Parents/Teachers of Y11 students - do you think they're ready?

[TeacherAnonymous123]

Tuesday was the first day I felt genuinely concerned for my Year 11 classes about their ability to do well in their exams. When asked how long they'd been 'properly' revising, most of them had only started at Easter, and then it wasn't my subject but 'more important ones' (I teach Religious Studies, but they'd been revising Maths/English/Science), even though my subject is their first exam.

They don't seem to understand the importance of what's coming up.

One student, when I asked them to write in more detail so I could check understanding said 'it's not your exam, you don't need to know'.

Why don't they understand that I want them to do well and I'm trying to help???

I can only speak of a local y11 cohort that I'm aware of as I know some of the kids and parents

Complete lack of interest and poverty of aspiration and a large number of the parents don't care, either.🤷‍♀️

Probably the same ones who will complain to the school when X doesn't get their 5 x 4s 🙄🤷‍♀️

My DD says she's ready, she's revising for the subjects she feels she needs to, but I'll be honest, she doesn't seem to be doing as much as she could. She's predicted to pass them all but it's not a given is it?

@MermaidEyes predictions often don't mean much - ours are worked out by an algorithm using SATs results from Year 6!

I have top set, and they seem to be of the mindset that 'I'm predicted a 9 and did well last year in my class tests, so I'll be fine'

They also don't get exams! Trying to explain that anything vaguely suspicious means you'll be kicked out so they can investigate is met with disbelief that they'd be so hard done to!

One student, when I asked them to write in more detail so I could check understanding said 'it's not your exam, you don't need to know'.

I can't imagine having the nerve to say something so cheeky to a teacher - and I'd have torn a strip off DS if he had ever said such a thing! I don't believe he would as we've made it quite clear we expect respectful behaviour and hard work from him. Sounds like your cohort are not blessed with parents who give a damn..?

Or is it just your subject? I've told my Y11 DS not to spend any time revising RS. I expect him to do any homework he's set but not actually revise it, as we wouldn't have chosen it for GCSE but his CofE school have made it compulsory. Sorry but he has plenty other subjects that are important for what he wants to do...

I don't believe my son is ready. He had good intentions of revising a long time ago but procrastinated to the extent that the exams are almost upon him and he has only done minimal revision. I find it a shame because he probably could get top grades in several subjects if he had put more effort in over a longer period of time. I don't think he will get below a 5 or 6 in anything but his potential is higher.

Unfortunately he has planned not to revise at all in your subject. He sees it as less important that all the other ones and says there isn't enough time to revise that plus everything else. Sadly, he has barely revised in the subjects he does care about, like maths. Anxiety over the English literature exam seems to have taken over because of the amount of quotes from the texts plus poems he says he needs to remember. He says he needs to remember 80 quotes; I'm not sure if this is true or not as the exam is vastly different to his sibling in 2016.

@TheNoodlesIncident whilst I appreciate that students have lots of subjects to study for, you chose to send your child to a religious school - of course they have to study RS at GCSE.

Unfortunately, it's parents that say things like that which create students with the current attitude of 'it's not important, therefore the teacher/revision/passing the exam aren't important either', which leads to a lack of respect for the teachers.

If you don't want to follow the school policy and support the staff, send your child elsewhere.

I don't understand that - I thought RE was compulsory at all schools. My son certainly didn't get a choice about it and isn't at a religious school.

I’ve told my DD it’s not the most important thing in her life she can resit if necessary. That’s to counter the school SLT telling them they will be failures if they don’t pass all their GCSEs this year. She has done quite a bit of work but definitely could have done more but she has ASD and is sick from anxiety. It’s the anxiety that will fail her, not lack of knowledge.

@TeacherAnonymous123 yes exactly! Nothing is a given, although she did get good grades in her recent mocks which means she gets her sixth form place as long as she can pull it off in the real thing. I personally think once she's sat the first couple she'll realise she needs to knuckle down for the next few weeks if she finds them difficult.
Interestingly, my older child did RS which was compulsory at the time, despite the fact it's not a religious school in any way, shape or form. She also chose to do it at a level. She said they were actually the easiest exams she sat out of all of them!

One class, yes, we've been working hard
Bottom set - no. Apathy in most of them. They know they won't do very well so why bother. They're also aiming for college courses that have very low entry requirements.

I don't understand that - I thought RE was compulsory at all schools. My son certainly didn't get a choice about it and isn't at a religious school.

It used to be compulsory at my kids non religious school, now only up to year 9.

RE is meant to be compulsory up to 18, even if students don't take a qualification in it. A lot of schools get away with not teaching RE by doing 'drop down days', where they do a whole day off timetable once a term and just do RE.

OFSTED have just published their Deep Dive into RE and have explained very clearly and explicitly its importance in a student's education, so hopefully more schools will take it seriously, and more parents will see its worth.

I thought I'd made it quite clear that I don't tolerate rudeness to teachers at all. My child is not one of the ones who backchat and disrupt lessons. I actually fought to get him into his school because of their excellent SEND support and that our family ethics actually aligned with the school's policy of respect and consideration to all people. We are not religious ourselves but I believe in being and raising a decent person who behaves respectfully and considerately to others.

