Top Tips : Effective Revision
March 17, 2025
Mr Pearce, Deputy Head of UCAS, Politics Teacher and our Apply Plus programme lead, offers some top tips for the art of revising well.
As we approach Trinity Term and public examinations loom on the horizon, remember that lots of the keys to success are surprisingly simple and manageable. The top tips below come from a wide range of previous pupils who are now off doing brilliant things at university, the workplace, and beyond, but who were once nervously staring at fast-approaching exams just like you are now. Here are their pearls of wisdom on revision …
- Don’t wait until you feel like it: if you wait until you ‘feel like’ revising, it will likely never happen. Set yourself a start time, and then get cracking. As someone once said, “Just do it”. You’ll feel much more like it when you’ve made a start, and the sense of satisfaction and progress kick-starts an upwards progression. More often than not, positive emotions follow positive actions rather than the other way around.
- Make a plan: having all your topics planned out and assigned to particular revision slots on particular days is really useful. This is the only way you can be sure that you have enough time to get through everything, so make a plan and do your best to stick to it. Be kind to yourself too – “no plan ever survives first contact with the enemy”, and precious few pupils stick perfectly to their revision aims: but the very act of making a plan helps you take control and measure your progress as you go along.
- Revise actively! My old biology teacher at school always use to say his number one, most magical, most sophisticated and most earth-shattering revision tip was… “use a pen”. Underwhelmed? So was I. But it’s fundamental: simply ‘reading over’ information is not an effective way to get it to stick in your brain. So use a pen – or whatever other format you’ll use in the real exam – and revise actively! One of the most effective ways to do this is to make a great set of notes on each topic, then make notes on your notes, then condense them down until the whole topic is summarised on a single side of A4. Other great active revision tools include the highly recommended “write, learn, cover, test, check, repeat as required" method, as well as good old flash cards, mind maps, posters and mnemonics. Find what works for you, but always revise actively.
- Sit at a proper desk: I once tried ‘revising’ in the sunshine because it was a nice day. It didn’t work. The temptation to revise on your bed or on the sofa can be strong too, but the only place for really focused work is a proper table or desk. After all, it also replicates the real exam situation better, so it’s a win-win.
- Use a countdown clock: at the start of a work session, set a countdown timer for the amount you intend to do. Start the timer and start working, but STOP the timer whenever you do anything that is not actually revision… making drinks, organising your folder, going to the toilet, and so on. This will focus your work time on productive work more effectively, which, in turn, will also ensure you get better time off; work should be work, rest should be rest, play should be play. The more effectively and efficiently you work, the better your time off will feel too.
- Avoid distractions: we all know the dangers of procrastination, where we put off work until we’ve tidied our room or decorated our revision timetable. Outright distraction is even more dangerous, so you need to be ruthless: turn the music off (unless it truly helps you learn), leave your phone in another room entirely, and bring a supply of snacks and drinks to your desk so you don’t have to make that lengthy trip to the kitchen. And remember, if you find yourself getting distracted, stop the clock, because you’ve stopped working!
- Take short breaks: your brain can’t focus on difficult revision for any more than an hour in one go, possibly even less. Find out what works for you, but 30 minutes solid revision followed by a 5-minute break is often a good pattern.
- Practice papers / questions: this is crucial! You’re spending all this time gaining knowledge, but we all know the painful truth that your beautiful hard-earned knowledge isn’t worth very much if you can’t apply it to the exam questions. Like any great sportsperson, you don’t just need power: you need technique to enable you to get the most out of that power. In exams, knowledge is power, but we need to know exactly what the examiners want us to do with it in the exam. So: practise lots of timed exam questions, and use mark schemes to help you assess how well you did. Ask your teachers to mark them too – it’s the sort of thing we really like because it shows you’re doing all the right things!
- Stay healthy – sleep well, eat well and exercise: it can be tempting to go ‘revision crazy’ around exam time… “I’ll sleep when exams are over!” But revision is a very brain-hungry activity, and your brain is an energy-hungry machine: it needs servicing and maintenance to keep it in tip-top shape. The reality is that the right balance of sleep, healthy eating, exercise, connecting with friends and having some fun become more rather than less important during exams. Did you know that doing exercise makes the knowledge you’ve revised stick in your brain better, even if the exercise comes after the revision session rather than before it? Make these good things happen. You’ll be infinitely more effective at revising if you’re keeping yourself well.
- Balance is key: here’s the equation: rest without work is less fulfilling, less rewarding and less fun. Work without rest is less productive, less effective, and more stressful. All performers, from Olympic athletes on the track to world-class musicians on the stage, know that no success comes without serious hard work, but also that appropriate rest is essential for growth and strength. If it’s good enough for them…
- Not all of these suggestions will suit everyone, but the most important thing for everyone to remember is that you need to be organised, balanced and disciplined when it comes to revision. After all, revision lasts just a little while – but the qualifications you stand to achieve last a lifetime. Make the most of revision time, and we look forward to seeing your smile on results day. And if you need us before then, reach out – to your tutor, your teachers, your Head of House, or the Wellbeing Team: we’re all here to help!
