Director of Learning and Teaching 

Study Smarter, Start Earlier: Advice from Our Senior Students

With end-of-year exams only a few weeks away, this week's assembly had an academic focus. We asked two groups of students who know exam preparation well to share what works: our Year 12s, who are in the thick of their final VCE exams and our 2027 student leaders, who will step into Year 12 next year.

Our Year 12 students, Nathalie Wallingford, Sarah Crowle, Zane Thomas and Will Bourke, offered three practical tips:

1. Summarise as you go. Create summaries as you finish each topic throughout the year, rather than trying to condense everything at the end.

2. Break study into sections. Smaller, defined chunks are easier to start and help build motivation.

3. Practise, practise, practise. Complete as many practice questions and practice exams as you can.

    

When I asked them what they wished they had done differently, every one of them gave the same answer: start revision and study earlier.

Year 11 students stepping into leadership roles for 2027 shared the following advice.

Beating procrastination – Marianna Novikov

Procrastination is a nightmare for everyone. It's a constant struggle to find the effort to begin or, worse, to feel like you've fallen so far behind that it's pointless to start. You don't have to be lazy or unmotivated either. You can desperately want to do well and still avoid opening your laptop at all costs. If you're a perfectionist – which I am – you might simply be afraid to start. If your efforts aren't going to live up to your high expectations, you think, what's the point?

To overcome this, we must flip the script.  Once you sit down and answer just half of a question, the anxiety drops and momentum takes over. Don't plan big tasks – break them into easy, essentially effortless goals.

If you're really struggling to start, instead of letting prep work become a procrastination trap, use it to build momentum. Put on some focus music. Get a glass of water. I like to give my desk a quick two-minute clear. It's using those tiny physical actions to trick your brain past that initial friction. Remember to take breaks as well. Smashing out three hours of study in one go is a one-way ticket to burnout. So even if it's just a little, put the effort in. Don't be too hard on yourself, and keep going even if your notes aren't perfect.

Five questions a day – Finley Hiscock

One thing I've found really useful this year, particularly for keeping on top of Year 12 Psychology, is the five-questions-a-day method. Essentially, choose a topic and complete five practice questions on it each day. It doesn't take long, and everyone should be able to find time to fit it into their day.

What I like about this method is that it builds consistency. You're constantly revisiting content, improving your writing and setting smaller, achievable goals. There's actually some psychology behind why this works. When you achieve a small goal, you get a sense of accomplishment, which motivates you to keep going. Rather than committing to two hours of revision, five questions feel much more manageable, and those small sessions add up over time.

As you get closer to exams, it's also important to introduce practice exams. These help identify what you're confident in and, more importantly, what you need to work on. Go back through questions you got wrong, try them again and make sure you understand where you went wrong.

Finally, something that's worked really well for me is bringing something for your teacher to mark every time you have a class. It doesn't have to be heaps of work – it could simply be the five questions you completed the night before. There's also a positive reinforcement cycle here: you receive feedback and encouragement, feel good about the work you've done, and become more motivated to keep it up.

Ultimately, you don't necessarily need to spend hours revising every night. It's about being consistent, setting achievable goals and making the most of the feedback and support available to you.

Study while you sleep – Cairo Cullinane

Imagine being able to study for your exams while you're fast asleep. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Well, neuroscience has identified a highly effective study technique. And the best part? You can do it with your eyes closed. It's called… sleep!

During sleep, your brain undergoes a process called memory consolidation, where it strengthens and stores the memories you've formed throughout the day. So, how do we make the most of this?

1. Aim for 8–10 hours each night. A 2025 Shanghai study of over 54,000 students linked at least eight hours with stronger academic performance. 

2. Put your textbooks away before bed and avoid screens in the hour before sleeping. This gives your brain time to wind down. 

3. Maintain a consistent sleep schedule, even on weekends. Similar bedtimes and wake-up times help regulate your body clock.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your grades is close the books and go to sleep. 

Summaries, brain dumps and focus – Claudia Cochran

One of the things I find particularly helpful is making a summary notebook for each subject. Throughout the semester we cover a lot of content, so having everything condensed into one place makes revision much more manageable. I like to go through the topics we've covered in class and create a summary of the key concepts.

Another technique I use is a brain dump. Before looking at my notes, I choose a particular topic and write down absolutely everything I can remember about it. Then I go back through my OneNote notes and fill in any gaps. This is a really good way of identifying what you already know and, more importantly, highlighting the areas that need more attention.

Practice questions are one of the most valuable ways to study. It's one thing to read over your notes and feel like you understand something, but it's another to actually apply that knowledge. You can use past exam questions, textbook questions or even ChatGPT to generate practice questions. You can then submit your answers and ask for feedback, which is a useful way to test your understanding and identify where you might be going wrong.

In terms of actually sitting down to study, I find that having a bit of structure makes a huge difference. Personally, I like to do around one to two hours of uninterrupted, focused work before taking a 15-minute break. I use that time to grab a snack, refill my water bottle and reset before getting back into it.

One of my biggest tips is to put your phone in a different room!

What stood out most in this week's assembly was how practical and honest our senior students were. None of their advice relies on talent or long hours – it relies on small habits, repeated consistently, starting now rather than later. Families can help by supporting a regular routine at home: a set study time and place, phones out of reach during study and out of the bedroom at night, and encouragement for a good night's sleep.

Thank you to Nathalie, Sarah, Zane and Will, and to Marianna, Finley, Cairo and Claudia for sharing their advice so generously. To all our students preparing for exams: start small, start today, and keep going.