Whether you're a student reading this yourself, or a parent or carer keeping tabs — welcome to The Home Straight.

For the next six Fridays, we'll be sending you a short, practical email with specific tasks for the coming week across five subjects: English, Maths, Science, History and Geography. Each email will tell you exactly what to focus on that week, drawn directly from our subject teams.

This isn't about piling on the pressure. It's about making these final weeks feel manageable — one subject, one week at a time.

For students: you don't need to tackle everything in one sitting. Work through the subjects in whatever order suits you, and use the tasks to structure your evenings and weekends.

For parents and carers: you don't need to know the content to be helpful. Knowing what your child is working on this week gives you something concrete to check in about — and that matters more than you might think.

This week's focus

📚 English

This week, focus on your Language Paper 1 reading skills — specifically, how to write about a writer's craft without just describing what happens.

Pick any extract from a text you've read and practise writing one paragraph using the PETAL structure (Point, Evidence, Technique, Analysis, Link). Aim for two or three specific techniques — don't just spot them, explain the effect on the reader. Your teachers are looking for the word suggests more than the word describes.

Suggested time: 30–40 minutes across the week

➗ Maths

This week's focus is Algebra — specifically rearranging formulae and solving simultaneous equations, which appear regularly in both papers.

Work through five rearranging questions and five simultaneous equation problems from your revision guide or past papers. Check your working carefully — marks are often lost to sign errors rather than method. If you're unsure where to start, search for these topics on Corbettmaths for a short video walkthrough before you attempt the questions.

Suggested time: two 20-minute sessions

🔬 Science

This week, cover Cell Biology (Biology Paper 1). Make sure you can describe the differences between plant and animal cells, explain the function of each organelle, and describe how to set up a microscope investigation.

A good revision technique for this topic is the 'cover and recall' method — write down what you can remember, then check your notes and fill in the gaps. Do this three times across the week and you'll retain far more than reading through notes once.

Suggested time: 30 minutes

🗺 History

This week, revisit your knowledge of Weimar Germany (if this is one of your topics). Focus on the period 1919–1923 — the key crises, why they happened, and how the government responded. Examiners are looking for precise knowledge: dates, names and consequences, not general statements.

Write a short practice answer to this question: Explain why the Weimar Republic faced serious problems in the years 1919–1923. Aim for two developed paragraphs.

Suggested time: 45 minutes

🌍 Geography

This week, focus on Urban Issues — specifically the challenges and opportunities found in a UK city you've studied. Make sure you can recall specific facts and named examples, as vague answers will only reach the lower mark bands.

Create a revision card (digital or paper) with your case study city, three challenges it faces, three ways these are being addressed, and one key statistic for each. Keep it brief — the point is to test yourself, not to write an essay.

Suggested time: 30–40 minutes

A reminder that your teachers are already supporting your revision in school — these emails are designed to complement that work, not replace it. If anything here raises questions, please ask your subject teacher.

The next email lands next Friday.

Week 1 of 6 — your focus starts here