How to Prepare for Exams

The past two years have been very difficult for all school students, but especially difficult for the older students doing their GCSEs and A-Levels many have gaps in their knowledge due to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, many students will be sitting official exams for the first time this summer, which can be daunting at the best of times, but perhaps even more so now. Therefore, in this blog we will share some exam tips and ways in which we can help.

 As the saying goes – practice makes perfect – therefore a great place to start is by doing past papers. Past papers, as well as the marking schemes, are easily available to everyone from the official examination board websites (linked below).  Meaning that your child can download a paper, complete it to the best of their ability, and then check the answers. This way students can get comfortable with the layout, exam time limit, language used in questions, and find out what knowledge they may be missing. Our tutors can work through past papers with students and get into the details of the content as well as the exam skills needed to answer questions well.

Many subjects require the student to clearly and coherently answer questions (in written form), therefore it’s important for students to have good written communication skills. Again, the best way to improve this is by practice. Writing in any way – be it journaling about the day, or re-writing class notes – can enable students to find it easier to articulate themselves. A session or two with one of our fantastic English tutors can be very helpful too, as they can teach essay writing skills, grammar and punctuation which students can then apply to various subjects.

Our tutors understand that during the pandemic some pupils fell behind in school work. Yet, despite gaps in knowledge, students often know more than they realise. Sometimes all they need is a nudge in the right direction and a confidence boost. Our tutors can help students catch up by revising any missed topics, doing past papers together, going over the basics – which are often overlooked – and overall, help grow the student’s confidence so that when they sit in the examination hall they can believe in themselves, and thus achieve the best results they can.

For more tips on how to revise click here , or alternatively send us a message to book in a session on revision with one of our tutors.

Useful Links:

https://www.wjec.co.uk/home/past-papers/

https://www.aqa.org.uk/find-past-papers-and-mark-schemes

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/support-topics/exams/past-papers.html