1. Why you are about to become the most important people in the school

2. What happens two weeks from now?
GCSEs start for the year 11s…
…which means that it will be exactly one year until your GCSEs start

3. How will we help you to prepare for GCSEs?
Mock exams in the hall in December
Walking-talking mocks
Workshops and assemblies on how to revise
Period 6
Silent study
Mentors
Resources on class charts and the school website
Year 10 exams

4. Year 10 exams – an opportunity to be grasped
Give you the opportunity to become familiar with doing exams in the hall
Give you the opportunity to find out if you are currently doing enough work to get the grades you want
Give you the opportunity to find out which revision techniques work best for you
Give you the opportunity to commit to long term memory the first half of your GCSE course

5. Year 10 exams – when do they happen?
Run in the hall from Tuesday the 12th of June to Thursday the 28th of June
Art exam: Wednesday 23rd May
MFL speaking exams: 7th and 8th of June

6. Year 10 exams – what is expected?
Always have 2 black pens, a pencil, ruler, rubber
Do I need a calculator? maths, science, business studies, geography, others?
Morning exams: find your seat on the plan, wait in the canteen
Afternoon exams: find your seat on the plan, line up in the maths/RE corridor for a 2 o’clock start
Most exams are in the hall. Some groups will use the drama studio or a classroom
Enter in silence: clear pencil case, no phones or electronic devices, no labels on bottles, no watches, no lids on calculators

7. Year 10 exams – how do I prepare?
Later this term, you will receive your exam timetable from your form tutor – but it is already on the school website
Find out from your teachers:
What will be assessed in each paper?
What sort of questions will there be?
Do I need a calculator or other special equipment?
What are the most important areas to learn or revise?
What resources are available to me?

8. Year 10 exams – how do I plan my revision?
Your exams start 7 weeks tomorrow
That gives 42 days, if you work 6 days each week
Most of you do 9 subjects
If you spent just half an hour per day on revision, that would give you 2 hours revision time for each exam plus an additional 3 hours to give to the subjects that are most important for you
…if you start now

9. Year 10 exams – keys to successful revision
Find somewhere quiet to work (computer rooms in school)
Find a regular time to work
Choose how to revise:
Use the specification – highlight the bits you don’t know
Make mindmaps, or revision cards, or bullet point notes
Keep reviewing your notes – or get someone to test you on them
Always aim to reduce your notes
Practise on past papers or questions from a workbook
Get started

10. Year 10 exams – what to avoid
Time stealers
Revising in front of the tv or where people distract you
Revising the bits I already know
Copying out the revision guide
Leaving it to the last minute and then trying to cram
Thinking “I’ll see how well I do without any revision”