Helping your child prepare for exams

Regular attendance throughout the year will help to ensure that your child keeps up with course work and homework. If they do fall behind, through illness perhaps, do speak to the school about any support which can help them catch up.

Talking to your child to reassure and encourage them and taking an interest in what they are doing will help them get through what can be a stressful time and will help them to do their best.

Managing their time

• Encourage your child to start revision in good time to avoid cramming and panic.
• Help your child to plan a realistic timetable of study for each subject. Their school may have given them a revision planner which can be used to plan their own time. A weekly revision planner is available on the Student Life BBC website.

Getting organised

• Talk to your child and help them decide on a fixed area at home where they can study with the least distractions. Make sure that the materials and equipment they need eg pens, pencils, paper, notebooks and past papers are at hand in this study area. (Past papers are available from the SQA website).

• Ensure that snacks and water are close by to prevent any unnecessary distractions and make sure the study area is warm and well lit.

• Speak to the rest of the family, particularly younger members, about respecting this study area and as far as possible trying to avoid interrupting.

• If it is difficult to study at home perhaps your child could make use of the local library or ask your school if they can help.

• Encourage your child to get their notes in order for each subject before starting. Having notes organised into topic areas for each subject may be helpful.

• Check the dates of each exam and keep a record of them somewhere you can see them easily. Your child’s school will give your child an exam timetable with the subjects being presented at your school. You can access the full exam timetable on the SQA website. Your child can also use the SQA Personal Timetable Builder facility to create their own timetable. The mobile timetable builder is now available for most Java-based mobile phones along with those using Google Android and IOS (iPhone). Remember: sometimes an exam is on a public holiday. The exam will definitely take place on that day and there will be no opportunity to sit it on another day.

Tips to encourage studying

• Exam times can be stressful so encourage your child to take breaks. Hour long revision sessions with short regular breaks of 10 minutes are effective.

• They may prefer to complete each task and then build in a break rather than stick to definite time slots. It’s the quality of work that is important.

• Young people often focus best earlier in the day or early evening so encouraging them to study at these times may be beneficial.

• Your child might find it useful for you to read through revision notes with them. Asking them about what they have learned in their revision may be useful.

Keeping well

• Encourage your child to get plenty of sleep. This is particularly important the night before an exam as it will help them perform better.

• Encourage your child to eat well. On the morning of an exam encourage them to have a breakfast, or lunch if the exam is in the afternoon.

• Helpyour child to avoid any unnecessary anxiety or panic by making sure they are in plenty of time for each exam and have everything they need for it eg pens, pencils.

• Encouraging regular exercise.