Exam and Revision Advice

Today, I'm just going to do a quick post on some advice I would give to someone doing their A levels (or other important exams).

From experience, I can say that whatever the students in the year above you tell you, is the truth. If they say work non stop during the first half term holidays, make sure you work hard during those holidays. If they say spend your entire Christmas holiday revising for January exams, make sure you do that. I didn't pay attention to what they, or my teachers, were saying in the first term and I did barely any work in the half term holidays. Big mistake! Those two weeks (or however long your holiday is) are two of the most important weeks in the first week of A level (except the exams weeks, of course). Make sure you use them effectively!

My second piece of advice is to do past papers! I know everyone says this, but I have to reinforce it. Print off as many past papers as possible! You can even use papers from different exam boards if there aren't many from your exam board. Most subjects cover basically the same things so just skip the questions that your syllabus doesn't cover.

That brings me to my third peice of advice. If your teacher gives you a syllabus or specification at the start of the year, use it. Refer back to it over the course of the year, ticking the things you know as you go. This can be a very useful revision tool when you need to go back over the things you don't understand completely.

Finally, use the teachers. They're there to help you so don't be afraid to ask for it! Also, go to any revision sessions that are planned, even if you only do your homework there, it is useful to have your teacher there to help you. I'm very lucky in that I go to a boarding school (I don't board though) so many of my teachers live on site and are easily accessible.

If I think of any more advice to give you, I'll edit this post and add them in. I hope you found this useful, and please comment if you did so!