Adam Majsay – Director of Studies 7-12

In the lead up to exam blocks for our Years 11 and 12 students, here are a few tips from Dr Prue Salter, from Enhanced Learning Educational Services, https://enhanced-learning.net/ on maximising the time remaining between now and exam week:

• It is realistic to expect that in the weeks before your examination period you will need to increase the amount of time you spend on schoolwork both during the week and on the weekend.
• Start adding an extra hour of work to your weeknights and quite a few extra hours of work on the weekend. The weekend is when you can get a solid amount of work done while you are fresher and able to concentrate better. 
• Once you have brainstormed everything you will do to study for each exam, the next step is to decide when you will actually do the preparation steps you have come up with. 
• It is a good idea to do some sort of a time plan or timetable or before you know it time will slip away from you. 
• We assume it is impossible to stick EXACTLY to a study plan as things come up, and everything always takes longer than you think it will, so you have to be realistic in the plan you put together.

Prue suggests that there are a few guidelines to consider when preparing for your exams: 

• EQUAL TIME PER SUBJECT?: Take into account whether you want equal time available to each subject or whether you want more time for a certain subject.
• DON’T OVER-SCHEDULE: It is a good idea to leave some ‘spare’ time each week in case things during the week take longer than expected or in case you feel you need to do extra that week on a particular subject.
• SPREAD OUT YOUR STUDY: Try and study each subject at least once a week but preferably twice a week.
• SMALLER BLOCKS: It is better for your brain and memory to do three smaller blocks of 1.5 hours each on a subject during the week than one big block of 4.5 hours on one subject.
• SHORT BREAKS: You really should take a few minutes break every half hour when studying. Get up from your desk and move around the house. Don’t move from studying to checking Instagram and WhatsApp!
• STUDY CONTRASTING SUBJECTS: If you are studying two subjects on a night, it is better to study contrasting subjects like Maths and English or Science and French rather than similar subjects like Ancient History and Modern History.
• STUDY HARDEST SUBJECTS WHEN ALERT: In the periods where you are most alert you should do the hardest subjects (or even the ones you find the most challenging).
• THINK ABOUT SCHEDULING: If you have extra time before a particular exam for preparation, take this into account in your planning. You should try to work evenly on all subjects but if you have 3 exams one week and 3 the next week, then the weekend before the first 3 just focus on those as you have another weekend to focus on the other 3.
• ALSO DO HOMEWORK: Don’t forget you still have to fit in homework all the way up to the exams as well.
• DON’T STRESS: Don’t stress if there is not as much time as you would like or feel you need to prepare. You can’t change this, all you can do is choose to make the most of the time that actually is available.

We wish our Year 11 and 12 students well in their preparation for the Year 11 Yearly Examinations in Week 6, and the HSC Trial Examinations in Weeks 3 and 4.