Week 2 of 6 — building momentum
Week one is done and dusted, and we’re in the middle of the Easter break. Remember, rest matters, and taking a proper break - time off screens, with people you like, getting out doors and moving your body - is genuinely good for your brain. So take a break where you can.
And also: work through this week’s tasks. Both things are true.
The students who come out the other side of the break feeling good about their exams aren’t the ones who spent every hour revising, but the ones who kept showing up, plugging away regularly, even when they didn’t feel like it. That’s what The Home Straight is for. Spending an hour here, an hour there, focussed on the key tasks that will make an impact on your learning, is the way to keep making progress,
This week's tasks are below. If last week's work is still sitting unfinished, don't panic and don't skip it. Pick up where you left off, then start on this week's.
For parents and carers: Easter is a good week to have a quiet word about balance. If they're avoiding revision entirely, a gentle nudge goes a long way. If they're running themselves into the ground, permission to rest is equally valuable. You know which one yours needs.
This week’s focus
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This week's focus is English Language - Section B on both papers: the writing tasks.
✅ PART ONE: Paper 1, Section B - Narrative writing Using the 'core idea' you've already developed, practise structuring your narrative across five stages: opening / development / problem / reaction / reflection. Aim for 2–2.5 pages in 45 minutes. Focus on crafting your work through effective character development, detailed description, the use of ‘holding the moment’, and a thoughtful, reflective ending.
✅ PART TWO:Paper 2, Section B - Transactional writing Download this question sheet. Practise a non-fiction response, making sure your writing clearly matches the purpose, audience and form in the question. Keep your tone consistent and suitable throughout. Aim for 1.5 pages in 30 minutes.
For both tasks: stay plausible, and keep your spelling, punctuation and grammar tight. Those marks add up.
✅ More time? Head to GCSEPod for the 'check and challenge' SPaG quizzes.
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✅ Work through all the sections for Paper 2 in your personalised Pinpoint booklet. It's targeted at your specific weak areas, so it's the most efficient revision you can do.
Access help online by searching for the topic within SPARX, MathsGenie or CorbettMaths.
✅ Keep practising with past papers - pick them up in school or access them via MathsGenie. Work on "a mark a minute" and split the paper into two chunks of 40 marks rather than attempting it all in one go.
✅ Flash cards are worth making this week for any key facts or formulae that aren't given to you in the exam. If you can't recall them cold, you need to drill them.
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This week's focus is Chemistry and Physics.
Chemistry Focus: Electrolysis
✅ Core Knowledge Revisit: Test yourself on all C2 Structures and Bonding questions from your Chemistry Paper 1 Core Knowledge Book
✅ Core Knowledge Revise: Learn all C4 Chemical Change questions from your Chemistry Paper 1 Core Knowledge Book
✅ Revision Videos: Watch the Electrolysis videos (Parts 1 and 2) — pause often and build mind maps from memory. Note: ionic equations are for higher tier students only.
✅ Complete questions on these topics on SPARX
Physics Focus: Energy and Energy Resources
✅ Core Knowledge Revise: Learn all P1 Energy questions from your Physics Paper 1 Core Knowledge Book
✅ Revision Videos: Watch the Energy Stores and Energy Resources videos — pause often and build mind maps from memory.
GCSE Physics - Energy Stores, Transferring Energy & Work Done
GCSE Physics - Energy Resources - Renewables & Non-renewables | Uses | Sources of Electricity
✅ Complete questions on these topics on SPARX
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✅ Part One: Writing Use your tenses revision from last week to practise a 90-word written response using your writing revision resources. Watch the 'how-to' video on Teams first to recap how to approach this question. Remember: each bullet point in the question indicates a tense — always in the order of present, past, future.
✅ Part Two: Speaking Watch the 'how-to' video on Teams for the speaking exam tasks (Roleplay and Photo description). Then use your speaking revision resources to complete two tasks from each section, using the video guidance for support.
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This week's focus is Health and the People and Norman England.
✅ Step One: Complete the A3 revision sheets for Health and the People and The Normans. Check your answers using the answer sheets on Teams.
✅ Step Two: Use your revision guide to make notes on any specific topics you're not yet confident on in these two units.
✅ Step Three: Once you're confident with the knowledge, look at the example exam questions at the front of your revision guide and make bullet point plans for how you'd answer them.
❓Test Me Tips — for parents and carers: Use the A3 sheets to quiz your child — read out a question and let them answer before checking. You don't need to know the answers yourself.
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This week's focus is key terms — the building blocks that unlock marks across every Geography question.
Download this Key Terms and Definitions document for this week’s task.
✅ Work through the key terms on page one of your Key Terms and Definitions document for Paper 1. For each term, say the definition out loud before checking the answer on the following pages.
✅ For any terms you can't define confidently, make a flash card — term on the front, definition on the back.
✅ For more practice, try Internet Geography’s Flashcard Roulette
❓Test Me Tips — for parents and carers: Read your child a term from the list and ask them to define it before they check. No Geography knowledge required — you're just reading the words and listening for the answer.
Technique of the week
🃏 Flash cards
Making flash cards isn't the revision. Testing yourself with them is.
How to do it well:
Keep each card ruthlessly simple: one question on the front, one answer on the back. Dates, definitions, key terms, formulas, quotations; flash cards work best for discrete pieces of knowledge, not long explanations.
Then use the three-pile system. Go through your cards and sort them into three piles: know it, nearly, not yet. Put the first pile to one side. Spend your time on the other two. Tomorrow, do it again. Within a week, the not yet pile will be smaller than you expect. Always have a go at the answer out loud or in writing before you flip.
Tip for parents: offer to run through the cards together — you read the question on the front, they answer out loud, then you flip to check. You don't need to know the subject at all. It takes ten minutes and it's more useful than them sitting alone reading through a pile. You could keep a pile on the kitchen table or in the car and pick them up when you have a few minutes spare.
This week’s resource: How to Study Effectively with Flash Cards - This short video has 8 rules with examples to follow to get the most out of your flash cards.
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.
