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Elizabeth Holtom's Study Skills: Building the study skills needed for 13+ and beyond is an invaluable tool for any classroom practitioner. The book is aimed at KS3 but really KS4 and 5 benefit from the information in this book. It is simply laid out with clear font and feature boxes and is easily navigated by those who wish to use it as a resource to provide weekly study skills lessons, or for those who wish to dip in and out of it. The chapters can be read as stand-alone chapters, as each chapter has tips, exercises to do and the ‘I Promise’ section which provides metacognitive reflection for Smart Learners.

I use this book with my students in our Learning Support Department who range from Year 7-13 because of the clear explanations, practical exercises that reinforce the chapter topics, and the reflection on how you learn. All of these provide perfect opportunities for my students to enter into discussion about how they learn and what is the best method or combination of methods for them. Working through the exercises in the book demonstrates new and exciting ways to learn that students may have never thought about. Trying these out in the book, and then in real life, with their own topics provides a practical guide to introducing new study skills techniques. This is especially the case after they have discovered what type of amazing brain they have.

The book provides scientifically proven study skills methods, such as the Ebbinghaus curve of forgetting and the numbered rhyming pegs system. It provides nutrition advice; planners for studying; sleep and relaxation methods to support stressful periods of studying. It provides invaluable advice on how to prepare for examinations and how to develop the skills required for projects, coursework and presentations.

The book is an all-round gem and a must-have for any teacher.

Dr Emily McGhee – SENCO and Learning Support Teacher