A Parent's Guide to December Holiday Revision

December is a busy time for parents and students alike. As the Christmas shopping rush takes hold and daylight dwindles, the knowledge of mock exams preparing to pounce in the new year can easily sap the joy from all of the festivities.

It can be emotionally taxing to wonder... is your child doing enough to prepare for exams? What do other parents do to encourage revision? How can you help without being labelled a Scrooge?

Recently, we asked over 300 parents and students to tell us more about how holiday revision unfolded in their household over the December break, so hopefully, you can learn from their past successes (and mistakes) to find the right balance.

Should You Worry About Mocks?

The answer to this varies from school to school and for each year group - so the best way to know is to ask them directly at least a year before.

Generally speaking, year 10 do not usually have mocks before the summer - with their summer exams often forming the first proper mock test for GCSEs. However, mocks are often used to reassign class sets for GCSEs which can impact the level of teaching or exam levels.

Year 11 to 13 students have their final exams in the summer for official qualifications like GCSE, AS levels and A-Levels. This means that between November and February, they sit mock exams to practice the exam technique, inform predicted grades and track progress. Mock exams are so important during these core exam years.

As seen above the vast majority of students in those key exam years have their mock exams just weeks after the December holidays - meaning it’s prime time for revision at one of the most joyful times of the year! A cruel coincidence in timing that often leads to students being understandably underprepared.

Do Children Revise over Holidays?

In light of this poor timing - we gathered information on what year groups committed to revision over the holidays and how much they did. We will dive into some factors affecting these later on.

You can see above that many students in years 11-13 and above realise that having a tutor session once per week isn’t enough on its own. It’s encouraging to see the majority of these students committing to revision of some sort over the holidays.

Some surprise takeaways were that 25% of year 12 students relied solely on tuition, which is more than year 11 indicating a tendency to not treat the mock exams in this year quite so seriously. Around 65% of year 11 and 12 students revised outside of tuition which is comparatively low compared to almost 90% of year 13 students!

How Much Revision is Common?

How much revision is required depends on the student's ability and their goals. It comes down to their current grade level, the gap between that level and where they want to get to as well as how much they have already revised outside of school time during the prior summer and first term. They may also have special educational needs (SEND) which can add extra challenges to planning and focusing during revision - an example where support from an online tutor is really helpful.

It is important to consider the motivation levels of a student to keep goals achievable. It is counter-productive to force a student with low motivation to commit to 6 hours of revision per day. They will sit there, distracted by their phone or other websites and end up feeling worse. It's much better in this instance to start small with an hour or two so that even when motivation is low, a well-disciplined student can power through and leave their desk with a spring in their step to take into the next day. This is the best way to make a habit out of productive revision.

In general, GCSE content is not nearly as advanced as A-levels but there are many more of them - so the content workload should theoretically balance out. This can depend on the student or subject however as A-level content is at a much higher level which can take longer to grasp.

A student aiming for top grades (above a grade 7/A) will want to commit to 4-6 hours of revision per day on average but a good start is to do at least 3 hours per day accounting for some time to get in the zone and scale it up. They should also be planning 4 to 5 full days off during the holidays giving time to enjoy the holidays.

Depending on the student, these could be ‘good hours’ or full of distractions and feeling stuck - so it’s important to balance quality over quantity. Keep in mind it’s best to find a schedule that works for each student and family where they might have weekends and holidays off but do more every weekday to compensate.

As seen above there are very few students doing the recommended 3 hours per day of revision, even in year 13 the number is surprisingly low. The most popular duration was doing 1-2 hours per day across all year groups.

Again, year 12 students appear to be taking it easy with 29% doing less than an hour per day, but when they did commit - they had the highest proportion of studying over 3 hours across all year groups!

Next, we will dive into some of the reasons why these numbers might be lower than expected.

What Can Go Wrong

As mentioned before, December is a busy time for families. There are lots of different influences grasping for the time and attention of young students. It’s a real challenge for them to fend off spontaneous distractions, invitations, and celebrations and choose to commit to long-term preparation for exams or just some time to relax after term time.

