GCSE AND A LEVEL EXAM TECHNIQUES TO GET As AND A*s

To ensure you pass all your A Level and GCSE subjects well, you need to set targets. Begin by making a list of the subjects you are studying. Based on the time and resources you have, you should aim to set your target as high as possible. For those attending Cherry Hill with enough time, we will normally set your targets as As and A*s for A Levels and the Level 9s GCSEs.

If you do not attend Cherry Hill, set targets one or two grades higher than what you achieved in your mock exams, as long as you have time to change the results upwards.

Use the following guide to create a timetable:

1. List all subjects on a spreadsheet together with their final exam dates (if known). 
2. Calculate the maximum time in a week that you can offer for your revision. 
3. Deduct three hours from this time (for emergency use). Divide this time by the number of subjects. Then give each subject an equal amount of time.
4. Note the above on your spreadsheet, remembering to label the emergency slots.  
5. As you progress through the months, you will need to take time from very strong subjects, and give them to the weaker subjects or the most important ones. 
6. Factor in breaks, exercise, recreational time, commitments and chores that you are required to perform.  
7. Test the timetable out for three weeks and make changes as you see fit.
8. Then do everything possible to stick to the timetable. 
9. If you miss hours in the timetable, use the emergency slots to make up the lost time. 

The timetable must create a focal point, a target and a guide for your exam success. It is a mechanism used to break a big task into smaller, more manageable ones. It will generate a study routine which will allow you to study more efficiently (not waste time on the wrong things). It is always recommended that you study harder topics in the early hours of the morning.

For GCSEs we recommend studying around 20-22 hours per week outside of school time. More hours may be required in the run up to exams depending on how early you started your timetable and how well you stuck to it. 

For A Levels, we recommend around 22-26 hours per week.  Again, more hours may be needed in the run up to exams depending on how early your timetable commenced and of course, how well you followed it.

All pupils at Cherry Hill are prepared carefully for exams. We will do the above and more, to include providing timetables and schedules and monitoring their implementation over the academic year. 

Once all your notes are prepared for each subject, keep following your timetable but switch to answering exam papers before memorising your notes. You should use your notes whilst answering exam papers, ensuring you improve your notes as you go along.

Past exam papers are necessary for the following reasons:

• They train your brain to apply the knowledge it has learnt. Success in your final exams requires learning and then applying knowledge. 
• They allow you to adapt to exam conditions, creating a mock testing dynamic. 
• They allow your brain to access a cross reference of information, exactly as your brain will need to do during the final exams.
• You must time your attempts on all papers you do to ensure you are improving your speed. 
• Exam papers can act as a great revision source.  
• They will ensure you are using, and are familiar with, formula sheets and other supporting documents you are given in your exam.

Cherry Hill students are guided through the above and supported periodically. Those that start the tuition early are always in a stronger position than those that start late. But even those that start late are in a stronger position than if they never started with us.  

Your timetable will need to change during your exam period, notably because you will need to remove the completed exams, and add the time to the remaining subjects. This requires a little calculation because the first set of exams will need to borrow timetable time from the later ones, as if to prioritise the exams in order that they start. 

Cherry Hill pupils are guided through an exam period timetable that is prepared around a month or more before the first official GCSE or A Level exam starts. 

Using the exam period study timetable is exciting for those experienced Cherry Hill students, as it puts things in perspective, reassures confidence and prepares the final stages of planning.