Written by Head Girl, Sophie S, 11FDO
Our Drop Down Day was focused on study and revision skills as well as addressing any worries we might have for Year 11, particularly with our first set of mocks coming up just after half term.
My day began with an English revision session with one of our English teachers who talked through what to expect in English Language and Literature Paper 1 before giving us the chance to do a practice question. We also covered an effective technique to help memorise quotations.
Next was a Maths revision session. Here, we were shown useful websites for practice questions and past papers, vital for Maths revision. Our teacher also went through any concerns our class had surrounding our upcoming mocks, and gave us ways of dealing with these which I think put many of us at ease.
After a short break, we enjoyed a relaxing yoga session with an instructor who focused on the importance of having breaks, taking your mind off stresses throughout revision and exam periods. This took us through many calming poses and movements.
We then went to a Science revision session covering the way to decode common exam style questions, working out exactly what questions are for and how to answer them accordingly.
Finally, we gathered in the hall for a workshop lead by Michele Miller, a sports psychologist and educator who delivered an interesting session which was also open to parents in the evening. She began by talking about motivation and commitment; and that the desire to do well should come from us wanting to have options for what we might want to do in the future, rather than doors being closed to us because we haven’t secured the right qualifications. This was all about getting your head in the right place to succeed.
She explained in detail how memory works and ensuring your revision goes into your long term memory through self-testing and spaced revision. The memory curve was also shown to us to evidence the fact you must revisit information a minimum of 4 times in order for something to reach your long term memory. The session made us really think about the way we revise and how we might improve our current methods to ensure our time revising is spent effectively. Michele shared many other good techniques for flashcards and other active revision strategies too and the importance of working in 30-40 minute blocks with breaks.
Overall, I found this day super helpful to guide my revision for my mocks and beyond. Learning about the science behind memory, being motivated by such a powerful speaker and our subject teachers who reassured us on any specific concerns, has helped us all feel clearer about what we should do to effectively prepare ahead of the mocks and final exams in the summer.