Did Students and Parents wish they did more?

We asked parents and students: Do you wish you (your child) did more to prepare for mock exams over the December break? Here is what they said:

On reflection, the vast majority (over 80%) of students and parents wish more revision was done over the holidays.

Interestingly, this stat did not change significantly for students who did not revise at all (88.5%) compared to those who did a revision of some sort (84.5%) including only in tuition. This indicates a widespread understanding of how much more revision is required to keep on track during the holidays that anyone feasibly has the time or energy to do in December!

For those who did more than 3 hours of revision per day, the satisfaction rates increased. Only 43% of year 12 and 14% of year 13 parents and students wish they did more. Still, 71% from year 11 were not satisfied. This indicates the sweet spot is somewhere above this threshold for these year groups and that GCSE revision is perhaps the most intense to manage.

Worryingly, students showed more remorse around their lack of study time - a stark reminder of the pressure they were under during this time and a credit to their work ethic. This seems to be something all parents should be aware of as long as students are just trying their best.

What Were the Main Reasons?

To dive deeper into the problems students face during this holiday, we asked students and parents to choose what they thought the main barriers to holiday revision were for them:

The top preventable contributors were a lack of motivation (struggling with procrastination), not knowing where to start and feeling overwhelmed and stressed. By comparison, the family and holiday commitments were not as influential.

When it comes to revising a vast curriculum in several subjects - it’s easy to see why a stressed student can succumb to putting off revision. A much larger proportion of students than parents reported stress and overwhelm as defining factors suggesting many are suffering in silence, unsure how to manage it.

While the idea of doing long hours every day is daunting, there are ways to avoid a state of paralysis when motivation levels are low. Use time management techniques like the Pomodoro technique to break up the time into blocks with breaks, and define a detailed prewritten plan incorporating various study techniques. This keeps the scale of the tasks ahead achievable while keeping each day a little more interesting. Together, this approach makes it easier to achieve the hardest obstacle, which is often just to get started!

What Can Help

What Would Parents and Students Do Differently?

To help future parents and students when the time comes, we asked if they would have done anything differently to improve the outcome:

The main consensus from both students and parents was that a structured revision plan was key. Students also expressed regret they did not start revision earlier in term time to lighten the load. Both of these issues can be rectified with some organised planning.

An effective revision plan logically needs to happen before revision starts, but it can be so vast and complicated to work out that they are often the main offender for triggering procrastination and overwhelm. It’s best to have this ready before the holiday starts - so when revision time comes, they have a to-do list in front of them to dive into head first.

A qualified online tutor can help create a custom revision plan - tailored to each student's strengths and weaknesses once they have a good grasp of their ability. Not only that, but a regular tuition session can provide an open forum during the holidays to air frustrations and clear away obstacles preventing progress in a topic, giving them to confidence to continue with revision.

Some students specifically mentioned other areas they would do differently next time. Outside of an actual revision schedule, a routine of daily activities helped ensure they enjoyed sport or social interaction between certain times and so they were more motivated to revise during the allotted time.

Does having sessions with a tutor affect revision motivation?

We asked students specifically if they felt having a regular check-in with their Sherpa online tutor helped motivate them to do more revision during the holidays:

45% of students reported that tuition sessions during the holidays boost their motivation to revise independently for several reasons:

• Establishing a Routine: Knowing they have scheduled tuition helps them get into a regular revision habit, which is especially valuable during the break when there are no school lessons.
• Targeted Support & Confidence: One-on-one help lets them identify topics they struggle with and address them directly. This personalised guidance not only clarifies difficult concepts but also builds their confidence.
• Increased Engagement: The sessions often leave them feeling good and in the zone. Having fresh material to review or new topics introduced makes the revision feel less daunting and more enjoyable.
• Clear Focus & Progress: With specific areas to work on, students feel more prepared for upcoming lessons. This clear focus, along with visible progress, motivates them to continue revising on their own.

