Heads' Tips - a guide to revision guides

Exam time is approaching once again, and anxious parents will start asking themselves the same questions: – how can I encourage my daughter to put in the time and the effort required? – is she revising or just listening to music?
As a parent you want the best for her but when it comes to revision you can’t do it for her… so what can you offer your daughter to help her along the way and what suggestions can you make? For most girls, her school notes and the teaching she has received will be enough to allow her to revise effectively, but sometimes when the pressure is on, it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees and even the very best teaching doesn’t stop you wanting a fresh perspective. Below are some recommendations for ways to support your daughter’s revision: useful websites and revision guides by subject (with a proviso that her subject teacher should always be the first port of call when she has questions and that it is vital to know exactly what examination board and specification your daughter is studying for!)

General guides and useful websites:

• Useful websites:
  S-cool revision website
  BBC Schools student Life
  BBC bitesize – for KS1, 2& 3 plus GCSE and Scottish Examinations
  revision-notes.co.uk revision and course notes
  Revision centre Revision notes, links & tips
  gcsepod GCSE revision podcasts to download

• Practice papers for each exam boaard:
  OCR
  edexcel
  AQA

Guides & websites by subject:

A word of caution on revision guides:

• First check what course your daughter is completing – what examination board? What course code? The revision guides mentioned below may not be the appropriate ones for your daughter’s specification
• Revision guides should not be a substitute for revising from course notes, relevant textbooks and for completing past papers.
• Revision gudies are not advisable for all subjects – for subjects such as History, Music and Drama, where there is a lot of choice on the specification, you may find that only a small amount of a revision guide will be relevant.

Modern Languages

• The following web based resources are very useful for all age groups:
  Languages Online
  BBC Bitesize
  Modern Langages Online
  Linguascope
  Zut!
  Really useful German site

• GCSE Revision books: Malvern Vocabulary and Speaking Guides and Essential Verbs and Grammar Guides.
• A level vocabulary revision: Wort fuer Wort , Mot à mot, Parola per parola, Palabra por Palabra
• A level grammar workbooks : Zeitgeist, Elan 1, Animo

Classics

• The Cambridge Latin Course website has a number of useful vocabulary and grammar testers which are excellent revision tools
• The Eton Greek Project is an excellent resource for GCSE and A Level Greek students

English

• GCSE Literature- York notes on set books are one of the best of the available series at this level. Check which exam board and which text your daughter’s school are using!
• GCSE language – student books are available e.g. AQA student book, but again check which exam board and specification
• A level – The York Notes especially written for A Level will offer something useful on pretty much any mainstream set text. The Philip Allan AS and A2 Guides on a number of set books are also good.
• For a good guide to writing well, try Elements of Style by Strunk and White
• Useful website – Novel guide.com

D&T

• There are some good ‘quiz’ type websites for D&T on Materials
  Block Buster Game featuring D&T material questions
  Materials, Wood, Metal and Plastics quiz
• Course book for AQA – AQA D&T Resistant Materials Technology.
• Good Revision Guides from CGP e.g. CGP GCSE D&T Resistant Materials (AQA Spec)

ICT

• Useful websites for revision are listed below.
  Teach ICT (GCSE & A level)
  BBC Bitesize (GCSE)
• CGP exam revision guide + workbook – very useful for providing summary of the theory and questions.

Mathematics

• With any Maths revision book, look out for a work book – pages of notes and formulae are all well and good, but in Maths effective revision is all about working through lots of practice questions. The CGP revision books are a perennial favourite and good for Maths revision at any stage.
• Find out if your daughter’s school subscribes to the MyMaths website. If it does, encourage her to use it. It’s useful for revision on specific topics or on broader areas of the Maths curriculum. You can search it by topic or by level. The booster packs are great for revision and your daughter’s teacher will tell you which one she should be using.
• Useful website – GCSE Maths Past Papers

Politics

• For AS Politics try AS UK Government and Politics Exam Revision Notes by Patrick Walsh-Atkins, particularly if she has not managed to take adequate or clearly structured notes throughout the year.
• For A2 Politics (USA) try the Unit 3 and Unit 4 Workbooks published by Philip Allan. They can be worked through by the student themselves and are excellent for cementing the basics – an ideal Easter activity or each section can be completed after each topic has been taught.
• Also for A2 Political Ideologies Exam Revision Notes 2nd Edition, Hodder by Daniel Woodley

History

• Useful websites:
  School History
  Active History

Science

• Useful site School Science.co.uk
• For GCSE try the CGP revision guides for each subject
• For Physics AS and A2 try the Heinemann OCR revision guides for succinct revision notes to jog memories on each topic, as well as quick-check questions.

Geography

• For GCSE try the CGP revision guides for each subject, remembering to check exam board and specification
• For AS & A2 try the OCR Revise Geography published by Heinemann and the Student Unit Guides published by Philip Allan Updates.

For more advice on revision and exams read our related articles containing innovative tips to help build her confidence and help you both through the revision and exam period:
Heads’ Tips – revision & exam time
Heads’ Tips – more revision ideas

With thanks to the Heads & staff at the following schools:
Leicester High School for Girls, St Albans High School for Girls, St Catherine’s School Bramley, Stonar School