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Original poster

To think 8hrs of study a day is unnecessary

167 replies

sillistudi · 01/04/2023 08:28

School newsletter says year 13s study for forthcoming a-levels should be aiming for 8 hours of study a day over the Easter holidays. Really???! Seems excessive to me! My DC are a couple years off a-levels but I can't see how that is necessary... so I'm interested, those with dc at that stage or just through it, is that level of study really needed?

OP posts:
Mirabai · 01/04/2023 16:36

L3ThirtySeven · 01/04/2023 16:30

There is hard working, and there is work addiction. You were just bragging about your child working 10hrs a day for 6 days a week from age 16 for A levels- 60hr weeks. No one can keep up that kind of work schedule for fifty years without burning out. They may be ‘busy and fulfilled’ now, but give it a decade or two. It’s not the kind of work-life balance that gets you a good family life or keeps you physically healthy long term.

Show quote history

You might want to read back who said what in that discussion.

If you read the OP more carefully she was talking about the period of study leave not the 2 years of A level. 10 hours a day for a couple of months before A level won’t hurt anyone.

Who said anything about keeping that up for 50 years?

Boussa · 01/04/2023 16:40

The norm for my grammar school. Do look back and consider it a slight waste. Learnt how to learn/revise efficiently and effectively at uni.

cyclamenqueen · 01/04/2023 16:41

A levels are the culmination of school, at this stage they shouldn’t need chasing to revise , A levels after all are a choice . Mine are no angels but neither needed chasing at this stage and both probably worked at least this over Easter pre exams . It’s the final push . Much better than doing very little and cramming all night before the exam.

It’s really really not that much , 3hours and then 2 hours off for lunch then another couple of hours and another break and 2 more hours and maybe reading before bed. They certainly still had time to see friends , do sport , veg on Netflix . If they were going out in the evening they’d just do 9 till 5 in the day. If they’d been out the night before they might not get up until late and work afternoon and evening .

Lonecatwithkitten · 01/04/2023 16:43

Does this not all depend on the individual. As a dyslexic learning for exams and get the information ready to get out my brain in the exam is very hard. I did three STEM A-levels in the early 90s and yes I did 8 hours a day to get three As (no stars then). Degree exams (we had them every term) was 10 hours a day.
I had friends who needed to do nowhere as much study because their brains worked differently. There is no one solution for everyone.

L3ThirtySeven · 01/04/2023 16:44

Mirabai · 01/04/2023 16:36

You might want to read back who said what in that discussion.

If you read the OP more carefully she was talking about the period of study leave not the 2 years of A level. 10 hours a day for a couple of months before A level won’t hurt anyone.

Who said anything about keeping that up for 50 years?

Show quote history

My mistake. In which case, I retract what I said and will say instead that cramming like that with 10hr days over study leave is what a coaster does. A coaster who hasn’t put the effort in the two years of study, and will likely forget everything they’ve crammed after the exam because they’re not really learning the material, they’re just memorising it into short term memory. It’s not a tactic to brag about by any means and certainly isn’t evidence of a hard worker.

It’s the hare to the tortoise.

Mirabai · 01/04/2023 16:49

L3ThirtySeven · 01/04/2023 16:34

Or in an early grave…
”The World Health Organisation, together with the International Labour Organisation, estimates nearly 400,000 people died from stroke and nearly 350,000 from heart disease in 2016 as a result of working 55 hours or more per week, and that, between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42%, and from stroke by 19%.”

Keep in mind, the poster was saying her child works “at least 10hrs a day” six a week. That’s a minimum of 60hrs per week.

Show quote history

For a short period before A level.

Basically anyone who goes into high level career - law, medicine, finance, accounting, teaching etc needs to be a hard worker.

The study you quoted is international thus includes developing countries with work in all kinds of conditions and climates including factories and mines, and marked prevalence in the Western Pacific and S.E Asia.

