Mel Heale, Education Assessor & Academic Coach

Why do so many teenagers leave it so late to start revising for exams? Why do they find it so hard to get started on revision and stay focused? The simple answer is that building a study habit is hard.

As adults, we know how difficult it can be to start exercising regularly, eat more healthily or spend less time on our phones. Yet we often expect our children to develop strong study habits overnight when GCSEs and A levels loom.

The reality is that good habits take time to form. Waiting until the pressure starts to mount is rarely the best strategy.

In my latest blog, I explore why students struggle to create new study routines, how "habit stacking" can help, and what parents can do to support good habits before exam stress takes hold (on students and parents).

If you're hoping your child will become more independent and motivated next year, now is the perfect time to start thinking about the habits that will get them there.

Read the blog to discover why September matters far more than April.

Why your child won't suddenly develop good study habits on demand Anyone who has attempted at some time to adopt a good habit or to give up a bad one will know how difficult it can be in practice. Despit...

If Maths GCSE didn’t go as well for your child as hoped for, you might find this useful!

What to do for the best when an exam doesn’t go their way Exam season is now in full swing and for many of us, and of course the students, it is a relief that the waiting has ended. But now, we...

Exam season is here and for parents, that often means a different kind of stress.
You wait for a response to your post-exam message: “How did it go?” and sometimes the answer is exactly what you feared: “It was a disaster.”
When an exam doesn’t go to plan, it’s so tempting to try to problem-solve or analyse what went wrong. But in that moment, even the best intentions can land badly.
The truth is, young people are often far worse at judging their performance than they think. Many focus only on the questions they struggled with, not the marks they did pick up. They also forget that grade boundaries move, papers vary in difficulty, and one difficult exam rarely means disaster. A bad paper does not mean all is lost!
As parents, our role in those moments is rarely to fix it. Rather, we need to to listen, reassure, remind them that perfection was never required and, help them focus on the next paper, not the last one.
Later, there may be lessons to learn about timing or technique but straight after a tough exam is usually not the time.
For now: love them, feed them, encourage sleep, and help them to keep things in perspective.
Exam season is a marathon, not a single paper — for students and parents.
Hang on in there!

What to do for the best when an exam doesn’t go their way Exam season is now in full swing and for many of us, and of course the students, it is a relief that the waiting has ended. But now, we...

Today's tip - Every little helps. 15 focused minutes are better than a whole hour of procrastination.

With some public exams underway and others just a few days away, I'll be sharing some of my top tips from this year's blogs to help reassure, inspire, encourage and support candidates (and their families!).

Tip two: Burnout helps nobody. Rest is part of preparation.

With some public exams underway and others just a few days away, I'll be sharing some of my top tips from this year's blogs to help reassure, inspire, encourage and support candidates (and their families!).

Today's tip: Don’t revise what you already know just because it feels good. Tackling your weakest topics is more likely to lead to the biggest grade gains.

With some public exams underway and others just a few days away, I'll be sharing some of my top tips from this year's blogs to help reassure, inspire, encourage and support candidates (and their families!).

Year 12 exams. Do they count?
The honest answer is, not directly.
But indirectly? Yes, they can influence heavily where a young person goes next.

Year 12 exams are used to predict A level grades — and those predictions affect:
🎯 What universities a student can apply to
🎯 What courses are realistic to apply for
🎯 What offers an individual might receive
If your young person underperforms now and relies on “doing better next year”, they may find their options are already limited.
That's not a cause for panic but it does mean Y12 students need to take these exams seriously.
Now is the time to to:
✔ Fix gaps in knowledge
✔ Improve exam technique
✔ Learn from feedback
✔ Build momentum for Year 13
Because once predictions are set, it’s much harder to change the direction of travel.
This blog explains why Year 12 exams matter — and how to use them properly:

Year 12 exams. Yes, they count! If you have a young person in Year 12, you could be forgiven for thinking they (and you) have a welcome year off in between GCSE and A level...

Easter: the opportunity that can change everything, or be wasted!
Every year, I hear the same thing from students: “I’ll start revising properly in the Easter holidays.”

It sounds like a plan. It feels reassuring. But here’s the reality:
For some students, Easter represents a turning point.
For others… it turns into two weeks of procrastination, pressure, and missed opportunity.
And for us parents, that’s incredibly hard to watch.
With GCSEs and A Levels just weeks away, Easter is one of the last uninterrupted chances students have to make meaningful progress. But many struggle, not because they don’t care, but because they feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.
If your child is in this position, the solution isn’t more pressure — it’s better strategy:
✔ Encourage them to start small - even one hour can make a difference
✔ Focus on progress, not perfection (a “done list” can be powerful)
✔ Help them prioritise topics rather than trying to cover everything
✔ Remind them that every 15 minutes of revision is progress
✔ Support balance - burnout now helps no one in May
The uncomfortable truth?
Easter won’t magically fix everything — unless your child takes action.
If you’re a parent of an exam year student, this blog will help you guide them through the next two weeks in a way that makes a difference.
Read it now — before the Easter window slips away:

Will Easter deliver (and I’m not referring to the bunny)? The Easter holiday serves as a perfect opportunity for GCSE and A level students to hunker down and commit to their revision. Many students...