Page 3 | Right to attend prom based on attendance at after school GCSE revision sessions- to think this sucks?

Stackss · 03/02/2023 07:48

Personally I don’t agree with some of the excuses as to why DC can’t attend- “DD has horse riding/knitting/drama club”. Vital GCSE exams take place in three months and revision should be the priority. DC should be putting in the hours and working hard.

Having said that, many DC will prefer to revise at home, so I don’t think forcing them to stay on school premises is a great idea.

DontMakeMeShushYou · 03/02/2023 07:49

TimeFlysWhenYoureHavingRum · 02/02/2023 23:31

It is bizarre and unnecessary for gcse age children in the UK to go to "prom". Really silly.

Why?

Post-GCSE is the point at which children in the UK go their separate ways from the peers that they have spent the last 5 years with. Should they not have a celebration?

NamelessNancy · 03/02/2023 07:52

Stackss · 03/02/2023 07:48

Personally I don’t agree with some of the excuses as to why DC can’t attend- “DD has horse riding/knitting/drama club”. Vital GCSE exams take place in three months and revision should be the priority. DC should be putting in the hours and working hard.

Having said that, many DC will prefer to revise at home, so I don’t think forcing them to stay on school premises is a great idea.

It's quite possible to prioritise revision and still leave time for knitting, horse riding or whatever though. I'm not sure it's great to place them under so much pressure that there's zero time for any other activities.

BethDuttonsTwin · 03/02/2023 07:55

Anything that gets them revising imvho.

DontMakeMeShushYou · 03/02/2023 08:04

Anyway my experience of these sorts of prom attendance incentives is that they are generally empty threats. If kids can't or don't want to attend with a reasonable reason then they let their teachers know and all is well.

CakeCrumbs44 · 03/02/2023 08:04

TimeFlysWhenYoureHavingRum · 02/02/2023 23:31

It is bizarre and unnecessary for gcse age children in the UK to go to "prom". Really silly.

Of course it's unnecessary, have you never done anything just for fun and enjoyment rather than because it's necessary? Prom isn't a new phenomenon. I had a prom in 2007 and it wasn't the first one held by my school, so I would estimate it's been around for about 20 years.

ichundich · 03/02/2023 08:07

MonitorL1zard · 02/02/2023 23:24

It’s amazing that the school provides after school GCSE revision classes but is it fair to attach the right to go to prom to attendance at these?

I think it's an excellent idea as long as it's made clear beforehand.

Ellmau · 03/02/2023 08:07

It disadvantages DCs with chaotic family lives or young carers, etc. I don't think anything should be dependent on out of school activities.

But aren't they the ones less able to do homework/revise successfully at home?

CakeCrumbs44 · 03/02/2023 08:11

Nimbostratus100 · 03/02/2023 00:24

this makes no sense to me as a teacher. A revision session with everybody attending it is.... just another lesson? Why are teachers being expected to teach another lesson in the week, and why are pupils being made to attend? It isn't possible to cover new parts of the curriculum in a "voluntary" after school session. So it is a lesson going over old content with the whole class, and people who didn't get it before, are not particularly likely to get it doing it again in the same way..

A revision session to me is a couple of students arranging a time, before school, after school, lunch time, to come to me bringing specific questions the need help with, preferable two or three to one, certainly no more than 6- when I can concentrate on individuals and their particular misconceptions or struggles, and do a short, intense 30-40 minutes with them.

I wouldnt take extra lesson with big groups, they can reread their notes together and help each other skim through general content - it that is how they want to do it- no benefit to anyone me being there too

I agree. Revision sessions are not just supposed to be an extra planned lesson with the whole class (and obviously the teacher isn't getting paid for the extra planning and teaching time)

honeybeeandme · 03/02/2023 08:12

We had to do this and that was only 12 years ago for me. If you didn't attend for example 49 revisions exams, then you didn't get to attend prom. It was a good incentive to make everyone want to go and do better

Needmorelego · 03/02/2023 08:13

@Herja exactly. Not everyone will be interested in prom.
By Year 11 many teens are just 'done' with school. They want it over and to get out of there. They don't care about prom or an end of year musical or trip to Alton Towers or whatever.
They just want it over and to get on with their lives.
This doesn't mean they don't want to do well in their exams. Doesn't mean they won't be revising. But tagging an extra hour into the school day - a place they really don't want to be at - to be told "You won't get to go to prom if you don't do this" many responses will be "So what?".

