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Guidance Notes to Students and Parents

To Parents:
All students need parental support in order to properly prepare themselves for examinations. However it is important that parents do not do the work for their children. Proper support will help children learn and practice how to organise and plan the necessary independent work required. This will help them achieve the results they desire free from stress and anxiety.

Parents’ main role is to be nearby and available for their children’s needs. Parents should provide adequate and effective supervision of each child in carrying out their study plan. By doing this parents demonstrate good guidance and have a chance to offer corrective suggestions where needed.
 
Parents can teach their children how to write a study or revision plan, implement it and adjust it whenever necessary. Parents can also educate their children in avoiding and alleviating examination stress thus helping them perform their best in exams. In addition they can instruct their children how to follow the notes below so that in the future they would be able to do these jobs independently.

Parents play a major role in how their children feel towards achievement at school and towards exams. Excessive stress is mainly not the fault of the child; neither is the child’s attitude towards exams or their achievement. Parents who panic about their children’s examination results and show excessive care about marks should not be surprised if their children themselves start panicking too.  In general, the results of these children may start declining at some stage. The other extreme can be just as harmful.  Parents who do not show enthusiasm about their children’s performance should not be surprised to see that their children do not perform.

Parents should demonstrate patience at all times.  They should never lose their temper or ‘blame’ the child. Even if their child has left revision until the last minute or is confused about what is required for an upcoming exam.  Rather, talk to them in a sensible and compassionate manner.  Also try to avoid comparing the abilities of children to those of their siblings or friends.

Parent’s attitudes should be balanced; children should be encouraged to do their best, not less and not more. Be satisfied with their performance if they are making the right effort. There is no scientific evidence supporting the claim that children who do extremely well at school do the same later in life. However, there is strong evidence that students who develop diligence and well-balanced work habits give themselves a better chance at success than others.

We hope that they all pass and achieve highly. However, if someone fails, and learns from their failure, then their poor results can help them develop the right work habits to ensure that they will make the grade the next time round.

A pleasant and settled morning routine is a family requirement, not an option. Parents sometimes unwittingly cause morning chaos by failing to instill a pleasant, effective routine.

Please take note of the following points regarding exam stress:
o    Being terrified of disappointing their parents will not help children, it will only make them more anxious and hence will reduce their chances of success.
o    One of the biggest problems surrounding revision and exams is excessive stress.  It drains energy and may lead to panic attacks.
o    However, not all stress is bad; minor stress is a positive force that helps one stay alert and focus on the task at hand. Focus and concentration are necessary for good performance.     
o    Help children learn to be aware of their feelings and to recognize what their response is to excessive pressure or stress.  Help them determine the cause of their stress.  Often a break or a chat with them puts things into perspective.
o    Panic is often triggered by hyperventilating (i.e. quick, shallow breaths). Therefore, if they feel themselves panicking, teach them to sit back and relax for a moment and control their breathing. Even during an exam this is beneficial, because the time they invest in doing this is not wasted. On the contrary, students who can control their nerves in exams perform better than those who do not.

 
To Students:

Writing a Revision Plan
o    Refer to the examination timetable in order to have a plan that takes into consideration the sequential order of your examinations.
o    Determine accurately how much work needs to be covered. Make sure that the knowledge and information required for each exam is very clear. Then the time designated for study is invested in learning what is required and also so that no required material is missed.
o    Establish how much time is available between ‘now’ and the exam of each subject.
o    Estimate how much time needs to be devoted to each subject, trying to concentrate on weaknesses while not forgetting to reinforce your strengths.
o    Draw up a realistic detailed study schedule.
o    Make sure that the schedule does not require work during the last afternoon or evening before the exam – it is wrong to try to learn study material on the evening preceding the exam, or on the morning of the exam. The brain needs sufficient time to rest before the demanding task of completing the exam.
o    Include in the plan at least half an hour every day before bedtime for reading, listening to music and relaxation.

Implementing the Revision Plan
o    It is of utmost importance to stick to the study start time everyday very diligently and accurately. Make a sincere promise never to postpone starting work.  Putting off the start by finding excuses to do other things is very harmful.  Leaving work until the last minute is a bad habit. The more the delay, the more the panic and the worse the preparation.
o    During revision you need to check frequently how much progress you have actually made.  This way you can find out early enough, whether you need to do extra work during that day in order to stay on schedule.
o    Allow adjustments to the plan. Falling behind requires putting in more hours in order to catch up. Never adjust the plan by putting off work to a future time if it can be completed now.
o    Prepare a quiet place for revision where there will be no distraction. Make sure the space is comfortable.
o    Make friends and family aware of the fact that peace and quiet is essential so that they do not disturb or interrupt your work.
o    Avoid boredom; recharging is possible by remembering that a good mark is enjoyable. Switching revision between subjects may help you avoid becoming bored with a single topic.
o    Decide on a small quick 'reward' after every successful revision session; a quick treat to help you get back energetically to your books.
 
