Is revision needed?

Since 3rd year we've had assemblies with this big bald deputy head telling us that it is essential to do x amount of revision per night.

At the start of 3rd year is was 30mins then went up to an hour and by the end of 4th year he was telling us that we should go home and do about 3 hours per night. We got told that if we don't then we will fail!

Thing is though, I can honestly and proudly say I did no revision during SG except homework and I got good marks. Now he's telling us that for higher in 5th year we should do 3 hours every night, I'm really unsure because I know higher is really a step up but 3 hour is ridicoulous.

I'm worried because all (and I mean every single one) of my friends has left school and gone to college or apprenticeships, they will be earning money and have loads of spare time and I will be to busy revising and going to school.

I think that leaving school will turn them into proper adults doing there own things and I will still be putting on my school uniform every morning and doing homework at night. I really wish I could just leave school now and get a trade skills and earn money because I don't want to live anymore of my life doing stupid pointless revision just so I can get a letter on a piece of paper which somehow makes me superior to people that don't have it.

Reply 1

Keeno89

evodario

Since 3rd year we've had assemblies with this big bald deputy head telling us that it is essential to do x amount of revision per night.

At the start of 3rd year is was 30mins then went up to an hour and by the end of 4th year he was telling us that we should go home and do about 3 hours per night. We got told that if we don't then we will fail!

Thing is though, I can honestly and proudly say I did no revision during SG except homework and I got good marks. Now he's telling us that for higher in 5th year we should do 3 hours every night, I'm really unsure because I know higher is really a step up but 3 hour is ridicoulous.

I'm worried because all (and I mean every single one) of my friends has left school and gone to college or apprenticeships, they will be earning money and have loads of spare time and I will be to busy revising and going to school.

I think that leaving school will turn them into proper adults doing there own things and I will still be putting on my school uniform every morning and doing homework at night. I really wish I could just leave school now and get a trade skills and earn money because I don't want to live anymore of my life doing stupid pointless revision just so I can get a letter on a piece of paper which somehow makes me superior to people that don't have it.

Sounds like a load of rubbish to me. Outside class I did homework and that was it. As for exams I only did 3-4 days revision for each subject.

Now of course this is al very subjective. Some people need to study more, others don't. But honestly if I had spend that long studying I would have lost the will to live :p:

Reply 2

wisdom-tooth

Reply 3

Revolution is my Name

15

I can't really claim to have really needed to revise, as I usually just remember most things from the first time around and a lot of crud is common sense, and yet I still end up doing mahoosive amounts of revision, pretty much purely to calm the old anxieties, and, afterwards, if I do fail, to be able to at least say to myself that I tried as much as I could

Reply 4

LuhLah

3

Well, I think doing Highers, your best bet is to study... even if you seem to be taking the information in well. The courses are quite vast, with a lot of information, and they aren't always straight-forward. You don't want to find yourself sitting down to study for your prelims and not having a scooby where to start...

And about the college/apprentice thing, if you want to do it, go for it. Academia isn't for everyone, and you can always go back and do your highers in college if you want, just be aware of the doors you may be closing for yourself.

Reply 5

Meteorshower

14

evodario

Since 3rd year we've had assemblies with this big bald deputy head telling us that it is essential to do x amount of revision per night.

At the start of 3rd year is was 30mins then went up to an hour and by the end of 4th year he was telling us that we should go home and do about 3 hours per night. We got told that if we don't then we will fail!

Thing is though, I can honestly and proudly say I did no revision during SG except homework and I got good marks. Now he's telling us that for higher in 5th year we should do 3 hours every night, I'm really unsure because I know higher is really a step up but 3 hour is ridicoulous.

I'm worried because all (and I mean every single one) of my friends has left school and gone to college or apprenticeships, they will be earning money and have loads of spare time and I will be to busy revising and going to school.

I think that leaving school will turn them into proper adults doing there own things and I will still be putting on my school uniform every morning and doing homework at night. I really wish I could just leave school now and get a trade skills and earn money because I don't want to live anymore of my life doing stupid pointless revision just so I can get a letter on a piece of paper which somehow makes me superior to people that don't have it.

