Earlier this month, we had our fifth annual Revision Day, an off-timetable event designed to help pupils prepare for internal exams and future assessments. The day provided a valuable opportunity for pupils to attend interactive workshops, discover effective revision strategies, and dedicate time to independent study.
With internal exams already underway this week, Revision Day remains a key date in the College calendar, equipping pupils with the skills and techniques they need to revise confidently and effectively. For many, the biggest challenge is knowing how to revise, and this event aims to remove that barrier by offering practical guidance and support.
Throughout the day, pupils took part in engaging sessions led by Positively You, one of the UK’s leading providers of educational workshops and resources. We were delighted to welcome Mrs Kim Shirley, Positively You’s revision expert, whose dynamic and humorous approach made the workshops both informative and enjoyable. Her sessions covered a range of age-appropriate strategies designed to help pupils maximise their learning. Sessions included:
- Lower School; Study Skills: a session to help pupils learn faster and retain knowledge better with practical and proven study techniques.
- Year 9; Motivation: helps pupils get to the core of their ‘why’ and discover the self-motivation that drives success.
- Year 10; Goal Setting: helps pupils to raise their aspirations, identify goals and plan their journey to achieving their ambitions.
- Year 11; Exam Busters: a session where pupils learn powerful techniques to help plan revision, prepare for exams and answer exam questions effectively.
- Year 12; Bridging the Gap: arming pupils with the core skills needed for independent learning, self-study, higher-order thinking and time management.
- Year 13; Exam Mastery: learning powerful techniques to help plan revision, prepare for exams, and answer exam questions effectively.
Commenting on Revision Day, Assistant Head (Academic) Mr Shaw says:
‘This week and next forms our end of term assessment window, and in the build-up to this we held our annual Revision Day, which was designed to strengthen pupils’ learning through the integration of metacognitive practices, reflecting our commitment as a Thinking School.
The day provided structured opportunities for pupils to develop strategies that help them identify gaps in their knowledge and take ownership of their learning. Through guided activities, they explored the use of ‘thinking frames’, visual tools that make key mental processes explicit and replicable. Pupils also had talks varying from motivation to exam strategy and should have prepared them well for end of term tests.’
