KS4 Exams & Revision Info

Welcome to the exams information section of our website. Please use the menu on the right (this may display below on mobile phones) to find useful information such as exam regulations, revision websites and links and exam and mock exam timetables. 

Candidate Exam Handbook

• Relevant information about your exams and assessments, in advance of any exams/assessments being taken.
• Relevant JCQ information for candidates documents and posters, in advance of any exams/assessments being taken.
• Answers to many of the questions you may have.
• To signpost you and your parents/carers to any exams-related policies/procedures.

After the Examiniations
Results and Post-Results - Guidance for students and parents

Please see the attachment below for more information on the results and appeals process.

This guide aims to give valuable advice for examination results received by candidates at Alderman White School.  Please read this document carefully and retain it for future reference. If there are ANY questions or problems, please contact the Exams Office, Tracy Sneddon – Tracy.Sneddon@whptrust.org

Exam Timetables will be published here via the attachments below when available.

Also available is our 'Helping Your Child Succeed in Exams' presentation, aimed at parents of students in Years 11 and 13.

Morning Exams:

For morning exams, we have asked students to be outside the Sports Hall at 8:50am. This is to allow for a start to exams at 9am. If students have a morning exam we encourage them to arrive at school for 8.20am for a breakfast exam preparation session. These sessions are aimed at giving students hints and tips around exam technique and calming any pre-exam nerves. In addition, we will be providing breakfast items for students, funded by our wonderful PTA. All breakfast sessions will be in the new block with breakfast served from the open corridor and bespoke sessions taking place in classrooms. A poster detailing all of the sessions is below.

Afternoon Exams:

In addition to the morning breakfast exam sessions, we will be running pre-exam sessions for afternoon exams from 12:30pm onwards. This will allow students to leave their timetabled lessons during period 4 to attend a bespoke session for their afternoon exam with their subject teacher. In addition, we have asked teachers of Personal development and any subjects that have completed their course, to offer students additional supervised revision time. Core P.E will also give students the opportunity to revise as well as the opportunity to exercise and participate in physical activity if they prefer, as regular exercise will support wellbeing during the exam period. Additional sessions will still run after school. All of these details can be found below.

This page contains resources created and collated by us to help you with the key areas of revision in the weeks coming up to your exams:

1) Effective Revision Skills
2) Note-Taking Skills
3) Essay Writing Skills
4) Learning Quotes
5) Mindfulness
6) Revision Strategies Booklet

Please note, due to the volume of revision materials on offer for each subject, we are unable to provide access to every resource via this website.

Success @ KS4: Click here to visit our Success @ KS4 page for more interactive videos around exam preparations and skills.

Any students wishing to access specific subject revision material outside of school should look to access their Google Classroom classes. The overall year group Google classroom will also contain resources to support exam technique and preparation. To learn more about how our school uses Google Classroom, click here.

Please also remember that what really matters at this time of year is that you don’t rev in neutral: if you need help, guidance or advice about how to plan / how to revise / mindfulness – please let us know as soon as possible. We are happy to help individuals or even to deliver some group sessions to help support your achievement. Please do come and talk to us: no issue or problem is too small.

The good news is that experts agree that the right preparation can improve your results by two grades. There are many ways to review work, and hard work, planning and starting early will maximise your chances of getting the best grades you can.

Here are our top tips:

• Make a solid revision plan - those who have a working style based on breaking down tasks into small, manageable parts end up with better grades.
• Revision should never simply be seen as soaking up knowledge. You should try to get involved in what they are studying - preferably by trying to ensure you have clear and effective notes on the topics you are revising.
• Writing out plans for exam answers and doing full timed exam questions are also really important. Don’t just write essay plans – you need to do the whole question.
• Work with your teachers to ensure you have detailed knowledge and understanding of the mark scheme.
• Use model answers to help to show exactly what the difference is between an A*and a C grade: they also show you just how much knowledge and understanding of the topic and the question you need to get the top grade.

It is only through dedication, organisation, motivation and most of all hard work will you get the success that you want and deserve.

 

Effective Revision Skills

Note-Taking Skills

Learning Quotes

Revision Strategies

French Revision Materials

Exam Boosters and Support

Morning Exams:

For morning exams, we have asked students to be outside the Sports Hall at 8:50am. This is to allow for a start to exams at 9am. If students have a morning exam we encourage them to arrive at school for 8.20am for a breakfast exam preparation session. These sessions are aimed at giving students hints and tips around exam technique and calming any pre-exam nerves. In addition, we will be providing breakfast items for students, funded by our wonderful PTA. All breakfast sessions will be in the new block with breakfast served from the open corridor and bespoke sessions taking place in classrooms. A poster detailing all of the sessions is below.

Afternoon Exams:

In addition to the morning breakfast exam sessions, we will be running pre-exam sessions for afternoon exams from 12:30pm onwards. This will allow students to leave their timetabled lessons during period 4 to attend a bespoke session for their afternoon exam with their subject teacher. In addition, we have asked teachers of Personal development and any subjects that have completed their course, to offer students additional supervised revision time. Core P.E will also give students the opportunity to revise as well as the opportunity to exercise and participate in physical activity if they prefer, as regular exercise will support wellbeing during the exam period. Additional sessions will still run after school. All of these details can be found below.

