As the June A-Level and GCSE examinations loom, students around the country will be making their last push to ensure that their efforts can be translated into high grades. At this stage, what can be done to ensure this?

First, it is essential to make a revision plan. The best place to start is with the syllabus which can be found online on the examination board website.

What do the examiners need you to know, do you know it and, if not, do you have the books or notes to ensure that you can by the date of the first exam?

Once you have a grip on what needs to be done, the next step is to make a revision timetable or plan to ensure that each aspect of the syllabus is covered.

Not only does this serve to organise the time available effectively but also focuses the student on the task in hand. Perhaps the most useful aspect of developing a revision timetable is that it creates a habit of study. The student should set aside time when revision can take place in a calm and steady manner, free of distractions.

The study programme should also include regular past paper practice.

Sadly, there are not many past papers available for the new A-Level specifications but there is great merit in attempting the same paper a few times.

Students benefit hugely from knowing the format of the exam inside out and learning which questions carry the most marks and getting a firm sense of how much time to spend on each question.

Each time a paper is completed, refer to the examiners’ reports and mark schemes which are also available online.

Ideally, the paper should be marked by an experienced teacher who can provide feedback and guidance.

However, where this is not possible, it is nevertheless extremely useful for the student to read through the marking rubric and the examiners’ reports themselves so they can develop a sense of what the examiners are looking for and tailor their answers, and their revision, accordingly.

One last tip — each student is different and the optimum revision strategy will vary. However, one approach that I have found works very well with most is making condensed notes during the process of revision. The aim is to create your own ‘crib sheet’. This serves a variety of purposes.

First, the student must engage with the material to decide what is relevant and essential to their understanding of the topic.

Naturally, the student ends up with a more manageable set of notes to revise from than they are likely to have developed over a two-year course.

Lastly, the process of rewriting their notes in a more condensed form is remarkably effective way of learning the material itself and often highlights areas that the student does not fully understand and would be wise to review.