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St Margaret Ward
Catholic Academy
St Margaret Ward
Catholic Academy
Exam season can be a busy time and planning your revision can appear a challenge, but being prepared is the key to your success. With a personalised exam revision plan, you can go into your exams feeling fully prepared and ready to succeed.
Follow our tips and tricks on how to plan your exam revision.
Timetabling the weeks leading up to your exams is an excellent way to make the most of your study time and feel more organised. Here are our top tips on how to manage your study time.
Creating a revision timetable is a gamechanger. By breaking down your subjects and dedicating each day to a specific topic, you can effectively manage your time and stay focused.
It’s important to remember that your revision timetable should be realistic and tailored to suit your own needs. For example, in addition to revising your subjects, make sure to allocate time for activities you enjoy, such as exercising or spending time with friends.
Revising at a time that suits you is the best way to study. Mornings might work best for you, freeing up your evenings to relax – or you might find your brain power is best used in the evening. Just remember, your revision timetable should be personalised to fit your preferences and routine. It’s also important to ensure you’re getting enough sleep, as rest is crucial for memory retention and focus, helping you make the most of your revision time. Additionally, try to eliminate distractions like mobile phones and the TV while revising, as these can limit your concentration and reduce the effectiveness of your revision.
Once you’ve received your exam timetable, you could plan your revision in the order your exams are scheduled – this will help you stay organised and focused.
Another approach is to tackle your strongest subjects first, helping you build confidence and stay in a positive mindset. You can then focus on the subjects you find more challenging later once you feel more prepared and focused. Tailoring your plan to your strengths and preferences can make all the difference.
Deciding how long to spend on each revision session can be tricky. Shorter sessions, such as 20-30 minutes of focused work followed by a five-minute break, are much more effective than long study sessions where it is easy to lose focus.
Revising in smaller chunks is a great way to make large study sessions seem more digestible. However, what works for one person might not work for another. You might find 20-30 minute study sessions are too short, so adjust your revision time to suit your preferences.
The key is to experiment and find a routine that keeps you motivated and productive.
Creating a revision timetable is a great way to make the most of your time while ensuring you also schedule time for rest, relaxation, and other commitments.
Teachers at school also have a variety of resources available to help you, including past papers, knowledge organisers, and revision templates. Additionally, there is work available on Microsoft Teams to assist you with your revision.
First and foremost, it’s normal for everyone to feel worried, anxious or stressed during exam times. To help you, it’s vital to share your worries with someone you trust. Whether it’s a friend, parent, guardian, teacher, or another trusted adult, talking about how you’re feeling can really help. It is important that you speak up and share how you are feeling. It’s not good for you to bottle things up until they explode.
If you’re struggling, reaching out to someone is key and we would first suggest that you speak to an adult in school. They can help you to put things into perspective, and also give you hints and tips over what to prioritise in the next few days or weeks. We would also advise you to talk to a parent or carer about how you are feeling. This helps to share things, to build your resilience and also to keep you calm. At times, when people do get over-stressed, they make rash decisions.
Our advice is to speak to someone in school or at home. We can always point you in the right direction and help, after all, this is what we are here for! Bottling something up is not good for you physically or your own headspace. Speaking up and sharing really helps.
You may find this website helpful: https://combinedwellbeing.org.uk/da-young-people-detail/
If you need immediate support, you can contact Childline to speak with a counsellor. Their service is available 24/7, offering help whenever you need it.