Exam keywords and other important stuff

Ms. Pascoe is running a session on exam keywords for students in A1 at 12.30 on Monday. You can download a copy of her Powerpoint on exam literacy by clicking here and visiting the Megaupload site, waiting 45 seconds then choosing "Regular Download". Students will also be having VIP lesson which is designed to get students thinking about exam keywords, time management and organisation. The Powerpoint from that lesson is here and the sheet of exam keywords and definitions is here.

Booster programme during study leave

As you should be aware, we are running a comprehensive booster programme during study leave. The students will be receiving their copies of the programme on Monday at the Year 11 exams assembly. You can download a copy here (click on the link which will take you to Megaupload site, wait 45 seconds then select the "Regular Download" button. Students who have been granted study leave can plan which days they wish to attend school, those without study leave can plan which sessions they will be attending each day. There are more details on the programme itself.

What students should be doing this week (w/b 3rd May)

This week is all about making sure students are ready for study leave. Students will be getting their individual exam timetables in the next couple of days, and hopefully by the end of the week they will have a list of the sessions we are running during study leave. Students should have a chat with their tutors this week and get them to sign the forms in the back of the planner (and get parents / carers to sign them too) and take them along to Mrs Bullock in the Humanities Admin. Office in the TC building. I will be catching up with the students with whom I have been working to discuss study leave options in the coming week.

What students should be doing this week (w/b April 26th)

In this short week back after the Easter Holidays, students will have the opportunity for some revision in school on Thursday morning, along with the chance to finish off outstanding ICT work where appropriate. Please remind students to bring in some revision for periods 2 and 3 on Thursday. I will be checking up on my coached students progress during this time so there will be no meetings during registration this week. I will also take the opportunity to try and answer any questions students have about study leave and the booster programme. On the revision front, students should be continuing the work they have planned to do (remembering that the long weekend is an excellent opportunity to put in a few extra hours!

What students should be doing this week (w/b April 4th)

My advice is to make sure that students have planneda really comprehensive revision programme for the Easter holidays. The guidance in the Revision Planner is just that: guidance, and may not be appropriate for all students. However, I am recommending to the students that I am coaching that they try and do three revision sessions per day during the holidays. If they structure them using the "Prepare It! Learn It! Test It!" model, they will probably end up doing about 4 and half hours revision per day in the holidays.

GCSE Exam Timetables

I have uploaded the overview of the GCSE exam timetable as it stands at the moment, you can download it from Megaupload by clicking here .

What students should be doing this week (w/b March 28th)

This week i have asked the students I am coaching to use their revision planners to plan out exactly what they will be revising and when, and to fill in the "Revision Subject and Topic" column of the diary section of their planner. In order to help with this I have asked each subject to provide a topic list so that students can plan between 10 and 20 sessions on each GCSE subject that they have an exam in. Obviously, students should focus more on subjects where they need to make the biggest improvement, and less on subjects where they have already completed much of the course through modular exams or coursework.

There are topic lists available for download in Business Studies , Drama, Geography, Health and Social Care, History, Maths (Foundation) , Maths (Higher) , French and German , PE , RE , Science (Single, Double and Triple) .