How much time does your yr11 spend revising/h/work for GCSEs?

[mumblechum]

because mine doesn't seem to be doing much - half an hour to an hour per night, a couple of hours at the weekend.

Is this really bad? I met a friend today who said her dd was in tears yesterday (her b'day) because she had so much work to do she couldn't even take a few hours off, much less have a party .

DS is doing q well, all coursework either A or A, and most modules A to B (tho' has to resit chemistry module as he only got a b).

What do you think is a reasonable amount of time?

I'd say something in between your DS and the birthday girl. DD1 was in year 11 last year. She was probably doing the same amount as your DS at the moment but certainly did more from december onwards.
Not being able to take time off on a birthday is ridiculous IMO. DD1 works hard but she still finds time to enjoy life.

Your DS is doing fine :)

My DS has revision as homework most weeks, but they are still completing courses and learning new stuff as well. His homework this week for Maths was a complete GCSE past paper though!

The school will step it up and probably get you in for a Parent info evening soon.

Seriously don't worry. I never revised during the normal school year apart from making sure I understood everything during school hours. I revised diligently in April and May before the final exams, but that was it really. I got 6A, 6A, and a B. My brother did even less if possible, and got 13A.()

I feel damn sorry for your friend's DD though. I'd say she's revising too much. It's not even near enough to January exams right now, and coursework isn't too pressing.

Sounds to me like your son's doing a good amount. It's definitely not too little and hours will inevitably increase with the exam pressure nearer the end of the year.

Thanks everyone, that's reassuring

If your DS is getting good grades, just let him get on with it and thank your lucky stars!

I was a bit like this at school, didn't have to put in too much time to get the grades.

Perhaps your DS is very organised and is getting the homework done at school in breaks/ lunchtime/ free periods or on the bus on the way home? My DD does this and amazingly manages to produce high quality work and is doing very well.

If it ain't broke don't try to fix it!

Some people can get very good GCSEs with apparently little work.
Sixthform can be a bit of a shock to them, though! You can't wing AS/A2.

My DS is not doing much either! But that isn't unusual for him, tbh.

He has a Business Studies controlled assessment this week and next week, which is 25% of the overall mark, so he's working quite hard for that. Apart from that, he doesn't seem to get very much GCSE-related homework.

Like the OP, my DS is doing a Chemistry resit in November and wants to improve from a B to an A. He also has mocks coming up soon, but he is typically being very vague about exactly what papers they are sitting.

Unfortunately, my DS is NOT someone who can put in minimal effort for good results!

At the end of the day different natural abilities get good grades. Some will manage a bunch of GCSE A* off the back of minimal work whereas a less naturally able child will have to study harder. The latter has learned a great skill for later study and life but, other than that, they may both get similar grades.

The girl who cannot make her birthday is either ushng herself too hard (need a social life) or parents are (probably less likely) or just trying to be a drama queen (plenty of them age 15!) . If there are tears too, I think I'd say she is pushing herself a bit too much.

If good grades are comingand he is resitting the grade B then he needs to take that seriously and maybe start to gather revision folders together for after Christmas. Revision is an ongoing thing really and you need to be ina good place from which to revise when the final exams start to loom.

It's a tricky one. As said some children get away with very little & still do well, but others think they can get away with very little and do worse than predicted (sometimes quite a lot worse). Very hard to know which camp your child is in before the event I think.

Revision? In October? Crikey! I'd say start serious revising after Christmas, but any earlier is laying on the stress too early.

I was thinking this was homework rather than revision, but when to start revision really depends when the mocks are. If they are before xmas then October half term is the last holiday to prepare for them, if after xmas then you need to allocate some time in that holiday.

There's an argument I've heard to let the mocks show you how much you need to do for the real thing and not to worry about them too much, but I think if you do prepare for them properly that it pays dividends when it comes to the real thing.

I would expect 1-2 hours an evening with 2-4 hours at the weekend

I would expect a revision programme after the October break, ready for the Mock exams (and any November modules)