Overall, tuition sessions create a structured, supportive, and engaging learning environment that gives direction and encourages students to take charge of their own revision during the holidays before their next session.

What do other parents do to influence holiday revision?

The responses reveal a range of parental approaches—from hands‐on support to giving children plenty of independence—with both methods sometimes proving effective. Here are the key themes:

• Minimal Intervention: Several students mentioned that their parents did “nothing” or provided very little encouragement. These responses suggest that some students are naturally self-motivated and manage their own revision without much parental interference.
• Structured Reminders & Scheduling: A number of parents helped by setting up a routine—reminding their children of work, discussing holiday timetables, or even insisting on a set study period (e.g., “got her out of bed and said she had to do 2 hours before she could go out with friends”). This clear structure appears to help some students stay on track.
• Encouragement and Emotional Support: Many parents contributed by offering gentle reminders, emphasising the benefits of preparation, and even using incentives like bringing snacks or surprise rewards. This supportive approach, along with modelling a strong work ethic at home, seems to foster motivation.
• Provide Perspective: We emphasised the importance of the next 6 months, and what a tiny proportion of their lives in 6 months is. This should be done with a gentle hand framed as prioritising long-term impact over short-term enjoyment. 
• Balanced Approach: Some parents focused on creating a calm, balanced environment—ensuring there were rest breaks and downtime—so that study sessions didn’t feel overwhelming. This balance between work and rest also appeared to be a key factor in maintaining motivation.

Overall, whether through direct scheduling and reminders or by fostering a supportive and balanced environment, parental involvement that offers structure and encouragement seems to bolster students’ work ethic during the holidays. This guide can help parents further understand study time - so they know what to listen out for around the dinner table.

What did students say would motivate them to study?

We all need some extra motivation from time to time to do things we don’t necessarily enjoy during a holiday. We asked our students an extra question about what would motivate them to study the recommended 4 hours per day:

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the top answer with 48% was some pocket money! The average amount requested to do 4 hours per day was £7.40. That way they knew they had something to look forward to if they got their head down in the short-term they wouldn’t have otherwise.

A minority of students wanted a non-financial reward, ranging from a book, a takeaway, dessert or a movie at the end of the week to a full-blown holiday in an exotic destination! Several students understood the assignment and deserved an honourable mention. One said their reward would be personal success while others said "getting the grades" but my personal pick for a winner was someone who just wanted "someone to tell me they're proud of me and believe in me. To tell me to keep going because it will be worth it in the end". I couldn't have said it better myself.

Second place with 37% was for someone to make the revision plan for you. I’ve mentioned before this is a common obstacle to revision, especially for those who struggle with focus or are easily overwhelmed. If you already have a tutor - I think this might be the best thing to do ahead of the holidays so they can hit the ground running.

Additionally, 28% of students agreed that if they knew their work would be reviewed, they would be motivated to do the recommended minimum 3 hours of daily revision. Perhaps another good reason to have set work with regular check-ins with an online tutor!

Finally, only 18% of students suggested confiscating an item that causes distractions would motivate them to do the revision required. The main offenders were smartphones, iPads, game consoles and even one instance of crochet needles! While this may be an effective motivator to a higher percentage than this suggests - it’s worth considering these items provide some necessary respite during short breaks.

Conclusion

Our survey paints a clear picture: while most students understand the importance of revising over the holidays, many struggle with motivation, time management and knowing where to start. Parents also face a delicate balancing act—offering support without creating conflict during a season meant for relaxation and celebration.

The key takeaway? A structured revision plan is one of the most effective ways to ensure students get the most out of their study time without feeling overwhelmed about where to begin. Start prioritising revision content early, breaking tasks into manageable chunks, and having regular check-ins—whether with parents, a tutor, or a study group—can make all the difference.

For those looking to improve their approach next year, the most successful students in our survey had a clear plan before the break started, built revision into a routine, and sought support where needed. With the right strategy, it’s possible to balance holiday fun with productive revision—ensuring that when January arrives, students feel prepared rather than panicked.