Children all over the United Kingdom will be sitting public examinations for the first time since the global pandemic in late 2019. For mums, it can be a stressful time. The following tips are designed to help you navigate this period and support your children through their examinations.
1. Encourage your child to do their best
Although exams are not the ‘end all and be all’, for the vast majority of students it will be a gateway to better opportunities. Their GCSEs, A Level, IB, or B-Tech grades are often the first indicator of what they have learnt over the years. However, there should ideally be something more tangible to show for the years spent in education.
All students should put in effort, go beyond themselves and at the end of the examination period, be satisfied that they have done their best. That way, irrespective of their grade, they can be satisfied with their achievements. Exam season will only last one month so encourage your child to do their best.
2. Familiarise yourself with exam arrangements
Due to the disruption caused by the global pandemic, the current cohort of students has borne the brunt of disruptions to their education.
The pandemic has now stabilised, so exam boards have returned to conventional forms of testing, temporarily replaced by teacher-assessed grades (TAGs). You need to be aware of what this means for your child in particular, for example, the advanced information provided for each exam (which we will cover a bit later on). You should have now been informed by your child’s school about their examination arrangements.
3. Know your child’s examination timetable
Your child’s examination timetable should form the basis of their revision timetable. It’s a good idea for your child to revise in the order they will sit their various exams. For example, if an exam is after the half-term break, your child should instead focus their concentration on the subjects that will be tested before the half-term break. Also, pay attention to if an exam is in the morning or afternoon. It is normally a good idea to have a copy of your child’s exam and revision timetables somewhere in the house where everyone can see them.
4. Advanced information
As mentioned previously, the exam boards have had to take into consideration the disruption caused to the learning of students by the pandemic.
A concession made by exam boards is their provision of ‘Advanced information’ ahead of the exam. This should clarify the reduced amount of content that they will be examined on and include the topics that will come up in the exam. The information provided will vary across exam boards, but also from subject to subject.
It’s essential that your child is aware of the advanced information for each subject they will be sitting, and what they are required to know for the exam as this could result in a student wasting valuable time revising topics that will not be assessed.
5. Focus on the Subjects that matter
Ideally, every student will prepare for all the examinations adequately to get the best grade possible. However, if your child is pressed for time, focus on the subjects that have the most bearing on their future.
This includes core subjects such as English and Maths, subjects they intend on studying in sixth form or college and subjects needed for university and vocational courses.
Even within subjects, focus on the questions and topics that carry the most marks and the greater weighting.
6. Help them find the form of revision that works for them
There is a range of different study techniques, including notes, flashcards . . .
Research does show however that active recall and spaced repetition are the most effective methods for retention of information, therefore methods that are based on those two principles will always do well.
7. Make good use of past papers and Predicted Papers
Past Papers under timed conditions recreate the conditions under which the examination will take place. Since examination boards have provided Advanced information ahead of this year’s exams, many subjects will have a content list that will allow students to prepare specifically for each paper.
There are some well regarded third-party platforms that have produced predicted papers based on the advanced information that can be very helpful to students.
8. Take care of yourself
The first tip mentioned is for students to do their best, but this must be balanced with pacing themselves. Exam season for most students will last at least a month, so it is important that students pace themselves for the duration of exam season to avoid burnout.
Resting from work, getting enough sleep, and eating well are all important factors that your child will need to integrate into their revision routine. If there are certain hobbies that they enjoy, this can be a very useful way of breaking up the day and giving an opportunity for exercise.
9. Speak to the Examination Officer
Your child’s school will have someone that is responsible for the smooth running of the examinations – this is the examination officer. Examination officers will be best placed to answer most queries about the examinations. If there are any problems that prevent or interfere with your child from taking the exams to the best of their ability, the examination officer should be notified. (who will be more busy than usual during this period.)
The exam boards do have a surprising amount of provision for when things don’t go to plan, and this is especially true with this examination season because it is the first real one since the global pandemic.
10. Keep things in perspective
It is very important that you encourage your child to keep things in perspective. Although these examinations are relatively important in the short term, they are by no means a factor of success for your child’s future. The global pandemic has been the biggest upheaval we’ve seen as a society since the Second World War, and even then public examinations were not cancelled. The examination boards are aware of this and have publicly stated that marking will be more generous in order to mediate this factor. It really is important to understand the backdrop under which these exams are being completed. Irrespective of the grades attained, young people should be celebrated for investing and putting in hard work at such a difficult time. It is possible to achieve great things and be disappointed in examination results, so if things do not go to plan it isn’t the end of the world. Disappointment provides a great opportunity for learning and growth.
Final Thoughts
This list is not exhaustive. There are other things that mums can do to support their children through exam season. If you require any more support in terms of tutoring or consultation, please do feel free to get in touch, and I’d be happy to help.
Samuel Adu-Gyamfi is the CEO and founder of Sam Tutoring, a tutoring service and consultancy in London he founded a decade ago.
Sam Tutoring provides private one-to-one tuition along with group and online tuition for families in Central London and internationally, as well as tailor-made services for schools.
Working with students from the ages of 7-18 we provide academic support and mentorship.
Email info@samtutoring.london, to book a consultation or visit www.samtutoring.London to see how we can help your child succeed.
Read more tips by Sam tutoring here.
