How to enhance your exam performance by revision

Whether you are taking examinations at the end of your secondary education or at a higher level you will have been encouraged to revise the curriculum you have been studying to further your chances of getting good grades but it is difficult to know where to begin and what strategies are most effective.

Most teachers and tutors will be able to guide you on the essential knowledge that you will need to have and also on frequently asked questions that may be posed but this should only be considered as a guide as they will not have prior knowledge themselves.

The best approach is to write down the key points of the area you are studying as a reminder. This will usually be enough to enable you to recall the detail if needed. Mnemonics are useful to help remember important phrases or lists and have been used throughout education as an effective learning tool. Some students find that sticky notes placed around the house can be a good strategy when it comes to recalling facts as it almost becomes a subliminal way of learning.

Working with another person can be a helpful way to revise especially if you are both sitting the same exams as you can test each other on facts whilst also revising content yourself.

Making a job share in a primary school work for you

If you are returning to work after maternity leave or simply wish to reduce the hours you are working, you may be considering taking on a job share. This is often an excellent way to address the work life balance that many teachers find challenging and can even benefit the pupils in school.

The first question to ask is how the job is going to be divided up. Is it going to be a fifty-fifty split or is one employee going to do more than another? Obviously, this will result in a difference in pay too and will be directly proportional to the hours or days worked.

The next consideration is curriculum subject responsibility. Some job shares work best when a teacher’s strengths are utilised so that, for example a teacher who enjoys and is good at art leads that subject and a teacher whose strengths lie in technology takes responsibility for computer studies. This strategy is going to be of benefit to the pupils in the class as they are getting twice the expertise than they would normally.

There are some curriculum subjects that both teachers will need to teacher however the burden of planning and marking can be shared making these time-consuming tasks less onerous.

Exams in a small school setting

There are many different types of primary schools ranging from the large inner-city school with hundreds of pupils to a small rural school with possibly only thirty pupils on roll. Which ever sort of school you find yourself in, one thing is certain the pupils in that school will have to face sitting exams. It may be internal exams, or those compulsory exams instigated by the authorities.

In a small school setting, there may only be a small number of children sitting the exams and therefore the rest of the class need to be accommodated and catered for. As staffing is sometimes an issue this needs careful planning in advance of the exams.

Meetings with parents beforehand even though there may only be two or three sets of parents is essential to answer any questions and allay any fears they may have concerning the administration of the exams and give them ideas on how their children can be better prepared.

Although having to sit compulsory exams of any sort can be very stressful for pupils in any school, in a small primary school setting the children may have more opportunity to discuss their concerns and fears thus minimising their stress.

Looking for a career change in 2020?

Are you fed up in your current job? Maybe you have been in the same position for years and fancy a change or maybe you have tried something new and realised its not for you, there are so many job options out there it seems silly to stay doing something that you don’t enjoy.

If you have decided that you fancy a new challenge next year then why not consider teaching. Although no one can tell you teaching is an easy job or extremely well paid, but it is very rewarding and there are some perks. If you have children that are of school age then you may find that it is nice to know that during the school holidays you will be able to spend time with them as you will most likely have time off too.

You will need to have obtained a teaching degree at university to allow you to teach but if you have done any degree you can then add a PGCE course on to the end which takes about 12 months to complete and then allows you to teach.

If you want to teach in a secondary school then you will need to have a degree in the subject or very close to the subject you wish to teach.

Primary school teaching requires a less in-depth but more general knowledge across multiple subjects as you will be teaching a range of lessons based on English, Maths, Science, RE and PE for example.

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Knowing how to start searching for a job

There are several ways in which you can start searching for a job that may be suited to your skill set, qualifications and commitment.

You may decide to go to the job centre and either speak to an advisor or many now have online computer systems you can use to find jobs that match your skill / experience level. This can be particularly handy if you are not exactly sure as to what you want to do or the opportunities open to you.

The other place you may want to look is on online jobs boards. There are quick and easy to use and allow you to search through hundreds of jobs at a time. You can usually filter the jobs that come up by job type, location or salary and some allow you to refine this more by selecting qualifications you have.

A CV is a very important tool when applying for jobs. This document can mean the difference between asked in for an interview and turned away at the first stage. It is vital that your CV is up to date with all of your education / qualifications as well as any working experience you may have. If you have an up to date CV to hand you can quickly apply for jobs even if the deadline for applications is closing soon. You should always tweak your cover letter for each company that you are sending the CV to as the covering letter should be quite specific to the job you are applying for whereas your CV is likely to be more generic. 

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