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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Is your school running GCSE revision sessions this holiday?

134 replies

TalkinPeace · 09/04/2014 10:11

I just dropped DD off for her three lessons today and over half of year 11 were there for various subjects.

The teachers are giving up their holiday, the school is keeping the buildings open, the kids are going in.
Hopefully the grades will reflect that effort.

On my way home I passed the sink school.
No signs of life at all.
No evidence of pupils or teachers in the car park or the building.

Surely the failing school should make MORE of an effort?

OP posts:

Original poster

TalkinPeace · 09/04/2014 20:05

Small mercy : at least all the teachers at DCs school get a break from Thursday 3pm to next Thursday 9am - no access to the school, no access to the network. But that is not a normal situation!

And NB
These are not content classes - they are technique and consolidation sessions

the syllabus has been covered
the past papers are done at home
but the group dynamic of "the best way to answer a question" is best done in a group, without the constraints of a timetable bell

OP posts:

noblegiraffe · 09/04/2014 20:09

Great, then maths don't need to run the sessions as the 'best way to answer a question' is always 'with the right answer'

Original poster

TalkinPeace · 09/04/2014 20:20

Noblegiraffe
True ..... but ..... further maths and algebra its also about the structuring to get max marks

remember, I'm an accountant : 2+2 = anything between 3 and 5 depending and in a 35 mark tax question, the final answer is worth one mark, the layout and stages are worth 34 ..... the upper increments are like that

That is also why DD is tearing her hair out in English as there is no "right" answer

OP posts:

Philoslothy · 09/04/2014 20:34

I am on maternity leave right now, but we actively discourage staff from running Easter sessions. This is not because we are a sink school or don 't care but because we want our staff to have a balance in their work and home lives.

Coconutty · 09/04/2014 20:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lottiedoubtie · 09/04/2014 20:45

Depends on the quality of the revision sessions, it isn't magic and doesn't always improve grades.

summerends · 09/04/2014 20:46

Talkin is n't your daughter an A* student in a very bright class? The teachers must already have had time to cover the material and do past papers. Not sure why she should be tearing her hair out. I would have thought like many others she and her classmates would be saturated and rather bored with the subject material and exam technique.

Philoslothy · 09/04/2014 20:47

I wouldn't stop my DS going because DCs at schools who don't offer revision sessions will be disadvantaged because I live in the real world and want the best for my DCs.

Our students are not disadvantaged, they learn the importance of getting things done when they are supposed to. We also have a very low turnover off staff, largely connected to the fact that we don't have to jump through the hoops that other staff do.

summerends · 09/04/2014 20:51

Coconutty I am not saying you should and I would also feel the need for my DC if everybody else was doing it. However those who endorse these holiday revision sessions should n't be surprised by parents who also want the best for their children by providing tutoring or paying for holiday revision classes. Where does it all end?

pigsinmud · 09/04/2014 21:15

Ds1 is at a good comp. No revision sessions at his school. Surely they have to do this themselves. Don't like to say in my day we didn't have these....but I will!

When they go back next term I think they have a couple of weeks and then study leave. There are lots of revision sessions during study leave and the children are expected to attend, but not during the holidays.

Jellykat · 09/04/2014 21:42

My DS is at a pretty bog standard Comp, not the best in the area, he did GCSEs with the other yr 11s last June, November and January (we're in Wales). He went to revision classes last half term holidays, and has revision in school over Easter.
I know he's C/D borderline in some subjects but my god he's knackered.. by the time this final round of GCSEs start in May, he will have been revising for a year! He's bored shitless, and tbh momentum has long gone, just when we need it most. It's way too much, for us both!

Original poster

TalkinPeace · 09/04/2014 21:52

summerends
She is indeed aiming for very high grades, but the Eng Lit A is by no means a given
she is driven (as are her gang of friends) and does not seem to be bored ( I could hug some of the excellent teachers)

remember there has been no early entry of exams : its the full shebang in one term

another question to DD today turned up the fact that the foundation classes were fuller than the higher - particularly among the boys
which genuinely surprised me
because I thought it would be the "those that most need are least likely"
but its been sold to the kids as to their benefit as well as the teachers

jellykat
its a shame if the kids are stale - not sure why / how as no evidence of it in DCs or their rival schools

OP posts:

Martorana · 09/04/2014 22:28

At ds's school the revision sessions try to provide at least a bit of the support that children from less challenging backgrounds get from home. They still remain hugely disadvantaged- but at least somebody is trying to level the playing field for them a bit,

cricketballs · 09/04/2014 23:17

whilst some of my colleagues are running revision classes ( we get paid extra) I refuse to. I give my students a lot of revision material for the holidays, we have covered the specification, we have gone over time and time again exam technique - its their qualification and time for them to work for it themselves.