We were aware that there would be a lot of religious stuff day to day and that we would have to accept this. I knew that DS would have to do RS for GSCE from outset. I have only said to him this year that he needs to focus on the subjects that will support his chosen career path, and RS is not one of those. At no point have I said he can treat the RS teacher (or any teachers) less respectfully because he doesn't need that subject's exam. That's never acceptable.

My son has spent the last year doing revision - for end of Y10 exams, mocks in November and again in March. He has started again over Easter consolidating for paper 1s then 2s once the first lot are out of the way.

He could definitely be doing more, but he is autistic and really needs downtime to cope, so it's a fine balance. Will be ramping it up next week once 3D design and french speaking exams are over with. Cannot wait for it to be over tbh.

Exactly this.
I am fed up as a parent of teens the constant put downs and snowflakes comments. I am afraid the education system is not fit for purpose, and whilst I really do appreciate.y dd's teachers and the hard work, some of them put in, it is a fine between keeping them motivated, maintaining mental health and revising.

GCSES are not everything . Before people come at me, I am trying to keep a very depressed dd in school every day and keep her moving forward. If she fails I am afraid it is no Biggie she can retake.

I think schools can be detrimental to MH as the constant pressure to achieve is constant or, as my dd's school likes to say one missed week makes one weak!

Please, let's stop putting our children down. There are a multitude of ways to gain qualifications. I wish the education system was able to flex for all rather than the high achievers. If you really want low self esteem go to high school. I cannot wait for my dd to finish and start college.

I never meant to imply that you are that kind of parent, as you made it clear you were a supportive parent. But unfortunately, not all parents are as supportive as that.

Telling someone to focus on other subjects can be damaging though - a failed GCSE is a failed GCSE, regardless of subject.

I do feel my year 11 is ready, they’re doing some great revision lessons at school and he’s doing some at home most nights. He probably could do more but on the flip side he’s calm and relaxed, I know of friends who are really struggling with the pressure of it all and unhappy which is so tough. He does understand the importance of it and wants/needs to do relatively well to get onto the next stage

I am sorry, but I do not agree that RE is very important and it should be optional. My dd doesn't take this. It would be better if more time was given to the core subjects, or something more useful to prepare teens more such as finance, understanding mortgage rates and pensions etc.

I completely agree that there should be more taught in schools about finance and actual skills needed like mortgages and budgeting, but I don't make the curriculum.

Just because students need to learn other skills doesn't mean that RE isn't important. We live in an increasingly multi-faith country, and students need that knowledge to succeed in the future.

That's interesting, thanks. It's still compulsory to do the GCSE at our school. My son wouldn't have chosen it if he had a choice, but he's doing ok in anyway, coasting along at a constant 6. I do tell him he should revise it, since it is another GCSE and personally I think it is fairly interesting, but he's more worried about other subjects now.

Telling someone to focus on other subjects can be damaging though - a failed GCSE is a failed GCSE, regardless of subject

Yes, but surely you see for a pupil who wants do software/computers, getting a GCSE in RS is irrelevant compared to getting maths, English, computer science, the triple sciences? He needs those for sixth form and the subjects he wants to do. If he was struggling to get five grade 4 GCSEs then of course any additional ones he could get would count and I'd encourage him to spend revision time more equally.

It might seem to be sending a negative message, but I've made it clear to DS that he's still got to put the work in to his other subjects. There are some career options where RS knowledge and qualifications would help enormously, there's a lot of useful guidance in there. It just doesn't do anything for us unfortunately.

OP this thread is getting a bit derailed with the RE topic. Out of interest, should the majority of pupils with no SEN be capable of getting 7s and 8s in all subjects if they work hard? I think that in year 11 they should be doing at least two hours homework per night and more at the weekend.

You’ll be pleased to hear OP that my dd loves her compulsory RS. She absolutely hated it at primary but now it has become more philosophical. She is learning about different belief systems and understanding the arguments and tensions that can arise from religious and non-religious beliefs has her spellbound. I keep explaining to her that this stuff is absolutely central to an understanding of history (her favourite subject) as well as modern-day politics both at home and abroad. We talk about all sorts of spin-off topics; what would happen if she decided to marry a Muslim? Why is America mired in controversy over abortion? Is she for or against euthanasia, and why?

Will she do well at GCSE? I doubt it! But I’m less worried about grades and more concerned that she can form a view, engage debates and understand complex social issues. RS seems uniquely positioned to help her do that.

My Y11 ds is ready. He decided to make a revision timetable in September and has been doing a bit every day since then.

Some of the students in my two Y11 classes are ready, but some are not. I teach languages in a school where it's still compulsory to do a language GCSE. Some of them wouldn't have chosen to, and have not prioritised it. A few have been given permission to drop it post-mocks.

My DS also goes to a school where languages are compulsory. He tells me that 70% of pupils fail their language. He is one of only two in his language class who is doing the higher level. He could easily get a top grade but is doing the bare minimum. I feel strongly about the importance of languages but this seems counter-productive and I feel sorry for the language teachers (who are lovely).