Revision Support

General Information, Presentations and Resources

Revision skills booklet

Six strategies for effective learning

Support your child through GCSE

Information on how young people learn

Year 11 Assembly - Aspirations

Year 11 Assembly - Being and Outstanding Learner

Year 11 Assembly - Mr Men Study Guide

Podcasts

Remember that you have access to GCSE Pod, an amazing revision and consolidation tool with over 27 subjects with a vast range of visual and audio podcasts. 

Click here to visit GCSE Pod today!

GCSE POD - Getting Started

GCSE Pod Student Password Reset

Student Learning - Part 1

Student Learning - Part 2

SENECA

Join 2,000,000 students using Seneca as a fun way to boost your KS3, GCSE & A Level grades. It's free so please take a look. 

https://www.senecalearning.com/

Revision Strategies

All of these strategies have supporting evidence from cognitive psychology. For each strategy, we explain how to do it, some points to consider, and where to find more information.

The revision strategies in green are the most effective revision strategies; those in red/orange are least effective.

Top 10 Most Effective Learning Strategies

This list is ranked from most to least effective:

1. Practice testing (most effective)

2. Distributed practice

3. Interleaved practice

4. Elaborative interrogation

5. Self-explanation

6. Rereading

7. Highlighting

8. Summarisation

9. Keyword mnemonic

10. Imagery for text (least effective)

For further more detailed reading please click here. 

Revision Practice Techniques

Spaced Practice

When revising, make sure you review new and older content. The “sweet spot” of revising is when remembering the content is doable, but requires effort.

More Detailed Information

GCSE Pod Support on Spaced Practice

Retrieval Practice

To use retrieval practice, put away your books/notes and write down all you can remember about a topic. Then, check your answers, adding any missed content.

More Detailed Information

GCSE Pod Support on Retrieval Practice

Elaboration

This technique involves describing and explaining the content in as many details as possible as well as linking it to other topic areas and personal experiences. One straightforward way of using this technique is to pretend you are a teacher and trying to explain the content to a class.

More Detailed Information

Interleaving

Switch between topics and ideas is a way to use interleaving. Do not always revise in the same order - mix it up!

More Detailed Information

GCSE Pod Support on Interleaving

Concrete Examples

When revising, use as many examples as possible, linking the content to each example.

More Detailed Information

Dual Coding

Using different sources of media to learn. For example, the use of flashcards, diagrams, timelines, infographics, mindmaps, videos, podcasts and colours to help revise.

More Detailed Information

GCSE Pod Support on Dual Coding

Revision Tips

Please download this revision tips document

1. Start revising early - i.e. months, not days before the exam. Make a timetable - see further down the page.
2. Don't spend ages making your notes look pretty - this is just wasting your time. For diagrams include all the details you need to learn, but don't try to produce a work of art - limit yourself to 2 or 3 colours!
3. Take short breaks - 25:5 (work 25 minutes, rest 5 minutes)
4. Be organised - make sure you have revision materials. 
5. Stick revision notes all around your house - 'so in the exam you think - "aha, quadratic equations, there were on the fridge....."
6. Get yourself drinks and snacks - so you don't make excuses to stop every 10 minutes
7. Sit at a proper desk - don't try to revise in bed - soon enough you'll be dropping off into the land of nod.
8. Don't put it off - "Procrastination" is a long word for it. And it means rearranging stuff on your desk, getting a sudden urge after 16 years to tidy your room, playing the guitar, thinking about the weekend, painting your toenails, maintaining snapchat streaks etc etc...... Sit down at your desk and GET ON WITH IT.
9. Don't just read your notes - you have to QUIZ YOURSELF!
10. Don't turn yourself into a revision Zombie - if you stop doing anything else but revision you'll into a zombie. It's really important that you keep time to do things you enjoy
11. Do lots of practice papers - This is especially important as you get close to the exams.
12. Find the right environment to revise - NOT in front of the TV. NOT listening to radio. Put your phone away.

Top Five Ways To Deal With Revision Stress

Feeling stressed with the ever-approaching exam season and all the revision associated? Running out of time and sensing brain strain? It’s completely normal to feel that way, but there are ways of coping with such exam stress…

DON’T GO COMPARE

Comparing your revision to date with friends is destined to set you up for worry and panic. “I’ve only read over my notes 27 times” isn’t going to help anyone. Everyone revises at a different pace and with different techniques – if it works for you then you don’t need to think about how everyone else is doing.

HEALTHY BODY HEALTHY MIND

You’ll hear it all the time but eating well and getting regular exercise will de-stress your mind and leave you feeling a lot more productive. We’re not talking a juice-diet combined with 3 hour gym sessions, just little bits here and there – you’ll feel a lot more energetic!

TOP TIP: There’s always time for breakfast! Revising without it is like setting off on a long car journey without filling up the tank!

SLEEP

Don’t underestimate the importance of sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens need on average 8-10 hours sleep EACH NIGHT to function best. So next time you’re on a Netflix binge at 3am, think about what you’d be much better doing!

REVISION-FREE ZONE

To get those much needed hours of sleep, make sure your bed is for resting not working. Being able to wind down is a crucial element of dealing with the pressure of revision and exams. If you’re not revising, there’s not much point spending your time off thinking and worrying about it!

Similarly, if you’re taking a break and catching up with friends – revision is a topic to be avoided!

PLAN IN ADVANCE

Being organised and knowing what you’ve got to cover will save unexpected panic when that topic you HATE pops up 2 days before the exam! Have a go at revision timetabling – sorting what you need to cover into the time you’ve got.

Revision Websites

Please click here to view a range of useful revision sites for a broad range of subject areas. 

Year 11 Key Dates