GCSE panic

[Muuuuuuuuum]

My DS has just taken his GCSE mocks and doesn't think he has done very well (not that this seems to bother him very much!) does anyone know of any crammer type courses anywhere in London which may be of help before the real thing next year?

[TalkinPeace2]

what does the school say?

[Muuuuuuuuum]

haven't spoken with them yet - I will wait for the results. Just want to make sure I am aware of available options

[BoundandRebound]

School should offer intensive support and intervention classes up to GCSEs your best bet is to speak to them on Monday

[webwiz]

Did he do lots of revision?

[SecretSantaSquirrels]

Lots of them do badly in the mocks. They don't take them seriously and haven't done any work developed effective revision techniques. It's often a wake up call.
Schools usually go full on from January with booster and revision classes after school.

[DeckthehallswithbowelsofMIL]

Justin Craig revision courses are run in lots if locations and Wellington College in Berkshire have residential courses at Easter. I'd wait and see what the results are like and what feedback you get from the teachers. What you need to know is how he has done in his controlled assessments, what percentage they are worth and so how well he needs to do in the summer exam to get his predicted grade. Also, does he have a Yellis score and if so is he meeting that standard? Do you have a parents meeting after the mocks?

[Muuuuuuuuum]

Thanks all for the advice - I have put a call in to the school.
In the meantime what's a Yellis score?!

[Alderney42]

A friend with similar probs has suggested reviseuk.com. Just trying to find out what this is for my own children. Any more ideas?

[Alderney42]

Just found reviseuk.com via google. It's a company which runs 2 day GCSE revision courses in central London which will be good for us. Looks interesting. If my children attend one of their courses I'll let you know the outcome.

[Muuuuuuuuum]

Thanks Alderney42
I have had a look at the reviseuk.com website - they seem to offer courses during feb half term and Easter - does anyone know how I can get the exam timetables for 2013 to see if this will work for us.

still don't know what a Yellis score is!

[TheWave]

Maybe wait and see/ask what the school offers at Easter tho. I'm just waiting to find this out as I know they do a lot, but need to find out which week etc.

You wouldn't want to pay if they are offering similar for free?

[ibizagirl]

Dd is in year 9 and did a mock exam last week. It was a joke as most of the subject hasn't even been taught yet. Some of it she knew and some she hadn't a clue. She got a C for it but most of her class got F and even U. Apparently the teacher wasn't very happy. What does she expect? They have the proper exam when they go back after Christmas!!

[danebury]

Yellis is y11 predicted grades. I didn't realise anyone was still using that term!

[circular]

Muuuuuuuum - Re the exam timetable, ask at the school (exam) office. We already have a general one for the whole of yr11, but only entries up to Mar 2013 are confirmed. The dates are there for May/Jun but 'provsional'.

I would not expect school based revision classes to start much before easter, especially if they have not yet completed the syllabus.

The mocks now seem to be used towards predicted GCSE grades, so they are important for yr11s as needed for 6th form applications. If your DS really has done worse than he should have, worth discussing with subject teachers and/or head of year as to how this may affect his predicted grades.