English and Maths are the heart of our curriculum offer at Marple Sixth Form. We want to make sure that everyone can participate successfully, achieving your goals and maximising your potential, which is why we have an inclusive approach and setting. We’ll work in partnership with you, your parents/carers, and teaching and support teams to remove barriers to learning.
We provide a study programme from Entry to Level 3. As part of your study programme you will be expected to study English and/or maths, if you have not already achieved a Level 4 in your GCSEs.
Learners who achieve Level 4 in English and maths will continue to develop in these subjects:
Plan ahead and start early to avoid freaking out and cramming later. Once you’ve got your exam dates, work backwards to plan your revision well ahead of time.
For the same subject there may be various exam boards and even various exams offered by the same board, so it’s not always straightforward. You don’t want to be revising for questions and topics you’ll never be tested on! If in doubt, ask your teacher or tutor.
Organise your revision time so that you focus more on your troublesome topics and tough subjects.
Figure out when you’re most productive and schedule your revision then; it will vary from person to person.
You’ll find revising far easier if you take your time and pace yourself. Organise revision into small sessions up to 30 minutes with regular breaks to eat, drink, relax and just have some general time away from it all.
Teaching others is perhaps one of the best ways to actually revise and learn yourself. Get with a group of friends and see who needs help on what topics and teach each other or as a group.
Don’t just read notes or revision books, get interactive by watching videos too. There’s no doubt there is a YouTube channel dedicated to revision notes on your course!
Flash cards are bitesize revision notes that you can look at and refer back to in a bid to make things sink in. Even if you don’t actually use them that often, the process of making them is itself helpful in helping your memory.
A must for revision of any topic or exam from GCSEs to university – look at and complete past papers. These will give you an idea of how the exam works, the questions to expect and ultimately test how well your revision is going. Take note of any specific questions you struggled on and go back over those topics in your next revision session.
You want to make sure that you keep yourself focused so lock away any distractions, turn off your phones, disconnect from the internet if you can etc.
Improve your memory with mnemonics. Make up acronyms or acrostics to help you remember key ideas. A classic science mnemonic most will probably be aware of is OIL RIG, which describes the difference between Oxidation and Reduction: Oxidation Is Loss, Reduction Is Gain.
Never be afraid to ask for help be it from teachers, friends or even online forums; someone else has almost certainly had the same query.
Stay healthy during your revision time and the lead up to exams: avoid energy drinks, take lots of water and follow a healthy revision diet, as well as looking at this piece on brain foods for students. Remember to get plenty of sleep, too!
Revision shouldn’t just be about going over the content of your course, also make time to revise your general exam technique to get the best marks.
All work and no play will make for a VERY stressed out student, so reward yourself with whatever you want for every hour of revision you complete. It can be time on social media, games or just food!