Bleachmycloths · 03/02/2023 08:13

What about the bright students who have worked hard, behaved, who are in track for 8 or 9 GCSEs at level 8/9 and who revise quietly at home? The ones who don’t need revision lessons in school?

MajorCarolDanvers · 03/02/2023 08:13

Actually think that's a good idea.

Dacadactyl · 03/02/2023 08:15

@Bleachmycloths I would be extremely surprised if these revision sessions are not targeted to those kids who need them.

Prescottdanni123 · 03/02/2023 08:19

What about kids who have to get the bus to school?

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 03/02/2023 08:20

i can’t believe schools are still doing this. I had to object strongly when my DDs school did this several years ago.

By all means put on the revision sessions, but essentially making them compulsory or banning them from a fun event is ridiculous.

One of my girls went as the format of multiple 45 minute a week sessions straight from school suited her. The other didn’t as she worked (and still does at uni) better having a break and chill time then doing 90 mins a few times a week before bed.

Effectively punishing a child for having a different strategy is ridiculous.

Also I hope they have taken the transport thing into account. For my DD that stayed on to do the sessions I then had to pay for the bus home as she’d missed the school bus. An extra £2.50 a day a few times a week wasn’t a problem for us, but it would be for some. Not to mention the fact it took her over an hour because of bus routes and having to change rather than just 30 mins on the school bus direct to our village.

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 03/02/2023 08:22

Ellmau · 03/02/2023 08:07

It disadvantages DCs with chaotic family lives or young carers, etc. I don't think anything should be dependent on out of school activities.

But aren't they the ones less able to do homework/revise successfully at home?

Making it compulsory just means they miss prom as well as not having easy access to revision.

Putting the sessions on without a link would at least not end up punishing children who can’t go.

Bleachmycloths · 03/02/2023 08:26

I spent many years in education (11-16). The time wasting of many pupils is breath taking. Lateness, lack of basic equipment, lack of focus, not listening, not completing class work, almost never doing homework, seeing school as a social centre, disrupting lessons and stopping other pupils learning plus a huge sense of entitlement and full of their rights. The really good kids don’t need these revision lessons. The time wasters don’t attend them but end up being allowed to attend the prom anyway because the school doesn’t have the balls to stick to their own rules. I’ve seen it so many times. Depressing.

Mabelface · 03/02/2023 08:27

I hate this idea and it's discriminatory. Very unfair on those kids who can't attend the sessions, not won't, but can't.

Some examples

Eddie has to rush off to collect little brother from school, which he does every day

Sarah pops into her nan's on the way home every day to make sure she has an evening meal and is comfortable.

Harvey is a looked after child with little support

Annie has asd and by the end of the school day, has had enough.

Adam has an after school job to help with the family finances

June is the main carer for her mum so can't attend.

This idea of theirs is so exclusionary that I'm surprised they've not been pulled up in it previously. They need telling in no uncertain terms how they're being discriminatory and pointing to the equality act. Get them told!

Stackss · 03/02/2023 08:27

@NamelessNancy

Clearly there needs to be some time for other activities, but revision should be the priority for these few months and sacrifices need to be made. My year 11 DC for example have handed in their phones until after exams.

Wonnle · 03/02/2023 08:29

XenoBitch · 02/02/2023 23:27

I hate that Prom is even a thing nowadays.

Yet another scam to get people to part with money for not much reason .

Too Yankee for my tastes i'm afraid

Stackss · 03/02/2023 08:34

I totally disagree with the anti-prom sentiment on here. Year 11 will have worked hard for their exams (unless they’re part of the 10 minutes a day brigade on here) and deserve an opportunity to celebrate and say goodbye to their year group.

LibrariansGiveUsPower · 03/02/2023 08:36

TimeFlysWhenYoureHavingRum · 02/02/2023 23:31

It is bizarre and unnecessary for gcse age children in the UK to go to "prom". Really silly.

Give over. We did this in the late 90’s and it was called May Ball or leavers ball. It’s no different.

OngoingCrisis · 03/02/2023 08:37

This is more of a condition than an incentive. When I was at school, if we stayed for extra revision the teachers would order us pizza. Everyone showed up

Needmorelego · 03/02/2023 08:39

@Stackss I'm not particularly 'anti-prom' I just know that I would have had zero interest in attending if my school had done one and I know many teens who feel the same way.
Prom. Disco. Ball. End of Year BBQ. Whatever. Some teens just won't have any interest in going at all so using that as a reason to go to revision sessions just isn't going to make the slightest difference to them.