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How I Study for Exams in the Holidays: Janithu’s Study Hacks

Year 12 student Janithu shares how Holiday Courses helped him master how to study for exams and get ahead.

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Janithu, a Year 12 student, shares how to study for exams and his secret to getting ahead in his classes. If you’re looking for an edge for next term, his strategy is a must-read.

Table of contents:

Me, myself and I

Name: Janithu

Grade: Year 12

School: Pacific Hills Christian School

School exams can feel like daunting hurdles. But what if you could go into them with confidence and a significant head start? 

Hi, I’m Janithu, a current Year 12 student, and like many students, I used to feel stressed and unsure about how to study for exams. Thankfully now, I’ve learnt how to use my school holidays to prepare more efficiently for exams, so I feel more confident, focused, and ready.

If you want to know how to study for exams more effectively, here are my top 4 tips.

1. Use the holidays to get ahead, not catch up

Most students use the holidays to either take a break altogether or to catch up on last term’s content. But one thing I’ve learnt by taking a Physics Holiday Course is that it’s much more effective and helpful to use this time to pre-learn the next term’s content.

By going into the next term’s content during the holidays, you gain an invaluable head start and advantage over your classmates. 

This means that instead of using school lessons to learn new material (and maybe struggle to keep up), you use each school lesson to:

  • Revise concepts you’ve already learnt
  • Clarify any confusion from your holiday study
  • Strengthen your skills and understanding

This will also free your school term to focus on what really improves exam performance. That is: practising exam-style questions, working through past papers, and putting more focus on your weaker areas. 

Hopefully this has convinced you to use your holidays more wisely.

So, how do you pre-learn content during your holidays?

1. Pick one or two subjects to focus on

You don’t need to study every subject in the holidays, just the ones where you’re either:

  • Struggling and want to build confidence
  • Doing well but want to do even better and get a Band 6.

Prioritise content-heavy or high-scaling subjects like Maths, Chemistry, Physics, or English Advanced.

2. Find out what topics are covered next term

  • Ask your teacher for the next term’s topic list before you leave for the holidays.

  • Use the NESA syllabus or VCAA study design.

  • Talk to students in the year above to see what they’re actually learning and being tested on.

3. Plan your study

  • Block out 3-5 hours a day across 3-4 days a week.

  • Prioritise content-heavy subjects so you’re sure you have enough time to get through it all.

  • Keep your timetable realistic. Learning ahead doesn’t mean full-time study.

4. Enrol in a holiday tutoring course

These are great because they mean you don’t need to gather textbooks, worksheets or lessons on your own. You just have to show up to class!

In my experience with the Matrix holiday courses, you get:

  • Comprehensive theory books that break down each topic
  • Structured lessons that follows a logical sequence
  • Practice questions and quizzes to reinforce your understanding

My holiday course has helped noticeably reduce my stress and build genuine confidence.

matrix education janithu maths extension workbook to study for exams
Matrix workbook with worked solutions help you to maximise your marks.

5. Actively revise after each study session

After each study session where you learn something new, summarise what you learnt in your own words, whether you use flashcards or mind maps. You can even revisit content in the second half of the holidays to really test your retention.

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2. Use quality resources

Since you are guiding your own study during the holidays, and not relying on your school teachers. It’s important to make sure you’re using only high-quality resources.

What I mean by that is make sure your textbooks or sample responses are recent and timely, come from reputable sources, and cover what’s actually going to be in the exams.

My Matrix holiday course gave me theory books that are the bedrock of my understanding. 

These aren’t your typical textbooks; they are beautifully crafted resources that break down complex ideas into easy-to-digest concepts. 

Each module and topic is covered with:

  • In-depth theory
  • Concept-check questions
  • Worked solutions to show how problems should be solved.

I use them as my go-to reference when revising for an exam. They help me understand, not just memorise.

They truly break down difficult subjects. That’s crucial when you’re tackling tricky HSC or VCE questions.

matrix education janithu physics theory book
A Matrix Physics theory book breaking down key models of light, clear and helpful!

3. Consistent practice over cramming

Getting ahead is great, but staying ahead takes consistency. If you’re not consistent with practising questions or exams, you’ll end up cramming right before the exams and getting less than ideal results. Because I covered content early, I had time to focus on practice—lots of it.

Try this weekly routine during your holidays:

  • 2-3 days learning content

  • 2 days of past paper practice

  • 1 day reviewing your mistakes

  • 1 day off for rest (yes, you need it)

To make practice effective, you need three things:

  1. An environment that encourages growth and improvement.
  2. Access to lots of challenging practice questions.
  3. Quizzes and topic tests to check your overall progress. 

Matrix holiday classes provided all three. 

The regular assessments are powerful diagnostic tools. They immediately told me my weak areas so I could fix them before they became bigger problems. 

This cycle of identifying gaps, targeting them with practice, and re-testing helped me get ahead of my peers week by week. 

Instead of just studying harder, I was studying smarter. And by the time exams came around, most of my weaknesses had already been ironed out.

matrix education janithu physics workbook to study for exams
Practising with Matrix Physics workbooks helped me identify and fix gaps early.

4. Ask for help (from experts!)

When you’re teaching yourself new concepts during the holidays, you’re bound to hit a roadblock or two.

If you can get access to your teachers during the break, make the most of it. Here’s how to ask for support that genuinely improves your learning:

  • In Maths, ask your teacher to walk you through difficult topics like integration by substitution or inverse functions if you’re unsure how they work.

  • In Physics, ask for strategies to approach multi-step calculation questions — for example, how to break down a projectile motion problem with angled launch.

  • In English, send through a practice essay and ask for detailed feedback on your analysis depth, clarity of thesis, or how well you’ve responded to the question.

Each subject has its quirks, so being specific in your questions helps your teacher give you targeted advice that actually moves you forward.

For me, I utilised the teachers and tutors at Matrix because I knew they were subject experts. They have degrees in their fields, and they know exactly how to explain complex ideas in a way that makes sense.

They were great in:

  • Breaking down difficult problems into simpler steps
  • Offering different ways to approach tricky questions
  • Giving personalised feedback so I could build English drafts until they were near perfect.

But it’s not just about the teachers. Being part of the Matrix community means I’m spending my holidays surrounded by:

  • Motivated, high-achieving peers
  • A culture that values hard work and ambition
  • A supportive and encouraging learning environment

Final thoughts

Studying during the holidays might sound intense, but it’s the smartest move I’ve made in Year 12. By using that time to get ahead instead of catching up, I’ve been able to walk into each exam pretty confident.

If you’re serious about improving your marks, don’t wait for term time to start learning. Use the break to set yourself up with good habits, quality resources, and expert support. You’ll thank yourself when exam time comes around!

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Written by Guest Author

We have regular contributions to our blog from our Tutor Team and high performing Matrix Students. Come back regularly for these guest posts to learn their study hacks and insights!

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