The Thistle - An E-Newsletter of Scotch College, Perth, Western Australia

I have my Mock Examinations back; March Out is over…now what?

From the moment Year 12 students progressed through the gates at the Gooch Pavilion on Friday 13 October, they had at least 16 days until the first IB Diploma examination or 18 days until the first written ATAR examination.

So, the question for Year 12 students is; what now?

The obvious answer is to study. Yet, this often an over simplified answer and does not give students the much-needed direction they are in search of. Here are some suggestions we have found to be successful for students in the past.

  1. Book a time to go through your mock examination in detail with your teacher. Whilst mock examination marks are important, it is necessary for students to take the time to figure out parts of the course they are yet to fully understand. Their teacher is the best person to assist them.
  2. Past Papers are an excellent resource. However, they are only excellent if they are marked, examined to understand what is incorrect and how to solve it. This again can be done with a teacher or the high achieving Old Scotch Collegians we have engaged to work through past papers in face to face tutorials.
  3. Exercise is vital in keeping a clear mind. Students should aim for at least 30 minutes a day.
  4. Sleep is critical to functioning, both during study as well as prior to sitting the examination. Aim for at least eight hours a night and recommend devices that keep students awake are not in their room.
  5. If students are studying with a peer or in a group, they need to be true to themselves. Students will know the people they can effectively study with, do not allow students to convince themselves sitting in the library with friends is effective study.
  6. Use the library during this time. It is wonderful to see so many students taking advantage of the quiet spaces in the library and we encourage students to keep using this facility if it is the best place for their study.
  7. Keep perspective during the examinations. It is likely that there will be at least one paper that students feel they were not completely prepared for. Once all of the marks are totalled, adjusted, moderated and scaled, it is unlikely to have a major impact. The sun will come up tomorrow.

When it is all said and done, this is a challenging time for students, parents and their families to navigate. We are here to support our community and if you need any specific advice, please feel free to contact the school.

All the very best to our Year 12 students as they prepare for their final examinations.

Mr Peter Allen
Director of Teaching and Learning