How to cope with exam season – Angela Jison – The Tiffin Girls’ School

Don’t dwell. There is no point of worrying about how little revision you have done and thinking about the hours and hours that all your friends have. You have no way of going back in time and changing it, the time’s gone and stressing over what you could have done will only delay your revision more and put you in a cycle of procrastination and anxiety. Instead, take a minute, plan the revision you are going to do from now and get on with it. It may seem hard at the beginning but if you push through, things will work out!

Don’t overplan. Many students find themselves planning too much revision for one day and find themselves extremely unmotivated and unhappy when they are not able to get through it all. When planning revision make sure to be realistic, there’s no way you are going to be able to learn everything for all your subjects in just a few days! Plan to do a few subjects a day and don’t feel like you need to cover all the topics that will come up. Getting a topic or two done a day is better than you think it is and as time goes on you’ll see that you’ve done quite a lot.

Don’t cram the night before. It won’t help and will only leave you feeling more stressed than before. If you do find yourself in the situation that you have an exam the next day and feel as if you know nothing, sit down, look at the key bits of information and start revising these. Don’t try to learn everything as this is almost impossible and may lead to you forgetting it all the next day. Also try to look at a few exam style questions to get an idea of what sort of questions may come up and mark these using the official mark scheme to see which type of words you need to use

Have down time. It is extremely important that you are taking the time to do things you enjoy, whether that be going out with friends, taking a walk or even just using your phone. Although many people tell you to ditch your phone during exam season, if it helps you relax, go for it! Just make sure that the phone is far out of your sight and reach when the time comes for the revision you have planned! Going out and seeing the people that you love and enjoy to be around will help you stay motivated and will be good for you in the long run. Having a good time and being happy is worth losing a mark or two!

Remember that life goes on. The test may seem like life or death but it isn’t. Not doing as well as you wanted or failing one test won’t be the end of the world and you shouldn’t treat it like it will be. Although it may be an extremely important exam and one that could affect your future, such as A-levels, whether you do extremely well or extremely badly, life will carry on and you will overcome it. 

Overall, just know that you are not alone and millions of students are feeling the way you are right not and it will be over soon. Summer is coming and think of all the fun things you can do when the weather’s nicer!