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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think you don't go away at Easter if your child has GCSEs in the summer ?

57 replies

Flippedouthere · 22/06/2019 07:23

Even for a few days?

We usually have our main holiday in the summer with a short cheap break at Easter (4/5 days) and sometimes at October half term too. Can't go in October & DS has GCSEs next summer. I'm thinking bad idea to take him away from studies at Easter yet it'll be a long slog to next summer to wait to go away again.

Wondered about February half term but it'll likely be freezing in most places (usually stay in UK). Any ideas? Needs to be budget friendly, about £800-£1k all in.

Any thoughts?

OP posts:
EmrysAtticus · 22/06/2019 07:28

4/5 days over Easter would be a nice break for him. Proper rest is very important for revision and he can always take his books with him and do an hour or two a day.

Sorrywhat · 22/06/2019 07:35

Agreed with above. Lots of schools do extra revision in school during the easter half term but not throughout, only a few days. These are voluntary so if you’d like him to go to these perhaps ask the school when they will roughly be doing these (if your son’s school do them). Work your break around that.

A break is the best thing for him, especially if he is going to be revising hard.

Ineedhelptocope · 22/06/2019 07:43

Teacher here...... I would recommend it. The exam season is an onslaught with some kids sitting nearly 30 exams. A few days break would be good at this point. If they start their revising early enough in the year by this point it really shouldn't make much difference. He could also take some of those revision flashcards to keep things ticking over for an hour or so a day if he wanted.

NailsNeedDoing · 22/06/2019 07:44

A few days will be fine, especially if it's over the actual Easter bit. You can still plan a revision timetable around a short holiday, but it might be worth asking your school if they do revision sessions over the holiday, many do.

marialuisa · 22/06/2019 07:45

We did, it was fine and gave DD some head space. I know of quite a few families that went away skiing then too. All the kids did fine.

BigSandyBalls2015 · 22/06/2019 07:48

We didn’t as their school wanted them in every day for revision sessions. Depends on the school and the child I think.

If you think he will revise on hols then maybe.

Teachermaths · 22/06/2019 07:50

Let him have a break!

DpWm · 22/06/2019 07:50

Take some revision/coursework on hols. It could be good for him.

PenelopeFlintstone · 22/06/2019 07:52

I got a student loan in the 90s, had a week in Tunisia at Easter and then had my finals. It was fine.

VeThings · 22/06/2019 07:52

His GCSEs will be over by mid-late June so you can go away in July and August?

DonkeyHohtay · 22/06/2019 07:54

I have a child who has just been through similar, although we're in Scotland and the exams start even closer to the Easter holidays than in England.

It has to be a balance - you can't expect them to be studying all day, every day and doing nothing else. DS did a couple of hours a day, but still had time for his Xbox, seeing his friends and we also had a long weekend at Centre Parcs.

herculepoirot2 · 22/06/2019 08:01

I see no problem with a short holiday and maybe some core subject revision, or a set of topics he finds hard but just a shorter time revising each day?

Piratefairy78 · 22/06/2019 08:07

If there’s revision based stuff going on at school then I wouldn’t. However, a break could do some good. Each morning spent doing revision with some activities in the afternoon/evenings when away would work well.

pictish · 22/06/2019 08:19

I would. Not sure why you’re revering revision and exams quite so much. Yes they matter...but not to the exclusion of all else surely?
Unwind. If the exams matter to him, he’ll put in the work, short break or not.

EveryFlightBeginsWithAFall · 22/06/2019 08:21

We didn’t but then he was in school for revision days 4 days over the Easter holidays so it’s a good job we didn’t book anything

shinynewapple · 22/06/2019 08:25

Depends on if the school has revision days or not but as others have said he can take his books with him. It may actually help him focus on revising rather than spend the day in his bedroom part-revising, part-watching-Netflix and part whatsapping his friends (or was that just my DS)

Ali1cedowntherabbithole · 22/06/2019 08:25

School revision won’t be planned for the actual bank holiday weekend. You could do a few days. And as PP have said a break could be healthy.

Witchend · 22/06/2019 08:25

We did. She took books with her and revised in the morning and enjoyed the afternoons (or the other way round depending on how she felt) It was a nice break for her and she reckoned she got as much done as if she'd been home.

tenlittlecygnets · 22/06/2019 08:28

We are planning to! We won’t do our usual May half term holiday, though... the things you give up for dc...

Janleverton · 22/06/2019 08:45

We didn’t but probably could have. Definitely not the may half term, but Easter would in hindsight have been ok for a 5 day break. The school tends to have ski trips at Easter and when dd went last year there were a fair few year 11 kids on the trip, who put in a couple of hours a day under teacher supervision.

Dd had 27 exams, roughly split between pre/post half term. She is a consistent worker though and started revision early. The school did do some optional study sessions but having been to a few, these weren’t terribly helpful for her.

PristineCondition · 22/06/2019 08:47

We went on holiday during the gcses

He had a week off for may half term so off we went Grin
School revision days are shite and he just toook his books with us

Taswama · 22/06/2019 08:48

I think Easter should be fine. We’ve had a week away in May half term for years now and it occurred to me this year that we won’t be able to in the gcse years.

Bumply · 22/06/2019 08:51

We went on holiday at Easter before DS2 did his Nat 5s and I thought it was bad planning, but he actually did more revision in the evenings (glamping, so very little entertainment in evenings, no WiFi etc.) than the following year when we stayed at home.

freddiethegreat · 22/06/2019 08:52

DS - just finished - was not a steady worker/regular reviser sadly. So the revision classes were vital & we had very short notice of those at Easter. However, we could have done a long weekend over the Easter period itself. What we actually did was go to Tenerife for four nights in Feb to give the push to get through until summer. I am hanging on for grim death now (I am also a teacher so can’t go until proper summer holidays), but DS is in pretty good shape.

SisterMaryLoquacious · 22/06/2019 08:53

I agree that a few days won’t harm him. Maybe just take his English Literature books and reread them. (Mind you if it’s anything like DS’s choices they won’t be long enough to last him the length of the check-in queue).