After the last chaotic year, you may wonder if things will ever be normal again. Schools are currently enduring a loss in time with an already packed schedule, leading to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) changing the CAPS syllabus. This change will see fewer formal assessments allowing the students a chance to focus on understanding the content before being required to apply it. However, fewer tests do not mean less work.

Both sides of the coin

While this does give us a bit of breathing room, we should not look like a gift horse in the mouth. Fewer tests mean fewer opportunities to make mistakes. Although tests can be stressful and the preparation overwhelming, they give you a chance to apply your knowledge.

Take advantage

These changes give enough time to keep up with the workload. That means you should strive to stay up to date. Just because you won’t be tested does not mean you should not test yourself. While going through the work, write down questions you think will be important and at the end of each section try answering them without looking at your notes. Testing yourself will be more effective if you try mimicking a real test environment. You can find past papers on our app and if you do not find what you are looking for, the next best place to look is the DBE website.

Take care of yourself

It has become easy to spend most of our time sitting. I recommend keeping active by taking a walk in between study sessions every day. Get enough sleep and take regular 5-minute breaks between work sessions. Most importantly, stay safe, wear your mask and keep a spare in your bag at all times.