Avoiding exam stress

Many of you may already know what you need to do in order to stay stress free but the trick is to apply what you know and put it into practice! The more time you allow yourself to prepare the less stressed you will be.

Being organised

It's very easy to get complacent and think that you have enough time to revise but the danger is you'll keep putting it off until you realise you've left yourself no time at all!

You must start revising straightaway and the first thing you need to do is to put together a REVISION TIMETABLE

Write in it what you're going to study and when and STICK TO IT

Good advice: Include breaks (very important) as you will need time to switch off and recharge your batteries

Being Wise

First thing in the morning we have more energy and as the day goes on we are less productive (loss of energy). As human beings we have a tendancy to avoid things we don't like (you know it's true!) Have you heard the saying 'Don't put off what you can do today for tomorrow' (no?) Well its a good saying and one you will need to bare in mind.

Be wise - don't start the day revising things that are easy for you. If you're great at Science then leave that to the afternoon when you braincells are not so great!

Good advice: Concentrate on the  subjects you don't like so much as you'll be able to focus more

Knowing what suits you

Everyone absorbs information differently. If you find it difficult reading chucks and chucks of information because when you do nothing sinks in, then you will need to think of other ways of absorbing that information. See examples below;

Put information into a spidergraph or a table
Only use this method if you  have a good knowledge of the subject you are revising. Using a spidergraph to note key words is a good way of remembering key dates and sequence of events

Turn informaton into drawings
Only use this method if you are good at drawing and it helps you to remember key facts by just looking at the drawing. This is very useful if you are studying Science or Biology.

Making notes
Note-taking is a really good way of retaining information that is often difficult to digest.  Instead of writing verbatum (word for word)  it is much better if you make notes of what you understood. That way you are more likely to remember and it's also much easier to revise.

Use your mobile to record yourself reading aloud. Do a bit at a time. Now try and make some notes of what you understood

Resource materials
Using website such as the BBC GCSE Bitesize is very productive if you respond more to information being visuallly laid out. BE CAREFUL the danger of being on the internet can lead to other things totally unrelated (yes, you know what I'm talking about). Avoid having your Facebook page up while you're revising - STAY FOCUSED

Don't overdo it

The key to success is to stick to what you've started (having a revision timetable and revising the way that suits you).  But beware that there are times when we are unproductive.

Never study when you're feeling tired. Why? Because you're not going to remember anything and you'll only get frustrated.

Avoid long sessions. Why? The danger of studying for long periods of three hours or more is you may feel that you haven't learnt enough and you'll end up getting disappointed with yourself

Don't give yourself a hard time if you don't remember everything. Why? The truth is you're not going to remember everything. Instead focus on the things that you do know so that you can make up for what you don't know!

When you allow feelings of frustration and disappointment to get the better of you then these feelings lead to lack of confidence in your ability to do well. As a result stress starts to kick in. If you can avoid the stress you can avoid all the things that come with it.

If you begin to feel this way talk to someone you trust or get help from organisations such as Childline. Don't keep it to yourself!