This is a realistic weekly study planner for a Year 12 ATAR student carrying 4 to 5 ATAR subjects. Print it. Fill in your subjects. Stick it inside your folder. Use it weekly from Term 1.
The week at a glance
| Time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:30-7:30 | Wake / breakfast | Wake / breakfast | Wake / breakfast | Wake / breakfast | Wake / breakfast | Sleep in OK | Sleep in OK |
| 8:30-3:30 | School | School | School | School | School | -- | -- |
| 4:00-5:00 | Maths | Sport / break | Chemistry | Sport / break | Past paper section | 10am-12pm: Subject A revision | 10am-12pm: Subject B revision |
| 5:00-6:00 | English | Sport / break | Methods | Physics | Pull-quote week review | 1-3pm: Past paper (timed) | 1-2pm: Mark Saturday's paper |
| 6:00-7:30 | Dinner / family | Dinner / family | Dinner / family | Dinner / family | Dinner / family | Free | Free |
| 7:30-9:00 | Methods | Chemistry | English essay | Methods | Free | Free | Plan next week |
| 9:00-9:30 | Reading | Reading | Reading | Reading | Reading | Reading | Reading |
| 10:00 | Sleep | Sleep | Sleep | Sleep | Sleep | Sleep (10:30 OK) | Sleep |
This works out to approximately 22 hours of focused study per week, plus 5 hours per week of class homework finished during school breaks. Total: around 27 hours per week of study load, which is the standard high-ATAR target.
How to customise this for your subjects
Replace the subject names in the planner with your own. Allocate 4 to 5 hours per ATAR subject per week. The rule:
- Subjects you score lower in get more hours.
- Subjects with weekly homework loads get spread across multiple slots.
- One subject gets a Friday past-paper slot (rotate weekly).
The 4 non-negotiable rules
- Friday afternoon is for past papers. Not new content. The past paper habit is what builds exam confidence.
- Saturday morning is your mock exam slot. One full past paper section under timed conditions, on a rotating subject. Sunday is for marking.
- Sleep is at 10pm minimum. 8 hours of sleep produces better marks than 10 hours of study minus sleep.
- One full day off per fortnight. Saturday or Sunday alternating. Marathon weeks without rest produce worse outcomes than balanced cadence.
The 60-minute focused block
Each study block above is 60 minutes. The structure that works:
- 5 min: open notes, identify what you are working on.
- 50 min: focused study. No phone in the room (in the kitchen is fine; in your room is not). No notifications.
- 5 min: write down what you covered, what is unclear, and what comes next.
The "5 minutes at the end" habit is high-leverage. It builds your weekly review for free.
What does class homework go in?
Class homework lives in your at-school time (free periods, lunch breaks, study halls). The 22 hours of after-school study above is for revision, past papers and consolidation, not class homework. If your class homework is bleeding into evening study time, you need more aggressive use of free periods at school.
Adjustments by term
| Term | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| Term 1 | Standard cadence above |
| Term 2 | Add 30 min to weakest subject; drop sport intensity |
| Term 3 | Replace one subject block with past paper revision; mock papers every weekend |
| Term 4 (pre-exam) | School-free; 6-7 hours per day mixed across subjects; mock papers daily |
What to actually do this week
- Print this planner. Customise the subject names for your load.
- Set the planner up as a recurring weekly template in your calendar.
- Track for one week. Note which slots you actually used vs skipped.
- Adjust based on your reality, not on the ideal. The right planner is one you actually follow.
For the deeper how-to on Year 12 weekly study, see our Year 12 weekly schedule post. For Year 11, see our Year 11 planner.
If you want a tutor who marks your past papers each week and tracks your cadence, book a free trial class.