Revision timetables

Mar 15, 2022
2 min read

Updated: Jul 22

A revision timetable is a plan for how your teen is going to cover all their revision in time for their exams. There’s no one-size-fits-all to revision timetables, so help your teen figure out what works best for them. They might want to use their school diary, make a checklist, create a personalised timetable, or use an app on their phone.

Sit with your child and help them create their own revision timetable, planning months ahead of exam time, not just weeks before. Smaller, regular revision sessions are usually much more productive than cramming (or leaving everything to the last minute, which increases stress), so starting revision well in advance is a good strategy.

If your child is well organised and wants to create their own timetable without your help, fantastic. If possible, get them to share it with you and talk through why they’ve structured it the way they have, so you can help tweak it early on if you spot areas that could be improved.

An example of a revision timetable

Goal setting

As well as long-term goals, help them break down their different revision goals, so they get a sense of achievement after every session (for example, answer question 1 on page 23 of the textbook). Feeling that they’ve done what they set out to do positively reinforces progress and encourages them to start their next session feeling capable rather than overwhelmed.

Start early

Try to get your child to start their revision by 9am at the latest. This is likely to be when their morning exams happen, so by starting revision at this time they’re training their brain to be alert and fully engaged in the morning.

Keep subject focus

They might be taking lots of subjects at GCSE, but try to stick to just two or three on weeknights to help them stay focused, and block the sessions into chunks with short breaks in between. For example, rather than revision from 7pm until 9pm, have revision in 25-minute stretches with five-minute breaks in between. This doesn’t mean they can’t spend 50 minutes on one subject; it just lets them rest their eyes and change thinking patterns by taking a break.

Factor in relaxation time

Make sure they’re taking longer breaks by including activities that aren’t related to revision, so they can still enjoy time with friends and family and their hobbies. Even in the lead-up to exams, taking time out is crucial. It’s important that, as well as outlining when they’ll be revising, they can also see they have dedicated time for fun things too.

Be strict yet flexible

Part of the value in creating a revision timetable is to ensure all topics are covered in the lead-up to exams, rather than your child getting sidetracked by one subject they either find very difficult or prefer doing. Sticking to the timetable is important and promotes self-discipline. However, sometimes things take longer than expected, so don’t get cross if your child deviates from the plan. A good idea is to factor in some unassigned revision time to make flexibility easier.