Facing exams

How to face exams Many of you may have exams coming up and whether it’s mocks, Alevels or GCSEs, I have a few tips for how to approach exams. Firstly, I think that you should try to start revising at least 1-2 months before your exams for at least an hour a week- which I know makes me sound like a parent or a teacher but I’m telling you from experience.

Having done GCSEs they can be more important than you might think and I promise you it is worth it, however try not to overwhelm yourself because they are not the 'be all and end all'. Although I’m very mindful that many of you may be reading this a matter of days before your exam in a desperate attempt at last minute cramming so I hope this is somewhat helpful regardless.

So I’ll start off with the day before; I’d look over all of your materials (like notes or a textbook) that you should have already learnt, reading over it and highlighting if you think it’ll help. If you’ve made flashcards, then it’d be really helpful to either test yourself or get somebody else to test you. Try to avoid learning new information if possible because it’s unlikely that you’ll retain all of it and it could confuse the stuff that you already know. Another technique I find useful is trying to link information you have to learn with things that you already know like mnemonics. Maybe go over practice exam questions and test yourself although don’t spend too long doing this as it may stress you further if you’re not confident and it could be a waste of time that you could be revising. When it reaches night time before I’d suggest making sure that you don’t pull an all-nighter and really try to get to sleep at an earlier time, I know that you’ll be stressed, so try to avoid caffeine as this will only make you more stressed and less able to sleep.

Check your exam room and timetable to check where you are so that you’re definitely sure on everything also get all of your stationary and whatever you need like calculators or your lunch and pack your bag together that night and then get sleep. In the morning try to avoid thinking too much or worrying about the exam and try to avoid other people who are likely to be talking and worrying about the test if you know it’ll stress you which sounds harsh but I promise you it will help you stay calm. Try to think positively and imagine you doing amazingly and passing. Have a good nutritious breakfast(or coco pops, treat yourself) so that you’re feeling okay and try to get to your exam a little early so you’re able to settle down but don’t arrive too early that you’re able to work yourself up over it. The thing that matters most though is keeping a positive attitude, believe in yourself.

​You can do it, I believe in you and know that you can smash this test with flying colours. Tell yourself that you’re going to do well. Know what you what you want to achieve and picture yourself reaching these goals. Just remember, you got this!