Welcome to the business end of the academic year! With only a month to go before the GCSE exams start students should be studying hard…

However, if that isn’t the case yet it’s never too late to get started. So let’s take a look at how to get the GCSE revision basics under your child’s belt.

Revision is all about organisation and planning

During the GCSE revision period we often find that many students struggle with these two key elements no matter what their learning needs and abilities are. This is quite understandable, as for many this will be their first experience of sitting exams across all subjects.

So first and foremost, sit down with your child and talk through their GCSE exam timetable. This will help them (and you) grasp the task in hand. From there, make a realistic revision plan with your child based on how long they have until their exams and how much content they need to revise. Some students find particular subjects heavier than others. For example, many find history and English difficult to revise because of the amount of factual information they have to remember. So be sure to add in as much time as possible to cover everything. Making a solid revision plan will help ensure nothing is forgotten and avoid any last minute cramming sessions.

Establish a routine and stick to it

This is the hard bit! The exams are now graded 1-9 instead of A-E and focus on testing two years’ worth of work. As there is very little coursework left the exams will expect students to display a deeper knowledge of their subjects. In order to cover as much as possible try and help your child stick to their revision plan as much as possible. Many students tend to get bogged down if they discover an area they are struggling with. If they are spending too much time on something encourage them to make a note of it and come back to it later. It also helps to break subjects down into smaller topics to make revision sessions more focused. That way students will feel more encouraged to continue as they can see they are making definite progress.

For more revision tips, take a look at the TES GCSE resources pages. They are full of ideas for students and parents and go into subject specific detail. We wish all our students the very best of luck with their exams and if any additional tuition is needed please do get in touch.