Nimbostratus100 · 01/04/2023 16:53

CalloohCallayFrabjousDay · 01/04/2023 16:26

As someone who has never needed to to revision I don't understand this...

If they don't know the subject well enough already, this close before the exam, what's the point of revising full-time? Surely that means that the teacher has failed to do their job?

Show quote history

what are you talking about? teachers teach, students revise

Mirabai · 01/04/2023 16:58

L3ThirtySeven · 01/04/2023 16:44

My mistake. In which case, I retract what I said and will say instead that cramming like that with 10hr days over study leave is what a coaster does. A coaster who hasn’t put the effort in the two years of study, and will likely forget everything they’ve crammed after the exam because they’re not really learning the material, they’re just memorising it into short term memory. It’s not a tactic to brag about by any means and certainly isn’t evidence of a hard worker.

It’s the hare to the tortoise.

Show quote history

I think the main thing is to be self confident in who you are and how you study so you don’t need randomly criticise people (or their kids) for their mode of study.

You can’t actually tell what he was doing, and 10 hours a day at that point is quite normal for students who want to be on top of their material and do well.

Cuwins · 01/04/2023 17:04

I think it probably partly depends on what their aims are next. I never did anywhere near that but I also never intended to go to university, I guess if you need really high grades for your university of choice then you will need to do much more revision.

cyclamenqueen · 01/04/2023 17:06

@CalloohCallayFrabjousDay with humanities subjects there is a huge amount of material to be mastered and some of it will have been covered up to 18 months previously . Much of revision is about learning to put all this material into an essay question/exam answer argument, endlessly practicing to make sure you produce it in the time allotted , and learning how to react to source material. There is also at A level a lot of reading around the subject to get the higher grades . It’s not all teacher directed.

Choconut · 01/04/2023 17:14

DS did a normal school days amount of work during study leave for his GCSE's - he got mostly 9's. He doesn't do tons of work normally though - an hour in the evenings and two hours at the weekend now he's in first year of A-levels. But when he's on study leave for A-levels he will do a full school day of work - but not as much as that over the Easter holiday, probably 2 or 3 hours a day.

BethDuttonsTwin · 01/04/2023 17:24

donttellmehesalive · 01/04/2023 16:18

Whatever school recommends, they'll do half of that.

School recommend 8 in the hope that kids do 4. I think that's about right tbh in the run up to important exams, with a couple of days off each week.

I like this.

MrsRonaldWeasley · 01/04/2023 17:57

My daughter has exams starting at the end of April (we are in Scotland) and I will be actively encouraging her to take a break over the next fortnight! Yes, a bit of revision but also a lot of rest/days off/fun stuff.

Kitkat49 · 01/04/2023 20:21

My eldest dd told me 4 hrs is the recommended amount per day to be able to retain all information
Worked for her, she’s about to graduate with a medical degree

NormaTheWife · 01/04/2023 20:28

I would also say make sure your kids take advantage of sessions where teachers do old past exams and cramming sessions. They know the exams and what is likely to come up. Work smart but also put the hours in. As someone else said "it's the reading around" at A level that separates the sheep from the goats.

MeridaBrave · 01/04/2023 20:29

My daughter did this the whole way through year 12 and 13. She got 3A*s in her A Levels.

CombatBarbie · 01/04/2023 21:31

4.5hrs Mon to Fri is what she's proposed.....

Roundaboutabee · 02/04/2023 14:56

I got 4 As in four different, text-heavy subjects, back in the 90s. I think at this point I divided the day into three three hour slots, and aimed to work two of them, ie always one session off a day. And often, frankly, skipped another session.

but there is a lot more pressure on kids now. I needed ABB for the top non-Oxbridge course in the country for my subject then.

