Y10 Revision advice from school

[differenttoyou]

Received an email today from school telling parents that a revision assembly had been held this morning for Y10 with advice for how they should study for end of year exams.

Furthermore, in response to questions from parents the following recommendations were issued:

During the half term it is recommended that the DCs should be doing approximately 5 hours of focused revision a day.

Between the holidays and exams the recommendation is for between 2-3 hours revising per evening and 5 hours on a Sunday.

They had stressed the importance of consolidating knowledge as they are now half way through their GCSE courses. The exams in question are internal exams, no external exams are involved.

Would any of your DCs devote this amount of time to study at this point or does this sound like overkill? What has been the advice from your schools?

Maybe also some schools don't require so much learning as they go along as ours seems to? Hence requiring this 5 hours a day over half term.
DD gets regular tests outside these end y10 exams, and (because she works steadily) she revises and generally does fine in these tests. If she doesn't do fine, its not to do with revision but with question answering technique (which in some subjects is very hard for us to assist with from home).

I am well aware (as is she) that my DD will need to work hard to get the GCSE grades she needs to continue to her desired direction. But 5 hours a day over this half term will be counter productive for her mental health. (And I am very sure our school won't be expecting it - a school which gets excellent results).

AE, I am not suggesting that parents shouldn't encourage and support their children. Of course it is a parents job, for want of a better word, to teach our children about working hard and putting in effort, discipline etc.

But, IMVHO that should have been an ongoing process, not a sudden thing when exams roll around.

The point I am trying to make is that some parents seem to think anything less than A is a failure.
Which is why we have people, parents, sobbing at 6th form and frantically standing over their children saying "revise. Revise now. If you do not get an A you have messed up your entire life aged 16"

It's simply not true.

Not all children will follow the academic path. And as I keep saying, that's not a failure or a bad thing.

Trying to teach children that the only way you will be a success is to leave year 11 with 12 A*s is ridiculous

Not everyone is capable of that, no matter how much revision they do or how much pressure is put on them.

That doesn't mean they will not succeed in life. It doesn't mean they are written off, destined to work in a "dead end" job for the rest of their lives.

DCs who choose a different path are not inferior to children who choose an academic path.

The only thing parents should aspire to is having a DC who works hard, puts their whole effort into everything and fulfills their potential. Not what you think they should be doing.

We are talking about 15/16 year olds. Not young children who are unable to comprehend.

My DS has always done well in exams. However, he has done almost no revision for his Y10 exams, which he is taking this week. He has also had little homework. I've explained that I expect the teachers imagine he will be revising, but to no avail. He believes it will be enough just to read through his books the night before! He is so relaxed about it all.

I have not nagged him (very much), although I have explained the consequences, as I believe it will be a real wake-up call to him when he does very badly. I think he just doesn't realise how much work he needs to do, and this is the last chance to show him exactly how much before his GCSEs next year. I will be in full "told you so" mode when he gets the results.

He does have an actual GCSE language paper this week, and he has worked hard for that at least - although he does point out he can retake it if he gets a poor mark!

I just feel so annoyed that he has all these opportunities. But at 15, he needs to get his own motivation. He can't rely on me to provide it. (Although I will when it's his actual GCSEs, if he hasn't pulled his socks up by then!) Sigh!

To me it comes down to what you are trying to achieve. If you want to achieve the best GCSE results that the individual child is capable of rather than just enough to get to the next stage then 5 hours would seem like good advice. Every individual will need to weigh up how they value those best results versus what else they could be achieving in that time.

Personally I worked hard for my GCSEs (about the level being recommended) and it was an investment in my future which has repaid itself several times over. I would describe myself as bright but not exceptional but my hard work meant very good GCSE grades, a firmer footing on the A level syllabus which then impacted on A level predicted grades and university choices. It taught me to expect to work hard which has made the times when I have needed to work harder (a levels, university and professional exams) much easier to accept than the naturally more intelligent people I see all around me. Investing in my GCSEs showed my teachers I was committed which opened other opportunities for representing the school at various activities and made them more prepared to go the extra mile to support me.

As an adult maximising my academic potential has allowed me to command a high salary in a job that whilst I am required to work hard, I don't seem to work any harder than most of the other similarly aged adults I know. The higher salary allows me to buy a much better work life balance than the sacrifices I made as a teenager (which really weren't that great as I still had half my waking time to relax).

For me the benefits of applying myself fully at 15 have opened up greater opportunities than any other time in my life, but through the cumulative effect of small advantages rather than a single life defining moment.

