GCSE Revision for ADHD Brains

GCSE Revision for ADHD Brains

From All Aboard ADHD by Claire Quigley Ward

February 6, 2026 · 55 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the challenges of GCSE revision for teenagers with ADHD and offers practical strategies for parents to support their teens.

Why does GCSE revision feel such a challenge for teenagers with ADHD, and how can parents support them without the process turning into a battle? In this episode of the All Aboard ADHD podcast, Claire is joined by Sarah Kennett, an ADHD coach, former head of science, and founder of Science Cafe. Sarah brings a unique dual perspective to this conversation: professional expertise as a long-term educator and lived experience of someone who was once the teen who couldn’t revise. Together, Sarah and Claire unpack what’s going on for ADHD brains during exam season and offer parents practical, neuro-affirming strategies that they can put into place with their teens. Claire and Sarah discuss the common pitfalls of traditional study methods and why "just sitting down and reading" is often a recipe for shutdown, rather than success. They discuss: Executive functioning overload and why revision can be a "perfect storm" for ADHD brains, requiring planning, prioritising, and memory all at once The ADHD "Sticky Note" Memory and how ADHD students often lose information "mid-process" during an exam due to working memory challenges The difference between…

People in this episode

Host: Claire Quigley Ward

Guest: Sarah Kennett

Topics covered

  • GCSE revision
  • ADHD
  • parenting strategies
  • executive functioning
  • study methods
  • motivation
  • dopamine

Keywords

  • ADHD
  • GCSE revision
  • study strategies
  • executive functioning
  • motivation
  • dopamine
  • parenting

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Science Cafe

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