Port of Tilbury-Police Constable

[Bubblypink83 0]

Hi everyone,

 

I am planning on sitting next years exam as I missed the deadline this year due to being on maternity leave.

 

I am planning on studying sooner rather than later is there any suggestions on where to start ??

 

Thank you

Donna

[IveToldYouOnce 1,854]

Bloody hell.

Welcome!

A colleague of mine reckons that he started off reading the Blackstones' manuals once through from cover to cover, then began going through them again and writing down notes, and then he started taking mock exams and questions.............

......and then he kept going back over stuff he'd already studied as he studied new stuff..

Basically he spent several months just reading and revising Blackstones........not sure that there is any other way.....

Good luck and stick around! :)

[The Guvnor 0]

Blackstones are the best way to revise in my opinion. Combine that with Blackstones Q&A and you're sorted. I'd wait for the 2011 books which will be out in August so if you want to start before then, I would suggest listening to the Tom Baron Audio CD's. 

[foxymoxy1545925620 0]

I agree with the guvnor( not often that happens! LOL) I studied( for the 4th time this year and using Blackstones manuals, Blackstones Q&As and Tom Barron Audio CDs- if I can do it anyone can! Good luck

[james2468 0]

Snap, I am also planning on sitting the exam next year. Something I never thought I would be saying.

Ive been looking round at the best way to do it and to be honest it seems there is no way of getting away from the blackstones. I planned on getting the crammer books and doing some online questions but with the next edition of the crammer book out in November its going to be a bit of a rush job. I'll be getting the blackstones in August and hoping I can get my head around them.

Would anyone reccomend me getting an old crammer book to freshen up on before the new blackstones come out?

 

Cheers in advance

[Stan Still 1]

Seeing as Blackstones is the exam syllabus, there's no other way of knowing what subjects are likely to be in the exam unless you get the books.

The problem with getting old crammer books is that you might cram the wrong thing. Hopefully, since the demise of Brown and his crew, there won't be 15 new pieces of legislation an hour to remember, so the basic content should remain much the same. However, it's pointless wasting time revising "Offences on the railways" if it isn't going to be tested. (Which as far as I can recall it never has been - BTP take the same exams as HO forces, so how come?)

[sykes1545925530 83]

Its a common myth that only blackstones are any good for the exam, the books are obviously excellent and contain evertything you  need and dont need to know.  to understand and use them correctly takes a certain skill set in itsself.

I would suggest you find some one who has a set and have a look see if you get on with them ok, it might be you will be better off gettinga cramer book or similar to assist and use the blackstone for reference rather than main study material

 

Where do you start....page 1 book 1 then keep reading, you really do need to cover every topic and have a working knowledge.

 

I signed up to a very good company this year who proivde there own book and training packages well worth the money, i also had access to blackstones Q & A online, while i think there are easier booke to use for revision the  Q&A is excellent questions and answer written in the same way as they will be on the actual exam.

 

The exams dont start until March so dont start to early, get yourself a timetable, mix your subjects to avoid boredom and plenty of Q & A.

I cant comment on the Tom Baron CDS did not tust them but they have a good reputation, I used a company called police pass, its for you to look what on offer what fits you pocket and style of learning.

But do not under estimate the ammount of work required, get a strucutred plan stick to it ......and good luck

[1100waters 0]

Just before I retired from my old force I was to do some research on why we were getting such a low pass on the exam.  One of the things I did was to ask what study aids people used, and there seemed to be a direct correlation with the people who used more than two study aids and those who passed.  The people who just sat and read Blackstone's tended to fail, while folk who read, and tested their knowledge passed.  <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

One of the reasons why Blackstone’s is so important is that it is the definitive guide to your exam.  If it is not in Blackstone’s it is not in the exam. The other reason is that any additional study tool is only an interpretation of what is contained in Blackstone’s so you will always need an up to date set, that you can go back to clarify things.

 

The other thing that I think is really important in your studies is to look at the whole syllabus and not just those areas you think or have been told are likely to come up. The only person who actually knows what is going to be in your exam is the person who set it, and having spent four years of my working life seconded to Harrogate I can tell you security in the exams unit is very tight indeed, and quite rightly too.

 

Crammer courses close to the exam help too by putting the law fresh in your mind.

 

There is an old mantra in teaching. I hear, I forget, I see I remember, I do I understand.  So the more you do the better chance you have to pass.     

 

 

[Philthy 0]

Depends which exam?  Sgts you could get away with a Crammer course and Tom Barron's books.  Inspectors you really need the Blackstone's manuals.  I recommend the Blackstone Q&A books, Paul Connor's 3 day crammer and any old exam papers you can get your hands on.  Blackstone's print one.  I'd steer clear of ICAL as in my experience their questions are badly worded and constructed and in a number of cases actually wrong.  If you need a computer based Q&A program, again Blackstones provide their Q&A on line.

 

Edited to add; make sure you know the basics first.  It's pointless reading pages about parenting orders and connected person etc when you haven't grasped the theft act in detail.  More people slip up on the basics than you would believe and it doesn't simply mean knowing the definition. 

Philthy2010-09-02 19:24:45

[Elastiman 0]

Hey

I'm having a pop at the exam for the first time in March '11.

The National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) have a subject area breakdown listed on their site. It says 2010, but is this because it has been released this year or was it for the exam just gone?

There are a lot of subjects to cover, does anyone think that they are the subjects to focus on?

A wide knowledge base is better, but Blackstones are huge!

[Elastiman 0]

Hey

I'm having a pop at the exam for the first time in March '11.

The National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) have a subject area breakdown listed on their site. It says 2010, but is this because it has been released this year or was it for the exam just gone?

There are a lot of subjects to cover, does anyone think that they are the subjects to focus on?

A wide knowledge base is better, but Blackstones are huge!

[Philthy 0]

You are reading the exam syllabus.  You can be tested on anything forming part of your syllabus.  You cannot learn it all.  If you can, you're in the wrong job.  You pick out what you believe is going to crop up in the test paper.  Visit the Checkmate Training site to see a breakdown of previous exam subjects and how frequently they come up.

[Philthy 0]

You are reading the exam syllabus.  You can be tested on anything forming part of your syllabus.  You cannot learn it all.  If you can, you're in the wrong job.  You pick out what you believe is going to crop up in the test paper.  Visit the Checkmate Training site to see a breakdown of previous exam subjects and how frequently they come up.