study Tips

The tests for lower school and Year 10 PPEs are on their way. Year 11s are darting in and out of their classes, tutor and even staying for workshops after school for their GCSEs, and many people may be asking “I don’t know how to revise, I’ve never revised for a test like this before”, and I was in your boat when I was in Year 7, but here’s some of the best advice that can be given, especially for the current Year 7s. 

Have you ever felt that surge of pride when you’ve impressed yourself? When you achieved highly, be it in school or outside, with friends, at a club, etc. When you did better than expected? How did that feel? When it comes to exams, channel that feeling – as anyone would much rather feel that pride and happiness over sadness and annoyance that you did badly, and you can impress yourself in these upcoming exams if you study – push your limits, revise, and more. 

The Lower School Tests are quite like doing your SATS back in Primary School. You might have had outside assistance from tutors, well now it’s up to you to help yourself revise, and it’s actually much easier than you think.

One of the top tips that can be given for studying, and can be used from Year 7 and all the way to Year 11 (or start in Year 11, it is never too late to revise and make sure you achieve grades that you deserve!) in general is find what works for you. Not all revision techniques will work for everyone, so it is incredulously important to make sure you know how and what you should be doing in order to be able to retain the information you are trying to revise.

A quote from Albert Einstein – “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results,” – we can decipher this message into, If you’re struggling to remember the information by revising in the way that you are, try revising in a different method, because the current results you are receiving isn’t giving you the best outcome possible.

There are millions of tactics you can use to revise, much like there are tactics in things you do in life, when it comes to sports, gaming, dance routines, and more. When it comes to studying at home, you can do so many different methods in order to achieve. To list a few, you could create revision flash cards, use online resources such as Seneca Learning, GetRevising.com or Quizlet, creating mindmaps, testing yourself with past papers under timed conditions, and so much more! You just need to find how well you brain clicks with these different methods.

​When it comes to studying in school, you need to just be able to point out times where you can socialise (but at the same time, complete the work provided) and when you need to get your head down and work. Sometimes, it can be difficult to not talk in class, especially if a friend is trying to get your attention; block them out, or better, tell them you are trying to study well and complete the work. Not only will this affect your behaviour levels but you may also notice a rise in your marks and grades when you do mid-term assessments, or better, higher marks in the upcoming exams! 

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