Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Education

Join the discussion on our Education forum.

Original poster

Rewards for DS for GCSE grades

62 replies

Boggyjo · 29/03/2025 12:41

I am a teacher and have heard about students getting £500 for each grade 9 they get and other amounts on a reducing sliding scale for other grades.
What is reasonable?
My son is taking his GCSEs in the summer. I want to reward hard work and incentivise his revision effort, but certainly don’t want to go over the top.

OP posts:
Summedupnicely · 29/03/2025 14:24

SpringIsSpringing25 · 29/03/2025 13:25

I think something to celebrate the end of the exams and the effort they have put in (something like they get to choose the restaurant we go out to for dinner) it's the effort they put in that counts not the grade they get awarded.

I don't agree with paying them only encouraging them. Developing an attitude that makes them want to do well for themselves and their future not to please mummy and daddy.

A small gift or surprise as a congratulations if they achieve their own goals, sure, but not as an incentive to do well.

Absolutely this. I think this practice of paying for grades achieved is ridiculous. Encouragement and celebration with a family meal is enough.

Arglefraster · 29/03/2025 14:30

My DD got £50 of Waterstones vouchers (she's a bookworm) after her exams finished - before her results.
I wanted to reward her hard work/celebrate the end of exams rather than reward results.

MoodEnhancer · 29/03/2025 14:38

I think celebrating achievement but rewarding and incentivising effort is the best way.

TheBackupPlan · 29/03/2025 14:41

We gave our oldest some money but the amount was not tied to grades. He did very well but he’d have got the same amount from us regardless. We transferred an amount into his bank account whilst he was picking up his results so before we knew what grades he had achieved. He’d worked hard and it was money for to enjoy the summer with.

Our youngest is due to take her GCSEs this summer and we’ll do the same.

dizzydizzydizzy · 29/03/2025 14:57

I gave my DCs extra pocket money for revising. It wasn't a lot but it helped.

I took DC1 to a fancy hotel in Bath for 3 nights after their GCSEs. DC2 and I went to Disneyland Paris for 2 nights after A-Levels. (That was significantly more expensive than DC1's trip so I gave them some cash towards a new laptop to even it out).

I paid for both DCs to go to Disneyland Paris after DC1 finished their degree.

Tulipvase · 29/03/2025 15:01

we gave ours about 300 hundred quid. Gave it to them before the results as it wasn’t particularly about the grade achieved but the work put in. My daughter got much better grades than her brother but they got the same amount of money.

FrangipaniBlue · 29/03/2025 15:10

MoreChocPls · 29/03/2025 14:19

Reward the effort, not the grades.

I agree with this.

I bought DS the gift after he’d sat his exams but before he knew his grades.

Original poster
Boggyjo · 29/03/2025 19:55

TeenToTwenties · 29/03/2025 13:08

I didn't do such a scheme.
However I did do extra treats during revision and exams for working hard, and then we went shopping for college clothes after results.

If you must do something I would do it as meeting or exceeding predictions, not pay per grade.

And think very hard if you have 2 DC of differing ability.

Problem is, if I go too high, DD will bankrupt me!😆

OP posts:
Dearover · 29/03/2025 19:58

We went out for dinner. We would have had to find several thousand if we had followed your scheme. The reward is the success itself, getting a place at college, going to a good university etc. I did buy her a nice handbag when she graduated from Oxford though.

HelloCheekyCat · 29/03/2025 19:58

We've told DD she can have money for some of her subjects with different expectations, e.g. If she gets a 5 in maths she'll get more than a 7 or 8 in history because she really struggles with maths

Original poster
Boggyjo · 29/03/2025 19:59

Snorlaxo · 29/03/2025 13:17

Depends on your financial situation and your child’s ability/effort. Do you have more than one child ? You don’t want a system where one child ends up with loads of money and the other with much less despite more effort applied

What is your child predicted ? I couldn’t afford £500x9 and wouldn’t want to “punish” my child for getting an 8 rather than 9 when 8 is an excellent grade.

I went for a surprise fixed amount after exams and it wasn’t in the 1000s like the people you know.

I certainly will not be going any where near £500 for a 9! Maybe £100. If he gets mostly 9s that’s a lot of cash, but I guess deserved. He is a sensible lad and will save for uni.

OP posts:
Original poster
Boggyjo · 29/03/2025 20:02

TooManyCupsAndMugs · 29/03/2025 13:53

I wouldn't do this as you are teaching them that intrinsic motivation isn't enough, only extrinsic where you are rewarded. Treat them certainly if you think they deserve it but hard work brings it's own reward and they should know that.

