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With exams on the horizon, and the Easter break a key revision period for GCSE and A Level/IB pupils, Wellington’s Head of Wellbeing Ian Morris gives parents his top tips for supporting children while they revise.
At Wellington we prepare pupils thoroughly for every aspect of exams. Through our nationally-recognised wellbeing curriculum, we teach strategies to help them to deal with any anxiety, including mindfulness and sleep management techniques. In the autumn term of Fifth Form and Lower Sixth we focus specifically on how the brain learns and how to access and stay in concentrated ‘flow’ states.
Many departments offer targeted revision workshops and there is 1:1 support available for pupils who need it. Our pastoral tutors and house teams provide guidance in preparing revision plans and give advice on revision strategies and stress management techniques, while peer-to-peer support is also strongly encouraged, particularly within houses.
We deliberately continue our sports and activities programmes during exam season to ensure that these year groups have access to exercise as a way of letting off steam.
Rest assured that Wellington has equipped your child with the tools to manage their revision effectively, so while this period can inevitably feel like a stressful time for parents, what is needed above all else is positive encouragement, support and reassurance.
- Stay relentlessly optimistic
This is probably the most important piece of advice. Always focus on your child’s immense capacity, remind them they have agency, and show them that you believe in their ability to prepare well. While Pollyanna-ish enthusiasm is not helpful, genuine optimism is. It’s the belief that any situation can be changed and made better through our efforts.
- Keep the big picture in mind
Pupils should understand that some anxiety about the upcoming exams is completely normal and healthy. It’s a natural reaction to something that matters but once the exams are over, those feelings will pass. Pupils learn resilience by proving to themselves that they can do hard things.
- Trust in the school’s process.
At Wellington, we thoroughly prepare pupils to manage their revision effectively. Your child will have been given a lot of preparatory materials from their teachers so avoid deluging them with additional revision guides as it may be overwhelming and confusing.
The best way to support your child is to ensure they understand the resources that have been given to them, and help them to break revision down into manageable chunks.
- Help your child to devise a revision plan
Working out a revision plan at home is one area where parents can offer robust support if needed. It is a good idea to roughly follow a school day and very helpful for your child to get into a routine. There is no one-size-fits-all, and each individual will have a preferred way of working and a preferred time for work: ask them what suits them and support them in achieving it.
When revision planning, divide the day up into one hour slots, with a ten minute break incorporated into each hour. A six hour revision day is a good achievement and it’s worth remembering that overly long and very intense days will take their toll on energy levels.
A good revision plan is varied (e.g. a morning on one subject, the afternoon on another), chunked (a big topic broken down into manageable sections) and interleaved. The latter is vital for cementing knowledge and it means learning something and then revisiting it a couple of days later to consolidate and strengthen.
- Continually offer support, but on their terms
Try to avoid telling your child what they need to do, and instead ask them how you can support them. Would they like you to help them with establishing a healthy routine, for example getting them out of bed in the morning even when they don’t want to. This must be done in agreement and with flexibility to change if it isn’t working.
Always avoid going into battle with your child over revision – their only ‘opposition’ should be the exam. You are support, not friendly fire.
- Encourage rest days and downtime
- Sleep, nutrition and exercise
Revision is a marathon not a sprint so sleep, fuel and exercise are critical. Encourage your child to prioritise regularity of sleep. A lie-in once or twice a week to recharge the batteries is fine, but on at least five days out of seven, they should be getting up at a regular time and they should aim for a minimum of eight hours sleep per night. Regular exercise helps with sleep but it doesn’t have to be high intensity – a one hour walk is enough. Getting into natural daylight first thing, helps to reset the body clock to wake at that time every day.
- Encourage collaboration and interaction with friends
- Set aside your own experiences of exams
Notice how your child preparing for exams brings up your own beliefs about and experiences of exams. This can be a triggering time for parents but try to separate what is yours and what is theirs, and avoid projecting any historic feelings of revision stress onto them.
Remember that these exams and the results don’t belong to you. Hand ownership and responsibility for them over to your child and keep reminding them that you have faith in their ability to do as well as they want to.
- Don’t panic
If you think your child is not doing any revision, it’s tempting to panic or read the riot act but neither is helpful. Sometimes children can feel so daunted by the magnitude of the task that they procrastinate or withdraw. In this case, communication is key. Talk to them about any worries they have and slowly encourage them to break their revision down into very small chunks, beginning with the topics they feel most confident with. Even if they start with as little as 20 minutes, this can be built upon as anxiety recedes and resilience grows.
Find out more about wellbeing at Wellington College.
