Essential Steps To Long-term Academic Success

Achieving your inner academic potential as a young person is a challenge. There are at any one time a multitude of often competing forces which are consciously shaping the course of your learning. Expectations are most likely upon you, from yourself, your educators and your family. Your peers, friends or otherwise, are ....well peering at you performance and as we approach the exam session it may well be worth re-enforcing some simple strategies that could make all the difference.

1. Start Revision Early

There will always be a minority of students who can succeed with a day or so of crammed reading an question practice. However, the vast majority of these candidates under perform at GCSE and struggle in post-16 education. Beginning revision around a month before the exams will allow you to fit in all your subjects and follow up issues.

2. Focus on weaknesses and systematically seek help

Start with the subject that is keeping you up at night with worry. As you are hitting those hurdles in revision, make a list of the areas you are finding tough and then seek help from a tutor or teacher. Email them, catch them in the staff room at school but make an effort and and make time to do it.

3. "I don`t get it....let`s go over it one more time!!"

Your teacher or friend has just explained to you a concept to help you improve on a weakness. Something has gone in, but you`re not getting it fully still. The trap here is that you nod and say that`s the problem fixed and walk off feeling that to ask for yet more help would be overly-time wasting. Instead thank the person and tell them they are really helping, and then ask them to go over the specific part that is still holding you back again.

4. When Reading is not enough........

Subjects such as science and maths require both you to revise content and practice exams. Simply reading the revision guide over and over again will not help you to get used to how to succeed in exam style questions. Ask your teacher or tutor for past papers and mark schemes and a quick briefing on how to mark yourself. Alternatively visit your exam board`s website. You will then be able to get a feel for where the marks are and where marks are slipping away.

5. Refine your exam technique

Make sure you know and have practiced each exam type you are going to sit in advance. Read the instructions on he paper to remind yourself of the length and duration of the exam. In question based subjects, make sure that you leave enough time to attack the higher marked questions after building up your confidence by completing some of the earlier shorter ones.