Easter GCSE Revision Tips for 2024

Easter Holidays are a time to rest and recuperate but also a great time to revise, consolidate and catch up on studies. As Easter holidays are just before your 2024 GCSE exams, the best thing to do would be to organise your time effectively and make the most of the time you have leading up to your exams. Reflect on your strong areas/subjects and weaker areas and allocate appropriate time to each accordingly. Whether it’s GCSE Maths or GCSE English, we got you covered with the best GCSE tutors and top GCSE revision tips!

It will be really difficult to cover all the content for your subjects all during this time. However, using your exam timetable as a guide and making note of which exams are first, which come next and so on will help you plan your revision. For example if you struggle with GCSE Maths and that is one of your first exams and then you have GCSE French the next day which you may not struggle as much with, you can afford to revise for GCSE French closer to the time but GCSE Maths may need more work and so you can plan to start earlier during the Easter holidays in 2024.

At this point, it would be best to leave concepts or topics that you understand well for later and to really grind down on the areas/topics you struggle with. Take this time to master the topics that you may not have done so well on in the past. To be able to do this it is really important to know your weak areas, you may already have some idea of this but you can also ask your teachers before you break up for the holidays what they believe you may need to focus on. Also use any previous mocks or practise papers you’ve done as a resource to find your less knowledgeable areas.

During Easter in 2024, to make learning a little more fun you can have group study sessions with those who may have chosen similar GCSE subjects. This is only effective if you work with friends who will not distract you and have the aim of studying to do well too. You can use this time to test each other on definitions, equations or teach each other. When you are able to teach another person a concept and answer their questions that means you truly understand that topic. You do not necessarily have to do this with friends, you can ask a family member to test you using a revision guide as well. You could also try asking your GCSE Maths tutor, GCSE Science tutor or GCSE English tutor for strategies they used!

Looking after Yourself – Wellbeing

Regardless of revision, you shouldn’t neglect your wellbeing. So, ensure that you eat well and make time to exercise, as this will keep you energised and de-stressed. Go for a run in the sun or relax with friends on a picnic in the park. Staying hydrated with plenty of water is key and keep an eye on the coffee and energy drinks – avoid caffeine jitters.

Furthermore, working hard does not mean sitting in isolation by yourself. Although Easter 2024 is definitely not the time for late nights partying, it’s important to have time for yourself to reset, which can be done through meeting friends in the evenings for dinner or some light gaming on the Playstation (no all nighters).

Learning

Ensure that you minimise distractions when studying. Distractions come in all shapes and sizes and really depend on yourself and whether you’re more of a solo reviser or a group study person. Switch off your phone and remove any other diversions.

Set yourself realistic tasks for the day and make your revision goal orientated, rather than time orientated.

“Don’t count the minutes, make the minutes count.”

Try spending some time working out your most effective revision technique – flashcards, mind maps or maybe something more niche?

Past papers

These can be found online, or perhaps have been provided by your school teachers. However, don’t start them until you have understood the core concepts of the high demand topics and all your notes have been made. This will allow you to identify what content you are now proficient in and which areas of the syllabus (whether it’s GCSE Maths, GCSE English or A-Level Biology) you need to focus on. Whilst completing these exam questions ensure you are under timed conditions and doing them without the guidance of your notes.

REMEMBER: Don’t finish all the past papers you have. Save a few for the few weeks before your summer exams to ensure you’re exam-ready and at peak academic performance.

Planning essays is another good way to ensure your knowledge is up to speed. Write out an essay plan from memory, then cross-reference with your notes and fill in all the analytical points and key quotes you missed. To learn a tried and tested essay structure that has enabled many of our students to achieve grade 7-9, click here!

Remind yourself this is the last stretch and it will all be worth it on results day! (some of these GCSE revision tips we’ve mentioned might make the difference)