How to survive the Christmas holidays when January exam season is looming

The traditional senior-school exam season is in full swing. If your son or daughter is gearing up for their assessments, pre-tests or interviews in January, the Christmas holidays can – regrettably – be a time of high stress and anxiety. But that doesn’t need to mean Christmas is cancelled. We spoke to some of our favourite London prep schools to get their tips on how to survive the Christmas holidays, keep the whole family’s sanity intact and equip your child with the confidence to bounce into the exam hall or interview room on the big day.

Neill Lunnon, head of Fulham School Prep

Pace yourself – build preparation gradually towards the assessment days.

Be kind to yourself – exercise, get outside, spend time with friends and have fun.

Read, read, read – and always for pleasure.

Discuss current affairs as a family over supper and in the car. Feed your child’s interest for all of life’s riches.

And most importantly… Enjoy the process. The right school is out there, and education is a long journey.

Cecilia Beylefeld, deputy head of L’Ecole de Battersea

Break out the board-games cupboard – preferably the good old-fashioned one, not the electronic kind. Playing chess, Mastermind, Trivial Pursuit and Articulate could be an excellent way to prepare for the 11+ without even realising it.

Alison Melrose, head of Prince’s Gardens Prep School

Manage expectations by setting out with your child what exam prep will look like each week. Have a magic hour: 20 minutes of revision, 20 minutes of assessment, 20 minutes of marking and discussing what could be improved next time.

Encourage your child to keep reading lots of books to help expand their vocabulary and understanding.

If you are travelling over the Christmas break, make sure you are home with plenty of time to recover from jetlag.

And remember – it’s the holidays. So make sure you still have fun, keep bedtimes regular and ensure it doesn’t become the 11+ for everyone else in the family too.

Lucy Price, deputy head, and James Kelly, assistant head pastoral at Falcons School for Girls

Set yourself a study timetable, and don’t spend all day working – you need a break.

Little and often is best. Think of your exam preparation like learning an instrument – 20 minutes of practice a day is better than cramming over the weekends or Christmas holidays.

Don’t always choose the topics you are good at. Your time is precious, so spend it focusing on specific target areas.

Use a variety of different formats: online, past papers, speedy 10-minute tests, ISEB-style questions – and keep your choices based on the specific assessments for the schools you are applying to.

Balance your academic work with some wellbeing activities – anything from mindfulness activities to fitness, watching a movie or seeing friends and family.

Rebecca Raffan, deputy head of Pembridge Hall School

Bite-sized revision sessions focusing on one of two topic areas at a time will ensure optimum development of any skills that still need refining.

Pace versus accuracy is a delicate balance to master. Encourage your child to time themselves in short sharp bursts to help enhance both areas simultaneously.

Many assessments include elements of multiple choice. Does your child answer the question in their mind first before reviewing the answer options? Do they actually read every answer option available to them? Do they use their prior knowledge to successfully eliminate incorrect answers before focusing on the remaining answers? Practice of a specific question type following these tips is a relatively simple way to optimise chances of success.

Tracey Chong, head of Surbiton High Boys’ Prep School

The exams and interviews are under way and the children are in full swing. The holidays arrive and you are nervous about saying yes to too many play dates, parties or family gatherings. I am asking you for a second to reflect back on your child’s learning over the last six years and remember that Rome was not built in a day – and that your children have been very well prepared for their journey.

First, and most importantly, children trust their parents and they trust their teachers. If you are calm, they will be calm. Conversely, if you are anxious, they will be anxious too. So even if you are concerned, you need to keep your chin up when in the company of your children. If they sense from you that you are nervous, they will pick up on that.

Ensure that exams and interviews are diarised, that you have shared them with the school and that you have sorted sufficient journey time to the events. Do not try to over-coach your children – hopefully, your child will have had interview practice at school and therefore the school should be managing that process and feeding back to you.

Sleep is important, but so is exercise and good fun. So whilst you may feel inclined to ‘stop the clocks’, you need to make sure that there are opportunities for your children to have fun with friends and family. Give children a break, and try to avoid too many back-to-back work days – by doing so, they’re less likely to notice that you are slightly managing their time.

Remember, children are incredibly resilient, and they do not need completely wrapping around. They need normality, lots of laughing, plenty of sleep and a ‘ticking’ over of brain-activity work. This could be 20 minutes a day, slotted between a long walk and the cinema. Aim for little, often – and then relax.

Mark Scholey, deputy head Tracking & Transition at Dulwich Prep London

It’s not a race, so adjust the pace. Your son or daughter will need a break, but don’t stop entirely. Keep going with the approach of ‘little and often’ during the holidays; short, regular activities interspersed with plenty of downtime will help both parents and children feel ready for what lies ahead.

Recognise and reward. Whilst doing little and often will help, ensure your son or daughter knows when it is OK not to be working. Otherwise, they might be thinking they need to be working whilst others are opening presents or enjoying a family meal! They will take their cues from you, so use lots of rewards to incentivise the little and often approach and recognise the effort they are putting in.

Re-establish routines. Holidays will always provide good excuses for drifting away from established routines for parents and children. Try to bring back good habits such as re-establishing bedtimes and managing screen time early enough to make a difference. Checking uniform and equipment, and even possibly travelling to the schools where the exams will take place, will all allay any last-minute panics too.

Bridget Saul, head of Cameron Vale School

It would be remiss to deny that preparation for entrance exams at 11+ can be potentially stressful, both for children and parents alike. Between the two, however, it is the child’s stress that needs to be avoided as much as possible if the preparation is to be effective. Stress may be a motivating factor for adults but in children can overwhelm and de-motivate. So – use the Christmas holidays to recharge the batteries. 11+ should be on the back burner!

In January, focus on fine-tuning exam technique and how to show the examiner the knowledge you have acquired.

Make sure that your child knows that the world will not stop turning if they are not successful.

And a few tips from the TE team...

Use the school holidays to let your child regroup, get into a good sleeping pattern and familiarise themselves with their exam and interview timetable. And make plans together for something fun once it’s all over.

Ignore Christmas-party chit-chat and try to avoid talking about the exam process and revision techniques outside of your immediate family. Everyone learns and prepares differently: remember, this is about your child, not somebody else’s.

Fill your children up on good food!

Encourage your son or daughter to choose one news article a day and write it up in a nice notebook. By the time interviews come around, they’ll have accumulated a great selection of topical things to talk about.

Let them get bored – it’s great for their minds.

Fuel their brains with trips to a museum, an exhibition or the theatre.

Good luck – and have a very happy Christmas!

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How to survive the Christmas holidays when January exam season is looming

TE Schools Advice