Any tips from those who’s kids got great GCSE grades?

she spends all her time making lovely flash cards and mindmaps

I've just watched a video by a "StudyTuber" which was - very unusually - about how she takes notes for physics!

And I was in despair. Everything she wrote down is in the textbook, neatly printed and indexed, so what on earth is the point in writing it down again? At least she had legible handwriting - some people don't.

(Yes, I have heard that some people learn by writing things down, but like I said in an earlier post, this topic isn't something you can learn - not if you expect to answer difficult questions about it. Questions that require you to think.)

Sorry - I have a bee in my bonnet about the teaching and "learning" of physics. But I have had students come back to me and say that they didn't believe me at first, but they tried it and found my methods worked.

Cauliflowersqueeze and maisy please teach my dd. All her teachers tell her that her notes are beautiful, stunning, immaculately presented but she spends all her time making lovely flash cards and mindmaps, decorating her bedroom walls with very densely decorated poetry and she does all this while watching Netflix’s because she is so clever she can multitask!

This is a distraction technique, she never actually learns the stuff but she feels she has worked hard and of course won’t listen to me when I tell her that her method is not effective and the teachers express surprise that she doesn’t do well in her exams when she works so hard at producing such beautiful resources!

solution architect = "project manager" in old speak, I reckon. With likely extra skills in IT and technical understanding. Similar to a friend who is a producer for MMOs.

I didn't even read the books for English, I just watched the films, on 2x speed

@hailsatan I have just read that to dd and she has pronounced you a 'legend'

Interesting list. I wonder how many of these jobs there are. And what qualifications are needed. English and Maths? (Or Math, since it looks like an American list.)

DS2 is a Solution Architect. He had an internal promotion from Solution Designer. Next step up is apparently Enterprise Architect but the company only has one of those so it's either a case of "dead man's shoes" or move to another company. I have absolutely no idea what he actually does, other than that it's nothing to do with designing buildings and that it pays much better than teaching.

But he didn't need any special qualifications. He did eight IGCSEs and A levels in maths and physics but that was more because he found them interesting than because he had a specific career in mind.

I'm rambling. I think what I'm trying to say is to do the best you can and keep your options open.

find out what interests and excites him

Sadly we can only come up with eating sweets. But will keep nudging the boundaries. With molly-coddling 5s aren't too tough to get, but A-level study isn't supposed to be molly-coddled, I don't want DS to waste his time on them (if they will be a waste).

I don't know anyone who does a job that truly didn't exist 30 yrs ago. Usually more like 50 yrs ago. Even the items on this list, I know people doing a version of each one 30 yrs ago.

Stillnotready is spot on, it's the DC's future so they have to take ownership. I said the same to my DC; they're not studying or revising for me, I've done my O levels, this is for their own future. If they choose to faff around they have to accept the consequences.

That said I provide any support requested. We've talked about revision methods, planning and organisation. I've marked past papers, tested knowledge etc too.

But, I still stand by this parenting ethos: who owns the problem? If it’s you how can I support? What can you do to help yourself?

Actually, I think this is great advice, not just for GCSEs but for life in general.

leonard blimey!!

@maZebraltov I’m not sure how you should approach it, but try to remember that our children will most likely be doing jobs that have not even been invented yet. I know I’m working on something that didn’t exist even 5 years ago.
So take some time to find out what interests and excites him, be it cooking, gaming, running, watching YouTube, cars, films, fashion, whatever and make him think that maybe he could work in that field and how could he get there.
So if it’s say football, he may not be good enough to be a footballer for example, but perhaps he could work for a club. I know nothing about football but it must employ thousands from bar staff to grounds men to publicity and facilities management and support staff.
I also think ‘winging it’ is another way of saying ‘ adaptable’ and I see that as a positive.
However I won’t deny, getting passes in the basic exam grades makes being adaptable easier.

All,of the above, plus monitor their computer and telephone use. Kids get distracted very easily.

Realised today that kids in my first Year 11 class will now be 36.

Mine will be 61...

Some of my last Y12 class have Masters degrees.

Realised today that kids in my first Year 11 class will now be 36.

Shoot me.

Retired physics teacher here, so not taught the new GCSEs, but I think it depends very much on the individual student - and how they learn - and also the subject.

Physics, for example, really not much to actually learn - (I used to give my Y10 students a list at the start of the course - one sheet of A4, printed both sides admittedly, but double-spaced). On the other hand, essential to understand it, and how it all fits together - like a jigsaw puzzle. This means concentrating in class, interacting with the teacher by asking and answering questions, relating practical work to theory. Keeping on top of the work - need to understand Lesson 1 before starting Lesson 2.

