There are a number of important considerations when preparing for revision, whether for an assessment in class, a test or an external examination. These include using the right resources and the right strategies.
Without a knowledge and understanding of these, students can often spend time revising the wrong aspects or spending time revising with little to no impact on long term retention.
We make sure that appropriate revision materials are uploaded onto Firefly and are clearly identifiable for use by staff, students and parents. These include: checklists, suggested revision materials, examination past paper questions and mark schemes among many others.
Click here to access Firefly: http://heathfieldcc.fireflycloud.net/browse-resources/subjects
As a research-informed school we try to ensure that we utilise every moment to its greatest effect. Revision is no exception to this. There are some clear strategies that work and there are some which whilst reassuring to students actually have very little impact on long term retention of the important knowledge or understanding.
To help students and parents understand these and ensure that time is used effectively in independent study, we have provided some short guides here on the critical strategies we know from research and from our experience, make a difference.
Organising Revision
Every student should put together a comprehensive revision timetable. This will break each subject into bite-size chunks. We recommend creating a free account with “GetRevising” and using their “Study Planner” to organise revision time. A list of all GCSE subjects and the appropriate exam boards can be found here .
Effective Revision Strategies
The document shared with students and parents here summarises the strategies shown by research to lead to the most effective revision. More detailed workshops are held with parents and students to explain the strategies in more detail at appropriate times in the key stage.