A great free intuitive learning platform covering most of the core GCSE specs plus a number of open bucket subject areas. Very engaging and good for light touch testing. Should be used in conjunction with other strategies

Quizlet offers a wide range of strategies for online revision including flash card creation, time-pressured games and more. Most GCSE specifications are available on here although be mindful anyone can upload content so check for valid sources.

PiXL is filled with loads of useful information about preparation for exams as well as metacognition strategies. We are not allowed to publish the username and password online, so ask Mr. Young for the log on details.

On Tassomai, content is broken down into bite-sized chunks and tailored to each user as our algorithm works out what students know and where they need to focus their efforts.

This collection has been designed to help you prepare for assessments across KS4 with the ultimate aim of getting you in the best shape possible for the official examinations at the end of Year 11. Here you will find our 3-step model to success; Power2Perform, Prepare2Perform and Metacognition. If you are a first-time user then we recommend you start with the Power2Perform video information and then work your way through to Metacognition.

Success at Key Stage 4

Workshops

Power2Perform

Getting your body and mind in the best possible shape

Prepare2Perform
Getting organised and routined ready for revision

Metacognition
Understanding how you learn best and what strategies there are for revision that sticks!

 

This page is aimed at supporting parents to support children through examinations at secondary school.

The resources below have been provided by an organisation called PiXL, which the school works with.  

PiXL is a partnership of over 1500 schools working together to achieve the highest outcomes for students and to improve their life chances.

We hope you find the downloads useful in supporting both yourself and your child.

 

 

This page is aimed at supporting parents to support children through examinations at secondary school.

The resources below have been provided by an organisation called PiXL, which the school works with.  

PiXL is a partnership of over 1500 schools working together to achieve the highest outcomes for students and to improve their life chances.

We hope you find the downloads useful in supporting both yourself and your child.

Survey research has identified that exams are a significant source of stress and worry for pupils in secondary school. Exam stress can be really challenging, not only for
children but for those that live with them. Research shows that having someone to talk to about their work can help. Support from a parent, teacher or friend can help young people share their worries and keep things in perspective.

Survey research has identified that exams are a significant source of stress and worry for pupils in secondary school. Exam stress can be really challenging, not only for
children but for those that live with them. Research shows that having someone to talk to about their work can help. Support from a parent, teacher or friend can help young people share their worries and keep things in perspective.

Don’t Break the Chain

‘Don’t Break the Chain’ is a method of success originally created by Jerry Seinfield. Jerry placed an X on a calendar for every day he completed writing new material. After a few days a chain of X’s form and the goal is to NOT break the chain by carrying out work for every day of the year. The ‘Don’t Break the Chain’ strategy is a constant reminder which can help pupils stay disciplined, be determined and keep motivated. Pupils can set their own goals and targets, which may be to complete revision or homework every other day, exercise four times times per week or drink two litres of water a day.

Sleep

The Sleep Council highlights how quality sleep is essential for growth and development and that your child needs between 8-10 hours sleep every night. Teen’s body clocks naturally shift to make them feel tired later in the evening. Teens need more sleep than adults. Research shows that the brain’s ability to process information declines with lack of sleep. Our emotional responses, empathy towards others and tendency to do silly things all goes up with lack of sleep.

Mental Health

The emotional wellbeing of children is just as important as their physical health. Good mental health allows young people to develop resilience, cope with the ups and downs in life and grow into healthy adults. Surveys suggest that most young people are mentally healthy but more children are having problems due to life changes, traumatic events, feeling vulnerable or not coping with difficult situations.

Building Resilience

Resilience is the ability to overcome adversity, ‘bounce back’ during difficult times and get back to feeling good. It is about having the capacity to adapt to difficult circumstances, and using tools and resources available to do so. Evidence suggests that promoting resilience can help young people sustain good relationships, develop personal life skills, overcome challenges, cope in difficult situations and help them to achieve their potential.

Helping your child get into good habits

Healthy habits are essential to living a long and happy life, and they are important to instil in children from a young age. If you help them form these habits now, you will be giving them the tools to navigate any obstacles they may face as they grow into adulthood. Research reveals that there is a strong link between healthy habits and pupil achievement. Poor health habits add up to poor grades, and research suggests that healthy habits and good health-related decisions can lead to improved academic performance

Encouraging Productive Learning

Having a tidy space can reduce stress and improve productivity. Another way to maximise opportunities for work and reduce distractions is to ensure the space is organised with everything needed for studying: laptop, books, pens and any other equipment.

It is often surprising how much we can actually achieve in short bursts of time when we are fully focused, with no distractions, and know that there is a clear end when we’ll get to do something we want to.

Encouraging Independence

Developing independence has many benefits: increased academic success, increased motivation and confidence and improved awareness of students’ own strengths and weaknesses, as well as how to manage these. Independent learning isn’t about working alone: teachers and parents still need to support and enable the learning  that is needed in this time so that it is structured, productive and effective. We can’t expect children to just ‘know’ how to work independently as well as effectively, they will need some guidance and support.

Re-visiting of Learning

The more frequently that information is revisited and used, the more likely it is to move into longer term memories. Research shows that revisiting learning frequently is more effective than mass-revision. Unfortunately, many students report that they don’t feel like it’s working and they prefer larger and rarer chunks. Knowing this is useful for us, and the young people we care about, so we can talk about it and address this issue,

Relaxation

An important part of teenage life should be relaxation. It is an essential part of maintaining health and wellbeing and being able to calmly deal with stress and pressure which, as we know, can be quite intense during the school years and especially being an adolescent.