How Effective is Cramming?

Making It Work When It Has To

The GCSE exam season officially kicked off last week, and by now, most pupils will have sat their English Literature paper, with Maths scheduled for today. Around this time, we often hear advice about exam technique and student wellbeing but one topic that’s usually avoided is cramming.

Cramming tends to have a bad reputation. And yes, it’s not an ideal approach to learning. But realistically, there’s a good chance our children will feel the need to do it at some point, whether it’s because they’ve run out of time or feel panicked about a particular topic. So instead of pretending it doesn’t happen, let’s reframe cramming and explore ways to make it more productive and less stressful. We don’t want our children to rely on cramming, but we do want them to know how to approach it sensibly if the need arises.

How to Cram More Effectively and Less Stressfully

If your child feels lost or overwhelmed by a subject, try sharing these practical tips to help them focus and stay calm:

Pinpoint key weaknesses and focus on just one or two areas.

Cramming often leads to panic, which in turn leads to a scattergun approach: trying to revise everything. This isn’t productive. Narrowing the focus to one or two specific areas makes the task more realistic, achievable, and far less stressful.

Use past papers to spot common themes.

If your child isn’t sure what to focus on, skimming through past papers can help highlight the topics that come up again and again. This helps channel their energy into areas most likely to appear, making their time count.

Prioritise high-mark topics.

When confidence is low across the board, encourage your child to revise topics that tend to carry the most marks, especially those that are frequently tested. It’s about working smarter, not harder.

Don’t skip breaks.

Cramming can lead to marathon revision sessions, especially when time feels tight. But powering through without breaks won’t help. Short, regular breaks improve focus, aid memory retention, and prevent burnout, exactly what’s needed right before an exam.

Cramming doesn’t have to be chaotic. If approached with structure and intention, it can give students a much-needed confidence boost, especially when combined with regular breaks and realistic goals. It’s not about perfect preparation, it’s about making the most of the time that’s left.