Study for Success

By Louise Addison

Get the results you want with our top tips

It’s been a weird couple of years when it comes to studying and exams. The 2022 cohort have had it tough, yet they will still be expected to sit external examinations in this gradual return to the ‘new normal’. It’s all a bit of a mish mash of assessments and examinations, and queries over what will be in the papers and whether students will have covered enough. Whatever the variety of opinions of how this year’s exams have been handled certain truths about revision hold true, no matter the circumstances. Preparation is the key to revising effectively. Make sure you know what type of exams you will have – short questions, multiple-choice or essays – and what topics they will cover. Organise your course notes and textbooks so that everything is easy to find. Work out how much time you have for each subject and don’t avoid the ones that you find particularly difficult – or easy. Make a timetable, but don’t spend so long making it look beautiful that you’re behind before you start! Remember to include your other commitments and try to maintain your normal routine of mealtimes, exercise and so on. Think about the time of day that you work best – some people are night owls while others get more done in the early morning. Plan a ten-minute break in every hour and don’t work for more than three hours at a time. Now divide the topics you need to learn into manageable chunks. To help memorise information, make notes and put as much as you can into your own words. Summarise key points and write them on index cards or sticky notes that you can put around the house. You may find that making a spider diagram or mind map is helpful. Try inventing your own mnemonics, such as Never Eat Shredded Wheat for the points of the compass. You can also visualise a scene that includes details you need to remember – a battlefield or mountain habitat, for example. Make the most of revision classes offered by your school or college. You could also revise with a friend – practice explaining difficult concepts and ask each other challenging questions. Get hold of as many old exam papers and example questions as you can. Familiarise yourself with the way questions are worded and make sure you understand exactly what they are asking you to do. Prepare draft answers to questions that come up frequently. When the exam gets close, complete a paper within the time limit to get an idea of how quickly you need to work. To keep motivated, reward yourself with a weekly treat such as a trip to the cinema or a favourite meal. But if it’s not going so well, don’t give up! Adjust your timetable and focus on the areas you find most difficult, or common questions. Keep thinking about what a good grade will bring – a university place or that dream job. The night before the exam, have a quick look through your notes, but don’t cram. Get an early night so you wake up refreshed and ready to go. Good luck!

Leeds Day

No fault divorce has arrived

Simon Thomas, a Partner, collaborative lawyer and the family team leader at Leeds Day LLP, discusses the impact the recent changes in divorce law should have on how separating couples approach children and financial matters. The 6th April 2022 marked the biggest change to impact marriage breakdown in decades. The Divorce Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 brings about the removal of blame or the requirement to live separately for at least two years as reasons for divorce.

Does taking the blame out of divorce mean the end of family lawyers?

Not at all. For many years family lawyers have recognised that the reasons given for a couple separating have had little, if any, material impact on the future plans and arrangements that need to be made following on from their divorce. That one party behaved in such a way that the other party could no longer be reasonably expected to live with them would not itself be a factor in separating financial resources or making arrangements for the children. I often tell clients that a family court does not exercise moral judgement on one party or the other; its focus very much being on the future and what each party needs to be able to live independently from one another and, where children are concerned, what works best for them above all else.

Turning the focus to the future

As a family lawyer for over 20 years, I have seen many clients who have focused so much on their past that it created a distraction and shifted focus away from resolving the important issues that needed to be addressed. When anchored to the past, separating couples can often find themselves unable to move forwards, either emotionally or practically, and yet the courts have expressed a lack of interest either through irrelevancy or simply a lack of time to do so. To quote a senior Judge, the courts discourage parties from undertaking a general “rummage through the attic of their marriage to discover relics from the past” in order to assert a greater level of contribution to the marriage than the other party.

A simpler divorce process

There is now only one ground for divorce: the marriage has broken down irretrievably. A person can no longer dispute a divorce either save for questions relating to the validity of the marriage or jurisdiction. Language used in the process has also simplified; for example, “decree nisi” has been replaced with simpler description of “conditional order”. Simplifying the legal process does not make it easier to get a divorce. There is and never has been such a thing as a “quickie divorce”, a phrase often used by the media. The new process will take at least 6 months to conclude with a waiting period of 20 weeks from the date of issuing the divorce application before the applicant, or with the new law, both parties as joint applicants, can apply for the conditional order. This 20 week period is designed to give the couple time to pause and reflect on their marriage and to also focus on the practical arrangements that need to be made over children and financial matters. Parties will be actively encouraged to reach agreement wherever possible, using out of court dispute options where possible. Whilst no-fault divorce will not remove the pain that people feel when their marriages end, it will hopefully help them get through the legal process of separation with less emotional impact and help prepare them for the next chapter of their lives.

For more information please contact Simon

Thomas or the family team at Leeds Day LLP at simon.thomas@leedsday.co.uk or family@leedsday.co.uk or visit www.leedsday.co.uk

Huntingdon Godwin House, George Street, Huntingdon, PE29 3BD T: 01480 454301 St. Ives 11 Station Road, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire PE27 5BH T: 01480 464600 St. Neots Xenus House, Sandpiper Court, Eaton Socon, St. Neots PE19 8EP T: 01480 474661