Posted 6 December 2019

In the Autumn term, Year 11 students at Minsthorpe Community College listened to a talk delivered by David Hodgson, author of “The Brain Box” and creator of the Buzz Quiz. This activity aimed to equip students with a new perspective on studying to aid them, not only through their GCSEs but through Further and even Higher Education!

David, who has a background in psychology, discussed how the brain likes to learn information and how you can apply this to your revision. This included tips such as taking short breaks every half an hour, making your learning tactile and interactive and getting yourself into the right mood and attitude before taking exams, studying and even going into lessons.

Not only did the Year 11 students gain new insight on how to study best, the teachers supporting the session said they had never realised how different methods of studying were inefficient. Amy Burton, Higher Education Progression Officer at Minsthorpe, said “I had a lot of fun listening to David’s talk, I really wish that I had listened to it before I went to university because I never would have thought that the reason I did better in some modules than others was because I was approaching the work with different moods and attitudes. Knowing what I know now, if there’s work I don’t particularly like I will spend a few minutes getting into the right frame of mind to do it!”

As well as learning a lot, the students had a lot of fun. Paula Osborne, a teacher at Minsthorpe who attended the sessions described them as “Informative and engaging Skills For Learning sessions, which really had the Year 11’s thinking about revision strategies and how best to prepare for their exams.”

Amy Burton, Higher Education Progression Officer, Minsthorpe Community College