Proper Revision
o    Revision should be done with both understanding AND memorizing.
o    All that is required must be learnt. (Memorizing some vocabulary or solving a certain exercise a number of times until it can be done correctly and within a proper time interval, etc).
o    While doing revision, do not think of passing or failing – it only adds to the stress.

The Evening before the Exam
o    If you are very anxious or nervous do something relaxing the night before the exam. Take a walk or visit a friend and get your mind off the exam.  You run the risk of ‘blanking out’ during the exam if you continue to study till late. Some people actually lose the ability to access information that they've learned when they become very anxious.
o    Sleep early; get a good night's sleep before the exam.  Fatigue impedes your focus and sleep deprivation causes fatigue, thus making it difficult to focus and pay attention.  It also weakens the immune system and leaves you susceptible to making bad decisions which could lead to accident or injury.
o    Make sure that all equipment and materials needed for the exam are prepared and organized before you go to bed so that it is ready for you in the morning. This can be done via a checklist.
o    Have a relaxing, quiet evening
o    Switch off the computer and TV early
o    No stimulating music
o    Avoid late phone calls
o    Go to bed early
o    Avoid loud and distracting activities
o    Dim lights

The Morning of the Exam
o    Get up at least one hour before the exam.
o    This will give you time to wake up and be alert.
o    Have breakfast; you need a nutritious start each morning. Your brain urgently needs the energy; you cannot travel far if your car hasn’t got enough petrol.  Studies have shown that children who eat breakfast are more alert and have the energy enabling them to concentrate.
o    Try not to rush. Rushing causes you to become tense and this will adversely affect your performance. Gaining a few further minutes of sleep in the morning could prove harmful because your potential performance decreases with the tension created by rushing.  Rushing also makes you nervous and may make you forget things you have learnt. It may also cause you to misplace material that you need for the exam.

o    Rise and shine!
o    Go through your checklist again to make sure you take everything you need: the proper equipment for the test: pencils/erasers, extra pens, paper, calculator, etc.
o    Avoid testing yourself on specific questions just before the exam! If you find out that you have missed learning something then it will make you nervous and increase anxiety. Learning a last minute piece of information may get you an extra mark, but it may also cause you to lose many other marks due to the anxiety you have created.
o    Be at the examination room door with plenty of time to spare.

Exam Technique
o    Enter the exam hall quietly and confidently.  Observe the exam rules strictly.  Put yourself in a frame of mind that you are going to FOCUS during the exam.
o    Start when you are allowed to start.
o    Start by reading the exam instructions very carefully.
o    Browse through the whole question paper in order to form an idea about the mark allocation of the different questions.
o    Plan the order in which you are going to answer the questions. The plan should allow you to maximise your mark.
o    Start with questions that you are sure you know and that are allocated many marks.
o    If you discover that you do not know the answer of a certain question or group of questions then plan to skip them – but never panic.
o    Now as you start with a question - FOCUS - read it thoroughly at least twice and make sure you understand exactly what is required.
o    Now write down your answer to that question. In some cases you may need to draft an answer on note paper then copy it neatly on the answer sheet.
o    Now re-read the question and the answer you have written in order to make sure that you have answered the question properly.
o    Check the time and your progress.  If you discover that your progress is not as fast as it should be then do not panic. Stop, take a deep breath and calm down. Only when you remain calm will you perform to your potential. Now browse through the whole question paper again and revise your plan deciding how you can maximise your mark with whatever time is left.
o    Never leave the examination hall before time is up, even if you finish before time:
o    Always thoroughly revise what you have written - re-reading the question and the corresponding answer.
o    Try the questions that you had skipped.
o    Even if you do not finish all exam questions, sometimes you will gain more marks if you stop a few minutes before time is up and check the answers you have written to see if you can make any improvements.

AFTER THE EXAM
o    Evaluate the manner in which you took the exam and decide how you can do better in the next exam:
o    Did you get stuck on a question and waste too much time?
o    Did you read a question carelessly and hence miss its point?
o    Did you answer carelessly and make a mistake that you could have avoided?
o    Did you skip a page or a question unintentionally?
o    Don't engage in "If only I had done..." or "...not done..." for this will only make you depressed! Instead, make plans for how you can behave differently in the next exam.