Upper School Study Skills Workshop

Study Skills Workshop Edit.mp4

Parents Study Skills Workshop - Your Questions Answered

Throughout their time in School this is addressed via explicit instruction from class teachers and through the pastoral programme.
Specifically in Upper School, pupils are led through a programme called Learning to Learn during Form Time throughout Year 10. Over three weekly cycles, pupils are introduced to a revision technique, given an opportunity to practise it, and then encouraged to review how that technique worked for them.
We have also run Study Skills workshops for pupils when we feel they have underperformed in exams. Most recently this took the form of a half day workshop for pupils which covered, in more depth and with practical support in the ‘doing’ of revision, the key points we discussed during the online session for parents.

Pupils are assigned homework throughout years 10 & 11, based on a homework timetable. This will involve around 8-9 hours of work set each week.
In the run up to tests and exams, much of this homework is likely to be in the form of revision tasks.
Outside of this, it is good practice for pupils to consolidate their learning by reviewing their notes and RAG-rating topic lists on a regular basis.
In Year 10 we would recommend a revision timetable during the Easter holidays as the Y10 exams are before May half term. In Year 11, teachers will be setting revision based activities ahead of the Mini Assessments and Trial exams, and we would recommend a programme of revision in the run up to these.

It is of course really important to find a balance with homework, which is set on specific nights for each subject. Homework timetables stipulate 30-60 minutes per subject, for 2-3 subjects per night.
Pupils in Upper School should be aiming for 8-10 hours of combined study time per week outside of class in regular term.
In the run up to tests and exams, teachers should be setting revision activities for homework. Additional revision on top of this is likely to be required ahead of exam periods such as trials.

Methods such as the Feynman Technique, the Pomodoro method and adoption of spaced repetition can be applied to any subject content.
Active recall techniques such as flashcards work well across all subjects, and working effectively with past papers is always useful.
Study techniques may well vary, though pupils should focus on what works for them.

Pupils with SEND may need adjustments like shorter, more frequent study sessions or tailored techniques that suit their learning style, such as visual aids, audio resources, or structured routines to enhance focus. If you have any concerns regarding this, please contact our Learning & Support Team.

The short answer is, in our view, no. However, some pupils find instrumental or classical music helps with focus, while others may find it distracting. We do not recommend the radio or songs with lyrics.

Google Classroom features lists of topics in different subjects. Some subjects will publish these as and when the topics are being undertaken, for others these will be available in full from the beginning of the course.

These will be posted in some format onto Google Classroom for each subject. If teachers are expecting pupils to undertake practice papers in the run up to exams and tests, usually these would be provided by the teacher.
Exam board websites will also contain past papers for all subjects, though the most recently set papers are not usually made publicly available.

CGP guides are widely recommended in the science subjects due to their concise summaries and exam-specific focus.

We still use Pupil Planners, because we want pupils to begin homework without their device, only using it when directed by their teacher. The reality is that pupils will have to access Classroom regularly for a range of resources, but the paper remains the starting point for pupil work.

Please see Year 11 Mini Assessments Content. The Assessments are designed to cover a small portion of the GCSE courses to control the amount that pupils have to revise at this point.

Most subjects will have clinics for GCSE pupils which begin at some point in their GCSE journey. Some subjects run these throughout Year 10 and 11, whereas others begin their clinic provision in Year 11, or in the run up to trials.
The current list of clinics on offer has been published on SOCs and shared on Y11 Google Classrooms.

Yes, pupils continue to cover new content in Year 11 in all subjects as the syllabus extends across both years. Teachers will aim to have completed all areas of the course by Easter of Year 11.

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