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Original poster

Any schools not give study leave in year 11 for GCSEs??

126 replies

studyleavegcse · 08/03/2024 21:29

Our school have just announced the kids have to continue at school for lessons until the end of May in between their GCSE exams which start on 3rd May. We are in England. I have never heard of this before at any local school and definitely not at this school. Last year study leave started the week before GCSEs started.

Different students will be in each lesson as they have exams on different days and some will have exams on the official leaving day.

Is this just our school or a regular thing or a new government policy?

OP posts:
PSEnny · 09/03/2024 09:22

It’s really common. Teachers carry on teaching revision or students revise independently in classrooms. Schools shouldn’t be allowing messing around. Many students vote with their feet and just go home anyway.

YippieKayakOtherBuckets · 09/03/2024 09:27

Just read the whole thread.

TBH OP if you are so ‘very well aware’ of everything that teachers and parents are telling you on this thread then I am not sure what more we can add. The school’s approach has been unusual up until now and the change this year brings them in line with the norm.

You need to ask the school if they will make an exception for your DD but tbh if she is their goose who lays the golden eggs they are unlikely to let her go.

Original poster
studyleavegcse · 09/03/2024 09:37

Yippie I was just trying to explain that I am not saying all schools have a discipline problem or that all comprehensives dont teach to a high level. I am not criticising teachers or markers. I rest blame for most things on our government so there is no need to be so defensive. My heart goes out to teachers trying to teach subjects like physics without a qualification in it. School are likely desperate because the % getting passes was so low in the mocks (far worse than any previous year) as the impact of lockdown has been huge not just in lost learning but in the huge % of kids still not back in fulltime education in this school (and grade boundaries are rising whilst standards havent).

OP posts:

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YippieKayakOtherBuckets · 09/03/2024 09:40

Not defensive, just factual. You need to discuss this with the school.

Original poster
studyleavegcse · 09/03/2024 09:50

Thank you I know that and planned to discuss it with the school but as they are closed until Monday I was fact finding options before I spoke to them. There have been some helpful suggestions such as schools who offer study leave to those who have proved they can self study. I will be explaining I have already booked the further maths tutor too

OP posts:
Notellinganyone · 09/03/2024 09:54

Our Year 11s leave on 7th May. They then only come in for exams. Thank god!

GrammarTeacher · 09/03/2024 10:02

The school I work in still does study leave. They go on study leave just before the first exam which is quite early this year.

BooksAndHooks · 09/03/2024 10:03

Ours haven’t done it for years. They are in Saturday and school holiday revision from February half term onwards and in between exams they have focussed revision sessions.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 09/03/2024 10:04

Apart from anything else, Study Leave adds to the absence figures and although for certain measures, it is later discounted in part, for a sizeable number of reports and measures, it still negatively affects the student and school's attendance percentage.

Taking into account the massive difficulties with attendance currently, I can imagine that a large number of schools will stick to the 'stay in school' policy - after all, it's not an entitlement and even if given, schools are still required to provide for kids to come in all day, every day.

waterlellon · 09/03/2024 10:06

Dacadactyl · 09/03/2024 07:33

Can I ask what you mean by this please?

Show quote history

Assuming the 9 in a mock is enough to prove motivated self study. It isn't. And probably why most schools are VERY reluctant to give someone a 9 in a mock exam. It's demotivating

HelpMeGetThrough · 09/03/2024 10:15

Our youngest did his GCSEs last year and they didn't get any "study leave".

In the end the school didn't enforce them staying in after exams, as most of the kids just went home, or as ours did, went down the beach, paddle boarding 🤣

Clutterbugsmum · 09/03/2024 10:22

Not only is my DC's school doing this, they are also doing before, lunchtime and afterschool revision lessons. We also have lessons being planned for Easter holidays as well as weekends.

The dedications of the teachers at their school is amazing. They do everything in their power get the best results for the pupils.

Fallenangelofthenorth · 09/03/2024 10:25

I know where you're coming from @studyleavegcse as my daughter's in the same position. They are even running extra revision classes in the school holidays - which is great of the teachers to give up part of their holidays - but my daughter has said the same as you. She'd rather self study as she knows which areas she needs to focus on, which isn't usually what's being covered in class.

I just told my daughter to go anyway as there might be things she didn't realise she'd forgotten, and she still has plenty of spare time to do her own study on top. My daughter got mainly 8s with the odd 9 in her mocks, but now seems to be getting 9s in pretty much every test, so the extra classes and focus on exam technique I think is showing to be beneficial. It's certainly giving her more confidence anyway.

Are all your daughters classes mixed ability? I thought all schools streamed for things like maths, sciences, English etc. The only classes my daughter has that are mixed ability are Art and Sociology, and yeah, according to my daughter, there's a lot of going over stuff repeatedly in Sociology. And she does find it a bit boring, but it's only one class and she loves the teacher so it's fine. I can imagine it being crap in something like maths though where you need to learn pretty quickly to cover the higher paper stuff?

I would guess at A Level there'll be more opportunity for self study? I can't really remember what happened with my older 2 as they're quite a bit older...

Fallenangelofthenorth · 09/03/2024 10:30

Clutterbugsmum · 09/03/2024 10:22

Not only is my DC's school doing this, they are also doing before, lunchtime and afterschool revision lessons. We also have lessons being planned for Easter holidays as well as weekends.

