performance is also linked to stress. Starting early removes a lot of the hurdles of last minute cramming and means you enter your exams in a better frame of mind.
Where you work and revise is also important, remove distractions and find a quiet place to work.
It can take up to 23 minutes to refocus after a disruption so make sure your phone is out of the room and on focus mode.
Set out what you’ll need before hand so you’re ready to start.
If you can, work at a desk, not on or near your bed or sofa. This is especially important as you get closer to your exams. You will need a place to relax, between your revision, and working on your bed means when you try to take your mind off work all the reminders are still there…
5. Get Expert Support
Great tutors will help you set up early revision and review timetabling as part of the topic or subject you are getting help with.
But, if you need help setting up a timetable or are looking for help with revision methods and techniques, either in a particular subject or in general, a tutor can help set up a system that works for you. They can provide accountability alongside helping with testing and targeting any knowledge gaps that may exist.
If you would like to find out more, or have any questions about how private tuition can help, please do fill in the contact form and we will be in touch.