Once it's understood, not really much need to revise, because you don't forget it (like riding a bike).

And certainly not last-minute revision. Too late by then. Better to do something physical, like DofE expedition, during half-term.

. Ready for another year of repeating yourself a million times Maisy?

I’m bracing myself for Year 21.

Cauliflowersqueeze
Round of applause!

Every year I say that to students.
Every.
Damn.
Year.

And yet a couple to wonderful students who could have got higher... were the ones whose notes were like a unicorn had farted over them. Very pretty and very colourful, but too much time was spend having pretty notes over learning material.

Good revision techniques and time for hobbies are a must.

Kids are all so different , some do amazingly well with zero input from parents -dd , others are lazy and do the minimum work despite loads of parental input -ds .

I’d say that those who spent all night pissing around making endless beautiful colour coded timetables and immaculate flash cards while multi tasking on their phones were less successful than those who just worked very hard practising in distraction-free areas for shorter lengths of time and got out to do a hobby now and again.

Holiday courses helped DD. The local university ran cramming courses in the sciences, languages and humanities. Mostly led by current students and gave her a space to ask a lot of questions, have 1:1 attention and revise somewhere she wasn’t distracted by anything like at home!

Also, we arranged mentoring for her. Pushy, all girls school where people began just talking revision/exams/school during y11 and she missed just talking nonsense with friends. Having a mentor gave space to just talk about how she was feeling and be around someone not in the family and not talking GCSEs!

Came out with 9 9s and 1 8.

But, I still stand by this parenting ethos: who owns the problem? If it’s you how can I support? What can you do to help yourself? I’m making a cake,/ making tea/ going shopping what would you like?
You're hired!
It would be a fabulous example to the types who:

1. think their child can arse around for years and then demand intervention in y11 because 'they NEED a 5'. / think it is our job to ensure their chikd does well regardless of their child's work ethic and attitude.
2. Are unbelievably lovely and well meaning but end up smothering and stressing the life out their poor kids

@Stillnotready, you sound sensible. I have a kid who won't own the problem (yet). Won't revise, not organised, not self-motivated, won't get good GCSEs & likely to be disaster at A-level if he'll even find a college to take him. What do you do when they are in denial or can't be arsed? Is there anyway to prepare, or just have to wait for the actual results to come in so they accept they have to explore a different path? BTECs & apprenticeships in our area are very limited (argh), what's worse.

I like to plan & ponder options far in advance, so am very uncomfortable about last minute rushed decisions, afraid of information deficits, but maybe I have to accept that's DS's path? I know most people wing a lot of life.

Happy to oblige MaisyPops!
My lot range in age from 29 to 20 so coursework was an important factor, and to be honest my eldest really struggled meeting deadlines. She would have loved all or nothing exams.
I do think the new emphasis on all or nothing exams is very unfair, and in the real world of work, very few roles function like that, it’s all about ongoing management of tasks and deadlines.
But, I still stand by this parenting ethos: who owns the problem? If it’s you how can I support? What can you do to help yourself? I’m making a cake,/ making tea/ going shopping what would you like?

I might be wrong but I believe the new GCSEs test memory and retention more than the previous exams. Therefore the requirements for success are slightly different from previous years and may well have resulted in boys getting improved marks. As there are no longer modules in bite sized chunks it really suits children with excellent memories, those that are organised and ones that are truly clever! I don’t believe loads of revision helps if you cannot recall it in the exam or the questions are not what you wanted and don’t play to your strengths. So luck plays a part, memory a huge part, as well as excellent teaching which certainly cannot be under estimated. It’s an absolute requirement!

Stillnotready
Can we have you to speak at our y11 open evening?
It drives me nuts when people say 'so and so hasn't done homework beause they had choir/sport/a production/graphics coursework' etc.
If it's a really tight week for a big reason (e.g. studebt away all weekend at trials for a pro football team academy/student is in a massive paid production at a theatre) and the student sees me in advance then I'm really reasonable and swap a few deadlines or give them the work early so they've got longer. (Usually students doing big things are super organised and proactive because they know how important it is to fit everything in).

But 'Mrs Pops, Sammy hasn't done her homework because shebwas at her nana's and then had stagecoach / Timmy had a football match and we were busy at the weekend' etc irritates me something rotten.
If you want to do lots of enrichment then part of the reasonnits viewed well is because it requires you to be organised. Handing in rubbish homework because you had choir the night before isn't an excuse.