My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Secondary education

How the hell can I get my yr 10 to realise how important the next two years is ?

29 replies

Howlongtillbedtime · 28/10/2018 15:28

He has always coasted along getting ok results but I don't think this is going to work as a plan for passing his GCSEs .

I have tried nagging (pointless and depressing)
I have tried talking to him about how is future depends on them (scary and probably not exactly true)

Should I just leave him to it?

School are advising they start revising now to stop a mad panic in a years time. It makes sense to me but I think for him it's too far away and it is also freaking him out to think about it too mucb.

His homework is on time but generally last minute and rushed.

I just want him to make the most of his time and not be pissed off he wasted his chance ( I went to a truly shite school so am aware I am projecting)

Any ideas ?

Even if it's to tell me to stop interfering!

OP posts:
Report
noblegiraffe · 28/10/2018 15:32

What does he want to do next and what does he need to achieve to be able to do that?

Report
Bunnybigears · 28/10/2018 15:38

What noblegiraffe said. Also there are so many options post GCSE where all you need is a C in English and Maths that I dont think not having fantastic GCSE's is the end of the world these days.

Report
Seeline · 28/10/2018 15:42

Come and join us on the Y10 support thread in secondary education. The advice being given to children varies hugely! If it's any consolation my DS took his last year and didn't really do much other than his homework in Y10, the real work start in Y 11.

Report
Howlongtillbedtime · 28/10/2018 15:44

noblegiraffe he is unsure but wants to do Economics at A level but undecided about the other two.

OP posts:
Report
Howlongtillbedtime · 28/10/2018 15:45

Seeline thank you I will.

OP posts:
Report
TheFrendo · 28/10/2018 15:46

Maths goes will with economics.

Report
Howlongtillbedtime · 28/10/2018 15:49

I said to him about maths as he has always been strong in the subject but this last few months he is feeling a bit lost with it.

He can't be convinced that surds will ever be needed in his life .

OP posts:
Report
TeenTimesTwo · 28/10/2018 16:45

Surds are needed in life.

They are needed right now by him in order to get the GCSE Maths qualification which will enable him to do the Economics A level he wants to do.

To do A levels most places will be expecting to see an average grade 5/6 minimum. For maths which goes well with Economics he'd probably need a 7 in maths. So he needs to work steadily to keep his options open.

Plus then he has to remember that if applying to university (is that on his horizon?) they won't have AS grades so the last public exam results they will have is his GCSEs.

He might not need the info he is learning, but the certificates open doors for next stages.

Report
SpoonBlender · 28/10/2018 16:56

You probably can't, at that age - you'll be one of the only people in the world with basically zero or negative influence over him. Depressing, isn't it? Teenagers.

Try and enlist a slightly older relative - got any teens in A-levels who can have a word?

Report
Howlongtillbedtime · 28/10/2018 17:23

teentimestwo that is exactly what I have said to him. It's not what he is learning but he needs to show he understands how to learn.

He is in top set for everything so I do think he will pass his exams but with a little bit of effort he could be looking at 8 and possibly 9s instead of 6s and 7s.

I just don't want the penny to drop too late. Getting a sixth former to speak to him may work spoon I will have a think about who I can rope in.

OP posts:
Report
Plessis · 28/10/2018 17:26

Dd is predicted all 7s 8s 9s

She his in year 11 and has just started revising. I think if you can make sure you understand everything that you are learning in year 10 then that's perfect.

Report
Racecardriver · 28/10/2018 17:41

Does he realises that he needs them to go to university?

Report
GemmeFatale · 28/10/2018 17:50

Go the other way. He’s decided they don’t matter. So he may as well get a drudge job now and put the effort in there, that way he’ll at least have a good reference for his full time drudge job when he doesn’t get onto his preferred college course.

Something with early starts, hard graft and a bunch of old boys telling him he’s a fool to not be working hard at his exams is the ideal.

Report
tinytemper66 · 28/10/2018 17:51

Can you see if the school ask past pupils back who didn't do as well as expected? We do and it does work
With some 😊

Report
ragged · 28/10/2018 17:51

Should I just leave him to it?

ime, nobody wants to hear that recommended, I don't know why people bother to type the question.

Report
Howlongtillbedtime · 28/10/2018 17:59

plessis thank you , that's kind of what I was thinking but the school keep saying they should start revising this year and not leaving it till yr 11.

