Tips for successful revision

When you open your exam paper, you want to feel you’ve given yourself the best possible chance to do well. Here are our revision tips to help you prepare:

• Past papers. Testing yourself with past papers is one of the best ways to revise. With our past paper finder, you can also look at mark schemes and examiners’ reports.
• Make a revision plan. This is a great way to start. Keep the sessions in your revision plan to a maximum of 30 minutes each and vary the topics - don’t keep repeating the ones you already know. Limit yourself to seven hours max of revision a day. See our blog A student guide to revision – resources and activities.
• Know yourself. Put together revision activities that work for you, whether that’s flash cards, mind maps, revision apps, or watching videos. But keep it active!
• Look after yourself. Eat well, get enough sleep, take regular breaks and get some exercise whenever you can. Breathing exercises and meditation can help you to stay calm and focus.
• Revision zone. A quiet, uncluttered area is the ideal place to revise, but mix it up by trying different places, such as a library, kitchen table or the park.
• Get help. Get parents or other family members to test you on what you have learnt. Set up a revision group with friends and ask your teacher to give you feedback.

More revision ideas

Take a look at our new guides: How to manage your time and Procrastination how to beat it.

Want more ideas? There are lots of places to go to find more revision advice, such as The Student Room or BBC Bitesize. There are also some great YouTubers out there offering tips.

Most of you will be sitting an exam for the first time this summer, for others you might not have sat one for a while. Exams can be an anxious time but a great way to cope with them is to plan and prepare in advance. Our preparing for exams student guide has useful information to help your revision planning and what to expect on exam day. Follow us on Instagram for revision and time management tips, mental health and wellbeing advice, key dates and more.

In this podcast Tanya Nicholas, teacher and adolescent wellbeing coach, offers practical tips to students and their parents on how to make a revision plan, take care of yourself and manage stress and anxiety ahead of the summer exams.