How to revise a week before the exam

Use this as a flexible 1-week exam study plan rather than a rigid timetable. Each day should include a short planning check, one or two focused revision sessions, active practice, and a clear stop point so you do not turn every evening into panic work. Start with the subjects or papers that are nearest, worth the most marks, or causing the most uncertainty. Keep breaks, meals and sleep in the plan rather than treating them as optional extras.

Make a short list of the topics, question types and skills that would make the biggest difference now. For each subject, mark three groups: secure, shaky and urgent. Spend most time on the shaky and urgent items, but keep quick retrieval practice for secure topics so they stay fresh. End each session by writing the next action: a question set, a worked example, a memory test, or a mistake to fix.

Switch from mostly planning to mostly doing. Try timed questions, mixed topic practice and at least some work without notes. After each practice set, spend enough time on corrections: identify why a mark was missed, rewrite one stronger answer, and add one fix to tomorrow’s plan. Self-testing, retrieval practice and exam-style questions are usually a better use of this stage than simply rereading notes.

A good final-week session has a narrow target and a visible output. Instead of “revise chemistry” or “do English”, write a task such as “complete ten equilibrium questions”, “plan two Macbeth essay introductions” or “test the formulas I keep forgetting”.

Use short cycles: test yourself, check the answer, correct the mistake, then test again later. If you are stuck between several tasks, choose the one that is closest to the real exam format or has cost you marks before. Cramming traps to avoid include copying notes for hours, highlighting whole pages, staying up all night, and changing the whole plan every time you feel anxious.

Use your own board’s current specification to check what can be assessed, then choose a current or suitable past paper or question set. When you mark it, do not just write a score. Read the mark scheme or marking instructions to see what the answer needed, then make a short “marks I can win back” list. If an older paper uses a different format, use it carefully: the skills may still help, but the exact style or content may not match your current assessment.

Before the final evening, check the exam date, start time, room, seat information if provided, travel plan, permitted calculator or equipment, ID requirements if relevant, and anything your school or college has told you not to bring. Different subjects and centres can have different instructions, so follow your school or college and awarding-body information rather than generic internet advice.

Use these sources to check official exam-process advice, NHS wellbeing guidance and Latimer’s own service pages for tutoring questions.