The Flagpole

So now we are moving towards the mock exams for Year 11 and Upper Sixth (from 6 January 2020), it’s time to focus on the best way to revise. Your youngster will be getting lots of advice from their subject teachers, but support at home is crucial for confident learners.

1. Start revising early

— i.e. weeks or months, not days before the exam. 

2. Plan your revision using a timetable

Planning out your revision means you can spend more time revising and less time worrying you've forgotten something. Use a revision timetable. Your tutor can help you with this.  

3. Set up a nice, tidy study space

You'll need somewhere with good lighting, your pens close by, your phone out of sight and your TV unplugged.

4. Vary your revision with different activities

Try a variety of different revision techniques — answering practice exam questions, writing down notes from memory, creating mind maps or revision cards, watching appropriate clips on Youtube or use revision sites such as Seneca.

5. Set aside time to do fun things

Don't totally stop yourself from having fun. This'll help you stay motivated, relax, and allow you to keep up with your favourite hobbies. 

6. Keep your phone and other distractions away

Phones are great, but they're a one-stop shop for procrastination. Heed our warnings and stick it in a drawer while you're revising.  

7. Don't just read your notes

You have to WRITE INFORMATION DOWN. This is really basic "how to revise" stuff.

8. Take your revision wherever you go

If you find books aren't quite portable enough, lots of revision guides and textbooks with handy online editions — great for revising on the go!  

9. Sleep and eat properly

Sleep is more important than you'd imagine — it helps your brain store all the juicy information you've learned throughout the day. Drinking plenty of water and eating healthy foods will also boost your concentration throughout the day.

10. On exam day, make sure you arrive in plenty of time

Nothing adds extra pressure to exam day like the fear of being late. Just make sure you set off at a little earlier than usual. While you wait, if people around you seem stressed about the exam, try to relax and not let their worries affect you.

Monday 25 November 2019 - 6.15pm to 7.45pm

"Good character education is good education - we need to take character education as seriously as we take academic education." Berkowitz and Bier (2005)

Too often disappointing student progress is ascribed to cognition, with young learners described as 'weak', or their performance diagnosed in terms of their intelligence: 'they aren't capable of this work', 'they're not bright enough to grasp this'. There is a growing body of research that suggests something very different: that successful students approach their studies with a specific set of behaviours, skills and attitudes and that despite not differing cognitively from their peers they can significantly outperform them. In short, academic success can be as much about character as it is about intelligence.

At Princethorpe College, we are committed to supporting our pupils in all aspects of their education and development and over the forthcoming academic year we will continue to embed our programme of character education, alongside our learning skills programme and our excellent Da Vinci Programme.

At the start of the academic year our key stage 4 pupils have been introduced to the five key principles of a GCSE Mindset:

·         Vision

·         Effort

·         Systems

·         Practice

·         Attitude

These key principles will be the focus of a number of tutor sessions, whereby pupils will have the opportunity to develop and explore them further in order to support their GCSE exam preparation. 

As part of this strategy, Princethorpe College will be holding an interactive GCSE revision evening, on Monday 25 November between 6.15pm and 7.45pm, for the parents and pupils in the Sports Hall. It will be hosted by Martin Griffin and Steve Oakes, both of whom have worked with more than sixty schools to develop effective character education systems. They are also authors of The GCSE Mindset (Crown House, 2017).  During the evening, Martin and Steve will explore the key principles of having a positive and proactive learning mindset and share tools and strategies for effective coaching and intervention with parents and equip parents and pupils with practical ideas and strategies to support their children throughout their GCSE courses. Pupils will be given the opportunity to trial out different revision strategies on the evening in a unique workshop style event.  These presentations have always been very well-received and we do hope that Year 11 parents and pupils will be able to join us for what promises to be a very useful and informative evening.

If you wish to attend, please complete the form here.  

We look forward to seeing you at the event. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at lizpyne@princethorpe.co.uk or Mrs Fionnuala Schofield at fionnualaschofield@princethorpe.co.uk. 

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head - Teaching and Learning

Reports for Upper Sixth will be posted out on Friday 29 November 2019. They will also be available to view on My School Portal.

Dr Michael Reddish
Deputy Head - Academic

Progress Reports for Years 7 and 10 will be published on Friday 29 November 2019 and will be available to view on My School Portal.  

Dr Michael Reddish
Deputy Head - Academic 

Thursday 5 December 2019 - 6.00pm to 8.30pm

The Year 7 Parents’ Evening takes place on Thursday 5 December from 6.00pm to 8.30pm in the Sports Hall.

We will continue to offer the option of a two course supper for you and your family, at a cost of £2 per head, and served across three sittings, 5.30pm to 6.00pm, 6.00pm to 6.30pm and 6.30pm to 7.00pm. Supper will be served in the Refectory.

We will also provide two supervised areas where siblings can wait whilst you and your son or daughter meet with the teaching staff. There will be a film screening in one room and for those looking for a quieter environment a second area will be provided where they can relax or study.

To help us with the smooth running of Parents’ Evening, and so that we can cater efficiently, we would be grateful if everyone who would like to book for supper could complete the RSVP form by clicking here no later than 10.00am on Friday 29 November 2019.

Please make sure to arrive by 7.30pm at the latest. Parents arriving later than that may not be able to see all the relevant teachers before the event closes at 8.30pm.  Please leave the building by the main entrance to The Limes and sign out at the exit as you leave.

Here is some additional information that you may find helpful:

• Parking will be available on the school playground
• Please enter The Limes building through the main entrance only
• Please ensure you sign in and collect your name badge from the reception desk before entering the Sports Hall
• There is no appointment system. You should allow approximately 5 minutes per teacher – a timer will sound every five minutes to assist with keeping discussions within this timeframe. Teachers with a large number of pupils may not be able to provide five minutes per family; if that is the case, they will email parents to let them know in advance.

We look forward to seeing you.

Dr Liz Pyne
Assistant Head – Teaching and Learning

Progress Reports for Year 8 and Lower Sixth will be published on Friday 6 December 2019 and will be available to view on My School Portal.  

Dr Michael Reddish
Deputy Head - Academic