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

[Flippedouthere]

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?

I did. Was fine.

DD just did her GCSEs. We went to France for a week at Easter - rented an apartment in a pretty town with lots to see. She spent a couple of hours a day doing maths past papers etc, practised her French in the shops and restaurants, and spent the rest of the time enjoying the holiday with the rest of us. We did similar with DS in the run-up to his A-levels.

I wouldn't take an exam-year student on a two-week, long-haul or high-activity holiday in the Easter holidays, but a short, low-stress break is a good thing, in my experience.

Ah, thank you, not sure why I thought it was such a big no no! DS is not the most studious and doing fewer academic subjects than most. If we don't go away, we'll likely be at work and won't be able to stop the x-boxing, YouTube watching etc! Don't know if the school do revision classes but doubt they'd help him much, if we could actually get him to attend! Short holiday it is then!

I always went on holiday throughout school, college and uni. In my first year at uni I got back 6am, statistics exam at 9am😂

Nothing is better and relieving stress than a holiday and if your thinking of abroad them revising by the pool in the sun is far better than at home!

We have found a revision week away in a nice cottage with good WiFi, desks ( pref with interesting view) nice food /meals out and something of interest minutes from front door ( country walks , beach etc) works well with 70% work and 30% break doing something you enjoy ( surfing makes a good revision break)

I'm an English HoD and would recommend that you child has a break over Easter, maybe a long weekend or 4-5 days away. Even up to a week. The exam period is incredibly intense now and it is ill advised to sustain revision non stop for two weeks. A rest is healthy. Some schools do revision sessions at Easter but to be honest I would worry about a school Which was overly reliant on these, and they can't be made to be compulsory.

It's a very intense period for teachers too. This year for the first time I went away for two weeks at Easter and I think that saved my sanity and allowed me to come back for the final exam push with renewed energy and vigour.

OP I think you should consider these are all anecdotes from people who have done Easter breaks but I think they are a minority. I have three DC who are through GCSE years. I would not have considered going away at Easter of GCSE year and don’t recollect any of their friends going away either. I just asked the youngest who is 17 so only one year past taking them if people did go away and she was astounded and said definitely not!

DC of 21, 18 and 17 here.
DH is a teacher.
We always go away at Easter.
They have always done very well in all exams at school, sixth form and uni.
Mental health comes first.

If the DC would like to go, I think it’s a good idea, but check with them.

So far mine have prioritised their own stuff (seeing friends, hobbies etc) for their down time, rather than going away with family.

We made this mistake. It came to Easter and teenager was fully prepped for revision, bit bored and we could all have done with a break!

If he is doing practical subjects with coursework such as DT or Art I’d say don’t go. Those deadlines are earlier than the actual exams. My daughter had to go into school two full days at Easter to get hers completed. My friend had booked a holiday in Greece at Easter and ended up having to leave her son at home because his A level coursework for DT wasnt finished. I’d also find out when the mocks are. Feb might be ok or Christmas? You can go after exams finish, which is normally around now.

Nope, no course work to speak of. It's a few days in the UK (probably self catering cottage or similar), not long haul or 2 weeks. He'd still be able to do an hour or so in the mornings or evening so I'm thinking if going for it.

Another teacher here who would recommend the holiday - just make sure revision is solid before and after. It's vital to have downtime. I see first hand the impact on kids who don't get a break. From personal experience too I had a 2 week holiday right before uni finals - obviously I'd revised like crazy before I went. Mentally I was in a much better place than my peers and credit that with the fact that I smashed my exams.

My daughter went to study club over Easter so we couldn't go away even if we had wanted too.
Worked a treat though. She is off to uni next year to start her degree.

Have a break. They’re just exams, they shouldn’t take over your whole family life. Your child will have a stressful period coming up and the chance to unwind will be good.

I’m agog at the poster who said 70% work, 30% leisure time. Does anybody really revise that much? I’m a terrible procrastinator, but that seems such a lot.

We went away for Easter with both DDs. Rest is as important as revision. School cannot make holiday sessions compulsory and I would have ignored our school if they had tried instead of offering. GCSEs are a very long haul and burn out is a risk.

Dd1 got stellar results and Dd2 is likely to get similar because they have always worked hard. A hard working DC will be fine and will benefit from the break. One who struggles a d is hard to motivate will hardly change because of cramming all Easter...

I am in the minority but absolutely 100% not. I wouldn’t go at Xmas either before mocks.

just go no holidays and no weekends is bad for adult MH so why would it be good for a teenagers MH
I think even in the run up to exams they should have 1 day a week with no revision and a few days with no revision at Easter
the old fashioned / religious idea of not working Sundays is actually good for MH though it could be a different day
research has found that working more than 5 shifts in a row has detrimental effects and a study commented on today say working even one ten hour shift a week increased the risk of a stroke this was noticable even in young people
so working 24/7 is bad for everyone
personally I think the Easter and May holidays before National 4's, 5's and highers as well as GCSE's and A Levels are the only holidays children should do any school work at all, I strongly object to any holiday or weekend homework

Dark Knight - The aim was an intensive revision week before key exams with fresh air and treats. It depends what your children's aims are, how much ongoing revision they have done and how much they want/need to work to achieve it.

And yes people do revise that much in my experience

For me, personally, I find fresh air and long walks etc very refreshing and a creative/brain boost. We often go to cottages in the U.K. over Easter and I get so much work done, as the quiet long walks seem to centre me a bit and I sleep better. I would take my children on this type of holiday before exams, but not our usual summer type of holiday where we are constantly busy and out and about - nobody gets anything done on those. So I think a short break in the U.K. is perfect. I’d recommend Wales. I feel like I’ve been reset when we come back from Wales, also love Norfolk.

We went away for the Whitsun half term this year, with a group of families, camping. We had three Y11 students between us, all of whom were, obviously, right in the middle of their GCSEs. They revised together, supported each other, shared experiences (all from different schools) and got plenty of relaxation, fresh air and rest. I would highly recommend it!

Do it! He will need / deserve a rest by then. I revised on the plane during the Easter holidays back when I was in y11. Spent the entire flight muttering my French oral over and over to myself. It was easyJet so I want sitting near my parents, the person next to me must've thought I was mad!! If you're in a villa / apartment can you set aside an hour or so in the afternoon to just chill where you're staying and then he's got the option to revise if he wants to. Going away also will hopefully motivate him to create flash cards etc to take with him so he doesn't have to lug all of his books there.

Anecdotally I would suggest most revision sessions would be in week1 of the holidays, but it will depend on the school. Ask the head of y11 what the usual arrangement is before booking. Teachers don't get paid any extra for putting on revision sessions, and teachers need a break too!!

Too much stress for something that won't matter a jot in a few years.
take the holiday.

We did this year. We did Prague, Berlin and Vienna for 9 days. DS needed a break - he had been full on revising for months by then and just finished last Monday. He revised a bit on the train from Prague to Berlin though!