Top tips for revision

With exams not far around the corner, James Ralphs, Head of Sixth Form, has provided some top tips to help guide you and your child through their revision. However, it is important to encourage their independence, so please remember that, while you naturally want your child to succeed, they are the one doing the revision, not you!

Plan ahead

By now your child should know the exact date for each of their summer exams. Referring to the subject syllabus, they may wish to start by identifying all of the different topics that they need to know. Before each exam, they will need to have written their own revision notes, learned them and tested themselves using questions from past exam papers. Each stage will take longer than they might think, so it’s vital that they plan ahead to leave themselves enough time for all stages.  

Be concise, not expansive

When revising it can be tempting for your child to just copy out the class notes they have in their folders. Pupils do this as it requires less effort and concentration. While there are merits in repetition (as shown by Atkinson and Shiffrin’s Multi Store Model of Memory), learning a large amount of information is very difficult. Therefore, to ensure your child can anchor the content in their long-term memory, they need to condense their notes into manageable chunks. These chunks should also contain trigger words that will help them remember the whole topic area. 

Flash cards or mind maps?

There are many different ways for your child to condense their classroom notes. It is important that they find the method that suits them best. Flash cards can be useful for listing trigger words or phrases that link to an overarching topic. Triggers can be equations or other key terms too, any of which can be very useful as a quickfire way of testing their memory. Mind maps allow your child to draw links between concepts and examples that create visual ways for remembering essay plans.

Tutorials would be the perfect opportunity for your child to discuss methods of revision with their tutor and decide upon the one that works best for them.

Have a regular routine

When freed from the daily routine of school life it can be difficult for your child to be strict and get down to revision – especially during the Easter holidays. Building on the ‘Plan aheadI’ section, suggest, when you are consulted, that they make a revision timetable that clearly identifies which topics and subjects they are going to be revising – and when. Ensure that they think about scheduling in regular breaks throughout the day and mix up the subjects that they are covering, so that they don’t get bored.

Find a productive working environment

It can be tempting to revise with friends, but we all know this will eventually lead to distraction. Your role is to encourage your child to find a place where they will be able to work uninterrupted for the period of time that aligns with their revision timetable.

When revising at school, you might like to advise them to mix up where they work and put themselves in a location, such as a subject room, where they can get help from their teachers.

Make time for testing

This doesn’t have to mean writing out an essay or completing a whole past paper. It can take the form of verbally recalling a set of flash cards that they have just learned or writing out a detailed plan for an essay. As the start date for their exams gets nearer, it is important that they practise completing past papers in exam conditions too. They should practise writing their answers to a constricted timeframe or without their notes, then go through them with a mark scheme and revisit any revision notes that they were unable to recall. Exemplar past papers can be found on each exam board’s website.

And finally ... PUT THE PHONE AWAY!

Sharing another Snapchat or checking whether friends have updated their Instagram story can be a tempting way to procrastinate. Suggest that they turn off the Wifi on their laptop and put their phone on the other side of the room – in flight mode. This will help them to work distraction-free. There is a lot of work to be done, and this simple action will allow your child to concentrate undisturbed – and help them to be more successful in their exams. Plus it may have benefits for the rest of the family too!

"You just don't understand" - Part Two

In part two of her blog about teenage girls, Edrys Barkham focuses on the years from GCSE onwards...

GCSE is about as close as we get in Western society to a rite of passage. It is an ordeal and requires perseverance and persistence from 16-year-olds. It requires her managing fear of failure and self-doubt, and understanding that supporting others helps to support herself. Sharing exam technique and revision practices can bring a year group together and it is through this that girls start to develop further a sense of responsibility for themselves and for others. It’s the recognition that they have to do past papers not for their teacher or to please their parents, but to improve their own understanding of the subject and exam requirements. Working with friends allows them to identify what they do understand and where they need to do more. Learning ways to manage exam nerves and cope with a fear of failure are all critical life skills that are honed through the exam year.

Girls throughout early adolescence will dump their emotional load on their mothers and, having done so, move back into their social life feeling relieved, leaving their mothers as emotional wrecks. I would receive a ‘distraught’ phone call from mum saying her daughter was in floods of tears and really struggling. I would rush into the boarding house and discover them dancing on their desk or laughing with their friends. When I called mum to tell her this it always sounded so implausible; today, I’d be able to email video footage, which might be the solution to convince mums that their distressed daughter is actually fine!

