First of all, a very Happy New Year to you all. I hope you had a lovely break from work/school/college and are raring to make a start on the new term.

I’m not much of a resolution person, myself. The minute I give up something the craving for that very thing kicks in; the minute I promise myself I’ll devote an hour a day to exercise/music practise/writing, I  discover 1001 more important things have cropped up.

Study is a bit like that, especially revision, but revision works best when it is an ongoing process of consolidation. You need to be working towards those exams right now, even though they may be months away. I’m a huge fan of condensing information onto file cards (the process of reducing a topic to its key facts is hugely useful) looking at past papers and planning answers for the questions, and tracking down mark schemes and examiners feedback on previous years’ papers.

Kent Test children, you need to be making sure those times tables and maths facts are  tip top, and making sure you proof read everything you write.

Time spent now will mean you walk into those exam rooms bursting with confidence.

And I promise I shall practice what I preach – I’m editing 72,000 words over the next couple of weeks. So as you settle down to revision , you can be sure I feel your  pain.

Happy 2019.