Christmas tests are the first real check of the school year. They don't count for the Leaving Cert or Junior Cycle, but they show you, and your teachers, exactly where you stand. Six weeks is plenty of time if you use it well.
Weeks 1 and 2: find out what's coming
- Ask each teacher which topics the test will cover.
- List them in one place and mark each topic green, amber or red.
- Make sure your notes for every topic are complete. Borrow and copy anything you missed.
Weeks 3 and 4: work on the reds
- Spend most of your time on the red topics, a little on the ambers, and almost none on the greens.
- Study in short blocks of 30 to 40 minutes with a short break.
- After each block, close the book and write down what you remember. That is what sticks.
Weeks 5 and 6: practise like it's the real thing
- Do questions from past papers or your textbook, timed.
- Correct them honestly, using a marking scheme where you can.
- The night before each test, a short review and a proper night's sleep beat a late night.
After the tests
The results matter less than what you do with them. Go through each paper and note where you lost marks. Use part of the Christmas break to fix those gaps, so you go into the new year, and the mocks, ahead.
Stuck on one subject?
If one subject keeps coming up red, a few lessons with a tutor before the break can turn it around. You can find a tutor by subject and level on GrindSpot and book a single lesson to start.
