10 GCSE revision tips for parents

Your child is in year 10 or 11 and they’ve started to study for their GCSEs. You know that having good revision strategies will help them improve their grades. But you don’t know how to help them. In fact, you were never good at revising back in your school days either.  And being a busy working mum means you don’t have the time to help. You feel helpless, so you sit back watching your child, giving them space and keeping your fingers crossed.

To best help your child with GCSE revision, there are two important things you need to know.

• What your child will need in year 11, and around exam time. These are space, reduced stress, organisation and focus.
• How students learn best. According to scientific research, students learn best when they spread their learning over time with increasing intervals. They also retain more information when they learn by recall rather than simply re-reading notes.

Here are the top 10 ways to help your child revise for GCSE.

10 GCSE revision tips for parents

1. Help them create a revision timetable.

Having a revision timetable helps the student cover the content in the syllabus (exam specification). They will need to organise their timetable by including not only their GCSE subjects but also the specific topics in each subject. This is a good way to ensure they’ve planned their revision so they to cover all the content over time. If they are struggling with creating a revision timetable, help them with it. There’s a guide on how to create revision timetables here. Keep a copy of the revision timetable for yourself or just ensure that it’s boldly displayed where they study. Then occasionally, check in to see that they are following the timetable.

2. Ensure they have a distraction-free study space

Exam time is highly stressful. With huge specifications to cover over several different subjects. Plus, students getting to grips with learning how to revise. Your child will need a quiet space where they can focus. Whether it’s in their bedroom, a study room or living room table. Make sure they have a designated space they can revise during their revision hours and there’s no distractions like kids running around, television on loudly or video-games.

3. Work with them to create a study routine

Create a simple plan where your child knows what activities will be happening at different days and times of the week. It could be that they have dance classes on Tuesday, a science tutor on Thursday, English & French homework on Monday for example. Having a routine helps the child instil good habits and but also means you can check in occasionally to see how to are getting on. Many students leave routines until the last year of GCSE but I recommend starting this habit from as early as year 8.

4. Make sure they have all their study equipment

During exam period, every second count. The child will want to ensure they maximise the limited amount of time they have to revise. So, it is important that not only do they have all their equipment available, but they can easily find them. Have student books, revision books, notebook, pens, highlighters etc in a place where they can easily reach them. This really helps with organisation and focus.

5. Make sure they get a good night’s rest

Sleep is more important than many of us think. In the long term, a lack of sleep is linked with disorders like obesity and Alzheimer’s. In the short term, sleep helps your child process the study material they have learnt and improve their memory. Research has shown a relationship between sleep length and exam performance in students. Make sure your child has a night-time routine. They should stop working at a set time each night so they can unwind and relax before bed. You may also want to turn off phones and TV before bedtime as these can be huge distractions. The national sleep foundation recommends that teenagers should sleep between 8 to 10 hours a day.

6. Make sure they eat well

As a busy parent, it can be easy to send your child to school with a quick pack-lunch or rely on the school’s canteen. But, the last year of GCSE and the months leading up to the exams are particularly important. If you give them pack-lunch for school, make sure that they have a balanced and varied meal. If you rely on them to buy their own lunch, make sure they know the importance of healthy eating so that they make correct food choices.

7. Make sure they schedule in relaxation time

With the stress around GCSE and all the studying the child has to do, we can forget to take breaks and relax. Relaxing is very important as helps the child achieve a calm and clear mind, recharge and get ready to start again full of energy. Make sure your child has scheduled in breaks in their revision timetable. It is important to have at least 5 to 15 minutes break between each study session, depending on how long they study for. They also need longer breaks so they can have dinner and spend time with family. And of course, they need times during the week for extracurricular activities or for spending time with friends. Make sure these are scheduled in the timetable also.

8. Instil a growth Mindset

I am currently reading a book called “How to Ace your GCSEs”. This book categorises people having either an external or internal locus of control. People with an external locus of control tend to blame the environment (‘external factors’) such as their teachers, their school and other’s around them for their circumstance. People with internal locus of control take responsibility for their life and make changes within themselves to effect the change that they want.

You can guess which mindset many teenagers have. Help your child to develop the right mindset. Make it clear that there are always obstacles in life but it’s how we push to overcome them that matters.

9. Make studying fun

Sometimes, everyone in a household can get tense and anxious around exam period. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Learning can be fun! Especially with increasing online learning tools in today’s day in age.  Learn together with your child. Play educational games and quizzes with them. Kahoot is a common one used in schools that students love, but there are others. This becomes fun and exciting as you both try to improve your scores to win. Offline, you can use a flashcard that your child has created to ask them questions. If you can, try and link what’s going on in the world, on television and around us to what they are learning. And don’t forget to reward them. If they’ve done well in the quiz or questions you’ve asked them. Give them something they like as a reward. It could be something small like their favourite drink for example. Children respond positively to rewards and it pushes them to try even harder next time.

10. Consider hiring a tutor

When it comes to learning, sometimes there’s only so much the school and you as a parent can do. If you’ve tried the GCSE revision tips in my last post, and the strategies listed on this post; yet you still feel your child need more help, consider hiring a tutor. Focus on the subjects that are struggling with the most.

GCSE revision tips for parents: Final Thoughts

Good revision techniques are essential to help your child pass their GCSEs. In the last post, I gave 10 essential revision techniques students can use to improve their grades. This post is focused on GCSE revision tips for parents. As a parent, you can use the strategies here to help your child revise for their GCSE. By working with your child to use the strategies in both posts, they’ll be well on their way to passing their GCSEs.