I am not looking forward to this stage with my children. And I’m not convinced that homework throughout junior school is the prep teachers think it is…

Salvagehunter · 02/04/2023 20:50

I think it's probably for those playing catch-up

Ffariee · 03/04/2023 09:52

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 01/04/2023 12:15

My dd is in Year 13. She is predicted straight A*s in STEM subjects and she is very motivated. She certainly won't be spending 8 hours a day revising this holiday!! She will be doing plenty of work, I'm sure, but it's actually really important for them to have some time to rest and have fun with their friends. She has just submitted her EPQ, she has earned the right to a bit of time off! We know that the last term is going to be a long, hard slog, and none of us want to see her burn out before she even gets there!

well don’t to your daughter for getting such brilliant predicted grades, I hope she enjoys her well deserved rest!
While I don’t advocate having zero rest or time with friends, I hope that others consider their own situations… my son wasn’t straight As and had to work hard for the grades he got so grafted in his Easter hols last year. It made the difference as being a covid student he suffered with not having full time in school during lockdowns. He got BBC in the end (was predicted as low as CCD at one point) it would have been a different story if he hadn’t put in the hours that Easter.
Remember, they are going to have the longest break from school of their lives after these exams till they go to Uni (if that’s the plan) so there will be time to rest and recuperate then

Anyonebut · 03/04/2023 10:36

I am an adult and have no problem working full time week in week out, but I don’t think I have been/will ever be able to study for 8 hours a day, for me that’s a lot harder than working! I’m happy I didn’t go to secondary in the UK!

Hats off to all your teenagers! 💪💪💪

L1ttledrummergirl · 03/04/2023 11:16

I just told dd(18), yr13 that some schools have suggested 8 hours a day revision through the holidays.
Her response "fuck that" as she was heading off to do some revision.

She did well in her GCSEs and has no reason to think she won't achieve reasonable A levels. We also encourage our dc to keep a healthy balance, she had friends stay over last night, went out for breakfast and has a gym session later today (most days as sport is a big part of her life).

She's happy, that's the most important thing.

NormaTheWife · 03/04/2023 11:49

L1ttledrummergirl · 03/04/2023 11:16

I just told dd(18), yr13 that some schools have suggested 8 hours a day revision through the holidays.
Her response "fuck that" as she was heading off to do some revision.

She did well in her GCSEs and has no reason to think she won't achieve reasonable A levels. We also encourage our dc to keep a healthy balance, she had friends stay over last night, went out for breakfast and has a gym session later today (most days as sport is a big part of her life).

She's happy, that's the most important thing.

This is yours and her choice though - "reasonable grades". Some people will be looking for better than that though depending on where they are applying and their intentions. There is a huge difference between GCSEs and A levels - everyone should be able to get decent grades in GCSEs. Of course a school will advise this and they certainly don't mean sitting at a desk for 8 hours. It is about studying smart as opposed to more but sometimes that more does separate the sheep from the goats. The Student Room site also has lots of info and helpful stuff like creating revision timetables. The A level time is the one time they do have to work the hardest.

L1ttledrummergirl · 03/04/2023 12:09

NormaTheWife · 03/04/2023 11:49

This is yours and her choice though - "reasonable grades". Some people will be looking for better than that though depending on where they are applying and their intentions. There is a huge difference between GCSEs and A levels - everyone should be able to get decent grades in GCSEs. Of course a school will advise this and they certainly don't mean sitting at a desk for 8 hours. It is about studying smart as opposed to more but sometimes that more does separate the sheep from the goats. The Student Room site also has lots of info and helpful stuff like creating revision timetables. The A level time is the one time they do have to work the hardest.

Show quote history

We took the same approach with ds1. He's graduating from vetmed this year so I'm happy with our approach. My dc know what they need to focus on and what works for them, I trust them to manage their time accordingly.

BansheeofInisherin · 03/04/2023 12:19

Anyonebut · 03/04/2023 10:36

I am an adult and have no problem working full time week in week out, but I don’t think I have been/will ever be able to study for 8 hours a day, for me that’s a lot harder than working! I’m happy I didn’t go to secondary in the UK!

Hats off to all your teenagers! 💪💪💪

Believe me, secondary in the UK is a lot more laid back than many other countries.