well, it really depends on how much work he put in. I've seen people who also managed to get thru promos, but still struggle like crazy in J2.
I'll give you some advice for you and your friend. It may be cliche, but it works
My word of advice for your friend will be to:
1) Pay attention in class when the teacher is teaching
There's no point in figuring out a topic by yourselves. Make sure he/she stays awake in lectures and tutorials, at least until they stop teaching the syllabus. After they finished the syllabus my teachers gave up on me cause I tend to do other topics while they were going thru revision.
But hey. I did well enough to shock them of their seats (Some had written me off as a basket case. haha)
2) Always do revision at every moment you have
Don't take too much time on canteen breaks or rest periods. If you got an hour of break, use at least half an hour to revise or read up on the next class. If you got 2 hours break, use at least an hour to do some revision.
3)Find out your best study times
For me, I study best when there's daylight. So what I will do is sleep early every night, wake up early and mug as soon as the sun comes out, stopping only when the sun sets. I got friends who are the exact reverse, so it really depends on your habits and when your mind is in full concentration
4)NEVER WASTE YOUR HOLIDAYS!! MAKE FULL USE OF IT!!
This, is very important.
Holidays are free periods of time where you can really plan your working hours and schedule, taking into consideration your optimal working hours. Plan a schedule or at least get some timetable done for everyday.
I slept early at night (say about 10 or maybe 11 the worse), sleep till 7 the next morning, get ready and cycle to Woodlands Library to chope a table, and start mugging till lunch (wht brief interuptions from frends who will ALWAYS miss the library opening time and come late)
Lunch, rest about 1 hour, mug till closing time. Dinner, go home, bathe, play a bit, sleep
Cycle continues on
5) Rest well
Cliche, but a person needs at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep everyday to work to his best. I'm not going to count naps, cause its too crucial to take more then 30 minutes of napping. I'm talking about uninterrupted sleep time, usually at night (but if you're a night owl it'll have to be the day)
Don't sleep less than 6.5 hours and don't sleep more than 9 hours, cause its going to be counter-productive. You're going to wake up the next day super tired, even though you've been sleeping for 10 hours. So set an alarm clock to wake up at a certain time everyday, and make sure u get the 7 to 8 hours sleep before then.
6) No point studying if you're not in the mood, so relax
Honestly, there's no point studying if you're not in the mood, cause you're wasting time. Your brain's so tired that it won't focus. You study, but what you've studied will be quickly forgotten.
To help your brain, spend that time doing something else that you enjoy. Sleeping, playing DS, reading novels, cycling, etc. These were the stuff I did when my brain fused out in the library. Yes, my friends complained when I abandoned them to go outside and they saw me cycling, but it helped me to concentrate later when I resumed studying.
But please, DO NOT OVERINDULGE. 15 to 30 minutes should be sufficient, anymore and you're probably wasting more valuable time
And please, while you're distracting yourself, be considerate to others who do not want to be distracted
7) Don't be afraid to take half a day off
Don't treat your J2 year like some slave year. Spend some time doing other stuff when you need a break. Go out with friends for a meal, watch a movie, shop, jam, etc. It's theraputic, especially when you do it in a big group. Don't do too much of this, perhaps a once-a-fornight or once-a-month distraction would be good
8) Last of all, study hard!
It's not about the quantity of time, but the quality. 1 hour of quality is better than 3 hours of rubbish
So study hard and get your butts working!
Good luck!