For biology students, by the time you read this, Paper 2 will be over. One more to go!
On my mind this week
A surprising thing about expecting everyone to be happy once the exams are over, is that the anxiety doesn’t disappear when the exam finishes.
Sometimes it gets worse.
Whilst you’re revising, there is always something you can do.
Another topic. Another question. Another past paper.
Once the exam is over, the outcome is no longer in your hands and that uncertainty can feel uncomfortable.
Most students respond by trying to work out their grade.
The reality is that they don’t have enough information to do that accurately.
You don’t know exactly what you wrote.
You don’t know the mark scheme.
You don’t know the grade boundaries.
Yet many students spend weeks trying to calculate a result that cannot be calculated.
Things I’ve learned
Students are usually far worse at predicting their results than they think.
Every year, students who are convinced they have done badly, achieve fantastic grades.
Every year, students who leave feeling confident, discover they have dropped marks they didn’t realise they’d lost.
The fact is that you simply don’t know.
The only thing that matters now is whether there are still marks left to gain.
If Paper 3 is still ahead of you, focus on that.
If your exams are finished, focus on something else entirely.
Study tip
If you are sitting Paper 3 on 16th June, keep your world very small.
Don’t worry about results day.
Don’t worry about grade boundaries.
Don’t worry about what happened in previous papers.
Focus on the next exam and the next exam only.
You do not need to know your grade today.
You just need to earn as many marks as possible next week.
For Parents
One of the most common questions students get asked after exams is:
“How do you think it went?”
Most of the time, they genuinely don’t know.
A more useful question might be:
“What are you looking forward to now that it’s nearly over?”
Results day will arrive whether they spend ten weeks worrying about it or not.
Encourage plans.
Encourage rest.
Encourage them to be young people again for a while.
Quote of the week
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.”
If you haven’t been to one of my information sessions where I share the details of what’s happening between now and June, you can sign up here:
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