‘Last Minute’ Marks

OK, so we’re not expecting your child to suddenly surpass all expected grades in the literal last minute before entering an exam… but, students CAN gain ‘last minute marks’ in the final days before their exams- with the right input!

Boost Grades

By signing your child up to one of our ‘Grade Booster Classes,’ there is the opportunity and potential for your child to acquire some extra marks in their exam- and any extra marks increases the chances of improving your child’s overall grade!

We run these classes intensively, and they are designed to reinforce confidence in key areas of a particular subject. Grade Booster Classes take place in just one day- for 6 hours (3 x 2-hour blocks.) What’s unique about these sessions is that they happen on the weekend before the exam. For example, our English Grade Booster takes place on the 5th^th May- days away from the exam taking place on the 9th^rd May!

This is an excellent opportunity for your teenager to increase their knowledge and understanding, right before they walk into the exam hall. Your teen will leave our Booster Classes with fresh revision material in their minds- ready to apply it that very same week. Additionally, our classes increase your teen’s knowledge and understanding under the guidance of an experienced school teacher, who will also revise exam-style questions with your teen.

Grade Boundaries

Sometimes, it’s the ‘small things’ that can make a BIG difference in an exam: the grade boundaries (the difference between each grade) is usually relatively slim, so we cover exam techniques that equip your child to try and pick up vital extra marks.

Do not feel that your child’s grade is ‘set in stone’ before they’ve even sat down for the exam! Whilst ‘predicted grades’ or ‘results from prelims’ are helpful indicators for where your child is at, some ‘last minute boosting’ might be all they need to achieve higher marks. Our experts will specifically offer your teen guidance on how to attain as many marks as possible.

Balancing Tasks

Also, it’s a great time to do this as- until this point- it’s likely that your teen’s been juggling the demands of many different subjects. They may not find the time, on their own, to devote to one subject intensively… whereas we can enable that to happen! By attending our Grade Booster Classes on one day only, your child can feel assured that they will have the opportunity to go through everything in detail. This will help them feel more confident about balancing and prioritising revision.

It’s much easier to be motivated when working in a purposeful, focussed environment, with like-minded peers. To reach the top grades, your child really needs to maximise their revision, right up until the very end!

Signing up to our Grade Booster Classes is an excellent way to allow this to happen and acquire those ‘last minute marks!’

Read More Here: ‘Last Minute’ Marks

Tackling the Trickiest Exam Question

In one of your child’s exams, there’s unfortunately probably going to be one question that they ‘dread….’

It’s likely that there’s one question that sticks out in your teen’s mind as the question that always seems to leave them stumped and, however many times they’ve tried it in class, they still don’t seem to pick up the marks for it!

So, what can be done?

Well, the first thing to do is for your teen to go and get some honest feedback. They need to know exactly what’s going wrong- and how to work on it with a fresh set of eyes. It’s your child’s teacher or tutor who will be able to give direct and specific feedback on a question, but the support doesn’t need to stop there.

As a revision provider, we offer ‘Grade Booster Classes’ that are ideal for helping your child with the final ‘squeeze’ when it comes to their examinations. Sometimes, it takes someone else to guide you for ‘it’ to click. In this case, our experienced school teachers (who lead our Grade Booster Classes,) may be the ones to help!

How can we help?

We run these specific sessions intensively, and we place each Grade Booster Course on the weekend before the exam (3 x 2-hour sessions in one day,) so we’ve got everything covered! Not only can we stand your child in good stead for improving their overall grade, but it may well be the solution they need to help with any tough questions still catching them out!

It can be easy for your child to get to a point whereby they ‘resign’ to the idea that they’re ‘not going to do well on that question.’ However, with a Grade Booster Class, this doesn’t have to be the case!

The other advantage, of course, is that even if your child still ends up finding that tricky question troublesome, the tips and intensive delivery experienced on a Grade Booster Class may lead them to pick up additional marks in other areas of the paper. This would take the pressure off the question your child may be worried about.

In 2011 we introduced our revision courses, designed to focus specifically on preparing students for the SQA examinations. These courses deliver an intensive revision program to support students and help to boost their end results, attaining the success they want to take them into further education. Every year, we grow in popularity, testimony to our own success.

Confidence is crucial

The other thing to consider here is your child’s confidence. The more they dwell and worry about the ‘tricky bit,’ the more likely they may be to get wound up over it or try and ignore it altogether! If you can give your child any advice, it’s to try and give every question a go (provided their timings are on track!) Missing questions will always lead to a no-mark answer.

Trying a question- and giving it their best shot- is usually rewarded! Examiners mark schemes usually specify a positive approach to marking and aim to seek out all levels of knowledge and understanding. Therefore, it’s important your child tries to get their head around every question- including those challenging ones- in order to have the best chances of success! If they can attempt every question- even the ones that niggle at them- then your teen will be on to a good thing!

Grade Booster courses last for 6 hours. During the sessions, students will revise and further enhance their subject knowledge.

Source Here: Tackling the Trickiest Exam Question

‘Fight or Flight’ – Managing Exam Stress

Exams may be one of the toughest things your teen has faced thus far. The pressure that they experience during this time can visibly impact their thoughts and feelings- and can sometimes impact on your family life, too!

However, whilst you may feel tired of an increasingly grumpy or agitated teenager, there is a level of ‘good stress’ come exam time.

Our bodies are designed to ‘fight or flight.’ Therefore, when adrenaline ‘kicks in,’ your teen may feel the desire to run away from revision (or avoid doing it altogether!) In contrast, this adrenaline may actually fuel determination: it is this ‘fight’ response that is good for your teen. Nerves- to a certain extent- are healthy.

Fight!

When your teen is in this position, encourage them to maximise on the feeling of ‘fight!’

When their adrenaline is rushing, they are more likely to feel alert and productive: they are more likely to take action. The days leading up to exam may well be the point at which your child starts to experience an increase in these sensations.

Acting on it

Consequently, a great way to utilise this ‘buzz of energy’ is to sign your child up to one of our Grade Booster Classes. These take place just the weekend before the exam (per subject.) This is an ideal way of your youngster being able to maximise knowledge, skill and revision right before they walk into that exam hall!

Our Grade Booster Classes are intensive: these are one-day sessions (3x 2-hour sessions,) led by experienced school teachers. Our experts will guide your teenager through all the key aspects of their SQA examinations, as well as help them to know how to maximise marks in their final exam.

By the end of the Grade Booster day, students are well-prepared, know what examiners are looking for and instantly recognise different exam question styles.

Flight…

Grade Booster Classes can also be a good solution for teenagers who start showing signs of ‘flight mode’ (those wanting to ‘stop’ revision or ‘runaway’ from it at the very last minute!) For some students, as the exams get closer, their confidence wobbles and their nervousness leads to negative feelings (rather than ‘drive!’) Our classes are an excellent way of boosting your child’s confidence in those few days before the exam.

For a few teenagers, however, we need to be wary of intense levels of fear or anxiety- to the point at which it hinders productivity and success. A minority of students can experience overwhelming feelings of panic or cloudiness.

If you notice this frequently happening to your child, it’s best to seek support as soon as possible. Teachers and other professionals can help with this, or heading along to your GP might be wise if your child’s stress levels become all-consuming!

There’s no doubt that these final weeks are going to seem like a rollercoaster of emotions: the best thing you can do is encourage your teen that some stress levels are ‘normal’ and to be ‘expected.’ Watch out for any signs that worry you.

Where possible, encourage your teen to maximise on the ‘good stress’ energy that they may feel and snap up one of the spots on our Grade Booster Classe

Post Source Here: ‘Fight or Flight’ – Managing Exam Stress