Year 11 Mocks Emergency Revision Calendar

If Year 11s need to structure their revision between now and the end of the exam period, they might find this calendar useful. Once students have filled in their exam dates (using the information at the back of the booklet), they should work out which topics they are going to revise and how they are going to revise them. We recommend they use our "Pass It!" revision system which students have been introduced to in ViP lessons. This involves breaking each revision session into three phases "Prepare It!", "Learn It!" and "Test It!" - essentially, working out what they will learn, then learning it and then testing to see what they have remembered. Each, of the three phases will take around half an hour meaning that a revision session should take around 1 and a half hours. On holidays and during study leave, I think it is a reasonable expectation for students to complete three revision sessions (i.e. a total of 4 and half hours). It makes sense for students to vary which subjects they revise in their plan so that in a single day they might study a topic each in, for example: History, Maths and Science. Planning the revision period is a great way to make sure that students cover everything they need to in a way that manages potential stress.

Please note that the exam information in the calendar in a summary and does not include some access arrangements - students MUST refer to their own copy of the exam timetable that has been distributed this week.

Revising for the Mock Exams

At the assembly with the Leadership Team on Monday, Mr Taylor talked about how students should revise and distributed this handout which gives some useful guidance on how best to prepare for the mocks.

Follow SMRT Revision on Twitter

If you want to be kept even more up to date with revision matters,then follow us on Twitter. You can do this by clicking the "Follow" button at the top of the Twitter feed on this page.

Supporting Year 11 students

Over the past week, Mr Taylor has held a series of assemblies for Year 11 students designed to remind them of some of the things they will need to do in order to achieve their potential in their exams next summer. The following is a summary of what was said to students:

1) Arrive on time – set the alarm on your phone so you get up early enough to get to school on time. Go straight to each lesson on the bell. Save your conversations with your friends for lunchtime and breaktime. 5 minutes lost each lesson = 2 days lost each month

2) Have the correct equipment – leave any distractions (iPod, phone etc.) in your locker. Pack your bag the night before with the correct equipment. Make a few of copies of your timetable: leave one in your bag, one at home, one with your tutor (they won’t mind), and one in your locker.

3) Try your best –Answer questions in class. Make sure you focus on getting as much work done as possible. Don’t distract other people. Ask for help if you need it.

4) Check your work for Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar – Read back through any completed piece of work. At the very least, check for the following: key word spellings (look on the walls of your classroom); full stops (at the end of sentences) and capital letters (at the start of sentences and for people and places); commas (read the sentence back in your head, when you pause, put a comma) and common spelling errors (“who’s” and “whose”, “their”, ”there” and“they’re” etc.).

5) Complete your homework on time – Bring your planner with you to each lesson and write down the homework. Ask your teacher if you are not sure exactly what to do. If you find the homework difficult, see your teacher before the lesson for help. If you are struggling to find a place to work or you need a set time to do the work and want someone to check up on you, then see Mr Taylor and I will sign you up for lunchtime or afterschool homework club.

6) Attend boosters and catch ups – There are lots of boosters running in lots of subjects, your teachers are going out of their way to help you – do not waste the opportunity. See your class teachers for more details.

7) Revise effectively – you will be having a VIP lesson on revision and there are hints and resources on Fronter (KS4 revision room). If you want any help with revision –see Mr Taylor.

Any opportunity that you get to reinforce or discuss the above with your son/daughter would be greatly appreciated.

Boosters and Catch Up Sessions

There are loads of opportunities for students to either catch up or get ahead in their GCSE subjects, check out the table below for just some of the things which students can access:

