Y10- 2025/2026

@RunningKatiemy DS saw someone at school who advises on study skills so maybe ask if there’s someone like that? Advice was things like active revision, flash cards, exam papers, going over things frequently etc etc. There are quite a lot of you tube videos on exam techniques.

We've got an exam prep evening next month, no clue on what that entails and then dc1 has mocks in June. School don't seem to have covered revision techniques at all, can anyone recommend a good resource?

DS has first 'Year to Go' pre GCSE tests - mostly starting next month, but one this Friday. They run them as GCSE setting in the real exam hall, though DS won't be in that space as he has access arrangements due to his ADHD, but it means they are quite spread out due to availability. He has an early one on Friday - physics. I got him to read all the relevant sections in the revision guide over Easter and to do a worksheet that apparently has the key points they should know. DH said he'd be on it at the start of the holidays but never got involved - I'm not sure if he forgot (because of his ADHD), has given up in despair, is trying to make a point to me (unlikely) or what.

We had a school evening about it just before the holidays and DH really panicked and was all 'This will be utterly beyond DS, he won't be able to do it'. I'm a bit nervous how he'll do in these tests even if he revises OK as he won't have done anything as in depth. He'll also have to retake in September anything he falls short on, which means he will likely have to revise all summer.

I'm going to email school tonight as curriculum head said to drop him a line if we needed help with 6th form and we will because we just don't know our way around potential non-A-level options, as I may have mentioned. We know of two options that are likely, but pointers from them would help.

After school revision sessions have started.

My DS has been revising much more than expected, but it’s given me an insight into how much they’ll have to revise next year. It’s so tricky to cover everything properly because there’s just so much to cover. I’m worried that he will be disheartened by the fact that he’s spent a lot of time revising but results won’t reflect that, because there just hasn’t been enough time.

@LetItGoToRuin they aren't called mocks at our school either. There are end of year exams for all years, but it's only Y11 that they call them mocks. Even though they sit them in the hall from year 9 like an actual exam.

All this talk of mocks is making me feel I've missed something somewhere with DD!

She says they have exams in late May as usual, and they are definitely not referred to as mocks in Y10. They normally have 'exam week' the week before the May half term so I assume it will be the same this year.

This school is perhaps too focussed on managing the girls' stress levels!

We are currently on a well-earned city break and dd is more relaxed than I’ve seen her in ages. All the stress over her Art portfolio has simmered down and she has been doing a little revision here and there before we escaped for our long weekend away.

I am extremely glad we able to afford this little holiday.

Mocks after Easter, and the first real GCSE in May (state school insists they all take religion gcse in y10).

Lindy2 - we are in Wales and some of the gcses were revised from Sept 2025, others are from 2026 and some 2027.

Maths and numeracy are a double award and there are 3 exams.

English is a double award (not separate lang and lit). 3 modules have exams, three are non exam assessment (i think 2 nea for each module).

Double Science is 2 papers per subject and a practical module.

They are doing 1 maths paper, 1 English paper, and the first 3 science papers (one for each science).

Not sure if they will do another maths or English in November yet, but even if they do there will still be a maths paper, English paper and 3 science at the end of year 11. Welsh is also compulsory and will have 2 written papers at the end of year 11, with 2 speaking/listening assessments in year 11 too. Plus the subjects taken as options.

Wow, so your school sits all of the main GCSEs maths, English and science in year 10. That's really unusual.

What's their reasoning for that? Doesn't it leave rather a light timetable for year 11? They are effectively 6 subjects down (assuming they sit English Lit in year 10 or perhaps it's just Language).

Mocks for us were in Feb, but there are more tests in science after Easter in preparation for the exams in June.

They are doing some of the actual exams at the end of year 10, which seems scarily close.

There is an English paper in May, a maths paper and the first 3 of the double science papers also in June.

We have known about the English for a long time, were told about the maths earlier this year, but the science was only mentioned in class about 2 weeks ago, and the parents were only told about a week ago.

Maths and English content for each paper has been covered. Maths is now recapping. English is moving on, but I think they will recap a little too. I think they have covered the majority of the science content and will finish the rest shortly. At least it gets a few out of the way so a few less to fit in next year.

All together there I think there will be 18 written exams, plus a variety of non exam assessments, oral and practicals. We didn't have nearly that many when I did GCSEs, but the exams we sat were longer than now.

No mention of work experience stall- i don't think they do it.

DDs mocks at the end of June

think its quite formal for us with a revision timetable and proper exam conditions

@Spud90it has helped my daughter a bit but it’s not the magic solution I had been hoping for. That said she is probably autistic as well and the mediation won’t solve that……

@Spud90really sorry things are tougher, but hope the medication helps. It’s taken ages but at least now before GCSEs, things should improve.

