After the Exam
What Should Students Do After Exam?
Author: Ben Greenwood
Posted: 28 Jun 2019
Estimated time to read: 3 mins
The end of final exams is a liberating time for students. It’s when school finishes and summer begins; a well-deserved break from the stresses of revision and coursework. The start of the summer holidays are a time for relaxation and reflection. However, with six weeks off, we also need to ensure that students don’t neglect learning completely. Whether they’ve just completed their A levels and are heading to university, or going from GCSEs to sixth form, it’s important for students to maintain their learning skills after the exam season and throughout the summer break.
Things to do after exams
Take a break
First of all, it’s time to take a breather. Students work extremely hard for an extended period throughout exams, so allowing them a week or so to unwind and relax is vital to their wellbeing. With prolonged stress, long study hours and the draining nature of exams in general, taking some time off from studying is a healthy way to reset the mind. It also ensures we don’t pressure students too heavily into maintaining study habits. By being too rigid in our efforts to maintain students’ work habits, it’s possible to overwork them.
Read
Sir Richard Steele once said, “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body”. Studies have shown that reading a good book keeps us mentally nimble and ready to learn. It also improves literacy skills and reading comprehension which we know are key skills in all forms of career or further education. This approach also gives students the freedom of choosing something that actually interests them. No stuffy textbooks or assigned reading, just books that genuinely interest and engage them. The improvement of their reading skills will likely open a plethora of new independent learning opportunities in the form of informative books.