The Ultimate Exam-Eve Guide To Ensure Exam Success

With Year 11 mocks imminent, it’s always good to find out what will happen on the day of your exam and what you can do to prepare for it.  The last thing you want is to be rushing around working out where your exam is being held and then realising you haven’t got the right equipment.  You’ll be stressed and not in the right mindset to sit and focus on the exam. Here are some top tips on what to focus on the night before, so the morning of the exam you can relax (as much as possible) and just focus on the day ahead. 

Last minute GCSE revision 

Use blurting (writing down all the info you can remember on a topic, it doesn’t have to be in the correct order. Then go back to your notes and work out what you’ve missed or got wrong) or Flashcards (prompt or question on one side and the answer/info on the other side). In her book, The Only Study Guide You’ll Ever Need Jade Bowler suggests creating a cheat sheet detailing all the niggling points you don’t know or keep forgetting, that you want to go over in the final moments before the exam.  This will help you get into an exam mode mindset, ready to tackle anything.

Food glorious food

Food is fuel and it’s crucial to eat healthy and balanced food that will boost your mood, memory and set you up for the next day. Some great memory enhancing foods include:

• Fatty fish: Salmon, mackerel and sardines are rich sources of omega 3 fatty acids and can help improve concentration and focus.
• Berries: particularly blueberries, have shown to improve memory and even delay short term memory loss. 
• Nuts: nuts can increase mental clarity and memory
• Eggs: eggs are a good source of choline, which is important for brain function.

Prepare your exam materials

Make a checklist of everything you need for the exam and pack it the night before, ticking each one off after you’ve packed it. Things to include are: 

• Clear pencil case
• Black pens x 2 (no Gel pens or erasable pens, Biro only)
• Ruler – no text on it 
• Pencil
• Pencil sharpner
• Eraser
• Clear Water bottle – label removed
• Hair band – this is so you can put up your hair, as invigilators will need to check your ears for earphones/earbuds

Depending on the subject, you may also need:

• Calculator – no case
• Highlighters
• Protractor 
• Compass
• Coloured pencils

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) have also designed this handy ‘on your exam day checklist‘ to help prepare you as much as possible for your exams, so that you can just focus on doing your best on the day and not have to worry about the little things.

Check your exam timetable

Take a look at your exam timetable and make sure you know where your exam is being held and the time of your exam. Usually you’ll be asked to turn up 45 minutes or more before the start of the exam, the Head of Year or Head of Subject may want to run through some last minute advice/procedures with you, so factor this into your morning schedule. 

Night time routine

Don’t spend all night revising. Make sure to do something just for you that’ll help you relax and take your mind of your exams i.e. get some fresh air, go for a walk, watch a movie or an episode of your favourite Netflix show.  Work out the time you plan to get up the next day and remember to set your alarm (or two). Give yourself plenty of time to wake up and get into the right mindset.  Ensure you make time for a healthy breakfast. If you’re feeling too nervous to eat, take a healthy snack with you, so that you can eat this on our way to school or before the exam.    

Get some sleep

Sleep is so important. It’s when our brain processes the information we’ve learnt during the day and commits it to memory. You might think it’s a good idea to pull an all-nighter the night before your exam, but this is probably the worst thing you could do. Matthew Walker, who wrote ‘Why we Sleep’ found a 40% deficit in the ability of sleep deprived students to make new memories compared to those students who had a full nights sleep. In his book he explains that memories formed whilst sleep deprived or without sleep are weaker memories and are forgotten more quickly compared to those students who’ve slept. 

The day of the Exam

On the day of your exam remember to empty your pockets of any paper or revision notes and make sure you don’t have a phone, iPod, any watch (smart, digital or analogue). If you do, you’ll be asked to declare you have them and need to place them at the front of the exam hall. You can pick these up at the end of the exam.

Making sure you have everything you need is crucial to ensure you’re prepared for your exams. By following this ultimate guide you can get yourself organised, rested and focussed for your exams, setting yourself up for success! Let me know in the comments how you get on and what else you do to get yourself exam-ready….Good luck!