29/05/2025
You’re half way through….Keep that momentum going! The end is in sight!
The end of May for a tutor and their students is a bit like that week between Christmas and New Year…all the excitement and anticipation of the first few exams is over and you’re just plodding along, revising for the next exam, (pausing for half term!) before the explosion of the second wave of exams in the first half of June! 📚 ☀️
After the good luck messages and the hope that the questions are good ‘uns, I always look forward to seeing my students once they’ve taken an exam we’ve prepared hard for. If they think it’s gone well, it’s lovely to witness the relief and smiles as they discuss how they approached the questions😅🥳.
But, if something hasn’t gone as expected…a strangely worded question which disrupted effective planning maybe, not having time to write a conclusion in an A level Lit essay or even running out of steam on the Unseen poetry question at the end of that long GCSE Lit Paper 2…..it’s part of my job to remind students what they HAVE done well 👏🏼…..
🎉 They will have answered MOST of the questions, they’ve ANALYSED the quotations they knew well, showing understanding of the set texts and ALWAYS, more has gone well than hasn’t!
✍️ And then we must move on…to the next one, ticking off in fat Sharpie pen the tests that are behind us. With English qualifications, there’s always another exam to earn you extra marks and improve on the previous performance so it’s ALWAYS worth giving it your best shot, until that Sharpie crosses off the final exam.
🤔 So, if you’re a parent supporting a student or a student - as we reach the half-way stage, reflect on what’s gone well and think about what you could improve in the final few exams. If you have questions, don’t keep quiet!
👩🏫 Ask a teacher at your school, attend that final revision session to pick up those last few hints and tips and nuggets of wisdom or even drop me a message. I’m happy to help🙂.
Most of all, have a bit of a break over May Half Term - you’ve earned it! 📚 😅