Signs it’s time to STOP

EXPERTS’ recommendations for time spent revising vary, and it also depends how easy a child finds it to concentrate.

What’s key is how they divide up their revision time. Ideally, it should be no more than 25 minutes of solid revision, followed by a five minute break, before starting again.

Breaking up study improves results because the brain is better at encoding information in short, repeated sessions. Dr Helen Wright, advisor to Mark My Papers, an independent service which uses teachers to mark mock tests and give students feedback, says: ‘Quality is always better than quantity, and too much quantity can be counterproductive. ‘I would recommend approximately five hours a day of relaxed learning, but this can vary hugely.’ If you sense your child’s attention is flagging, suggest a change of activity or scenery.