If you do actually believe 5th would be pointless, then maybe you should look at alternatives like getting an apprenticeship or whatever? It's hard to do well in something you have no motivation for.

Reply 6

Melz0r

16

It's always the same question! Do I need to revise? How many hours? What topics? In what order? Should I eat cereal beforehand, and drink green tea?

You need to revise as much as you need to revise. That is going to be different for everybody and the only way to find out if you can cope is to try it. You're going to get people who tell you they did 25 hours a day, 8 days a week, and you're going to get people who tell you they did NO revision and got FULL MARKS on EVERYTHING. Good for them! You'll find something in the middle of these extremes.

Reply 7

*MJ*

2

Just shut up and revise?

You won't lose anything if you have a little extra knowledge or better understanding of a topic, well not in the exam anyway.

:smile:

Reply 8

kayjay

evodario

Since 3rd year we've had assemblies with this big bald deputy head telling us that it is essential to do x amount of revision per night.

At the start of 3rd year is was 30mins then went up to an hour and by the end of 4th year he was telling us that we should go home and do about 3 hours per night. We got told that if we don't then we will fail!

Thing is though, I can honestly and proudly say I did no revision during SG except homework and I got good marks. Now he's telling us that for higher in 5th year we should do 3 hours every night, I'm really unsure because I know higher is really a step up but 3 hour is ridiculous.

I'm worried because all (and I mean every single one) of my friends has left school and gone to college or apprenticeships, they will be earning money and have loads of spare time and I will be to busy revising and going to school.

I think that leaving school will turn them into proper adults doing there own things and I will still be putting on my school uniform every morning and doing homework at night. I really wish I could just leave school now and get a trade skills and earn money because I don't want to live anymore of my life doing stupid pointless revision just so I can get a letter on a piece of paper which somehow makes me superior to people that don't have it.

Like some other people have said it's all down to the individual. I say forget what the teachers say to you, if you found SG easy then you probably will find highers the same, but just test the waters for the first few weeks so that you don't get complacent.
Personally i found that i would only be motivated to study for a subject if i found it difficult; i.e if i have a test which i did poorly in then that makes me think i better do some extra work, however if as i found on the other hand you don't struggle with any of the work and fare well in your tests then you are obviously understanding it and extra is not needed.

On the whole i found class time and any specific homework tasks was enough maybe 20 minutes at home a day. You will have ridiculous amounts of time at the end of the course where you just revise questions non stop.

Regarding your last paragraph if you really don't like school and academia etc then maybe you should seriously consider alternative routes.
If however you just want to leave because you feel childish wearing uniform and don't like the lack of funds at the moment then i would say hold on.
Your friends may have some spare change now but if in the future you have a degree in something you enjoy you will have an advantage over them (better qualifications) and will most likely end up in a much better job (obviously depending on the degree). Delayed gratification - if you can continue on with the studying and exams then eventually you will reap the rewards.

p.s i actually liked having a uniform - but i guess each to their own

Reply 9

RevisingHard

9

I Did An Alnighter For The Germany Module Of My History Exam,.i Thnik It Was My Best One Compared To Months For Law And Getting To The Exam And Literally Being Too Tired To Try - Nightmare

Reply 10

JacksterD

9

Definitely study. Hard.

I didn't study a whole lot and still did pretty well (AAAAB), but if I could do it all again I would study more.

Reply 11

s.sarwar7

5

revision is needed, amount depend on individual

Reply 12

LDVet

1

I agree with s.sarwar7, it largely depends on the individual.
Although I think that 3 hours is a bit ridiculous. Maybe an hour would be OK, but 3 is crazy (unless you really struggle with your subjects).

Reply 13

C274

If you have half a brain and a fair bit of common sense, then standard grades don't need much revision, if any, and I'm not alone in thinking that. But I found that highers needed a fair bit more revision.

As has been said, it depends on the person: how you learn, how you work, how you apply your knowledge etc.

Reply 14

cloudbusting

I only really did homework and artwork outside of class. I studied for 1-2 nights for every exam apart from Art, for which I studied the hour before. It depends if you find your subjects easy or not I suppose. If I'd taken maths I'd have studied every night because I'm rubbish at it.

Is revision needed?

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