6 weeks of summer is an exciting time for kids. No school, no lessons and little or no homework, kids have an opportunity to unwind and recover. But for Teenagers in year 10 going to into year 11 or sixth-formers taking their A levels the following summer, the holidays can be a chance to learn how to revise.

“Knowing how to revise is a key skill that is difficult to master and not taught well in schools. What works for one student, doesn’t always work for others so trying to teach a class of 30 kids how to learn science facts is a real challenge. I understand why schools struggle.” Says Chenali Senanayake, Learning Coach, tutor and parent of 3.

“Often it’s a process of trial and error, figuring out the best way to process information, learn facts, retain them and then apply this knowledge to an exam situation. Students leave it far too late, when the stakes are high and the pressure is really felt. Anxiety, poor performance or lowered expectations are natural consequences of not knowing how to revise, for far too many students.”

Chenali is a sought after Tutor and Learning Coach based in London and this is what she advises that students spend their summer holidays doing.

“My advice is that parents encourage their kids to engage in short sessions over the summer holidays going over exam questions in all the subjects. Get them to focus on what they can do well and what would be even better next time. There are lots of past questions with answers from previous years, available for free online.”

“Answering questions uses the retrieval method which forces the brain to create connections. It is a form of active learning and past questions helps students learn exam technique.”

How do parents encourage 15 or 17 year olds to do anything? Especially study over the summer?

“It’s often not as challenging as you might fear,” explains Chenali. “Most year 10s and year 12s have just had mocks and many are worried about their results. The year ahead is inevitable and they’re hoping for better results, it’s just that they don’t know how they will get there.”

“I have designed a tool that parents can use to help them to create a timetable over the summer. The Homework Flow is like having a learning coach in your pocket. It gives you the skills and authority to influence your Teenager without the conflict that usually accompanies these sorts of requests.”

Sounds nice in theory, but what if you’ve already got plans to be away over the summer?

“I’m only recommending short and infrequent sessions of revision over the summer, downtime is equally important,” recommends Chenali. “Two, 40 minute sessions, three or four times per week is more than enough for the average teenager. The sessions can be spread out over the 6 weeks or condensed into the days that are free. Even on holiday teenagers spend several hours a day on their phones. 40 minutes studying is not unreasonable.”