Private Study
Private Study
In our Sixth Form students will have many lessons which are designated as time for independent learning; some of these will be supervised in our Private Study Room and in some students will decide how to organise their time. In preparation for life after school, they need to prioritise their time and develop effective independent study habits and we hope that by taking responsibility for planning their study time they will begin to acquire these skills. We believe that students need encouragement to keep up with their studies, when students become behind with their work the situation becomes increasingly stressful for the students and they can find themselves in a situation where they feel that work is out of control. We aim to avoid this by ensuring that students keep on top of their work. To be successful at A level students should be doing about 5 hours of study per subject per week on top of their lesson time, so it is vital that they learn to make the most of their study time.
Students will be given a Private Study Schedule for each of their subjects and this will help them to develop the wider understanding of their work necessary to do well at A Level. There is always background reading, research, reviewing and learning to do even if all work that is to be marked has been completed and handed in. The Private Study Schedule will detail the wider activities and independent research that students should be undertaking for each of subject.
Our study facilities are excellent with designated sixth form only study areas and students can also use our recently refurbished Learning Resource Centre. Our supervised study rooms are equipped with 60+ laptops, a colour printer, 2 black and white printers and a full range of stationery equipment; students can also bring their own laptops and tablets to use. In addition to copies of all the departmental Study Schedules, there are also copies of textbooks and other subject specific resources; our Private Study Supervisor, Mrs Ridley, is also on-hand to guide students in their independent learning and to help them to develop their organisational skills. Our unsupervised rooms are also equipped with recently updated desktop computers and are situated in close proximity to the Sixth Form Office if any other equipment is required.
Top Tips for effective Private Study
- Use your Sixth Form diary to organise your work plan.
- Have a work planner and decide in advance what you will be doing in each study session, try to develop the habit of organising a list of priorities. Make a to-do list.
- Set a target – decide to read a number of chapters, plan an essay or mind-map a topic.
- Work independently and do not allow friends to distract you.
- Put away any distractions for the time that you have allotted for study. Go full screen and don’t be tempted to open up any extra tabs if you are researching online.
- If you have a major assignment to do, divide it into smaller more manageable steps.
- Tackle one task at a time – stick with it until you finish or can’t go any further.
- Use private study time to review notes after each lesson.
If you are up to date with homework and your study schedules then there is always other work that can be done.
- Make precis / summary notes of lessons.
- Engage in further reading and note making from text books.
- Read around the subject by bringing library or other books to study sessions
- Make revision cards or other revision aids for use in the run up to examination
- Plan answers to examination questions and other tasks set by teachers.
- Research essays or other problems set by teachers.
- Read novels and other books which support the learning in the subject.
Interested in our Sixth Form?
If you are interested in applying to our Sixth Form, please see our Sixth Form admissions page for more information on how to apply and our entry requirements.