Boston High School Headteacher: Mr A J Fulbrook B.Ed. (Hons), M.Sc., NPQH
Spilsby Road, Boston, Lincolnshire PE21 9PF
Tel: 01205 310505 Fax: 01205 350235 Email: enquiries@bostonhighschool.co.uk Web: www.bostonhighschool.co.uk JC/ns
26th February 2014
Dear Parents/ Carers,
I have had a lot of parental requests for recommended revision guides, links to past papers on the internet
and how parents can help with revision. I am hoping to address all three issues within this letter.
Firstly, the table below makes suggested revision guides purchases. Unfortunately, not all subject areas
have revision guides published.
Subject
Title
For Literature- CGP Text Guide for To Kill A Mockingbird
For Poetry - Philip Allan Guides: good for the A/A* students in particular
English and
English Literature
CGP AQA Anthology study guide (higher tier): Excellent overview, annotated poems.
Suitable for all students
York Notes for GCSE AQA Poetry Anthology guide
Maths
CGP Higher Mathematics GCSE
CGP Guides
GCSE Biology OCR Gateway Revision Guide (with online edition)
GCSE Biology OCR Gateway Workbook
Triple Science
GCSE Chemistry OCR Gateway Revision Guide (with online edition)
GCSE Chemistry OCR Gateway Workbook
GCSE Physics OCR Gateway Revision Guide (with online edition)
Additional
Science
French
Spanish
History
Geography
Textiles
Health & Social
R.S
Sociology
GCSE Physics OCR Gateway Workbook
Lonsdale GCSE Revision Plus - OCR Gateway
Additional Science B: Revision and Classroom Companion
CGP AQA French
CGP AQA Spanish
Ben Walsh OCR Modern World revision guide
No published guide – CGP is not relevant to BHS content
Already purchased through school
No published guide
AQA (B) GCSE Religious Studies Revision Guide Unit 3 Religion and Morality by
Sheila Butler ISBN: 978-1-4441-0080-8 (£6.99) THIS IS ONLY FOR UNIT 3.
Revision Guide and Exam Practice Workbook (Collins GCSE Revision)
The second issue is finding the relevant past papers online for students to practise their examination
techniques. Below is a list of the examination board websites .I have also created a folder that the pupils
can access from home which contains relevant practice papers for each subject, with the markshemes too.
This can be accessed via www.bostonhighschool.co.uk – Pupils documents – Shared Data folder – GCSE
past papers.

www.aqa.org.uk the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA)

www.edexcel.org.uk Edexcel

www.ocr.org.uk Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR)

www.wjec.co.uk the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC)
And finally, the stress of revision for pupils and parents! The aim of revision is to reduce the amount of
information relating to a subject to a series of key-points, any of which you can expand upon in an exam
answer.
Good revision techniques always include:
•
An aim for the session. e.g “By the end of this two hour revision session I will understand and be
able to answer questions on photosynthesis”
•
Thinking about what you know already and identifying the bits you need to spend more time on
(usually by doing some sort of self-testing- many revision aids include opportunities for self-testing).
•
Breaking down each topic into “do-able” chunks. Revise each section – not just reading the
information but doing something active with it
•
Producing notes (shorter each time you revise a particular area) noting key points, phrases or
words.
•
Testing yourself to see what you have learnt.
•
Revisiting your notes briefly after one day, one week and one month, as well as just before the
exam – THIS REALLY WORKS!!
Useful revision involves doing something with the information you are trying to learn and
remember. Some ideas are:
•
Spider diagrams on large pieces of paper.
•
Use pictures and colour to make posters with key points and display these on the walls.
•
Put revision aids up around the house.
•
Highlight key areas of notes or books.
•
Listen to revision podcasts.
•
Watch revision videos on YouTube on revision websites.
•
Read a page and shut the book – what can you remember?
•
Get people around you to test you on knowledge.
Parents’ Guide to supporting in exam stress:
•
Talk to your son / daughter about how you can support them.
•
Support your child in choosing one good revision guide for each subject – it’s the best investment
you will make. There are lots around so check with the teacher yourself if you are not sure which is best.
•
Help your child to plan their revision timetable.
•
Be flexible on timings.
•
Keep things in perspective – your child may not be doing things the way you would do them, or as
often as you would like, but they are doing the best they can in the way that works for them at the stage
they are at.
‘Study leave’ for pupils will be from Friday 9th May 2014. This means that your son/daughter does not need
to attend school, unless they have not been granted study leave or they have an examination to complete.
The school timetable will continue to run as normal and teachers will be providing revision sessions for their
classes during this time (until that subject’s examination has been completed). We recommend that pupils
do attend any revision sessions provided, as it will enhance their success.
I hope you have found this information useful. I wish your son/daughter all the best for their examination
season this summer. If you would like any information or advice, please do not hesitate to contact me via
email: jemma.curson@bostonhighschool.co.uk
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Jemma Curson
Head of Middle School