We also have mocks directly after Easter and I’m dreading the struggle of trying to get my DS to revise. He’s very capable but unmotivated so will use any excuse not to do it and I’ll have to be constantly monitoring ! I’ve said we will go away for the weekend for the final weekend if he works hard, so I hope that helps

@CouldNotStayAwaytough to have mocks and then real GCSEs directly after! I guess it helps to have the practice directly before.

We don't have mocks until summer 2 but she's had lots of assessments in the past two weeks. It's now clear that physics is her weakest science but she's done pretty well overall I think and found out on Friday that she's a prefect in her favourite subject next year and her drama devising group is exactly who she would have picked if she could so thankfully a fairly cheerful start to the holidays!

It didn't last very long unfortunately 😅I think he is struggling with the increase in demands and I'm worried about burn out. He has finally been diagnosed with inattentive ADHD last week though! I started the process when he started year 7 so it's been a long wait but he can start trying medication next month so hopefully that will help.

Yes, he struggles with the 8 markers too and both his geography and english teacher said there were times when he wrote absolutely nothing. 😩 His business coursework has been marked at a 3 so he has to work on that over Easter as it's being sent off when they go back.

How’s everyone doing? Mocks after Easter?

@Spud90thst seems great that he’s become more organised. Bet it’ll helps Wish my son would revise without nagging (even with nagging )! I got a call from his geography teacher today saying he’d done badly in yesterday’s test -he can’t seem to grasp the 8 markers. He’s going to be really upset because he enjoys geography but hates revising ..and I'm worried that it’ll make him all down and negative and anti school.

Great idea for a thread! I can see me needing this 😂DS is taking triple science, computer science, geography and business. I'm a bit worried as they seem quite writing heavy subjects and think he would have been better with music or photography instead of business. No idea why he chose it but it's done now.

He has his heart set on doing computer science at uni as he's a passionate coder but he is being assessed for adhd/add and has some kind of processing disorder. He's had extra time since year 6 and they've done the assessment again for GCSEs and said he didn't meet the threshold for it. We think it's because it's done on the pc and he's a very fast typer. They're going to do it again manually to make sure he gets it but it's been so stressful.

He's predicted 6-8 but recent school report was all over the place mostly 6s, a 2 and a 3 and an 8 in computer science. His attitude to learning has taken a big nose dive since year 9. Parents' evening was lots of "he needs to concentrate more, stop fidgeting and fiddling, needs to focus, stop distracting others" etc. Really frustrating.

We've put systems in place to help him stay on top of things and create routines/habits and he has improved. He said he was sick of hearing the word "lists" but now he's making his own for everything. It seems to have given him a kick up the bum and he is doing homework and revision daily without being nagged!

Parents evening - I booked to see every teacher but dd got quite hysterical about me meeting her art teacher so I decided to cancel that one last minute. Dd has fallen behind and is very unhappy despite me repeatedly reassuring her that it doesn’t matter in the slightest what grade she gets in art since she is doing 10 other GCSE’s brilliantly. She could draw stick men and doodles for all I care!

But she has got very wound up and didn’t catch up at half term break so she has got in trouble with the teacher. I have told dd not to worry; just do something quick and dirty to get approximately back on track.

But dd currently hates me, the world, and art GCSE in particular and absolutely refusing to talk to me about it which isn’t helping.

The crazy thing is she is very talented but it’s such a lot of coursework and she’s smashing our predicted 9s in Maths and the three sciences and 8s in everything else. I will try again tomorrow to point out she only needs to “audit” art gcse - strategically she’d be better to let that one be a low grade and that another couple of 9s where she is capable without much stretch - better to have a clutch of fabulous grades and a 4 in art than a very pretty grade 7 art portfolio and a spread of 8s.

It is so hard to make her listen since of course she knows everything and I’m just an idiot mother!

Yes an inspirational teacher makes all the difference

DS told me that he doesn't like psychology that much, but he really likes the teacher. And he likes his science teachers too. So that seems to be having a big impact on his achievement.

@LetItGoToRuin@CouldNotStayAwayour children sound a bit similar. My son is in a very selective school. He’s doing fine but could be doing better! Similarly doesn’t revise much. Making me very nervous about summer mocks. Revision seems to very much depend upon me sitting with him and cajoling him and I don’t have lots of time due to work and other DC. He does seem a bit more motivated though than at beginning of year 10, so I hope that continues. He’s doing music which he’s struggling with and the teacher isn’t great. No mention of work experience yet, I’m guessing that will be something for next year.