KS3

At Key Stage 3, developing effective study habits and revision strategies is a vital part of preparing students to become independent, confident, and resilient learners. As part of our whole-school Study Skills approach, students are introduced to a structured method of learning—Upload, Process, Download—designed to help them retain and apply knowledge across subjects.

Each curriculum area has outlined how they explicitly teach, model, and promote revision and study skills within lessons and homework. These overviews demonstrate how subject-specific strategies are embedded in teaching to support students in building long-term learning habits. You can access these overviews through the subject links below.

In the lead-up to key assessment points, teachers provide clear guidance on how students should revise, including structured homework tasks that reinforce taught techniques and opportunities to practice these approaches in lessons.

The key assessments in Key Stage 3 include:

• Baseline assessments
• Termly progress assessments
• End of year exams

Our aim is to ensure that by the time students transition to Key Stage 4, they have developed a strong foundation in revision strategies and are well equipped to manage their own learning.

At key stage 4, curriculum areas will continue to promote subject-specific, effective revision strategies within lessons and homework.

Each subject area has created an overview of how they teach, encourage and support students to revise and study independently within their subject, using the whole study skills approach of upload, process and download. These documents can be found in the subject links below.

In the lead up to key assessment points, subject areas have broken down their curriculum content, and have outlined specific revision tasks for students to engage with in ‘active revision’ documents. In the lead up to these key assessments, teachers set revision-based homework, explicitly supporting students to revise effectively with set tasks. These active revision documents can also be found in the subject links below.

Within extended tutor time on a Tuesday, students engage in a study skills programme in the lead up to key assessment points. This includes assemblies on how to revise effectively, tutor-led sessions where students practice revision strategies and opportunities for independent revision using the taught approach.

The key assessment points at key stage 4 are:

• End of year 10 assessments (first two weeks of term 6)
• Year 11 mocks (mid-November)
• Year 11 summer series and final exams

Key Stage 5 students are encouraged to be independent and take ownership of their learning through finding the study skills and revision techniques that are most effective for their personal subject choices. Our Year 12 VESPA programme explicitly teaches students the learning behaviours, habits and routines required for future success at Key Stage 5 through engaging in weekly activities supported by educational research. As students’ progress into Year 13, they begin to explore a wider range of strategies through working in subject-based study groups in preparation for their mock and final examinations.

In the lead up to key assessment points, students are asked to review their subjects Personal Learning Checklists (PLCs) and identify the specific areas of the specification that require the most effort and shape their revision timetables around them for maximum impact. Teachers embed Upload, Process and Download tasks throughout their curriculum, as well as setting specific exam preparation homework tasks.

The key assessment points at Key Stage 5 are:

• Year 12 January exams or assessments
• Year 12 End of Year assessments
• Year 13 mock exams
• Year 13 January exams
• Year 13 final exams