The problem is (thankfully not at my school) that many establishments expect this from their staff and the staff's futures are determined by the holiday time they give up - is this really the teachers you want?

Agggghast · 10/04/2014 05:31

We did early entry for Eng Lang,for the last time sadly, in November so it is just Lit in May. I work in one of the 10 poorest council wards in the country and many of our pupils have no place to revise at home. I was in today and will be in tomorrow, it was non compulsory and over 60 pupils turned up( Dominos for lunch might have had something to do with it!). They work in small groups and I just am there for queries, it works well and offered the pupils an opportunity to revise in a focused manner.

wordfactory · 10/04/2014 07:26

talkin I guess whether things are getting a bit stale depends on how much the class has cracked on in the year.

I got a sense from the year 11s at DD's school that the changes brought a sense of urgency with it there. The teachers pushing to finish the syllabus by half term february so there would be plenty of time for the final finesse before Easter.

It really is all finished now bar the shouting (as we say oop north).

Perhaps next year, providing the results are as good as usual, will be entered into with a little more calm . Though that said, I'd rather they were done by Easter for a good rest.

DS school faced no changes (igcses) so things have ticked along there the same as usual. Never have had Easter sessions AFAIK.

Hassled · 10/04/2014 07:35

DS2's school isn't having holiday sessions, and while I do absolutely appreciate that the staff need to have a holiday themselves I am struggling a bit with getting DS2 to focus. He just doesn't have the self-discipline or time management for home revision - he'd actually do much better I think in a more formal revision environment. I'll just keep cracking the whip.

ApplySomePressure · 10/04/2014 07:50

Perhaps the "sink school"'is running revision next week. I work at a failing school and we have our session spread out over the two weeks.

BTW I find the term "sink school" highly offensive. The pupils attending there will have no choice about where they attend. How lovely for you that your DC do not have to attend such a place

Legologgo · 10/04/2014 07:56

Talkin so you don't actually KNOW what the other school is doing?

Interestingly my sons grammar school offers NOTHING. my own comp offers lots. I'm of the opinion my result predictors are good. The kids have been taught well. They can do it themselves.

Legologgo · 10/04/2014 07:57

(This is a state grammar- top results for ebacc etc)

afterthought · 10/04/2014 08:07

I have done revision sessions most Easter but decided not to this year. The vast majority of my class have special needs but are hardworking students and don't need / want it. One student (who is one of the the few who does not have SN), who does sweet FA most lessons questioned me rather aggressively as to why I wasn't running sessions. I replied that I was not giving up my holiday for those who show me such little respect during lesson time.

The thing I hate about giving up holiday time is that a list is kept of those teachers who give up their holiday time and that is what is used to determine how dedicated teachers are. So, my colleague who has done 3 sessions but normally does nothing will be considered to be much more dedicated to her students than me who doesn't do the sessions, but spends hours in the evenings and weekends preparing things for my classes.

We do often find that the kids from disadvantaged backgrounds turn up - for many school is a safe haven away from whatever is going on at home. Often the school provides refreshments as well, which often gets those into school who might not have food at home.

I have very mixed feelings over it - it can help students in many different ways, but I hate the expectation placed on staff (by students and the school) to give up holiday time.

bigTillyMint · 10/04/2014 08:12

I totally take my hat off to all the teachers who are running these revision sessions.At the DC's school the sessions are very well run and effective.

DD is Y10, but taking two GCSEs this year and has been in on some Saturday mornings and was distraught that she could only go to one revision day this holiday as we have gone on holiday. She said that there were loads of students in, including many of the 'hard to reach' Y 11's

I am very concerned though, that this high level of commitment expected of the teachers will result in high staff burnout and turnover.

whitewineandchocolate · 10/04/2014 08:27

My son had GCSE revision sessions at Easter last year and AS sessions this holiday. They are voluntary and we do pay for them so I assume (and hope) that the teachers do get some form of payment for giving up their holiday. I really appreciate teachers who do this.

SirChenjin · 10/04/2014 08:46

I'm confused by this 'burnout' some of you are talking about.

Firstly, none of the teachers who ran the sessions I attended 30 years ago bunrnt out or left with stress - in fact, they all retired/are in the process of retiring from the same school.

Secondly, perhaps your revision classes are different to ours? Each department is asked if they wish to run a masterclass - it's encouraged but not enforced. The majority of them do. The teachers are approached for availabilty and one from each teaching team then runs one class over the holidays - as far as I can make out it's done on a rota basis so they may run one masterclass every few years on one day in the Easter holidays. Seems like a sensible approach to me.

Is that not the case elsewhere?

noblegiraffe · 10/04/2014 08:51

SirChenjin, teaching was a piece of piss 30 years ago compared to the pressures put on teachers today. No wonder fewer of them were stressed.

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