Easter Revision courses have become increasingly popular in recent years, with students understanding the importance of doing revision prior to the summer exams but recognising that some help with structuring this work and having an expert on hand for help is likely to be a more productive approach than attempting to tackle everything alone.

In comparison to lessons during term time, Easter courses are considerably more intensive. Subjects are studied continuously for a longer period of time than they would be on a usual school timetable, in some cases up to 40 hours or more commonly between 8-20 hours. This allows students the time to delve deeply into the syllabus and grasp topics at a fundamental level, without the distraction of going straight to their next class, or a four-day gap between lessons meaning that students need to spend time refreshing their memory of what they last covered rather than simply building on existing knowledge.

Average class sizes on Easter Revision courses are also smaller than many students are accustomed to. At MPW, this ranges from some students being taught individually to an absolute maximum of 9 students in any group. This allows tutors plenty of opportunity to spend time with each student and tailor the courses more directly to them. In addition, students are asked to complete a questionnaire prior to their course beginning summarising their progress and identifying any topics that they have struggled with thus far meaning that lessons can be even more bespoke.

Exam technique is something that a number of students on Easter Revision courses ask for help with. Many have spent time diligently learning the syllabus but understanding how to express this knowledge to best impress the examiners is a skill set of its own. Providing students with past paper questions and model answers is one of the best ways of familiarising them with what is expected. Good Easter Revision courses will include this practice as standard as well as covering the curriculum and for many students it makes the difference between an A and a B.

A success story:

• Easter Revision has helped Tia Freeman’s history grade jumped from a D to an A (Source: The Sunday Times)

This year, the governmental reform means GCSE students are under more pressure than ever. AS levels have been used in the past by universities as a way of identifying suitable candidates for their undergraduate courses. However, the phasing out of AS levels in their current form means that when many students come to their UCAS applications the only qualification they will have to demonstrate academic ability will be their GCSE results. Now more than ever, these results really matter. Similarly, Easter Revision Course Directors are witnessing a rise in final-year A level students registering for Easter courses in 2016. These students recognise that retakes, historically something of a contingency plan, will be less straightforward in future and they are very much aiming for success this summer.