STUDENTS at a North Yorkshire school say new ways of revising are helping them to prepare for their exams more effectively.

Drawing pictures, listening to music, and even juggling, are among ideas being thrown around at Easingwold School as the exam season kicks in for pupils in Years 11, 12 and 13.

Rather than just sticking to the standard "ten top tips" approach to revision advice, Easingwold is encouraging students to try different ways of learning and to choose one that suits them.

Geoff Brookes, deputy head teacher, says: "What we're trying to say to students is there is no right way to revise.

"There are wrong ways, like trying to watch the World Cup while revising for your PE GCSE, but there are opportunities for revising in different ways."

For example, 18-year-old Jenny Burke is using a "mind map" to revise for her second-year A-level psychology, which looks a bit like a spider's web, because she remembers what things look like most easily.

This is a chart where the main heading is circled in the middle of a piece of paper, and arrows stretch outwards in various directions to more circles containing sub-headings.

Her friend Sarah Turber has a similar method, but she prefers to write notes on to small cards and stick them up all round her bedroom. Sarah, 18, remembers exactly where the notes are in the room when she is in exams.

Other ideas include recording notes out loud onto tape then listening to them, or revising different subjects to certain pieces of music, if you remember sounds most easily. For people who remember movement more readily, try cutting notes into sections then put them back together like jigsaw pieces.

The key thing, says Mr Brookes, is to do something.

"You only remember a small percentage of what you read, around ten per cent, but you can remember up to 90 per cent of what you actually say and do."

GCSE student Sam Potrykus, 16, says: "I find it much easier the old-fashioned way. I get past exam papers, go through the questions, and look up the information in my notes or in the encyclopaedia.

"If I just get an exercise book or text book and just read, I don't take any of it in."

Naomi Westerman, also Year 11, says she often makes notes then reads them out loud.

Mr Brookes says the amount of time you revise for at a time can vary too, to suit each individual. Sarah, for example, can work for 30 to 45 minutes, then needs a break, whereas Sam prefers to do an hour in one go.

Mr Brookes says if you really want to get your brain working, drink some water during your revision breaks, and try a bit of juggling, or pat your head at the same time as rubbing your stomach.

These two activities are supposed to get your left brain and right brain working at the same time, reinvigorating your body and brain together.

Updated: 09:16 Wednesday, May 22, 2002