I just believe that it will motivate home and will be the difference between getting 7s and 9s. Certainly capable of the latter, so I’m happy if it helps.

OP posts:
Original poster
Boggyjo · 29/03/2025 20:03

MoreChocPls · 29/03/2025 14:19

Reward the effort, not the grades.

Same difference in his case.

OP posts:
CaptainMyCaptain · 29/03/2025 20:07

I rewarded the effort beforehand and had a meal out after the results. My daughter has done the same with her children so presumably thought it was fair. Getting good grades is its own reward.

CaptainMyCaptain · 29/03/2025 20:12

Pices · 29/03/2025 14:13

Why not pay them? Almost all adults work because we pay them to.

Because they should be doing it for themselves not for you. Also, I'm an adult (retired) and I work for nothing as a volunteer - intrinsic motivation.

EmmasDilemmas · 29/03/2025 20:17

My children are nowhere near GCSE stage yet but I don’t plan to pay them for results. I believe there is a reasonable amount of evidence from behavioural science that paying children for academic attendance or success makes them less likely to achieve in the long term; not more, as it changes factors in motivation. A lovely celebration (or even surprise cash gift) at the end of exams would be great, but we won’t tie it to specific grades or approaches.

Happiestathome · 29/03/2025 20:23

We gave £100 per target grade achieved (our own agreed target). £500 per grade is unaffordable for us. This was similar to my child’s friendship group. We will do the same for A-levels.

SomersetBrie · 29/03/2025 20:37

DS needs one 5 and four 4s to get the college course he wants. He does not see any real need to get above this - aside from a monetary reward.

He's more than capable of getting 7s in pretty much everything so I am rewarding him for every 6 or 7 he gets. This has helped with his revision as he is concentrating on his "easiest" 7s - maths and English - and I am hoping that he will get grades that he can be proud of in the future even if they don't mean much now.
He is not at the point where doing well and working well is the reward in itself, but cold hard cash has proved a useful motivator these last few weeks.

RockyRogue1001 · 29/03/2025 21:08

A teacher needs help understanding rewards for learning? 🤔🤔🤔🤔

RareMaker · 29/03/2025 21:14

TeenToTwenties · 29/03/2025 13:08

I didn't do such a scheme.
However I did do extra treats during revision and exams for working hard, and then we went shopping for college clothes after results.

If you must do something I would do it as meeting or exceeding predictions, not pay per grade.

And think very hard if you have 2 DC of differing ability.

This

bzarda · 29/03/2025 21:25

My parents gave me £50 for each target grade I exceeded and £40 for meeting my target (a good 15 years ago now!)
I struggled with Maths all the way through school and was targeted a C but in the end I got an A and my parents were so pleased they gave me £100 for that one. Yes the grades are rewards in themselves but my parents generosity really felt like they were acknowledging how hard I worked.

MargaretThursday · 29/03/2025 21:34

If the children are talking about it, then there's quite likely some exaggeration.

Having said that I told ds if he gets an A* for one of his A level subjects I will happily pay him £500. He's currently on for a D, might get it up to a C or even a B with hard work.

If he gets an A* then I will definitely think it's worth it.

RatherBeOnVacation · 29/03/2025 22:35

We won’t be paying DD for her results. Nor are any of her friends getting paid. They should want to revise and do their best regardless of any financial incentive as real life isn’t like that. I mean, you might get a bonus at work, but on the whole you have to knuckle on down and get things done for no reward (salary excluded).

We will be rewarding the hard work though. She has really knuckled down in the last six months, is self motivated and “in control.” I know that when she goes into those exams she has prepared to the best of her ability and the grades that come out are therefore irrelevant. She really couldn’t have done any more. She’s getting tickets to see a band she loves in concert.

evtheria · 29/03/2025 22:47

My DS is a few years off that point, but I think I’d do a reward for after the exams as a ‘well done for all your effort and making it through’… I mean, I’m hoping there’ll be lots of effort!
However, DP is actually more the type to offer incentives and goals for this sort of thing, so I can see there might need to be a discussion when the time comes.

abracadabra1980 · 30/03/2025 02:40

sequin2000 · 29/03/2025 13:24

I think a better idea is to pay him to revise. That way you are rewarding the effort and in my experience more likely to have positive results.

I love this idea!