Revision Support and Advice

Revision is important to allow students to achieve their full potential. On this page you will find important information and study tips to help make sure you know how to study in the most effective way.

When you revisit information you have learnt the pathway in your brain becomes stronger and stronger every time. Learning new information is just the same as learning a new skill. The more you try the better you become! Like learning to ride a bike or a footballer practising penalties.

Common Revision Mistakes

Scientific studies have shown that 84% of strategies used by students are ineffective. But students continue to use these as they don’t know a better way. Avoid wasting your valuable time of the following strategies:

• Simply reading from a revision guide/website
• Copying out
• Highlighting previously copied notes

Effective Revision Strategies

For learning to really be rooted deeply in your brain you need to challenge your brain a little. Take information and reorganise it or use it in some way. The following strategies have been shown to support active revision. Try them and see what works best for you:

• Making and using flashcards
• Creating and re-reading mind maps
• Completing quizzes- you can use free apps like Kahoot, Blooket & Seneca or you could make your own and get someone to test you on it a few days later.
• Teaching someone else- the ability to do this will show you really do understand something
• Try past exam questions- this is ultimately how you will be examined. Exam questions often test a few different ideas at once so your brain has to work hard to search for the relevant information.

Effective Organisation

• Plan your time- include time for your wellbeing. Plan to spend time with family and friends, to exercise and to watch your favourite TV show. Then organise your study around that.
• Switch it up- mix up your topics to keep your brain alert. Don’t spend hours on the same topic.
• Start revising early and do it in small manageable chunks.

Want more information?

Click this link to GCSE Pod and read further hints and watch video pods on revision tips that are based on scientific research. https://www.gcsepod.com/free-gcse-revision-resources/

We have an Academy subscription for GCSE Pod. Use your chromebooks and click sign in with Google if you are prompted for a log in. As well as revision videos this site is full of subject specific video pods which you can watch. Try turning one of these pods into a set of flashcards!