Help your child learn, and feel calm about exams
Countdowns, a simple plan for what to do and when, choosing a secondary school, tuition checks, wellbeing, and free practice you can do together at home.
- 🙈 No account
- 🔒 Nothing stored
- 🧒 Free for children
- 🤝 Works alongside school
1 How long until the exams?
Dates are approximate. Exact dates are set each year by the exam boards, the Department for Education, or your local schools: always check with your child's school.
2 What to do, and when
- Two years before (Year 9 into Year 10)
- Talk about GCSE options together: what your child enjoys, is good at, and might need later. Go to the options evening.
- Build habits: a regular homework time and place, a good bedtime, and phones out of the bedroom at night.
- Keep reading for pleasure: it helps in every subject.
- Get to know who to contact at school (form tutor, head of year, SENCo).
- A year before (Year 10)
- Find out which exam board each subject uses (ask the school), so practice matches.
- Help your child make a simple weekly revision plan: short sessions, little and often.
- Use mock exam results to pick two or three subjects to focus on, not everything at once.
- Think about support: extra help at school first; tuition only if it's needed (see below).
- Three months before (spring of Year 11)
- Get the exam timetable and put it on the fridge.
- Switch to practice questions and past papers (schools and exam boards' own websites have them), with time to check answers.
- Protect sleep, food, exercise and breaks. Short, regular sessions beat long late nights.
- Watch for signs of stress, and keep talking (see wellbeing below).
- Exam weeks and results
- Check the day's exam, equipment (clear pencil case, calculator) and start time the night before.
- After each exam, move on to the next; don't pick over answers.
- Results day is usually in late August. Whatever happens, there are options: the school will help.
- Year 4
- The multiplication tables check happens in June. Practise times tables little and often, as a game.
- Year 5: autumn and spring
- Decide whether the 11+ is right for your child. Visit grammar and other secondary schools at open days, and read their admissions rules.
- Keep it gentle: reading, times tables, word games and puzzles build the skills naturally.
- Year 5: summer term
- Register for the 11+ if you're applying (deadlines are usually in the summer of Year 5: check your area).
- Try a few timed practice papers to get used to the format, then focus on weaker areas.
- Year 6: September to October
- 11+ tests are usually in September. Keep routines normal and calm.
- Apply for a secondary school through your local council by 31 October, listing several preferences in order.
- Year 6: spring and summer
- Secondary school offers come on National Offer Day, 1 March.
- KS2 SATs happen in May. They're mainly about the school; reassure your child and keep things low-pressure.
- Get ready for secondary: practise the journey, and talk through what will be new.
3 Choosing a secondary school
Go to open evenings and, if you can, a school day visit. Notice how pupils and staff treat each other.
Look at Ofsted reports, the school's website, and its results and progress figures on the government's compare-schools service.
Check each school's admissions criteria (distance, siblings, faith, tests) so your preferences are realistic.
Ask about SEND support, pastoral care, clubs and how they help new Year 7s settle.
Think about the journey: how long, how safe, and whether your child can manage it independently.
Listen to your child's view. Where they feel happy and safe matters as much as results.
4 Tuition: options and safety checks
Start with what's free
- Ask your child's teachers first: many schools run catch-up, revision and homework clubs.
- Free online lessons: Oak National Academy and BBC Bitesize.
- Lessonsmith's free practice: Revision Forge (GCSE Computer Science free, and free topics in other subjects) and our coding experiments.
If you choose a tutor or tuition centre
- One-to-one, small group, in person or online: choose what suits your child.
- Ask for a trial session and clear goals, and check progress every few weeks.
🛡️ Safety checks to make
- An up-to-date enhanced DBS certificate (check it's genuine and recent).
- Qualifications, experience and references you've followed up.
- A written safeguarding policy (for centres) and who to contact with a concern.
- Lessons in a shared space at home or online with an adult nearby; no private messaging or social media contact with your child.
- Clear prices, cancellation terms and how your child's information is used.
Please note: any tuition centre we mention is a recommendation only. Lessonsmith is not responsible for any tutor or centre, and doesn't receive payment for listing them unless we say so. You must make your own checks (including those above) and your own decision before your child starts.
5 Wellbeing and exam pressure
👀 Signs of stress
- Trouble sleeping, or sleeping much more
- Changes in eating
- Headaches or tummy aches
- Irritability, tearfulness or withdrawing
- Avoiding revision or school
💚 What helps
- Regular sleep, food, water and exercise
- Short sessions with real breaks
- Praise effort and strategy, not just marks
- Time with friends and for fun
- Listening more than advising
🧭 Thinking about thinking (metacognition)
Ask your child three questions:
- Plan: What do I already know? What will I try first?
- Check: Is it working? What could I change?
- Review: What went well? What will I do differently next time?
Need more help?
Talk to your child's school (form tutor, head of year or SENCo) or your GP. Children can call Childline on 0800 1111 any time, for free. Parents can contact the YoungMinds parents helpline. For urgent medical help call NHS 111; in an emergency call 999.
6 Revision methods that work
Testing yourself (quizzes, flashcards) beats rereading. Getting it wrong, then checking, helps memory.
Little and often, coming back to topics after a few days and weeks.
Write everything you remember about a topic, then check what's missing.
Question on the front, answer on the back. Sort into "know it" and "not yet" piles.
Ask your child to explain a topic to you. Explaining shows what they really understand.
Practise real-style questions under timed conditions, then mark and improve them.
7 Practise together at home
Make a home practice card for your child. Pick a subject and a free topic, and how often. Print it or keep it on your phone. Your child's progress saves in their Smith Coin, which you can check below. Nothing about your child is sent to us.
Free for children, no account
- ⚒️ Revision Forge: GCSE Computer Science free for now; Maths, English, Science, History, Geography and RS have free topics. Each topic has a lesson, quick revision and exam-style practice your child can print as a practice paper.
- 🧪 Coding experiments: Blocks, Python turtle and Python, free for every child.
- 🎫 If your child's school gives them a class token, they can enter it on Revision Forge to unlock every subject.
8 Check your child's progress
When your child saves on Revision Forge they get a Smith Coin code (like SMITH-XXXXX-…). Type it here to see their progress. It's read on this device only: nothing is sent to us.
This guide is general information, not professional advice, and is written by Lessonsmith. We're not connected with any exam board, the Department for Education, Ofsted or any admissions authority. Children don't need an account to use Lessonsmith's free tools, and we never contact children.