No study leave

Where are you? England or Wales? Scotland? Elsewhere?

Pupils can't confirm their final A level choices until results day in August. The last A level exam is at the end of June.

That was the case at DD's school. If they didn't come on the school bus they wouldn't have got there as the school was on a market town in a rural area.

The school justified the no study leave until the third week of the exams by showing evidence of how much the exam results had improved since banning study leave.

My DD's study leave starts next Thursday. Up till then she's going to lessons when not in an exam, but most (all?) teachers are letting them revise whatever they want, not the lesson it's supposed to be. So it is really supervised revision sessions. I guess it works well for the students who get distracted easily at home and less well for the ones who are very productive at home.

Yes it is, the teachers at me DC school are amazing.

They put in so much effort for what ever level the children are at. As in my DC is projected to get 7 - 9 grades in all subjects.

They have done these interventions on all breaks.

It really shows as the school is one of the most over subscribe school in the area we live in.

Are you on Scotland? I don't see how that can work with external applicants for year 12 if it's a school in England, unless they make everyone come in, but accept that some won't be returning in September, if they haven't met the required grades? (Or with internal applicants, ditto, for that matter).

Not for those schools who start the new academic year before September, as we do.

Utter nightmare.

I don't understand @Wrennie4 . How can a three week break between finishing exams and starting the next academic year be too long? It doesn't seem nearly long enough to me. What am I missing?

Weeks

Weeks or Months?

The way my child's exams have fallen means that he has a full three weeks between his last exam and when he returns for 6th year. Far too long xx

My (secondary) school has no study leave - we expect year 11 and year 13 in until their exams end.

Incidentally I did ask for an exemption for various reasons which I laid out , and didn’t get a reply. So I took that as a ‘we’ll turn a blind eye’

She also had not gone to any revision sessions. Issue with them is they cater to all levels and she’s much better doing her own revision as in the mocks.

We have no study leave but dd has been coming home anyway - as have most students. What are they going to do ! She’s not had an issue apart from a bit of passive aggression from the dep head

At my dc school their study leave start on Thursday after the English exam finishes. They have to be in an hour before each exam for a quick intervention.

But they are also running interventions before and after school so they are in from 8am to at least 4pm, some until 6pm.

They have had interventions on the last two Saturdays and are in everyday during half term as well as the two Sundays before the Maths exams.

A huge proportion of our students come on the school bus, so we also have to consider that.

My DS is on full study leave for Nat 5s (Scottish equivalent).

The school also offers optional immersive study days and mentoring during leave.

He also gets a week off after exams before returning to school to start S5 and Highers

If you read the current y11 thread on this board you will see different schools take different approaches. Also what they say versus what the enforce may be different.

Schools vary IME (tere was another thread I think) but more and more they are not offering study leave, as so many students do not study,

My DC and also the school I worked in did this:
In school every day until half term - obvs do exams but if no exam, in lesson
If that lesson is an exam that is done, do personal study (or teacher may do a revision quiz with you if they are nice)
If exam is still to come, directed revision

After half term - only come in for lessons in unsat exams - so no need to go to (for example) Eng lit lessons.

tbh in the end I was a bit flexible even about this - DD had a physics lesson on her birthday and we agreed she would not go it (the exam was the next day and it was the last one).

It often helps DC to be somewhere where there is quiet space for study (library, communal areas as well as classrooms) and expert staff to answer questions. For some DC I do agree it is not helpful - in that case I think it is worth discussing directly with the school (for example, an ND or anxious child may be better at home)

I was a HoD in a Scottish secondary. Our local council asked schools to stop study leave in order to cut back on anti-social behaviour in town centres.

It's encouraged against these days, as it counts as absence. We don't give it any more - students are in every day, revising in their lessons and then on a special timetable just before each exam. They seem to think it's working.