To think some GCSE exam timetables should be more spread out??

My son has 3 in one day, physics, french and further maths, its going to be a long day. But it will be over soon and they get to have a long summer to recover.

This happens every year. 2 exams on the same day is no joke. If you don't feel you've done very well in first exam it's awful trying to gather yourself up for second exam. Same for A levels too.

In my early thirties and it was the same for me! I think in general the kids have too many exams though speaking personally I'd always prefer that over coursework. Apparently in the Welsh GCSE even in modern languages the kids have coursework!

As long as your DS is supported (sounds like he very much is) and prepared to crack on, looking after his health in the meantime it's all good. Hopefully it even feels easier just to get lots over and done with.

Problem is there's so many combinations of subjects and exam boards schools can choose from. If they spread them out even further it would mean less time for examiners to mark, less time for teachers to cover the material and provide revision support/students to revise. I even had a clash when I did GCSEs so parents had to sign something saying we'd had no access to devices overnight and we couldn't go to the toilet in school before the delayed exam the next day without a teacher coming to listen outside the door!

Given the range of subjects, I cannot see it being unavoidable to have two a day sometimes.

I am not sure spreading them out would go down well with many people. My opinion is that too many exams are taken at GCSE in any case, there is something to be said for a maximum number in any one year.

I think it's just a function of a stupid system. If we're going to have an exam based system with all the assessments at the end, they have to be crammed in for practical reasons.

Having taught GCSE for 20 years, I actually think that a shortened, more intense series is better for students. Being extended over a longer period of time means they lose focus because they can’t sustain the energy needed. Lots of pps have mentioned the half term disrupting their children’s “flow”. GCSEs are intense but it’s only a few weeks of exams- the hard work should have been done before these few weeks.

good luck to all the young people sitting exams over the next few weeks. SATs next week, GCSEs now, A Levels very shortly. It’s a busy time but it will soon be over and a long summer stretching out ahead 😊

Better than spreading the dread out over months

Thinking back, I think that stage of my life was the only time I'd have been able to cope with such mad expectations. Everyone just accepted it because we kind of had to. If I had to face a timetable of examinations like that today, I'd definitely crumble!

@SheilaFentiman thank you. I will tell her.

I think we got ours in Feb.

There are so many different combinations of exams that for some kids they'll be more evenly spread than others. My DS has only got three days in the whole period where he's got two exams. Other kids are all front loaded.

If you spread them out more, you just spread out the stress more and wouldn't guarantee each kid actually has fewer all in one "lump".

Ds has his this year and we are lucky they are quite well spread out throughout the time. He has a few days at the end when others have exams and he doesn’t as he isn’t doing a MFL.

The exam board- or JCQ I suppose - have shifted a huge clutch of exams earlier, but I don't know why.

Yeah 3 hour exams is what I remember. I did multiple consecutive days of 3 hour paper in the morning and 3 hour paper in the afternoon. Was a slog but I was well prepped revision wise so I wasn’t relying on having to revise in between exams. Just a quick flick through my notes and then onto the next exam. If I had to do that now though I’d struggle as I’m well out of practice with revising and exams! Not to mention my memory is a lot worse!

It’s always been like this.

When did you find out the timetable for the exams? My DD is in y11 next year and already stressing (self imposed) about her revision plan...

It was like this back in the early 90s when I did mine. I had loads of double days. It’s hard but they will survive! A lot of them are quite short too.

Are you joking?

The longest paper they will sit is 2 and a half hours, 3 hours 7 mins for extra time. It's English Literature, there's an exam in the afternoon.

Trust me, by the muiddle of June you wont be wishing these were spread out any more!

Its already a marathon.
Personally id aim for less exams. So collapse the maths down to 2 slightly longer papers. See if the sciences could be less than 6 papers - especially for the combined science kids.

They are spread out more than they were when I was at school (early 2000s). I remember having 2 exams most days throughout, and was surprised when my children did theirs that they took over 4 weeks

My grandson had three exams- four papers in one day and his friend who had extra time had to be supervised overnight and take one the following morning so two in one day is pretty normal. Taking three is not that rare.

It's already more spread than it was pre covid, particularly the core subjects. It sounds unfortunate that his options are all before half term but that's life.

I know it’s unfortunate but these exams are set nationally. The timetable runs the same for every child in the country. It can’t take into consideration what options your child chose, which exam board your school chose etc. The timetable is set by the exam boards and it’s luck of the draw how your child fits into it.

OP there are a fair few core GCSEs after half term so I think you must be mistaken? There are 4 science papers and 2 maths. Pretty sure an English too. That's 7 exams in 11 days (not including weekends).

My DD has an exam a day with a couple of free days over the whole 4 weeks and 1 day. Just luck in what she picked. All the usual traditional subjects. What I would say is that some school are still insisting on too many options. 8 or 9 GCSEs is more than enough. I'm tutoring a fair few doing 10+ and they are all talking about having 1 they are 'sacrificing'. What on earth is the point?

It will be a hellish 5 weeks but then they get the most amazing long summer (hopefully).

I did my final uni exams in one week i remember - 9 exams over 5 days - 3 hours each