Exam season affects everyone. Whether you’re the one who is doing the exams, or simply around the unlucky candidates, the stress and pressure that pupils are under is clear to see.o

Notably, GCSEs and A-Levels are taken from 15th May – 27th June this year, with schools up and down the country taking these qualifications.

Many pupils utilise London’s plethora of resources to aid them in revision. While some prefer to revise at home, many find that teaming up with others or going to a public space such as a library keeps them focused on their work. This has been dubbed as a ‘buddy system’, which relies on the perception of public pressure to keep students focused on their work.

Places such as St. Mary’s Church in Putney offer Study Spaces where students are invited to sign up and access the church’s halls, providing them with a silent, focused area.

During the summer months of these exams, revising outside can also be a good way to make it less of a tedious task. Part of the reason revision can be hard to incentivise, especially many weeks before the exams take place, is the potential to be doing other activities. By going to a local park, you eliminate some of the wishfulness and are able to enjoy the summer sun while studying.

Schools offer support for these exams, and many pupils find that this has been extremely beneficial. As well as providing students with tips for revision, they ensure that students are aware of all the resources available to them online and elsewhere.

Clinics and revision sessions are provided to the students, which entail a swift and thorough recap of certain topics. Science clinics may review the ‘Required Practicals’ that students are obliged to learn, while essay-based subjects such as History and English ensure that pupils are aware of how to answer each question according to the mark scheme.

Despite this, students don’t always attend clinics, with one 16 year old saying, “While the clinics are helpful, sometimes there just isn’t enough motivation to go.”

However, the best revision utilises the theory of active recall; the idea that actively testing your knowledge through past papers and examples questions will be more beneficial than ‘passive’ revision. Passive revision is the easy, enabling activities, such as rereading and highlighting notes, which do not require the memorisation that is needed to achieve high marks in exams.

Poppy Boyd (15) shared her best revision techniques: “Normally blurting, and then everything that I forget, or I get wrong, I redo until I get it right.”

Blurting involves writing down everything you can recall about a specific topic, then correcting your sheet to find out what your weaker areas may be. This is an example of active recall, as it tests knowledge and provides an opportunity to learn from the session.