Dear Parents & Carers
A belated happy New Year and a warm welcome back to all our students.
I have been very pleased to see how well students have settled straight back into their studies this term, especially our exam classes in Years 11 and 13. This is the term when support with revision and exam preparation really kicks in. We offer guided ‘walking, talking’ mocks, a great range of revision sessions, plus targeted work with students who need it. However, the real difference to students’ confidence comes from the work they do outside of the classroom. Revision is a skill which students need to develop in their own way; we teach revision skills but students ultimately must establish what works for them. Having said that, there are general rules which we repeat often and, if followed, should help:
- Little and often – revising two subjects for 15 minutes each, 4 times per week from now on will make a huge difference by the time the exams start.
- Targeted revision – revising must be specific. Revising maths for 15 minutes won’t work. Spending 15 minutes mastering quadratic equations will. Ask your child specifically what they will achieve in the 15 minutes and help them avoid aimlessly staring at a book with no purpose.
- It is all about effort – students can’t control what will be asked in the exam, the mark scheme or their grade. They can only control the effort they put in, so our feedback to them should praise or challenge them on effort rather than outcomes. If they genuinely try hard, the outcomes tend to be what they want.
As ever, we will be giving all the guidance and support we can, and please do contact tutors or subject teachers should you need anything more. Revision guides are available through the library as well as on the high street and we have a range of online revision resources to make it easier, these can be found on the revision page of our website along with further help and support.
The sooner students start thinking about revision, even for that short time a few evenings per week, the more confident they will be during the exam season in a few months.
With best wishes
Andy Perry – Head Teacher
Click here to return to the current newsletter