For A3 (year 12) returning to the Sixth Form armed with a string of numbers from GCSE results that they recognise as part of their adult identity, but that don't totally define them as a person, improves teenagers’ self-esteem and confidence. Having selected their subjects for study, school now is more about personal achievement than doing what everyone else is doing. During A3 they are more confident to express themselves as an individual in both appearance and opinion.  They are more secure to do things on their own, there is often less antagonism with parents, but disagreements can be vigorous as they feel more independent and adult, confident in their own opinions and ideas, and more focused on what they want to achieve.

During the final A2 year (year 13) there tends to be better and more adult communication with parents; girls feel more established as individuals and begin to enjoy taking more responsibility in looking after others. The year group usually finds a new cohesion and all the different personalities and characters become more interconnected and tolerant of each other’s differences. They take on the shared responsibility of the community and discuss their thoughts and ideas more freely with their parents. Our girls leave us as young adults, generally comfortable in their own skins, confident in their strengths, but not arrogant about their talents and ready to contribute positively to their society.

The five-year journey can be calm and gentle, or it can be tumultuous and chaotic, or it can be a mixture. The relationship between the parent and child changes and develops throughout this time, but the skilled and highly experienced hsms and tutors here at Bryanston will help you and your daughter find a route through adolescence, so that you can enjoy a well-deserved and long-lasting adult relationship.

Top tips for navigating the Higher Education application process

We asked our Head of Sixth Form, James Ralphs, for his advice to pupils who are navigating their way through the Higher Education application process.

Life in the sixth form is an exciting period in every pupil’s life and a time when you decide where you are going to study and live for the next three to four years, away from the clutches of your hsm, tutor and even matron! However, these choices can be daunting and difficult; therefore it is sometimes tempting to put them to the back of your mind rather than be proactive.

To combat this, here are some tips for applying to university:

1.    Choose your course first

It is essential that you decide upon a Higher Education course that suits your needs before you start looking at individual universities. You will be studying for a further three to four years, therefore it is important that you chose a course which you are interested in. Is there a subject which you have been studying in the sixth form that you would like to continue with? Do you need a vocational degree to enable you to fulfil a career aspiration?  Would studying a combination of subjects that complement each other be of interest? Spend your A3 year exploring all of these options, using the BridgeU website to ensure an informed decision is made.

Key terms:

BA (Bachelor of Arts): Includes the arts and humanities subjects, such as English, History, and the social sciences.

BSc (Bachelor of Science): Includes more scientific subjects. Admissions requirements usually include Maths or a science subject at A level or Higher Level IB.

Joint honours: These degree courses allow you to study two (or more) subjects conjointly, as one degree e.g. French and Management

Foundation degree/Foundation year: Either a stand-alone qualification that can be ‘topped-up’ to become a full degree at a later date, or the first year of a four-year course (often in e.g. Engineering-related subjects).

Sandwich course: Four-year degree courses, where some of the studies take place in industry or abroad.

Vocational degree: A degree that allows students to study for qualifications for a particular profession. For example; Medicine, Law (LLB) or Architecture.

Degree apprenticeship: These level 6 apprenticeships are joint ventures between an employer (who funds your degree and your training) and a university. They are increasingly available as a form of employment, especially in the finance and technical sectors.

2.    Don’t be a sheep

Once you have chosen your subject area (in discussion with your tutor), the next task is to decide where you will study. It is easy to be tempted to follow your friends or siblings to their chosen university. However this decision needs to be based on your own preferences. Would you prefer a campus or city university? Does the size of the class matter to you? Would you like to be based close to home, or have easy access to sports facilities? Check league tables to find the best universities for your subject area. Remember to look beyond the Russell Group; you may be surprised by some of the universities that rank highly for particular courses. The Complete University Guide website is one useful starting place for research, as it allows you to filter the universities by subject.

3.    Go and visit the universities

Before deciding upon your five chosen universities you really should go and visit them. They will offer a variety of open and taster days throughout the year. It is wise to take your parents along with you. You may worry that they may cramp your style but they will probably pick up on some of the points you miss and ask those embarrassing, but important, questions. Try as much as possible to do this during the school holidays. Missing valuable lesson time will make achieving the entry requirements even more difficult.

4.    Immerse yourself in your subject

Some courses can be very competitive. Make the most of your A3 year to build knowledge and experience that will allow you to stand out as an applicant. The Bryanston Higher Education Guide includes reading lists for a wide variety of courses. Speak to the head of department for your chosen subject for advice on how you could improve your academic profile. Are there any talks or courses you could attend to gain insight and emphasise that you would be an excellent candidate for your chosen university? Remember, universities are interested in you as a well-rounded person as well as your academic results.

Detailed guides on preparing for Higher Education, choosing your course and applying through UCAS can be found on the Higher Education page of the Bryanston website.