Student Blog

Game-changing study hacks for guaranteed success at school

Some students seem to have effortlessly mastered that fine art of early academic success. They always have their homework done on time, perpetually have their hand raised in class (and never fail to get the answer right) and somehow they’re leading the school in every extracurricular activity under the sun. As much as we’d love to take the high road and share in our peers’ joy over their success, we have to be honest: we couldn’t be more envious.

So how can we be more like them? What must we do to be absolutely brilliant at absolutely everything? Well, sit back and let this MyTutor Blog tell you how to succeed in school (without really trying…too hard):

1. Get organised

Buy a diary, hole-punch and whiteboard. Buy them now. Use the diary on the go to write down important dates so you’ll never miss a deadline again. Use the hole-punch to ensure that you never lose a hand-out again (and you can stop resenting your teachers for not hole-punching them in the first place). Hang the whiteboard above your desk at home to update progress on long-running projects and coursework. You can buy all three for less than £10, and you will never again spend so little money on such a large lifestyle upgrade!

2. Get revising, now

Notoriously, every student agrees to do this every year, and every year every student fails to follow through. It’s time to start thinking of early-onset revision as a favour to your future self; the cost of a lost summer stuck inside revising is far greater than spending just one hour each night reviewing what you’ve learned that day. Even the science backs it up: the more times you go over those character motivations, chemical equations or mathematical formulae, the more concretely they will become engrained in the actual wiring of your brain. So, at the risk of exaggeration, revise now and you can become an actual exam passing cyborg.

3. Have fun

If you’re one of the vast majority of students who leave homework or revision to the final hour, a key reason for your procrastination may be that you simply don’t enjoy doing the work. But why memorise monotonous, endless lists of dates from history class when you can make flashcards and quiz your classmates? Why simply read a boring play when you can bring it to life by acting it out with friends? If you’re struggling to find ways to make your schoolwork fun, you can always rely on the last-resort, industrial-strength fun-maker: gummy bears. (Disclaimer: we do not recommend that you reward yourself with a gummy bear for every single homework or revision question that you get right. We want you to do well in your exams, but to make that happen you need to live long enough to sit them).

4. Take a break

It’s easy to think that success at school can only be measured by GCSE or A Level grades, and, of course, these can be important in helping you progress to the career or University course of your choice. However, you won’t look back fondly on your school years if all you can remember is reading books that didn’t really interest you or filling in extra-credit problem sheets alone in your room, even if you did manage to achieve those elusive A*s. We’re not suggesting that you binge-watch The Wire, or play Call Of Duty until your eyes bleed; maybe just go outside once in a while, knit a jumper, take up Latin dancing… go crazy! Just remember to come back and do some homework eventually.

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Written by one of our tutors.

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