To book a family day out during GCSEs

[sophandbridge]

It'd just be for me and the dc doing GCSEs and would be their Xmas present but is a fixed day two weeks into the exams. My view is book it as a day to relax would do them good but would you ? I can't decide, they may say they want to stay home and revise.

It’s a Saturday and during half term, I would book it.

If it’s a Saturday yes, of course.

I'm going against the grain here and saying yes, book it. You know your child and you know they will be happy.

Its something your teen will enjoy doing, will break up the exams and give them a good memory to carry forward.

One day at an event on a weekend is not going to wipe out their entire exam progress.

Have fun!

Yes I would. One day will make no difference whatsoever. If they're not prepared then they're not prepared and one day out will make no difference to that.

My DD would find this very stressful and worry about time they are "wasting" and she's quite chilled the main.
It's a lovely idea just would be the wrong time.

You need to check when your child will be sitting their GCSE's as they have been delayed. Not all exam boards have published the revised dates.
www.gov.uk/government/news/students-to-be-given-more-time-to-prepare-for-2021-exams

Sounds great to me, OP. You know your DC and their temperament best, and if you’ll genuinely be OK with them having a last minute panic change of mind to stay home then why not?

I’d speak to the DC and see if they would want to go at that time or if it would be too stressful to lose out on revision time

But I think you should probably book it. They will know well in advance that they’re “losing” the day so can plan revision around it. It’ll be something to look forward to in the middle of a stressful period.

I wouldn’t rely on exam timetables not changing between now and then given the current situation, exams could get pushed back for example. Or they could be cancelled altogether and then you’d regret not booking it!

No, don't book it. I think it is going to be a super-stressful year for people doing exams with things changing constantly. I think it very likely that having a day out would add to the stress and not be fun for anyone. I certainly wouldn't have wanted that pressure. If it were a last minute thing that you could see how they feel, sure, but not something expensive, booked in advance.

Surely it'll be something to look forward to as they will know about it in advance. There's been precious little of that this year.

Yes @sophandbridge but as you probably sadly know from this year, having things to look forward to inevitably turns into a poisoned chalice due to change in circumstances or dates. We simply don't know exactly what's going to happen to the exam timelines regardless of what's been published or provided right now, a lot depends on how spring works out. If numbers don't rise too much and vaccine starts getting rolled out successfully then great, but if not who knows if the exam timetable will fall as planned.

Do you have to book now, or can it wait ?

If I was the DC I would be very stressed and upset at the idea of missing a day’s revision during exams.

Suggest you book it for after the exams, or not at all.

@rookiemere Do you have to book now, or can it wait ?

Yes, as explained up thread I need to book earlier to get a discount which makes it affordable.

@skyisblue Suggest you book it for after the exams, or not at all.

As explained up thread it's an annual event and is not on after the exams, it's on during half term so if DC want to do it (which I know they will) then it's half term or not at all.

@Skysblue

If I was the DC I would be very stressed and upset at the idea of missing a day’s revision during exams.

Suggest you book it for after the exams, or not at all.

If your child gets stressed and upset at the idea of missing a day of revision during a week off, I really think it's your job as a parent to help them cope better.

I think the OP needs to just ask the DC. Weigh up the pros and cons together. More important than a 'surprise' for Christmas.

I definitely wouldn’t. They’ll either be exhausted (and won’t enjoy it) or desperate to get home and revise for Monday’s exam.

I mark exams. I can tell you that in my subject, if they don't know what they're doing the weekend before, it's a bit late to be worrying about a single day off.

Get an effective, spaced revision schedule started now and it will be no problem.

No absolutely not.

They get into a kind of stride during GCSE and every second counts. I wouldn’t even go there. They won’t go, they’ll absolutely want to revise.

I’ve been teaching 25 years, had so many kids stress about family days out at GCSE time. They’ve got enough stress on without adding to it. A lot just point blank refuse to go.

How would people feel about a day off school early May?

I would not even be sure that the GCSEs will go ahead in England next summer.

I’m not sure they will either to be fair.

Y10 missed 5 months last term. Covid HokeyCokey this term ( in/out/in/out) for all years including y11. Some have hardly been in at all. How can they do exams?

Going against the grain but I would go for it OP, especially if you can insure against cancellation for so little. They may be glad of the break and distraction, they'll know about it long before in order to plan their revision around it, and worst case scenario and it's going to be more of a stress than a stress-reliever at the time then you can cancel.

I'm intrigued as to what it is now!!

Nope, arrange it for after.

I wouldn't have wanted a day out during the GCSEs, but would have absolutely loves it if one had been booked for immediately after, it would have marked the end of it all so nicely.

Given the uncertainty at the moment I wouldn’t be surprised if some exams are on weekends/ half term to cope with contingencies.

Book it for 2022 when they won’t have exams