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Helping your child through the difficult exam period

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Once again exam season is upon us. In just a few weeks more than a million students will sit their GCSE`s, AS and A-levels. The exams begin in May, and continue all the way to the end of June. This is of course a very difficult time for students, who will be painfully aware of just how important the next couple of months will be. Most adults will likely have forgotten how nerve-racking the lead up to exams can be. Of course most students will have begun their revision already, but here are just a few ways parents can help with their revision, and deal with exam anxiety.

1 Offer support

As simple as it may sound, perhaps the way you can be of most help to your child during this difficult time is to let them know you are there for them. This means being sympathetic to their worries and concerns, and making sure you are approachable, should they wish to talk about any anxieties they may have. In this way they will not feel like they are alone during this period, and will be able to be more relaxed and organised while they study.

2 Ensure they have a place to study at home

Again this may sound rather obvious, but it is extremely helpful for students to know they have a place at home they can always go to to study. This doesn`t have to be a dedicated library filled with encyclopaedias, or even a room whose sole function is given over to academic work. There should just be an area they know is always available for them to use for work. This place might simply be the dining table, that has to be cleared away before use - but as long as they know they always have a place for their revision, they will be more productive.

3 Timetable

When revising most people have a natural tendency to spend more time on those areas least in need of it. The temptation to avoid laborious chores may well be a natural one, and students might, almost unconsciously, decide to squander most of their revision time studying up on subjects they are strongest in, simply because they prefer these areas of the courses.
To ensure they use their revision time most efficiently, you could help your child create a revision timetable. To begin with you should ascertain which subjects require the most work - perhaps you could ask them to order their subjects from strongest to weakest. This will enable you to set out a revision schedule, where more time is allocated to those topics most in need of it.

4 Practice exams

As the dreaded deadline to exam season looms your child will strongly benefit from practicing with a few past papers. Exam phobia is a registered condition, and the fear of sitting exams can make even the most able student perform worse than they should. By practicing with a few past papers your child will become acclimatised to the practice of working under exam conditions, so when they take their actual paper they will be less nervous, and able to produce their best work. You may be able to acquire past exam papers from your child`s school - if not find out which exam board they are taking: their website should offer old exams to be downloaded.

5 Act as the student

A well known revision technique is to have the student take the role of the teacher. Ask your child to explain to you certain concepts and topics in one of their subjects, and request they do so as if they were addressing a student who knows nothing about the subject. By adopting this novel position they will be forced to think differently about their work - studies have shown this to be a very effective learning method. If you have any questions during the `lesson` be sure to raise them, as this will compel the `teacher` to go into greater detail over aspects they might otherwise have rushed over.

6 Fit in break activities

Studying for exams can be extremely stressful, and with each passing day the test comes closer. Make sure your child takes a break now and then - continuous revision will just result in fatigue, leaving them in a mindset uncongenial to learning. A weekend activity, or evening movie will give them something to look forward to, helping them relax, and leaving them ready to revise even better.

7 Hire a tutor

If your child is having trouble with a particular subject, hiring a tutor will very likely be helpful. A one-to-one teaching environment will mean they get the full attention of a teacher, who will be able to judge which particular points they are struggling with, and teach them in a way that is geared to their way of thinking - something that simply isn`t possible in a classroom, where the teacher has to divide their attention amongst so many pupils.

11 months ago
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