With British Science week happening last week, it is a great time to celebrate some of the many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Medicine) offers our Upper 6 pupils have received from the most selective UK universities. STEM is very strong at Norwich School with consistently large numbers of both girls and boys choosing Sciences, Maths and Further Maths for A level: 80 of last year’s Upper 6 cohort took Maths A level (the most popular A level subject) with over 40 taking each of the three Sciences and 17 taking Further Maths. There is so much going on in STEM areas within school; the pupil led Med Soc (Medical Society) have recently enjoyed learning surgical suturing and practising this on pigs’ trotters, Upper 6 pupil Adit Raje has just gained a ‘Top Gold’ in the British Physics Olympiad coming in the top 69 of the 9000 entrants and Upper 6 pupil Emmanuel Milne’s gold in the British Biology Olympiad placed him in the top 5% of the 18,800 pupils who took part nationally. Both of these performances qualified the pupils for Round 2 of these Olympiads whilst the lower 4 and lower 5 VEX Robotics team’s recent regional and then national success qualified them for the international finals that will take place in St. Louis, Missouri, USA in April. The school’s Apply+ Programme is run by Mr Pearce. It supports pupils applying to academic courses that require admissions tests and/or interviews. STEM Oxbridge offers: Of the 10 Norwich School pupils with offers to study at Oxford and Cambridge Universities this cycle, 5 are for STEM subjects: Thomas Irvine – Medicine at the University of Cambridge Georgia Lloyd – Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Cambridge Adit Raje – Physics at the University of Oxford Freya Simmonds – Veterinary Medicine at the University of Cambridge Emile Verschoor – Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge Other Apply+ STEM offers received so far this cycle: Thomas Cahir – Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Manchester Isaac Chan – Physics with Theoretical Physics at Imperial Arthur Dannatt – Mathematics at the University of Warwick Katerina Di Maria – Biochemistry at Imperial Thomas Hsia – Computer Science at University of Warwick Leon Liu – Physics at the University of Manchester Maya Peart – Microbiology at Imperial Adit Raje – Physics at Imperial Emile Verschoor – Physics at Imperial Halvard Yip – Data Science at the University of Warwick Medicine and Veterinary medicine: We are delighted that all of our pupils who have applied for medicine and veterinary medicine this cycle have gained offers to study these highly competitive courses: Omar Alfiky Isio Emore India-Rose Fox Lizzie Henson
Lower Two enjoyed a successful two‑day residential in London. The trip began with a train journey into the city, followed by an introduction to travelling independently on the Underground. Thirdly, then pupils then visited the London Eye, where many showed great courage in overcoming fears of heights while enjoying panoramic views and identifying key landmarks, including their hostel near St Paul’s Cathedral. Secondly, the children had a wonderful time at the Paddington Experience, where they eagerly joined Paddington in his quest to make the perfect marmalade. Working together, they helped gather ingredients, stirred the mixture with great enthusiasm, and proudly supported Paddington in creating his famous treat. Thirdly, riverboat cruise along the Thames provided further learning, offering insights into London’s architecture and the history of the Great Fire of London. The day concluded with a well‑deserved dinner at Pizza Express. On the second day, the group explored the Tower of London, observing the ravens, viewing the Crown Jewels, and learning about royal life throughout history. A picnic on the grounds offered a relaxed end to the visit. All pupils represented the school admirably and should be proud of their achievements on their first residential.
The Choristers visited London on Wednesday 4 March to sing Evensong with the Temple Church Choir. We left from Norwich train station at 9.30am after a quick rehearsal, and arrived in London in time for lunch at Zizzi. We were then shown around St Paul’s Cathedral and enjoyed testing out the acoustics in the Whispering Gallery. After braving the narrow spiral staircases all the way up to the Golden Gallery, we admired the spectacular views over London. At the end of the tour we had a group photo on an amazing cantilever staircase (used in the Harry Potter films as the way to the Divination classroom), and then walked to the Temple Church. Following a rehearsal with their choir, they all sang Evensong together at 6pm. The standard of singing was breathtaking, a testament to the hard work and dedication these young musicians display on a daily basis. We caught the 8pm train and arrived back in Norwich just before 10pm, tired but happy after a rewarding and fulfilling day. Pupil Highlights: “The whole day was 10/10. I especially enjoyed seeing the spiral staircase in St Paul’s used in the Harry Potter films!” “My favourite part was singing at the Temple Church with the other choir. I also liked the view from the top of St Paul’s Cathedral, even if it was very high up - I’m not great with heights!”
