To think some GCSE exam timetables should be more spread out??

[ChocolateAddictAlways]

My 16 year old has 2 exams on Friday, 2 on Monday, 2 on Tuesday and 2 on Wednesday. After the half term it slows down. The last exam and penultimate exam have a 6 day gap. The penultimate and the one before that have a 4 day gap. All his friends seem to be in a similar boat. A huge flurry of exams this week and next and then things go very quiet!

I understand the logistics of planning these exams must be insane given the number of exam boards and modules and other variables and I am not actually suggesting the system be overhauled (because I suspect it can't be) rather that it seems a shame to have 2 exams a day for so many consecutive days. I can imagine some teenagers feeling really bamboozled the night before such a day. And then that feeling repeats for several days!

He did joke that probably he would be most prepared for those last 3! 😁

@SheilaFentiman thank you. I will tell her.

Thinking back, I think that stage of my life was the only time I'd have been able to cope with such mad expectations. Everyone just accepted it because we kind of had to. If I had to face a timetable of examinations like that today, I'd definitely crumble!

Better than spreading the dread out over months

Having taught GCSE for 20 years, I actually think that a shortened, more intense series is better for students. Being extended over a longer period of time means they lose focus because they can’t sustain the energy needed. Lots of pps have mentioned the half term disrupting their children’s “flow”. GCSEs are intense but it’s only a few weeks of exams- the hard work should have been done before these few weeks.

good luck to all the young people sitting exams over the next few weeks. SATs next week, GCSEs now, A Levels very shortly. It’s a busy time but it will soon be over and a long summer stretching out ahead 😊

I think it's just a function of a stupid system. If we're going to have an exam based system with all the assessments at the end, they have to be crammed in for practical reasons.

Given the range of subjects, I cannot see it being unavoidable to have two a day sometimes.

I am not sure spreading them out would go down well with many people. My opinion is that too many exams are taken at GCSE in any case, there is something to be said for a maximum number in any one year.

In my early thirties and it was the same for me! I think in general the kids have too many exams though speaking personally I'd always prefer that over coursework. Apparently in the Welsh GCSE even in modern languages the kids have coursework!

As long as your DS is supported (sounds like he very much is) and prepared to crack on, looking after his health in the meantime it's all good. Hopefully it even feels easier just to get lots over and done with.

Problem is there's so many combinations of subjects and exam boards schools can choose from. If they spread them out even further it would mean less time for examiners to mark, less time for teachers to cover the material and provide revision support/students to revise. I even had a clash when I did GCSEs so parents had to sign something saying we'd had no access to devices overnight and we couldn't go to the toilet in school before the delayed exam the next day without a teacher coming to listen outside the door!

This happens every year. 2 exams on the same day is no joke. If you don't feel you've done very well in first exam it's awful trying to gather yourself up for second exam. Same for A levels too.

My son has 3 in one day, physics, french and further maths, its going to be a long day. But it will be over soon and they get to have a long summer to recover.

The whole exam culture needs to change in my eyes. It’s not reflective of intelligence, effort or ability. It’s a mental health nightmare.

Totally agree with you OP that they need to make it less intense.

It's been like that forever, they just have to get on with it and organise their revision properly. It won't harm them. It's silly to fuss about it.

When I did my A levels a million years ago I did an unusual combination of subjects and on 2 of the days I had 2 3 hour exams. It was fine.

Mine has one got today and then 7 next week: two on Monday, two on Tuesday, two on Thursday, and one on Friday. It’s a lot next week!!

I remember looking at DS’s timetable last year, and thinking how brutal the first couple of weeks were, and how much easier it would be to study towards the end, when he had several days between each exam. In reality, after the first couple of weeks, the momentum really dropped, and he studied less and less. The complacency that came with knowing he only had 2 exams in the final week meant that he barely worked at all !

Yes it is a test of endurance. Eldest DD had two days with three exams each day as she had clashes due to her options but the exam length wasn’t long enough to have one the next day - can’t remember the exact criteria. She was knackered. She’s doing A levels from next week and it seems less frantic.

Completely agree OP we had the same and I think our DC could have done much better if they were better spread out esp DD2 who has extra time and finds an exam setting very difficult. Agree that timetabling must be tricky but it feels like they could do a better job of it!!
There are so many things wrong with GCSEs imo - too many subjects covering dull regurgitated information - it had changed very little in the 25yrs since I took my own.

Wishing your DC (and you) lots of luck!

Yes it's an absolute slog but I think better to do it intensively overall. The May half-term is a killer for many as they ease off and find it very hard to regain momentum as they are, understandably, exhausted. My bigger gripe is the disparity in the number of papers/exams different children sit. My DC are forced into 10/11 subjects which equates to 25++ exams. Those who sit 8 or 9, or sit one in Y10, have a much lower workload. But that's another topic...already much discussed!

He was actually fairly laid back about it all, but it was a lot, and with being in school still until half term he found it hard keeping on top of preparing for the next one when they were in quick succession. He ‘only’ did 9 as well, although his choices meant they were all completely exam dependent. He definitely had far more than I remember doing. He sacrificed English literature and history to some degree as they had the most content and were also his lowest priorities.

i hope it goes well for him, and at least with so many early on the pressure will be lowered a little after half term if he’s completed a few subjects

A bit different, as in Scotland but in my own experience, at Advanced Higher I had an exam Thursday afternoon, Friday morning, Friday afternoon and then a month until my final exam.

It irked me as the three that were together were a fairly common combination! It just meant that I had to be super prepared for them and I think in hindsight it was a good experience of managing a huge deadline. Though I was absolutely wiped by the Friday afternoon! Also, the one a month later was my favourite subject and I actually just had a great time preparing for it!

My mum said in her day (fewer options overall) they alternated humanities and sciences on different days so that you might have had consecutive exams at “o level” but less likely at higher levels and would have solved my problem!

Different now, most exams have two papers (on different days), some have three.

Im an invigilator, it’s exhausting and intense for us never mind the kids 😂 And the clashes - don’t get me started on those!
No seriously, the more years I do this the more I’m convinced the system is out of date and doesn’t suit our kids anymore, I often wonder why we are doing this. What are we proving?

It’s either relentless, or it’s really strung out. It’s horrendous either way. I have a lot of respect for how DS coped with GCSEs last year.

Good luck everyone, parents and exam-takers.

A few years ago DC did 10 GCSEs (standard for their school). They had, I think, about 27 exams ‘in one go’ ie none taken in Year 10. It was utterly brutal (and I remember some of the shorter History papers where the amount they had to learn seemed completely disproportionate to the short length of the exam).

It's really good to hear this POV, thank you for sharing that! I just imagine it's the most chaotic time for all involved.

I have checked his timetable again and on one of the days when I thought he had 2, he actually has 3 papers! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Well done to your kids for juggling all of that!

And I agree regarding the shorter papers covering a wide breadth of revision topics. It's does feel disproportionate.

Agreed@123teenagerfood

I was the last year of O levels in 1987, and we had a reasonable chunk of coursework towards each exam apart from Maths and Languages. Exams were still hideous, but it was slightly better knowing that they only counted for 60% or something. What happened that? Was it Michael Gove? We do have a lot more clashes though, as there were about 30 exam boards in those days, and they timetabled their exams independently. There wasn’t “Maths day” , a “French day” etc as now. It was common to do 3 exams in a day with 20 mins supervised in between.

Or open book exams. I had open book exams for MSc and professional exams, so why not GCSE? . It’s about understanding and interpreting info, not a memory test. In 35 years of work, I’ve never been in a situation where I couldn’t look up a vital fact to double check. a @