You’re in your final GCSE year. You know that in order to be successful in your summer exams, you need some sort of revision or study plan; but you’re not sure where to get started. Your teachers are telling you that you should make a revision timetable for GCSE, but no one has actually shown you to get started. So, you’ve been doing some practice questions and reading your school notes just to make a start. You hope it will all pay off eventually.
Revision Timetable for GCSE: Why you need one?
Having a revision timetable helps to minimise overwhelm. It gives you a daily plan to follow and it helps you to stay motivated and focused. It means you can be relatively calm and relaxed knowing you’ve done the best you can in order to move forward.
Revision timetables are not just for when exams are around the corner. You should be using them right from the start of your GCSE years (year 10 & 11). They will help you develop a daily routine and study habit. They don’t have to be intensive in the early stages and you don’t have to rigidly stick to them. But you can use them to help you become more disciplined when it comes to forming a routine.
How to make a revision timetable for GCSE students?
Follow the steps below to help you create a simple timetable that you can use.
STEP 1: CREATE A BLANK TABLE
Open up a word document or an excel spreadsheet. Create a table with about 8 rows and 8 columns. Along the top row, write the days (Monday to Sunday), starting from the second row. Then down the first column, write the times you’re available after school (in one-hour slots) e.g. 4 pm, 5 pm, 6 pm etc. See the photo below for an example.
STEP 2: SCHEDULE IN YOUR REGULAR COMMITMENTS
Schedule in your regular commitments and extracurricular activities. This could be your workout sessions, science tutor, Arabic classes, football classes and so on. Consider the time it takes to travel to and from these sessions and account for them in the timetable.
If you have any upcoming appointments such as birthday parties or family gatherings make a note of them, so they don’t clash with your daily routine.
STEP 3: BLOCK OUT BREAK TIMES
Block out your dinner and break times. The remaining sessions left will be used for your revision. I suggest you give yourself no more than 15 minutes breaks and no more than an hour for dinner time.
STEP 4. ALLOCATE REVISION SLOTS
Try to allocate one-hour revision slots on your timetable, but feel free to break your study sessions into two 30-minute revision sessions if that works well for you. I recommend studying, for no more than 50 minutes without taking a break. You can study for 25 minutes, take a 5 minutes break and then do another 25 minutes. Or study for 50 minutes and take a 10 to 15 mins break.
STEP 5. PRIORITISE YOUR SUBJECTS
On a piece of paper, write down all your subjects. For example, if you are studying for 10 GCSEs, then write them all down. If you are studying Double Science, remember that this is two options so list it down twice e.g. Double Science A & B.
Now it is time to prioritise your subjects. Identify, with an asterisk, the subjects you find challenging and the ones that have a large content (even if you find them easy). Choose between 3 to 5 subjects for this. Now divide all your subjects across the time you have left on your timetable. You’ll need to allocate more time to the subjects you identified earlier as priority subjects. I recommend doubling the amount of time you spend on these subjects, if possible.
STEP 6. COLOUR CODE YOUR SUBJECTS
Colour code all your subjects on the timetable as this will give you a good overview of what you are studying at a glance. Try to rotate your subjects. So, don’t do all science on one day for example. A good tip is to start with one of your least favourite subjects, and then reward yourself by finishing off with a subject you like. This helps to make the revision less mundane. Schedule in the more challenging subjects at the times you work best. For example, if you are more refreshed after your dinner or immediately as you come home from school, that’s the best time to tackle a subject you find challenging.
STEP 7. STICK TO YOUR PLAN
Stick to your timetable as best as you can. Obviously, life happens and things come up, just make sure to reschedule a session that you missed. Even if it means doing 5 minutes rather than 30 minutes. Also, it can be easy to pick up momentum and spend more time on a subject than you anticipated. For example, you may find you spend 50 minutes revising instead of 25 minutes. That’s completely fine, just revise the subject you missed on another day.
Revision Timetable for GCSE Students
So, there you have it. 7 simple steps to make a revision timetable for GCSE. Remember that your timetable is a work in progress. You can always change things around your life. If you start to have your dinner earlier rather than later, you can change it. If you’ve covered a lot of grounds on one of the more difficult subjects, you can reduce the amount of time spent on that and spend more time on another subject you are starting to become concerned about. Nothing is fixed. You have to keep moulding it ever so often so that it works for you.
I have included a blank copy of a timetable that I use with my students. All you need to do is slot in your subjects. Just click here to download. Good luck, and as always feel free to contact me if you need help.
