S-cool Revision Newsletter
52 Ways to mentally prepare for exams with Mindsport cards - click here for a free taster or grab the lot now with 35% off exclusive to S-cool
Take a break with our handy tips about what to do in your spare time between exams.
Ever wondered how the big shots used to revise? We asked a high-flying Bristol student and our own S-cool apprentice how they went about the tricky business of revision back in the day.
You may be the master of cram-a-lot, but what can you do to maximise your potential when you it's too late to keep revising?
All work and no play? What to do for fun in between exams
So your exams have started. You feel shattered, slightly numb, and if you take in anymore information your poor brain will splinter into a thousand smithereens. Any fool will tell you that there's little point spending all of your time in between exams hitting the books, so treat it as time to do your own thing and take our tips if you're stuck.
Hit the cinema: There's nothing like stuffing your face with popcorn and kicking back at the flicks. We're howling about Wolverine in X Men Origins at the mo.
Ready, steady, cook: Be sure to get in those brain-feeding nutrients that we keep banging on about by whacking up some healthy, tasty cuisine. Cooking gets your creative brain cells buzzing and can be rather therapeutic too (unless you're Gordon Ramsey that is). We're salivating over Jamie Oliver's meatball pasta.
Get sporty: Have a kick about with some mates or find out what's available for you in your area by looking up sports on your local authority website for facilities, clubs and events.
Read a trashy magazine: You've been avoiding them like the plague for weeks now - indulge at last!
Play games: Board games are fun for all the family (don't give us that look) plus they can completely take your mind off things, so blow the dust off your Monopoly box and get focused on all those hotels you're going to build. If you must go it solo, we think it's forgivable to hit the computer games in moderation - why not try your hand at a few games in our Take a Break section on the site?
Go shopping: If ever you truly deserve retail therapy, it's now. And who says you don't actually need a rah-rah skirt?
How we used to revise - from the ones that made it to the other side
Dave Lanning is soon to graduate with a Hispanics degree at Bristol University, and is going on to do a master's at Oxford in September. Loren Elliot didn't fancy the university route but is making her mark as our very own S-cool apprentice.
Both passed their GCSE and A levels with flying colours and both are enjoying the fruits reaped from exam success, so we asked them exactly how they went about battling revision...and how you can too.
Dave: 'At GCSE I didn't I didn't really know what I was doing, I used to just read my old notes and textbooks and copy out the bits I thought were relevant and that's it. I didn't have a clue, but I was lucky enough to still do well despite being fairly unimaginative about the whole thing.
By A level I got my act together though - there was just too much information to learn so I had to rethink the whole approach. I found mind-maps and creating my own revision cards really helpful once I had already taken quite a few notes.
When it was sunny I would hook up with a few mates and we would test each other - that works for about half an hour but descends into chatting after a while.'
Loren: 'I pretty much solidly used the S-cool website to do my GCSEs and so did my friends; our teachers were keen on it and that's what inspired me to apply for the apprenticeship scheme in the end.
At A level I still found websites helpful, particularly revise it notes from S-cool, but I also incorporated other things. I made summaries of notes in my own way, so that they sounded like me and not the teacher, then I went mad with highlighting it all in different colours.
Oh, and using past papers is a good tip; sometimes I would go through them with a few friends, but never more than two people or we'd get distracted.
I always made sure I ate well during exam times too, bananas especially did the trick for concentration levels.'
Interested in finding out more about past papers? Email editor@s-cool.co.uk.
Do's and don'ts on the day of exams
What to do at the last minute before exams:
- Get a good sleep. Go to bed early and 'switch off' from doing work for at least an hour before you kip.
- Eat a healthy breakfast that will give you slow-release energy, such as porridge or poached eggs on brown bread. Don't go overboard on the liquid because your nerves will keep sending you to the toilet.
- Do something relaxing, like having a bath, listening to some music, or taking a calm, solitary stroll.
- Embrace the nerves - the adrenaline will help you succeed in the exam. Interpreting nerves as negative emotions will only make them worse so bear in mind that they are a natural response.
What not to do:
- Get up ridiculously early. This will make you more tired and keep you feeling on-edge for longer.
- Look at any new material. That's none, zilch, geddit!?
- Over-stimulate your mind on the day of exams with cramming, TV, or computer games.
- Compare knowledge with peers. More times than not they'll stress you out about what you haven't done, creating unnecessary last minute anxiety.
A wholehearted good luck from the S-cool team!
See Spring Awakening now! Win tickets or use our discount
Have you seen Spring Awakening yet? This amazing musical, best described as 'Skins on stage', has only a few days left in London.
British youth have taken it to their hearts, with fan groups and cult followings bursting out all over the internet. They will be sad to see it go on 30 May.
However, S-cool has been given a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky reader - and we have a bargain student ticket rate to pass on to everyone else. So get in there quick everyone!
To have chance of winning the tickets, simply send an email to win@springawakening.co.uk no later than the 29th May with the subject 'I'm from S-cool'.
Meanwhile to make use of the bargain £20 student ticket, click here.
We highly recommend you catch this show while you have a chance.
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