By Paul Jenkins, Head of Secondary Curriculum Services
Everyone agrees that strong revision habits are essential for GCSE success. Year after year, though, many students fall into the same traps, clinging to methods that feel productive but deliver little impact. For nearly a decade, HFL Education’s revision workshops have helped students make meaningful progress in that final stretch, often by challenging these common misconceptions head-on.
Misconception 1:
Reviewing isn’t revising
Too often students confuse reviewing with revising. Reading notes, rewriting them or watching videos is reassuring, but it’s too often merely passive reviewing of information. True revision is active, involving memorising, recalling and applying knowledge. If students can’t retrieve information under pressure, it doesn’t matter how well they “remembered” when they had notes in front of them. Our exam sessions focus on active application, modelling how to use knowledge in exam conditions, not just revisiting content.
Misconception 2:
Time over effectiveness
How many hours did you revise for? is a common question, but it’s the wrong one to ask. A focused 20-minute session of active recall is far more effective than two hours of distracted note-reading. Students should be asking, What did I master today? and be able to quantify their revision in terms of effectiveness. We design our revision workshops with this in mind, with short, high-impact sessions that show students how to revise smarter, not longer.
Misconception 3:
The private tutor myth
Private tutors are often touted as the silver bullet, but for many parents they are financially out of reach, and their children need focused guidance rather than general reteaching. Worse still, students may disengage in class, relying on doing the work later with their tutors. We know that the heavy lifting is done by schools and by students revising individually – a tutor supports but doesn’t revise for them. Our revision is focused on specific topics so that parents can prioritise their spending, knowing the teaching is exam-informed revision, not generic, individual teaching.
Misconception 4:
Revision is hard
There is very little satisfaction to be had from revising – repeatedly running over the same material and routinely highlighting your failings. Students often excuse themselves by saying they find revision difficult, when the problem isn’t cognitive but motivational. Our interactive sessions aim to inject a little more interest than usual. Some schools even organise revision parties, where schools block book our revision workshops and have pizza alongside. In the main, though, students need to accept that the challenge of revision is about sitting comfortably with the tedium.
While we often focus on what students should do, sometimes the most powerful advice is what to avoid. By naming and addressing the four common misconceptions above, teachers can help students revise with purpose and with confidence.
Our low-cost revision workshops – for GCSE English, maths and science and A level maths – help students review key topics, practise exam-style questions, and build confidence before their mock and summer exams. They are a good investment for Pupil Premium students and can be shared with parents and carers through your newsletter as they complement the work you’re doing in school.
Find out more about our revision support.
