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Secondary education

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Original poster

how much revision is your Y11 doing?

124 replies

princessparty · 25/04/2011 11:41

..and when do they begin study leave?

OP posts:
TheSecondComing · 25/04/2011 23:23

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herbietea · 25/04/2011 23:30

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Docbunches · 26/04/2011 09:43

Well, my DS is probably somewhere between the two examples above.

He started off in the Easter hols by doing about 2-3 hours a day. By the end of the second week, it was more like 1 hour per day, some days nothing much at all.

But, it's hard when the sun's shining and his mates turn up at the front door wanting to play football.... it would be mean of me to send them away! DS says he'll get really stuck in starting today, but I suspect I will have to start hovering and nagging, which, TBH, doesn't really seem to make any difference.

My DS begins study leave on 13 May. His first exam is 16 May (English Lang, which I think pretty much everyone will be doing).

DarthNiqabi · 26/04/2011 09:45

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TheSecondComing · 26/04/2011 10:15

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DarthNiqabi · 26/04/2011 10:28

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mumblechum1 · 26/04/2011 10:35

First week, 3 hours a day (one hour, then wander off, then another hour etc)

Second week, had more going on socially so not a lot

From Saturday, back to 3 hours per day.

I do feel sorry for him, it's soooooooooooooooo boring to revise when the sun is shining.

He says this is the worst holiday he's ever had.

Yellowstone · 26/04/2011 10:50

Darth if your DS got all A*'s in his mocks, especially on no revision, you have no reason to be worried at all.

It's the ones who are predicted A*'s but failed to get them in the mocks and are now out playing football etc. who are the ones who need to be nagged.

DarthNiqabi · 26/04/2011 12:28

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Yellowstone · 26/04/2011 12:53

I hope the school marks on the hard side myself, not that I have the slightest intention of saying that to DS2.

None of my older four found the real things materially different btw, so at least you have some reason for optimism :(

Docbunches · 26/04/2011 13:13

I should have added that my DS didn't get anywhere near A in mocks (I wish). He will have to absolutely bust a gut just to get a mixture of B and Cs, with hopefully a couple of As, in his real exams as unfortunately he is simply isn't an A student and never will be.

I do sympathise for those of you who can't get your DCs to do anything at all though.

freerangeeggs · 29/04/2011 01:18

I teach Y11 so I probably don't qualify for this thread. Hey ho, I'm going to post anyway :)

I love my Y11 class to pieces but I am absolutely tearing my hair out. They're a middling ability group so they can't 'coast' and get good grades - they really need to work.

I've tried to give them as much help as possible - directing them as to what they should be doing at home, writing revision packs, even creating a website ffs where I store all the resources they could possibly ever need to study effectively.

Yet they're still coming in to class and telling me they haven't visited the site, or that they can't remember which poems go with which paper.

Sometimes I think they'll learn more from doing badly than they will from passing, but they'll be gutted if they don't get into college.

And there's always the nagging worry that I'll be held accountable for their apathy. You can lead a horse to water...

Luckily their coursework is okay, and they do seem to have become more motivated this term. Fingers crossed.

mountaingirl · 29/04/2011 17:04

Don't know he has gone back to boarding school. He did 2 hours most days, sometimes three then bloody nothing at the weekends. I am thinking of bribing him 20? = C 30?=B etc...Anyone else doing the same?

moonpig123 · 02/05/2011 14:04

my dd is 10 years old and she has done her GCSE and she did 12 hours of work a day and got 10 *A is here GCSE and now as a job as a lawyer earning 80 grand a year and is only 11 years of age she is the best dd in the WORLD :) :-)

whathow · 02/05/2011 14:11

freerangeeggs at least you must know that some of your pupils will have done lots and it's just that they can't admit it in front of their peers.

As for us mums!

LadyWithErmine · 02/05/2011 14:41

Mine claims to have done about 4 hrs per day this hols, barring a couple of days when out with friends. Suspect there was a bit of facebook in the mix, but I am fairly confident that quite a lot of actual revision has been done.

I, however, told my mum I was revising and read Jilly Cooper all day.

teahouse · 02/05/2011 15:47

Mine is doing an hour or so a day, but get's no study leave.

I'm also doing the bribery thing - £20 for a C, £30 for a B and £50 for an A (no A's predicted though - how mean am I ;o)

Good luck to all those doing their GCSE's and to all parents too.

Greenshadow · 02/05/2011 17:10

We're going through this for the 2nd time (DS1 is 18 now). DS2 is very bright and quit capable of getting straight As, but only if he applies himself a bit more.
It is just sooo frustrating when he doesn't.
He has done maybe and hour or two most days but has also been into school on about 4 occasions over the Easter holidays for extra revision sessions, so I suppose I can't complain too much.

His school isn't doing study leave for the first time this year - an all boys school which has finally realised what a lot of us moms of boys realised a long while ago - that so many boys just won't work by themselves.

WhatsWrongWithYou · 02/05/2011 17:15

DS made himself an elaborate timetable, four hours a day with plenty of breaks factored in.
He's certainly spent a lot of time in his room, but whenever we go in he's on his pc or xbox and claims he's 'on a break.' Hmm

At least he hasn't been going out much, so hopefully if nothing else boredom will propel him to open a book as a break from facebook!

DH did point out to him that he could come out of all this 'really effing brilliant at xbox,' or he could come out with the results he's capable of and have some choice about what he does next, and he appeared to take it in < deluded >.

Thing is, he's quietly ambitious (wants to do a degree in maths then work in the City, but mentioned law recently - even started looking at Cambridge!), but whether this will translate into actually buckling down and properly studying remains to be seen. Very frustrating.
I suspect we won't find out until results day.

WhatsWrongWithYou · 02/05/2011 17:17

Oh, and his study leave starts in 9 days' time. The new head actually decreed there wouldn't be any, but the boys got up a petition and it was re-instated.
Hmm again.

Yellowstone · 02/05/2011 17:24

moonpig 12 hours a day is not cool :)

WhatsWrongWithYou we're on number five doing GCSE's atm and done exactly the same 'effing brilliant at the xbox' speech. Can't say I detected any facial expression suggesting he'd taken it in :(

WhatsWrongWithYou · 02/05/2011 18:22

Yes, that's another skill they'd easily gain A* in - the insouciant look.

pot39 · 02/05/2011 19:41

I don't really qualify as my lovely boy is yr 10.

However, I did spend 2 hours doing GCSE Biology with him this morning. I learnt a lot, but I've already got a degree in Biology.

He's supposed to be doing his french revision now but he's wandered off to the telly.

Maryz · 02/05/2011 20:53

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NotaMopsa · 02/05/2011 21:32

this thread is scaring me....