The dedications of the teachers at their school is amazing. They do everything in their power get the best results for the pupils.

It's the same at my daughters school. I did say to my daughter when she was complaining about having to go in over the holidays that is was more unfair on the teachers as it will be like this every year for them. She assured me that no, they all wanted to do it as they'll get paid overtime. Which I'm not sure IS the case, and I know I wouldn't fancy being forced into compulsory overtime...

MrsHamlet · 09/03/2024 10:33

We don't run weekend or holiday revision because we don't get the students who need to be there - and we have transport problems to contend with.

We also don't give study leave. My students are with me revising my subject until the exams, except for right at the end where we have a revision timetable for a number of days.

We run after school and lunchtime revision sessions.

CrushingOnRubies · 09/03/2024 10:37

Our school it's you have to attend lessons when not in exams until May half term. Then they have to attend only the lessons where they still have to complete exams in that subject

takemeawayagain · 09/03/2024 10:38

I'd hate for motivated DS not to have study leave, he often finds the revision classes too easy or on subjects that he doesn't need to go over. He is far better off doing his own revision.

That said OP, if the school your dd goes to is a poorly performing school then it makes perfect sense for them to insist kids don't have study leave as they will probably do more at school than at home. Your dd will be an exception though and I'd be pushing hard for study leave.

RhubarbGingerJam · 09/03/2024 10:40

They tied last year not to do study leave - and I did insist DS go in as he'd has issue with school just before exams and we didn't want them to find reasons not to let them sit them- he found it okay occasionally useful and the lessons got emptier and sometimes there was no teacher turning up he's put headphone on and study in corner.

Half way though exam period they gave up because so may of the pupils just left after exams - or didn't go in if they didn't have an exam and a small number may have finished- I assume it must have hit already bad attendance figures but not sure if that was the reason.

SiobahnRoy · 09/03/2024 10:41

None of the schools I’ve worked in for the last 20 years have had study leave. The stakes are too high. We do loads of extra sessions too, unpaid.

LolaSmiles · 09/03/2024 10:56

When my year 11s were in around exam season, I'd take input from them on what they wanted to work on and would do small group input with different groups if students whilst others revised independently. It was a very nice culture and most of the students appreciated the effort and that they could ask us if they had questions. If they had an exam for a different subject that afternoon I'd let them look over their notes for that subject and I know my colleagues also took a similar approach.

Other schools I've worked in had normal lessons mixed with revision sessions and we all staffed everything flexibly.

Clutterbugsmum · 09/03/2024 10:57

SiobahnRoy · 09/03/2024 10:41

None of the schools I’ve worked in for the last 20 years have had study leave. The stakes are too high. We do loads of extra sessions too, unpaid.

And as a parent I very much appreciate that as teacher you are doing this, especially how the government are treating teachers.

EarthlyNightshade · 09/03/2024 11:16

Only the best schools round here and the grammars have study leave.
My DC it was compulsory to be in, but once the exams started it was clear that parents could phone in if their child wanted to go home after a morning exam, etc. Mine did nothing at home so I preferred him to be up early and into school.

Those who study better at home, you still have evenings and weekends at home and May half term. Most kids are also doing a lot of exams and for many it is easier to be in the school - less chance of a timetable mishap or sleeping in.

Mine is Y12 now, supervised study periods and no study leave. I think it works for the school and the results, but I do wonder what will happen if he ever needs to study independently!

elkiedee · 09/03/2024 11:33

I think for DS1, having to go into school was better than being on study leave during May. Although I did get annoyed by him being given behaviour points for not having school uniform compliant shoes in the middle of May. I couldn't afford to buy him a new pair anyway until dp's payday which fell at the start of half term, so I emailed his very lovely form tutor and she got us dispensation until half term. Then after half term he did have study leave anyway, and we got away with it.

If he doesn't have to get up to be in at school, he doesn't get up until midday, and I think it was better that he be in school at 8.20 (5 minutes walk from home). He was predicted 9 for Maths and Triple Science, but he was still getting mock results of 4-6 in most other subjects (though I think they thought he could do a lot better), and he came out with the predicted 4 9s but got 1 6, 2 7s and 2 8s in his other subjects, so I think having some structure in May was better for him.

GrammarTeacher · 09/03/2024 11:37

EarthlyNightshade · 09/03/2024 11:16

Only the best schools round here and the grammars have study leave.
My DC it was compulsory to be in, but once the exams started it was clear that parents could phone in if their child wanted to go home after a morning exam, etc. Mine did nothing at home so I preferred him to be up early and into school.

Those who study better at home, you still have evenings and weekends at home and May half term. Most kids are also doing a lot of exams and for many it is easier to be in the school - less chance of a timetable mishap or sleeping in.

Mine is Y12 now, supervised study periods and no study leave. I think it works for the school and the results, but I do wonder what will happen if he ever needs to study independently!

If he goes to university there will be a LOT of independent study.

noblegiraffe · 09/03/2024 11:49

The school should definitely not have been giving kids study leave the week before GCSEs started as government policy is that it should only be given during the actual exam season (in the past some schools were getting rid of disruptive and disengaged Y11s by putting them on 'study leave' from Easter and they were just roaming the streets causing problems).

Even though study leave can be granted, provision still has to be made for pupils who want to come into school to study. With that being the case, it's easier just not to give study leave and have them in lessons.

At my school there are always kids who are 'ill' on days when they don't have an exam and no one bothers chasing it.