At various points during the school year, your son will need to prepare for formal assessments in many subjects. It is essential for boys to get into the habit of revising methodically. In order to do this, they need to ensure that they know what they are going to be asked to write about. They then need to revise the relevant material; this is often best achieved with a series of shorter sessions, over perhaps a few days, than in one long marathon.

Boys should pay close attention to the revision lists, guides and materials provided to them by their subject teachers as this will give the most relevant indication as to what needs to be revised.

Where boys have a set amount of factual material that they must master, it is usually insufficient simply to re-read the text-book. In order to learn effectively, the facts have to be mentally processed, and this is often best done as follows:

• The student makes his own notes in stages: first, he condenses paragraphs into shorter paragraphs or sentences; then, perhaps a day or two later, sentences into bullet points or key words.
• The information can be arranged on the page sequentially, or in any number of other ways, such as a flow chart or a spider diagram. This transforms the process into active revision, as opposed to the purely passive activity of reading.
• If the notes are put together thoughtfully, it should be possible to dispense with the original text or source book and set about learning the condensed notes; make it a goal to be able to reproduce whole sections of notes from memory, and then compare with the original to see whether anything significant has been left out.
• This process (often called 'mind mapping') should be a challenging and enjoyable activity that instils a sense of purpose, achievement and confidence.

Preparing for Success: Tackling Revision