You Never Regret a Revision Session

This week we opened up the coffee shop (SAFI) for parents between 8.30 and 9.30am. Although the turn out was small, we would like to continue this in the weeks ahead, and will be opening this coming Wednesday from 8.15 to 9.15am for any parents who would like to meet up with friends, chat about the school, and have the opportunity to speak to some staff as well. It is designed to be an informal, social event, and please do feel free to come along. We will hold this on Wednesday 28 January and Wednesday 4 February. Then on Wednesday 11 February, we are hoping that Felsted's new Head, Lara Péchard, will be able to join parents for an informal get together on her next visit to the school. We were delighted to welcome her this week on Tuesday, when she met pupils, staff and then Year 8 parents, as part of the evening designed to introduce them to the senior school.

So that you can plan ahead, the following opportunities are in place for parents to meet with Lara in the remainder of this term (there will also be further opportunities in the summer term):

• Wednesday 11 February 8.15 - 9.15am, in the coffee shop
• Friday 13 March 12noon, for Senior school parents, in the BKA
• Friday 13 March 2pm, for Prep school parents, also in the BKA

Lara has told me how impressed she has been by the pupils that she has met to date, and is greatly looking forward to returning to Essex!

Meanwhile, our A Level and IB students have completed their mock exams, in preparation for the challenges ahead this summer. It can be a challenging time, especially if results are not quite where they would like at this stage. However, it is important to recognise that there is still quite a lot of time in which to make further progress. Those who reflect on their performance, and identify where they fell short (whether in exam technique or subject knowledge), have the opportunity to make a significant difference to their final outcomes. Do not wait until the Easter break to put plans for revision into place - start now! Even if it is just a little bit at a time, you can build up your long term memory, increase your confidence, and then apply that knowledge, so that practice questions become even more meaningful.

A bit like improving fitness, it can be daunting to start, but once you start to see progress being made, you will be encouraged by this, and as confidence increases, you are more likely to want to do more. You will not regret setting aside time to work, and making really good use of it. If you are organised with your time, you will also be surprised at how much you can fit into any week. Your teachers will be delighted to see this approach and will be even readier to help you out as a result. I have just finished reading Susie Chan's book about her experience as a distance runner, and her mantra is that you 'never regret a run'. As she describes running the Marathon des Sables, the Death Valley Ultra and Peru's 'Jungle Ultra' (reputedly the toughest of the lot), there are clearly some extremely tough moments, but she can still look back on these experiences with pride and some (admittedly rather strange) sense of enjoyment. Revision should not be that tough, but the sense of satisfaction of a job well done, and knowing that you have done your best to succeed in the summer will generate similar feelings.

So, in short:

1. Work out what you need to cover in each subject
2. Start now - even if it is just a little bit at a time
3. Take opportunities in school - revision sessions, asking questions in class, doing practice questions to the best of your ability

There will be moments that are challenging, but by taking on this challenge, you will help yourself and also help your friends as you all get stuck in to ensuring that you do your very best.

Have a very good exeat weekend.

Chris