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Educational Exam Revision Techniques for Leadership Teams to encourage students to use

In this article, I will share a wide variety of strategies that I have used successfully in a number of schools.


Where do you start...


5 Key Areas to Support Exam Performance:


1. Preparation

  • Speak to your teachers, identify areas to revise from your mock or past exams or techniques to improve (time management, misreading questions, not showing calculations or not providing evidence etc).

  • Check the most up-to-date syllabus for every subject from CAIE.

  • Find out about the exam format (structure, command words, short tasks or essay-based, multiple choice etc).


2. Organisation

  • Read the examiner's / teacher's report and check past papers.

  • Ask your teachers questions or email them if you are unsure about a topic, question or an area of study.

  • Ensure that you have an appropriate workspace in order to concentrate without distractions.

  • Replicate an exam environment whilst studying to boost confidence and increase memory retrieval.

  • Make sure you have all the correct resources, textbooks, workbooks etc.


3. Create a Plan

  • Create a revision timetable.

  • Include time for breaks, for exercise and to keep healthy.

  • Try different versions (Getrevising, Goconqr, Google Calendar etc.).

  • Take a look at the Cambridge Final Exam Timetable June 2021 .


4. Start Early

  • Use spaced practice and retain new information over a long period of time.

  • Understand how we remember knowledge and how to retain information (Forgetting Curve and increasing memory strength).

  • To reduce stress, identify weaker subjects, improving grades etc. start early and benefit from positive effects.


5. Practice

  • Active retrieval is far more effective than re-reading or repeating information. Testing yourself is key.

  • To boost your memory skills during revision season, try some of these tips from the British Council.

  • Exposing yourself to 'test conditions' forces your brain to cope with time management and therefore perform better under pressure.


The best way to increase confidence and reduce anxiety is to be well prepared, so start your revision in good time. Many tutors in Oxford will build it into your course but you will need to make your own plans as well to make sure you have covered all the topics you think you need to know.

University of Oxford


“If you and your friends send each other messages every five minutes, you will find it very difficult to concentrate on what you are learning. So, switch off your phone and your favourite social network sites while you are studying! You can send messages to your friends during your breaks.”


"We found that listening to liked or disliked music was exactly the same, and both were worse than the quiet control condition," he says. "Both impaired performance on serial-recall tasks."


Research-based methods


Active Revision requires you to get involved, to participate and use / organise material.

Try and use paper-based or electronic active learning to support your revision. Keep rote learning to a minimum – just the formulae which are required. Revise for understanding, not just memorising. Here are various methods of Active Revision:

  1. Active Learning.

  2. Cone of Learning (Edgar Dale 1967).

  3. Testing yourself with questions + Researching over time from 1000 scientific studies (Prof Dunlovsky 2013).

  4. Mindset and Praise for Effort (Mueller and Dweck 2002).

  5. Lack of Sleep impairs reasoning and memory (Pamela Thacher 2003).

  6. Reducing novelty and stress of the exam day (Sian Beilock 2009).

  7. Using Flashcards and memory (Hermann Ebbinghaus 1970)

  8. Keywords and intervals (Bahrick, H. P. et al. 1993)

  9. Foods to boost brain power (Jo Lewin)

  10. The influence of Exercise on cognitive abilities (Fernando Gomez- Pinilla, Charles Hillman 2013)

  11. Information viewed amid distractions (Nicole Dudukovic)

  12. The Protégé Effect + Betty's Brain @ Stanford Uni (While we teach, we learn 2007)


Active revision examples


  1. Diagrams/Mind maps. (https://padlet.com/ , https://www.popplet.com/ , https://www.mindmeister.com/ )

  2. Flash cards then discussing topics with a friend. (https://quizlet.com/en-gb , https://www.memrise.com/ , )

  3. Questions. (https://kahoot.it/, https://www.quiz-maker.com/ , https://www.onlinequizcreator.com/ )

  4. Linking problems. (https://sketchboard.io/ , https://app.diagrams.net/ , https://drawisland.com/ )

  5. Similarities/differences/advantages+disadvantages. (https://creately.com/lp/venn-diagram-maker/ , https://www.gliffy.com/ )

  6. Post-it notes (https://www.post-it.com/3M/en_US/post-it/ideas/app )

  7. Looking for points for and against an argument. http://listmoz.com/ #DpqTz0BTrqP9LKYZ7w

  8. Identifying themes or principles. http://justnotepad.com/

  9. Creating questions and answers/true and false. https://quizterra.com/en/blog/how-to-create-true-false-quiz

  10. Rhythm, speech etc. https://www.mnemonicgenerator.com/

  11. Pictures, drawings, colour code work.


Ideas for active revision



Exam revision tips


  • Reward yourself by setting and reaching your study goals.

  • Plan your weeks and months carefully, so that you have a daily schedule that you can follow, ensuring that your study times are factored into it. Take careful note of the lead-up to assessments, spacing out your study sessions deliberately.

  • Tips on preparing for exams from the NHS (National Health Service in the UK): being well prepared for your exams is the best way to overcome stress and anxiety, and gives you the best chance of getting good grades.

  • Get enough sleep and keep to a regular bedtime to ensure that you are well rested and prepared for the next day of learning.

  • Here are some tips to help with exam stress and to promote your wellbeing when preparing for and writing an exam.

  • Developed by students for students, an ‘Exam success guide’ from UCL (University College London).

  • Exercising for exam success at the University of Surrey.

  • What to eat? Can food improve your exam performance? - BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation).


Additional links to Universities and guidance from around the world



5 Key Areas to Support Exam Performance:


1. Preparation

2. Organisation

3. Create a Plan

4. Start Early 5. Practice

Start your preparation early, have a good plan and try to learn over time.


Published by Dr. Paul Walton. @paultwalton

Principal, Educator, Leadership Coach.

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Dr. Paul Walton

EDUCATION AND LEADERSHIP @paultwalton
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