Who	What	Where	When	Who
Maths with RKi	Set 4 homework help	D11	Tuesdays 12.15	Set 4 Maths
History with MLa and JDe	Revision of all topics in Medicine and Germany	TC4	Tuesdays 3.20	All GCSE History students
French and German with AMc	Drop in session for all aspects of languages	T11	Fridays 2.25	All MFL students
Key Stage 4 lunchtime h/w club with APa	A chance to do a quick blast of hw or revision in a supervised environment	TC5	Thursdays 12.15	Everyone – some of you will be required to attend.
French with HCL	Lunchtime drop in	TC11	Wednesdays 12.15	All MFL students
Product Design with SNE	Catch up or get ahead	DT area	Any lunchtime except Fridays	All Product Design students
DT with VJa	Catch up sessions	DT area	Wednesday 3.15	DT students
Music with PDi	Composition	B4	Wednesday 12.15	All GCSE Music students
Geography	Revision on various topics – see your teacher for details	TC	10th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 22nd and 23rd October	All GCSE Geography students.
Extra 5 Literacy programme with ITa and PBo	How to get 5% extra in your GCSEs by improving your spelling, punctuation and grammar.	TC6 and B10	Monday and Wednesday lunchtimes	By invite but see Mr Taylor if you want to sign up.

Preparing for the Mocks - November 2013

In the next two weeks, the VIP team will be devoting two lessons to teaching Year 11 students how to revise. The first lesson focuses on the "Prepare It!", "Learn It!", "Test It!" method that we encourage the students to use. You can download a copy of the lesson plan that is used here. In the second lesson the students focus on memory techniques. In the video clip below, one strategy which students may find useful is discussed:

History Warn Up Session Monday June 3rd 12:15

Students can warmup for their History GCSE on Monday June 3rd by coming to TC4 at 12:15 for some last minute tips and guidance.

History Resources

Here are some History resources recommended by Mr Thurston: Germany sheets can be downloaded by clicking here, here and here. The medicine sheets are here, here, here, here, and here.

What students should be doing this week (w/c May 13th)

The study leave booster programme got off to a great start on Friday with over 60% of Year 11 students choosing to attend. Today has seen similar numbers as well as the first big exam - RE which went off very smoothly. Students should continue to revise this week but not just for the next exam - they need to devote time to all their subjects!

Study Leave booster programme begins tomorrow (Friday)

Tomorrow is the first day of our study leave booster programme. Students need to come to the library before 8.30 in order to sign up for the sessions for that day. The sessions fill up on a "first come, first served" basis and most sessions are limited to 25 places, so come early to avoid disappointment. In period 1, students can choose from four different English boosters - one on "An Inspector Calls", one on "Themes in Heroes" and two looking at different questions on the Reading paper. Period 2 has sessiosn in German, French, Business Studies and Physics; period 3 has Biology, Double Science and Media Studies. During period 4 there are choices of 5 Maths sessions - 4 of which look at different aspects of analysing data and an "Aiming for an A*" session on Circle Theroems. For those who stay on for the afternoon there is more Science (Single, Double and  Chemistry). Throughout the day, those who don't wish to attend a particular booster can do "Supervised Revision" - remember to bring some revision with you!

Take Five Website Fixed

The Take Five website is back online. Use the site the revise for Maths, English, Science, German and History. You can log on as a guest by using the link to the side of this page and then clicking on SMRT. Watch the videos, listen to the mp3s, do the jigsaws, take the tests. A great way to revise those key facts.

What students should be doing this week (w/c May 6th)

Having enjoyed the sunshine and the last few days of school, the students should really be making plans to get the most out of our study leave booster programme. This is an excellent way of making sure that the students get a solid 5 hours of revision done each day between May 10th and May 24th, The fianl version of the programme can be downloaded here. If you have any questions about the programme, please e-mail me via the school.

What students should be doing this week (w/c 29th April)

Students need to be making decisions about Study Leave. Whether to come in every day or whether they can trust themselves to choose which boosters they attend. I will be meeting with many of the students to discuss this issue, it is always helpful if parents and carers have already discussed it with the students as well. If you want to discuss the issues with me, then please do contact me via the school. There is a draft copy of the programme below.

Study Leave Programme

A draft copy of the study leave programme has been given to students. You can download a copy here. Be aware that it is subject to change.

What Students Should Be Doing This Week (w/c April 22nd)

This week, students should continue with their revision as per their plans. As parents/carers you can support them by reassuring them that even if they are getting behind or feeling stressed, there is lots of support available to them. If you need any further guidance please contact me via the school. Also please encourage students to attend the subject booster sessions - particularly the English and Maths ones this Monday.

