The exam season is a difficult time of year for young people, when they are trying to concentrate on studying at a time of year and at a point in their life when they would rather do almost anything else.

You can help your children as they go through this difficult period by being supportive and recognising how important these exams are and how much effort they will have to put in to do as well as they can. You can also help them understand the importance of revision, how to plan it and how to revise more effectively.

We have put together a guide to helping your child prepare for their GCSEs. Most of it is common sense and you will probably already do many of the things we suggest, like helping them find a quiet place to study and encouraging them to get a good night’s sleep, but we hope you might also pick up some useful tips such as how to draw up a revision timetable and prepare effective crib notes.

You may also want to direct your son or daughter to

so that they can download their own version.

If you would like more help or advice to prepare your son or daughter for their GCSEs please do not hesitate to get in touch with their school.

You might also find other useful information on websites such as BBC Bitesize at www.bbc.co.uk/education/revision and there are many helpful revision guides, tests and quizzes on sale in your local bookshop.