Revising for your GCSE or IB exams? While it might be tempting to put off your revision until the last moment, starting your revision early means you can spread it out and avoid that last-minute panic.

Here are some top tips from Mrs Vermeulen, our Deputy Head (Academic) to help you stay on track with your revision, so that you enter that exam hall feeling confident:

There are no quick fixes for success in examinations; to be effective takes persistence, hard work, good work habits and an ability to use short-term failures as a way of learning for the future. The most successful students are those who actively reflect on their progress, take responsibility for their actions and are prepared to try new things when old strategies appear to no longer work.

• Start revision in good time so you can approach each task in a calm and relaxed manner.
• Have a clear and specific list of what you need to achieve in each subject; make sure this is broken down into small chunks so you are not overwhelmed.
• We learn best by reviewing work in small regular chunks; little and often helps consolidate information and builds strong foundations.
• Be active with your revision; make notes by hand, and create question and answer sheets.
• Get others to help you, for example by asking parents or friends to quiz you using flashcards or question and answer sheets that you have made.
• Eating, sleeping, exercise, and downtime with friends are important to continue and balance.
• Use a variety of resources such as websites, online quizzes, flash-cards, and exam questions; avoid just reading, highlighting text or re-writing your notes.