A couple of other things: I have noticed that some students are revising an entire subject and then moving onto the next subject (e.g. all their RE then all their Geography) I don't recommend this as it inevitably leads to a "bottleneck" in the exam period where they find they have "over focused" on a particular subject (usually the one that they have the first exam in) at the expense of their others. Lastly, the Study Leave Programme will be available here as soon as it is finalised and will be distributed to students on Moday May 6th.

English After School Booster Sessions

The English team are running a series of after-school boosters beginning tomorrow. The programme is as follows:

 

Wednesday April 17 with BEV in  B14 “Question Types” (Reading Paper)

Monday  April 22  with JAL in B9 “PAF/Planning” (Writing Paper)

Wednesday April 24 with CST in B9 “Question 4” (Reading Paper)

Wednesday May 1 with REV in B13 “Exam Techniques – Securing a C grade” (Reading Paper)

Wednesday May 1 with CBU in B8 “Approaches to the Literature Paper – Aiming for an A*”

Tuesday May 7 with TCR in B7 "Persuasive Writing Skills"

 

Take Five Website Still Down

I have chased up the company that hosts the site who tell me thay are doing all they can to get it back up and running (and to fix the problem with log ons) but for now it remains down.

What Students Should Be Doing This Week (w/c 15th April)

Students really ought to have finished all outstanding coursework by now and be focusing on completing at least one revision session per night. In VIP lessons this week, the studenmts are developing their revision strategies but any students who still feel they need help should see Mr Taylor during any lunchtime.

GCSE Exam Timetable

The timetable for the GCSE exams can be accessed by via the school website here. Students will receive individual timetables nearer to the start of the exam season.

What students should be doing this week - w/c 8th April

Now that term time has begun students will need to reduce the number of hours that spend revising each day but as they finish coursework and their IT they should have the scope to revise for a couple of hours each night. Later in the week, Mr Taylor will be checking the revision planners of some students and asking them to bring in evidence of their revision - if you would like your son or daughter to be a part of this "gentle reminder" then please e-mail Mr Taylor via the school.

Materials From the Parents and Carers Revision Evening

Here is my introduction presentation and some of the other presentations from Geography and Science,  as well as the sessions on students with additional time and the general session on effective revision. If you click on the links you will be taking to the Mediafire site for your download.

Revision Planner 2013

Yes, the wait is finally over - the student revision planner for 2013 is ready and is being distributed to students this week. You can access an electronic copy of the planner by clicking here and downloading it from Mediafire.

Parents and Carers Revision Evening

On Thursday the 14th of March from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. we will be running a Revision Evening for the Parents and Carers of Year 11 students. These evenings are designed to give parents and carers the opportunity to find out ways to support Year 11 students in the run-up to the GCSE exams, both in individual subjects and more generally.

The evening will begin with a short talk in the school hall, outlining the support available to students over the next few months. This will then be followed by a series of four workshops. Students in Year 11 have been given a letter about the event, which should be completed and returned to the Humanities Admin Office as soon as possible, in order to reserve a place at what is usually a very popular event. You can download a copy of the letter here.

HIstory "Know It!" MP3s

Here are the first few MP3s from the first history booster session: Prehistoric Medicine content and questions can be accessed by clicking the links. Followed by the Egyptians content and questions and the Greeks content and questions  Clicking on the link will take you to the mediafire page where the files are hosted - follow the instructions to download the MP3s.

History Booster Sessions - Thursday Afternoons

For the next few weeks we are running booster sessions in History, aimed at giving students a head start on their revision by running through the entire course: both Medicine and Germany. The sessions are based on the "Know It!" sheets (all of which are available on the VLE). Students who attend also get sent an e-mail for each topic with two MP3s attached - the first covers the content of a particular "Know It!" sheet and should be listened to with the sheet visible to the student. The second, asks questions based on the topic. Students should have the "Know It!" available but out of view. They can pause the MP3 and try and think of the answer (turning over the sheet to check if they really are not sure) before I give them the correct. Students should use each MP3 as many times as they need to until they can answer all the questions from memory.