Plenty of time left, right?

Is your child now well in to the second term of year 11? They've got mock exams behind them, a lot of classes at school have now covered all the necessary areas of the curriculum and are focusing on recapping... especially when it comes to languages.

Now is the perfect time to start (if they didn't already) spending some extra time on the subjects that need it. It doesn't matter if your teen is struggling in a subject or just really trying to excel in that subject; the importance of starting work early on and (even more importantly) regularly scheduling time to review what they have already learned is vital in ensuring confidence when it comes to exam time.

Year 11 is a stressful year for your 15 or 16 year old. All subjects require juggling various tasks, preparation for practice exams and other homework on top. It's advisable to put a schedule in place to ensure that your teen remembers to review those areas which were covered early on in year 10.

Additionally, it never hurts to review the real basics from those pre-GCSE days.

There are plenty of websites and resources out there to offer quick-reference reminders and handy tips when it comes to certain areas of French grammar, vocabulary and knowing about cultural topics.

Personally, I'm a fan of Pinterest - there is a wealth of subject matter specific 'pins' for the avid French learner, and they are directed at all levels from beginner to perfectionist. I keep a few different boards of information which I draw on for my tutoring sessions: Key stage 3, GCSE, perfectionist.

My Facebook page is full of links and 'pins' I've found which can all help when working towards that confident stride in to an exam room. A lot of people remember visuals far better than re-reading some scrawled note they put down on paper in a hurry while their teacher was moving on to the next question in class.

So my recommendations?

1. Get your teen on board with a learning schedule early on.- make sure they take charge of their own learning

2. Make your teen aware of the resources that are available out there, such as Pinterest, French.about.com, Duolingo App, Francais avec Pierre on YouTube and plenty of others (this list is FAR from exhaustive)

3. Consider regular support (especially for those who are either struggling or really looking to pass with flying colours) outside of school to boost their learning

As ever - I'm happy to answer questions from students or parents about exam preparation and/or lessons