Matrics: 3 months to turn around your finals
NIGEL/HEIDELBERG - The heat is officially on for Matrics now returning to school after the winter holidays, with just three months before they start writing their final exams on October 19.

Many of them will be entering this period weighed down with a sense of dread, especially if the first half of the year proved less than satisfactory on the academic front.
But if these learners put shoulder to the wheel right now, and apply military precision in scheduling their remaining time, they can expect a major improvement in results, an education expert says.
“Learners should know that in addition to the tough few academic months lying ahead, they will also be enticed away from their books by many distractions, such as matric farewells and end-of-year parties,” said Nola Payne, head of faculty – Information and Communication Technology at The Independent Institute of Education, SA’s largest and most accredited private higher education institution.
“Prelim exams are less than a month away and these are a good indicator of how a learner will fare in the final exams. But while the prelim exams are considered the ‘warm up’, and often the ‘wake up’ call for many, learners who already know they need to make an extra effort should not wait until then to consider how they will approach their final exams,” she said.
Instead, they should take stock of where they are and how they can wring every last ounce of value from the time they have left, with the following approach:
* source or create a wall or desk calendar which has enough space to write a to-do list for each day of the week. Enter the exam dates for both the prelim exams as well as the final exams in October;
* rate your subjects from the most difficult to the easiest. You should spend more time on the subjects that you find difficult to master;
* count the days from the first day of school after the holidays until both the prelim and final exams for those subjects. If you have six subjects which you write exams for and 14 weeks until the final exams, that leaves two weeks of studying for each subject with the other two weeks allocated for your prelim exams;
* break each subject’s content down into logical and manageable sections. A three hour study session should be enough to cover each section of content;
* download past exam papers from the Department of Basic Education and the IEB websites. These are excellent resources and give you a good feel for what you can expect in your exams;
*after prelims, the study roster should be re-assessed based on insights into which subjects require more attention, and how much time remains before the finals.
Payne said that matrics’ holistic planning for the next few months should also take into account researching and applying to higher education institutions where a learner has not yet been accepted into a qualification of choice, or planning for any other options post-Matric.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle which means getting enough sleep, nutrition and exercise and especially not over indulging at the Matric farewell.
“Additionally, if you structure your time well, you won’t need to reach for stimulants in despair. They often contain excessively high levels of caffeine, gingko biloba and ginseng, which will keep you awake and alert but will make it difficult to focus.”