It's such a tricky age to have to be so sensible when you are full of hormones and new found freedoms.

OP posts:
Report
TeenTimesTwo · 28/10/2018 18:45

I think use of the word revising in y10 is a bity counter productive. I would hear 'learn stuff now for 18 month's time' and think it sounds crazy.

Whereas if it is couched as: make revision notes (mind maps, cards whatever) as you go along, at the end of each unit, to make sure you have understood, and have no missing info / questions, and to reduce the workload in y11 , then it makes far more sense.

Then add on prepare properly for each test so you can see which techniques work best for you and where you are up to with answering technique .

If they can do the above they probably are 'revising, but without explicitly saying so.

Report
RedHelenB · 28/10/2018 19:19

6s and 7s (As and Bs) are fine and won't stop him from getting into uni if he wants. So yes, I would leave him to it once he knows that he could get more with hard work, I know it's not a fashionable stance on mumsnet but Imo coasters often have less stress and better mental health. You're lucky that he will pass with good grades with minimal effort!

Report
Ontopofthesunset · 28/10/2018 19:31

I agree with TeenTimesTwo that the idea of 'revising' for exams that are nearly 18 months away seems very offputting and if I were a teenager I would think it deserved ignoring. My recommendation would be to support him in doing his homework, revising for any tests he has and helping him make sure that he is keeping his notes or files neat and up to date.

If he is quite able he really doesn't need to be revising now for his GCSEs. He just needs to make sure he does everything he is set to the best of his ability, makes good notes, learns for tests etc. He will probably have tests at the end of each topic or block so he will be revising as he goes along. He will also have year end exams so he will revise for them. Then he will have mocks either in December or January, so he will study for them.

And it may be unhelpful, but my son did a 'cruise control' version of the above (never absolutely too little effort, but certainly never too much) and revised for his mocks, then began serious revision from the Easter holidays for his exams. They were being tested all the time in school. That is enough.

Report
Howlongtillbedtime · 28/10/2018 19:33

teentimestwo that is a really good way of putting it . I will give that a go next time . I'm going to leave him alone for a week or so and see how he goes.

He will get some results this week for a maths assessment and a German assessment so we will be able to see how his lack of revision is going.

redhelenB his mental health is the thing that I worry about. It's a fine balance..

OP posts:
Report
Howlongtillbedtime · 28/10/2018 19:39

ontop That is what I have been doing so far but it all seems a bit of a battle . He would much rather do a rushed job with his homework than spend a bit of time and effort and do something to be proud of.

OP posts:
Report
Ontopofthesunset · 28/10/2018 19:52

Again, possibly not useful, but my younger son always did the minimum to get by, but it turned out to be enough to do well. Most 14 or 15 year old boys don't want to spend more time than they need to on something.

Report

Don’t want to miss threads like this?

Weekly

Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

Acopyofacopy · 28/10/2018 19:52

In Year 10 I tell my students to just work to the best of their ability, slow and steady. And I start pointing out that if they do whatever it is well now they will definitely thank themselves in Y11.

If he is a clever boy then just going through the motions is probably enough for now, to be honest. A lot of my Y11s last year really kicked into action after the new year and were able to considerably stretch themselves, from working at a 6 to actually getting an 8 in the end. GCSEs seem light years away in Year 10, don’t stress just yet.

Report
Howlongtillbedtime · 28/10/2018 20:05

Thank you , I think I'm going to relax a bit more .

I guess as long as he isn't missing deadlines and his test results are ok then that is good enough for now.

OP posts:
Report
ChalkDoodler · 29/10/2018 20:40

You possibly have a chance to go to a sixth form open day.

We took Ds1 last year when he was in year 10. He is a committed student and wanted to see what a sixth form looked like and talk to them about further maths.

Each room had the students folders out with all their work in to look at giving him a real insight into the work required for lower sixth/year 12.

In year 10 he wrote some notes of classwork when it was fresh in his mind and then any confusion about it could be dealt with immediately with help from the teacher or us.

This is paying dividends as he is revising now in half term for his November mocks. He isn't compiling many notes as he has the flash cards made already.

School offered us the opportunity to purchase the revision guides last year which came in handy for end of year 10 mocks. The school is very driven and outstanding.

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.