With thanks to an award from the Friends of Norwich School, the Community Knit Club has been busy knitting winter essentials.
Norwich School has had the honour of being the host site for the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) in the East of England since 2019. Ours is an ideal venue for their engaging public talks from renowned experts about the physical, human and environmental world around us. On 16 March 2026 we heard a terrific presentation given by Stephen Akester entitled Rethinking the future of our seas, and what you can do to help. Stephen is a veritable font of all knowledge concerning global fisheries and fish stocks. He is a highly respected expert who advises the World Bank, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, and national governments on fisheries policy. Through comprehensible interpretation of data and up-to-the-minute fishing vessel GPS tracking information, he gave us a compelling and intelligent assessment of world fish stocks and practices. Whilst there are clearly some areas of deep concern, unsustainable practices involving indiscriminate bottom trawling and unregulated industries in offending countries, Stephen also gave an upbeat assessment of areas where sustainable fishing has seen some dramatic recoveries in levels of nutritional, tasty fish that we can land on our dinner plates with a clear conscience. A large audience of pupils, staff, alumni, Fellows of RGS, academics and parents left the talk better informed and hugely impressed by our speaker. His professionalism, steely determination to drive best practice and genuine environmental concern was evident to all, especially when fielding a stimulating Q&A afterwards and over refreshments. Attracted by such ‘fishy’ goings-on, even Budge, the Cathedral Cat, put in a guest appearance, and sat salivating over big tuna on the screen! These RGS talks offer intellectual rigour and great entertainment for professionals/academics and the lay person alike, and are always well worth attending, whatever the topic under discussion. The next talk will be given by accomplished and award-winning wildlife cameraman and director Toby Hough, who is also a proud Old Norvicensian. His credits include work seen on Countryfile, The One Show, Springwatch and numerous BBC wildlife documentaries and travel programmes. His talk promises to be a memorable visual feast! Tickets are on sale here: RGS: Toby Hough - Lemurs to leopards: filming adventures from around the world . All are welcome. It takes place on Thursday 7 May 2026 at 19:30 in the Blake Studio.
On 12 March, Upper 1 embarked on a fascinating journey back in time with a visit to Castle Rising, bringing their learning about medieval castles to life. During the trip, the children discovered that Castle Rising Castle is one of the finest surviving examples of a Norman motte and bailey castle in the UK. They learned about the huge earthwork defences that were carefully constructed around the castle, along with the imposing gatehouse and towering stone walls designed to protect it from attack. The children also discovered how a wide moat once completely surrounded the castle, forming a powerful and intimidating barrier that made it extremely difficult for enemies to approach. The drawbridge and portcullis were also vital features in controlling who could enter! Upper 1 learnt about the Murder Hole, a clever defensive feature used by castle guards to drop boiling water, stones, or other objects onto attackers below. The children also explored the remains of the castle kitchen and stepped into the magnificent Great Hall, imagining the feasts, meetings, and celebrations that would once have filled the room. They listened to stories about a bedchamber believed to be one of the most haunted rooms in the UK, explored the original church built 200 years before the castle, and looked at the ruins of the bailey buildings. The trip was a wonderful opportunity for the children to consolidate their learning of life in a medieval castle.
Upper Sixth Physics pupils recently participated in the British Physics Olympiad hosted by the University of Oxford. The challenge involved answering a series of highly demanding abstract physics problems from beyond the scope of the A Level curriculum. Around 9000 pupils initially took part in the new Olympiad Round 0, with pupils needing to achieve above a threshold score to proceed to Round 1. Over 1800 pupils from 475 schools qualified for Round 1. The following pupils from Norwich School made it through to Round 1 and achieved these excellent results: Emile Verschoor Silver Arthur Dannatt Silver Adit Raje Top Gold Adit Raje's outstanding performance meant that he also qualified for Round 2 of the Olympiad - an exceptional achievement given that only 69 pupils out of the original 9000 made it through. He proceeded to gain a Silver Award in this event, an incredible achievement and recognition that he is one of the top young physicists in the country at problem solving.
On Friday 13 March, the Little Roots Allotment was delighted to welcome parents, grandparents and pupils to the open afternoon. This event gave families the opportunity to look round the evolving gardening space and experience the allotment in its new location. It was wonderful to see many families exploring the allotment and admiring the work that has been done by pupils so far. Pupils had the chance to get their hands dirty and plant their very own spring planters, which they took home— just in time to make the perfect Mother’s Day gift! Surrounded by cheerful flowers and newly emerging vegetables, the afternoon was filled with excitement, creativity, and an appreciation for the beauty of our unique school grounds.
The ever-popular Young Chamber participants have launched their businesses and are learning what it takes to be successful.
The programme helps athletes transition into senior international hockey.
