Claire Gadsby, educational trainer, author and founder of Radical Revision, shares five practical approaches to make your students’ revision more effective.

Did you know that 88% of pupils who revise effectively exceed their target grade? Interestingly, most pupils do not know this and fail to realise exactly how much of a gamechanger revision really is. Sitting behind this simple-looking statement, though, lies the key question: what is effective revision?

In my revision work with thousands of pupils around the world, I have not met many who are initially overjoyed at the thought of revision, often perceiving it as an onerous chore to be endured on their own before facing the trial of the exams. It does not have to be this way and I am passionate about taking the pain out of the process. 

Revision can – and should – be fun. Yes, you read that right. The following strategies may be helpful for you in motivating and supporting your pupils on their revision journey. 

1. Timer challenge

Reassure your pupils that not everything needs revising: lots is actually still alive and well in their working memory. Put a timer on the clock and challenge pupils to see how much they can recall about a particular topic off the top of their head in just five minutes. The good news is that this is ‘banked’: now what pupils need to do is to focus their revision on the areas they did not write down. It is only at this point that they need to start scanning through notes to identify things they had missed. 

2. Bursts and breaks

It is quite common for young people to feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of revision. Be confident when you reassure them that ‘little and often’ really is the best way to tackle it. Indeed, research suggests that a short burst of 25 minutes revision followed by a five-minute break is the ideal. Make the most of any ‘dead time’ slots in the school day to include these short revision bursts.

3. Better together

Show pupils the power of collaborative revision. Working with at least one other person is energising and gets the job done quicker. Activities such as ‘match the pairs’ or categorising tasks have the added advantage of also promoting higher-order thinking and discussion. 

4. Take the scaffolds away

It is not effective to simply keep reading the same words during revision. Instead, ‘generation’ is one of the key strategies proven to support long-term learning. Tell pupils not to write out whole words in their revision notes. Instead, they should write just the first letter of key words and then leave a blank space. When they look back at their notes, their brain will be challenged to work harder to recall the rest of the missing word which, in turn, makes it more likely to be retained for longer.

5. Playful but powerful

We know that low-stakes quizzing is ideal, and my ‘lucky dip’ approach is helpful here. Keep revision information, such as key terms and concepts, ‘in play’ by placing them in a gift bag or similar. Mix these up and pull one out at random to check for understanding. Quick, out of context, checks like this are a type of inter-leaving which is proven to strengthen recall.

Following feedback from pupils and their parents that they would benefit from more sustained support and structure in the lead up to their exams, in 2021 I launched Radical Revision – an online revision programme for schools with short video tutorials (ideal for use in tutor time) to introduce students to our cutting-edge revision techniques. The online portal also contains a plethora of downloadable resources and CPD for teachers, as well as resources and webinars for parents. For more information please visit the Radical Revision website, where you can sign up to access a free trial version. We’re also offering NACE members a 15% discount on the cost of an annual subscription for your school – log in to the NACE member offers page for details.

Sources: National strategies GCSE Booster materials, DfES publications 2003.

For even more great practical ideas from Claire, join us the NACE annual conference on 20 June 2023 – details coming soon!