Surviving the exams

George Turnbull: "Take six deep breaths"

The UK's main exam season is beginning. For tens of thousands of the most tested students on Earth, the days of dry mouths and aching writing hands have finally arrived.

George Turnbull of the biggest of the big exam boards, AQA, offers some survival tips - with a reminder that everyone is different and you have to work out what works best for you.

Remember, he says: the only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary - but there are more millionaires without GCSEs and A-levels than there are with them.

Time management

Work back from the dates of your exams to see how much time you have and prepare a schedule for your final revision so you can cover all the areas that you plan to.

Abbreviate your notes. Write down dates, formulas and the main elements of a process or event, so that the information can be referred to easily without reading through pages of notes all the time.

Ease in an extra half an hour of work a day, by getting up earlier or shortening lunch, and use the time wisely.

Over five days that makes two-and-a-half hours of quality study time. You could then go out on the Friday evening.

Avoid three-hour marathon sessions without a break.

Cover two or three subjects each evening - starting with the one you like least so you can look forward to finishing with the one you like best.

Work with a friend, but only if you do work - otherwise you're kidding yourselves.

Ask your teachers if you get stuck. They will be pleased to help.

Warnings

Check that you don't have two exams at the same time. Alternative arrangements need to be made.

Make sure you know what equipment you need and who is to provide it.

Don't cheat or break any rules. You could be disqualified from all of your exams - or even arrested.

Don't try to learn anything new the night before an exam.

Have a leisurely breakfast. Walk to school if possible, but be there in good time.

Avoid friends when you get to the exam room. They could confuse you. Keep your thoughts to yourself and concentrate on the exam.

In the exam room

Take six deep breaths, ignore everyone else and concentrate solely on what you have to do.

Have a glucose sweet, to boost energy to your brain - but don't crunch.

Let the supervisor know if anything is disturbing you - other people tapping nervously with a pencil, noise outside the exam room, or even the supervisor's squeaky shoes.

Read the instructions on the exam papers carefully - do the appropriate number of questions from the right sections, and answer compulsory questions.

Know how many marks each question carries - don't spend too long on any one. Use the number of marks on the paper as a guide.

The examiners have allowed time for you to read questions carefully before you write anything. Use it to choose the questions you are going to do, and write notes on the question paper so that you can remember these points later.

Make sure you answer the question asked. No marks if you don't.

If you run out of time, jot down any remaining answers in outline form - you can get marks for that. State what you would do and how, outlining your main arguments and jotting down science formulas.

Afterwards

Forget the exam you have just taken - you can't do anything about it now. Concentrate instead on the next one, where you can do something.

Tell your school straight away if you are ill or there is something else that might have affected your performance.

Being calm and thoughtful will help you to get the most out of your preparation.

Good luck!