too many GCSEs for too long

Littleham whether you want to push people off a high cliff or not, O levels were harder, but taken by a much smaller % of the population. The exams are spread out to allow the large increase in subjects, including BTEC's etc to try and minimise clashes. 30 exams spread over 3 weeks is an average 2 hours a day, with a week off in the middle - hardly hard work.

I've read in the news that there has been an increase in mental health problems in children. My Y11 top set this year have certainly suffered. I don't know whether it's because they are top set with the extra pressure that brings but CAMHS have been involved with a few of them and others have really been struggling too. It's unlike anything I've seen in my ten years of teaching.

Exam fatigue is at an all time high. The content of exams isn't the problem, it is the sheer length of time it all drags on. Bit by bit they (we) lose the will to carry on and turn into shuffling insomniac zombies. There are kids in my dc's school who are self harming. Thankfully we have avoided that, but it all makes me so angry.

If I have to listen to someone older bleat on about O Levels and how it was all so much more challenging in the old days I will surely push them off a very high cliff.

Wake up politicians to the misery of children!

DD is 14, in Y9 and has just taken 2 short course GCSE modules, so that was 2 exams and now has 3 exams for her GCSE Classics, spread over 2 weeks. Madness. And her school have decided that giving kids a rest after all the testing is no longer viable, so they're starting Y10 work the week after the exams finish, so they don't 'lose momentum'. I've told dd to turn up to class, nod and smile and not worry too much if she doesn't get it. There are 6 weeks of holidays and everyone will forget everything over that period, so the school will have to backtrack then anyway. I've also told her just to focus on the exams that matter and to remember that all she needs is 5 GCSEs, grad A-C including maths, English and science. The rest is gravy.

I'm just so cheesed off with her getting stressed out because she only (ONLY) got a B in a subject or because she got a A but her friends got an A*. Poor kid. I used to tell her she should do her best in everything, but maintaining the effort required for that would drive the best of us to insanity. So I've told her...focus on the exams. Think about what's important and put your effort in there. In terms of day to day classes, you can't possibly put in 100% all of the time. It's just not humanly possible, so don't beat yourself up for any lapses. I wouldn't say it's stopped her being stressed completely, but she knows now that we're not expecting perfection. Unfortunately, school don't give the same message. And we wonder why the mental health of young people is so poor.

My eldest seven DC have all taken either eleven or twelve GCSEs as linear, all in one sitting. That was about 26 exams I think, perhaps a couple less. But most exams were an hour and a half, maybe two, so really not long. The problem hasn't been with the number, but with the silly length of time that the exams are spread out over. Exam fatigue has kicked in for a number of them a few days after the half term break when they've pretty much given up on revising, especially if it's been sunny outside.

I completely agree.

IGCSE Sciences have 3 papers, similar to the most popular "home" exam board. Two of them are taken one after the other though. So feel like one very long exam rather than two shorter ones.

Isn't it the case that private schools, many of whom stuck with IGCSE throughout, have pupils who sit about 9-10 subjects? That number doesn't seem to be in any way inadequate for academic progress, nor unachievable in a single exam season.

"It is only going to get worse as we go to 100% exam and all linear."

But that's how O levels were and we had fewer exams. I'm not saying it is right, but we survived.

It won't get 'worse' but it'll be different. It'll mean that most people will do eight or nine subjects, and will have one or two papers per subject plus the practicals and orals.

In terms of survivability if exam season, those of us who did it know it can be done.

My ds is doing history, he has 3x 1h15m exams as well as his controled assessment (25% each), that is Edexcel.

I don't think it is a bad thing if the exams are shorter, GCSEs are taken by a wide range of abilities, everyone needs to have a fair chance to show what they can do. The questions are still tough and when they are pretty much one a day it doesn't leave much time for revising bite size. Many of these children have been putting in hours of revision since Christmas, they are working so much harder than I or any of my school friends did.

It is only going to get worse as we go to 100% exam and all linear.

DD did iGCSE's 2 years ago and did 12 subjects, she had 33 individual exams of varying length. I did O'levels back in the dark ages and did 10 subjects with 11 exams, Maths was 2 papers. We worked out that we did about the same amount of exam time but just in different ways. DD said she would much rather sit 1 long paper than many small ones.
She has just sat her IB and they are much more concentrated into a short time frame, 6 subjects in 3 weeks and it is done. Despite the claims of children needing things to be dumbed down, I think we do them a great disservice, they are far more capable than they are given credit for and will rise to the challenge if they are given the chance.
Sorry rant over

It's just because they chunk the information down into smaller chunks.
People aren't used to writing for longer periods of time anymore, so the exams are much shorter.
I actually think it's a good thing - dd, for example on had 4 short exams this week, so it gives plenty of time for relaxing revising in between. I think it would be much worse to cram them into a frenzied week or two.

History is only two exams. DD is doing AQA history this year and had one exam last week and has one next week and that is it. I think RE is 2 exams as well.

My dd has:

3x Physics
3x Chemistry
3x Biology
3x History
3x RE
2x Maths
2x Eng Lit
1x Eng Lang
1x Music
1x Media
1x French

Ridiculous!

InstitutionCode - my ds is in y11 and is hypermobile, 2 years ago the school moved him over to using a laptop for all his work (except maths as it didn't work very well), it has made a huge difference to him. If your ds has a diagnosis then do think about him doing this this way, I couldn't imagine my ds doing these exams by hand, he would be in so much pain and no examiner would be able to read his paper.

Three-hour A-level exams are back on the new specs for teaching from September, at least in English Lit (the only spec I've actually read).

This time next year DD will be sitting 18 exams!

She took history and art this year then she will do:
3 x English
2 x Maths
2 x Citizenship
9 x Science
2 x Geography

When I was sitting O levels in 1975 the exams were two and a half hours long, and A level exams were three hours long. Now the written exams are shorter.
Art GCSE was 10 hours , but split into 2, 3 and 5 hour exams

It is a bit ridiculous. DS1 will have more than 25 papers to do next May/June, not including the paper he did this year and all the controlled assessments.

For my history and English Abitur in Germany the exam was 5 hours long, and I filled all the pages of an a4 exercise book

Blimey 6 for science that's crazy!

In the old days, 1 3 hour paper per scienec, now 3 1 hour ones - more exams but easier as only have to revise in bite-sizes.

It's not 3 exams for science, it's 6, or for those doing triple, 9.

That's because Gove declared all exams must be linear so the 9 exams which were supposed to be spread out over 2 years in modules were all shoved into the end of Y11.

I did 8 GCSEs. It was 2 exams for English and Maths but only 1 exam for the other subjects so in total about 10 exams. It seems that kids now to about 10 GCSEs with 2 exams per subject and 3 for science so that's over 20 exams. Way too much.