Top Tips for Exam Season

Hi everyone - Charlotte here! As we’re entering exam season (and as someone who sat their exams not so long ago), I wanted to write this blog to give you all my top tips for exam season. You may have heard lots of them before, and they may not all work for you personally, as everyone is different, but here’s what helped me, and hopefully, it may help you too!

Revision Tips

Take revision breaks little and often

I’m sure that you’ve heard this from everyone that you’ve ever spoken to about your exams, but small, frequent breaks are a must to keep your mind fresh. If you can get outdoors for some fresh air, then that’s even better. Decide how long you want your break to be before you take it, so you know what time you’re getting back to it. It may also be a good idea to set a cut-off time in the day, at which point you stop revising, giving yourself the evening to relax - it’s so important not to overdo it. Plus, reward yourself! Revision can be tough, so giving yourself incentives can be really helpful. For example, “If I manage to get through all of this topic this afternoon, I’ll meet up with my friend later” or “I’ll treat myself to a brownie”. Whatever motivates you really!

A change of scenery can really help

This may not be helpful for everyone, or even possible for everyone, but sometimes a change of scenery can do the world of good. If you feel a bit claustrophobic in the room that you’re studying in, perhaps try moving to a different space - I used to love revising in the garden! As I say, this may not be for everyone, but it’s worth a try if you can.

Try revising with others

This is another one that may work really well for some people, and not at all for others, and I can understand why it wouldn’t work for everyone, as it’s SO easy to get distracted. Having said that, if you find the right group of people to study with, it can be a great way to keep yourself (and each other) motivated. It can help you to take accountability for your revision, and not give up as soon as you get a bit bored, so once again, it’s worth a shot.

Try not to go snack-crazy

Having mentioned brownies earlier, it’s worth saying that those revision snacks should be in moderation. Honestly, downing 5 energy drinks is not going to help you with your revision . Nor will eating 6 subway cookies before your Spanish speaking GCSE (totally not speaking from experience, obviously). In all seriousness though, the last thing you want to do is go into an exam feeling sick from eating too many sweet things or suffer from a sugar crash. Having said that, I’m all for recommending a bit of dark chocolate to help with that brain power!

Exam Tips

Always get an early night

Resist the temptation to keep revising until midnight. As cliché as it sounds, if you don’t know it the night before, you’re not going to know it the next day, so be sure to set boundaries and get an early night. Try to start winding down at least an hour before going to sleep, ideally avoiding screen-time - you’ll be so thankful when you feel rested the next day. If you’re lying in bed trying to get to sleep but you just can’t, try to relax, there’s no point getting stressed, and you will still be okay the next day.

Double check the time of your exam

Yes, I know this sounds like an obvious one, but I convinced myself that one of my GCSE papers was in the afternoon, when it was in fact in the morning. Thank goodness for that final check the night before! Make sure that you leave plenty of time to get to the exam as well - it’s better to arrive early than late!

Move on

If there’s a question that you’re finding too hard, move on and come back to it. Find a question that you can answer to get into the swing of things, and then go back to the ones that you’ve found more difficult. It’s also important to make sure you spend more time on questions with more marks available, so don’t waste all of your time on smaller questions. Speaking of moving on, try not to dwell on the paper after it’s over. Inevitably, everyone will come out of the exam hall and start comparing answers - “what did you get for question 8???” but don’t stress if you have a different answer to other people, the exam is over now and there’s nothing more that you can do other than revise for your next papers.

And breathe…

I know that it’s easier said than done (believe me, I’ve been there), but try to stay as calm as you can, as this is what will help you to focus on each question. While we’re on that subject, really take the time to read the questions properly, and take a moment to figure out what it’s asking you to answer, and what content it wants you to include.

From all of the team here at Staffroom, we really do wish you the very best of luck with your exams. Believe in yourself, and you’re halfway there!