February half term: Do I relax, or should I be starting hardcore revision now?

1 - You know what we’re going to say - relax.

You’ve just spent the last couple of months in a constant academic environment where you probably couldn’t catch more than a two day break (i.e. the weekend), so now is the time to relax and just reflect. You are probably noticing a trend in our posts during the holidays. We think it’s important to take some time for yourself because during your A-levels and GCSEs it can almost feel like any spare moment you have, even when on holiday, should be used to revise (see our article about guilt). We want to make sure you don't get into this cycle (trust us, we've been here before).

2 - Don’t spend your whole week revising.

Though a week is technically not a very long time and it can easily fly by, this doesn’t mean you should be spending the whole time with your head in a textbook. Identify the work you have to do and how long it will take you and allocate different days for each task. If you do decide to do something everyday, make sure that at some point during the day you’re doing something that you enjoy. Or at least give yourself a day or two off.

3 - This is actually a good time to catch up on notes.

During the term it’s very easy to end up behind on your notes, no matter how long ago all your lessons were. This is a good time to make sure that all your notes are up to date and that they are written in a way that keeps you in mind. This means that when it comes round to revising, you should be able to look at those notes and understand what you’ve written because you made sure of it. Write your notes with your exams in mind.

4 - Prepare the next coming months because they will help define the rest of your academic year and the run up to exams.

March can usually be a good time to properly start thinking about revising for your exams, so this is a good time to plan for the next month and the rest of the academic year. Start planning a rough idea as to where you’d like to be in each of months coming up to exam season and what modules you have coming up.

5 - Prepare for your personal statement if you’re in Year 12.

This could be a good time to start doing things that could go towards your personal statement. This means going to events that are closely related to the subjects you’re studying now and reading around your subject. This is a good time to do this because you don’t want to get to university application season only to realise you have nothing to write about yourself except that you revise for your A-levels. There are so many free events that you could find.

In conclusion; No need to go HAM but stay on top of things.