First year A levels 2015 exams

I just thank God that all of mine are grown up now and don't have to worry about exams and stuff!!!! I think that a child will do as well as they can do holiday or no holiday!!

No problemAtia. I think I am suffering from vicarious exam stress!

Sorry Heather, I wasn't meaning to be personal. Hope your ds is doing well with his studies :)

I've had a friend lately acting as if I'm being completely OTT for even bothering to keep track of my girls' exam schedules, so I was just sticking up for the middle of the spectrum ;)

No definitely not parenting crime of the century! I wasn't trying to suggest it was, and yes of course people go to work and leave their teens revising (or not). Sorry didn't mean to sound judgy. Fully aware I am babying my DS to a certain extent...but we've had some tricky times with him so I'm being ultra cautious.

The idea is that he should keep up with the work as he goes along so there is no need for a ridiculous amount of cramming at the last minute.If he is self disciplined then a planned break of 3 days might be a good thing- give his batteries a recharge before the final push.He can also take flash cards to do whilst he is travelling.Several short bursts of revision are much better than an unfocused day idly flipping through notes

I mean, people do go to work and leave their children for the whole working day, even when in the middle of exams. I don't think that leaving a 17 year old for 3 days whilst he might or might not be revising (my AS-taking child did fuck all during half term, which may not be ideal, but certainly had nothing to do with whether I was there or not) is the parenting crime of the century. But personally, I'd avoid half term and go in term time when it was cheaper :)

I went away for the first weekend of this half term just gone, Saturday to Monday, despite having one doing GCSEs and one doing ASs. I did leave my dh at home but I'm not sure he's the cups of tea, plates of toast type! The GCSE one did a bit of revision one afternoon, the AS one did nothing as her next exam is not until this Friday. They really did not need me hovering constantly. I could have stayed away longer but didn't, but I don't think the sky would have fallen if I had. Have a look at the timetables, talk to your wife and your son, and decide.

Oh shit PUBLIC PUBLIC.

But my point stands

How is asking about the timetable for pubic exams going to make you "look like a plonker" . It won't . Phone , get the facts , and then make your decision.

I think that you should be around when it's such a key time for your son. Most of them do need 'help' of some kind even if it's cups of tea and plates of toast at regular intervals to keep them on track. It's a stressful time for them.

And yes I do help more formally with revision....going through notes, testing him on stuff, making sure he's done his essay plans. (My Ds is bright but a bit disorganised).

I think it would be a bit mean to go away when it could easily be done another time.

Most of the exam boards have provisional timetables on their websites for May/June 2015 so if he knows the boards and subjects he'll be studying then you can draw up a timetable for him. Then you can work out how much you'll need to be around.

You shouldn't leave him alone in the house during revision time.

What, ever?

DCs going into year 12 this September will be the last cohort for whom ALL A levels are examined with AS exams at the end of year 12 and A2 exams at the end of year 13.

The more popular subjects will be new spec from September 15 starters, with more coming on stream the following year.

Am at sixth form teachers not knowing what spec they're teaching in the autumn....

OK, does this mean DD1 starting sixthform Sept. 14 has old style AS levels that do count towards A2?

Her teachers didn't seem to know at the open evening and they certainty haven't a clue what exams DD2 in Y8 will get.

All I do know is without her younger sister to worry about, DD1 would revise if left here because there is nothing else to do. However, if we tried to go on holiday without her we wouldn't live to tell the tale. DD 1 loves new places and different experiences and diesnt care at all if the company is her parents.

Parent of year 11 child here.
We went away at Easter for a week and at Half term for two days
term dates for next year are mostly available online.
THree days out will not kill them : in fact it will probably do good.

You shouldn't leave him alone in the house during revision time.

My dd2 starts y12 in September. I know that there haven't been January exams since last year and I think she is the last year that will have old-style AS for every subject.

If you're not taking him with you (and I would want to be sure that he was ok with being left at what could be a stressy time for him) - well, for a start I'd still avoid half term as the prices will be higher and there'll be other people's kids around! - but maybe try going away the first weekend of half term, more like 22-25? Most kids seem to have the Bank Holiday weekend as a bit of a break before getting back to revision, so you wouldn't be worrying about him not working when you weren't there.

He won't have any exams over half term but may need you there to encourage revision rather than partying / lazing around.. Depends on the child I suppose, if a friend or relative is around to check on him occasionally and help in an emergency I wouldn't have thought leaving him at home for a few days would be a disaster.

You shouldn't even contemplate going on holiday for May half-term when you have DC in Y11, Y12 and Y13. Get a grip!

Thanks!
Knew about the January exams not happening as I have DD1 currently in year 12.

Hellsbells

Your daughter will be unaffected by the new AS and A-levels and will be taking the 'old' specifications. However she will still not take january exams or January re-sits

Lifeisadancefloor - I assume the dates apply to starting the AS/A level course and not taking the exams? So my DD2 who starts AS levels this September will be unaffected by the changes?
In response to the Op and May holidays - my DD1 who is currently taking AS level exams revised solidly through half-term and we would not have been able to take her on holiday. She is taking maths and sciences though and the exams started on 19th May through to 10th June (with practical exams prior to that). Her friends taking English Lit, languages, RE etc. did most of their exams in May before half-term. So you will need to check the exam timetables in relation to the subjects and the exam board.

TeenandTween

The decision as to whether students take 3/4 subjects will be up to the individual school and student (possibly). AS levels will be a new qualification in the first subjects being changed and will not count towards the A-level grade.

In terms of the timetable for change - the following A-levels (and new AS levels) are changing from September 2015: English Language,English Literature, English Language and Literature,Biology,Chemistry,Physics,History,Psychology,Art and Design,Sociology,Business Studies,Economics and Computing.

There will be new A-levels in 2016 for Dance, Drama, Music, RE, D&T, Geography, maths and Languages.

It is possible that some students will take a mix of old and new A-level (and AS levels) whilst the changes are being brought in)

In answer to you first question, students who started courses in Sept 2013 beyond will have no January examinations. All exams for AS and A-levels will be in the Summer series.

The second question about the May half term holiday is trickier, it will depend on which subjects your child takes and how much coursework is involved (all coursework should be finished by May half term). If their exams are later in June a holiday might not interfere with revision much - but many subjects are early June which would mean May half term revision would be critical

My advice would be to access the exam timetable in advance and check when the exams for their subjects are and make a decision from there.