I can see how you have that opinion working as you do, AE but I'm talking about the whole of a person's life. Few schools have a comprehensive follow-up of their ex-students at the 10 to 15-year post-school stage.

All is not lost at 16. For some people - though it might be the best time neurologically - and I'd actually dispute this when you take the whole teen and the world they live in into account - it isn't the best time for them to benefit from education for other reasons. They may just not be ready developmentally.

Sadly, I've seen plenty of people with good GCSE grades make a cock up of their lives.

I've also seen (I was a Comprehensive School teacher - all ages and abilities) middle of the road pupils who were perfectly happy and continued to be so in circumstances that would have floored others. They just seemed to be wired for happiness. For my own teens, I have wished for that trait in them over and above good GCSE grades. I think it depends on what criteria we are using for 'success' - and that will be different for everyone.

Good social skills/networking and old-fashioned nepotism are helpful in the job-market too.

Successful people learn from their failure...this is true.

However, the sad truth is that most successful people don't fail that often and most people who have failed, don't end up successful.

Harsh, but there we are.

I suspect a lot of people are assessing what will be needed in terms of effort based on recent history. But things have changed. The 2015 cohort will be examined in a different way. I predict quite a few will come a cropper. Teachers are trying to get this across, but what hope do they have when parents undermine them?

AE I think you have a very distorted world-view.

At every university where I have taught we have significant numbers of mature students who, if they have any at all, lots of Ds and Es at GCSE and left school at 16.

They return to education as adults through a variety of routes (eg access, OU) and the clear majority of them succeed in getting good 2:1 degrees and the go onto professional careers.

Some do struggle with learning more than others, but this is nothing whatsoever to do with being neurologically-challenged, and everything to do with them trying to be good parents and doing paid work so they can afford to study.

Also - with DS1 we have had the 'if you don't get fab GCSEs they won't have you for A level' stuff. That turned out to be bollocks - though his were ok, they let a wide variety of achievers in.

Then they were told they wouldn't be able to do resits of any A1 modules. That was bollocks too - loads of kids did them in loads of subjects - and to lie to kids in the name of 'encouragement' is a shit thing to do.

Then during the Uni process, we have found that although those with the grades over some govt level will have a guaranteed place, the uni keep their allocated places for those who they want on their course, but who've missed the grades by a tiny bit. They must have quite desperately wanted DS1 then

When I asked about this on DS2's open day at the same uni (during a quiet chat with admissions) they said they recognised that some kids take longer to reach their full potential. They look at the whole picture. This is a uni that still 'interviews'.

What I'm taking a long time to say is that, while it's a school's job to try to get the most out of their kids, some of them a a bit cack-handed about it.

creamteas its not common at all at the most selective universities.

The problem is 5 hrs, is approximately a full school days learning. Therefore to DCs it sounds a ridiculous amount (even if split morning, afternoon and evening it's what a lot of Y11s are doing quite happily).

It's crap phycology. It panics the bright and depresses the less able.

letsface some schools will let anyone stay on sixth form but they are few and far between. Many set tough entrance requirements. Teenagers shouldn't just assume they'll get a choice if they don't get the grades.

That's a sad reflection on our education system then.

It does seem a lot.

BUT..if they can revise well to secure their year 10 learning it puts them in a good place for year 11.

If they have a good set of revision notes and strategies developed now it take the pressure off a little for this time next year.

The year 10 mock exams are often not taken seriously but it is a chance to practice, get feedback for weak areas. Any good results gives them a confidence boost and generally lets them experience what to expect.

Bribe bribe bribe!

TheWordFactory I suspect this is the reason why DD's school has topic exams for all subjects every half term and end of year exams every year - to get them ready for the new-style exams and make sure they are used to revision as a part of school life. I still think that what the OP's school is recommending is cramming, which works for some people (I'm one) but not for all. As a school I'd promote ongoing revision and regular tests starting from Yr 7/8 so that they are used to working under exam conditions and develop strategies that work early. All schools should be preparing their students for higher stakes exams.

Ultimately though the responsibility lies with the student - you can lead a horse to water and all that...

Oh bum..I didnt realsie the thread had moved on so much.

Anyway if anyone wants any ideas of how to help their DC revise to really mix it up a bit please ask.

There is no reasons they have to be locked away in a room with their nose in a book. Other famly members can chip in.

creamteas its not common at all at the most selective universities

Not true, I have worked in both RG and non-RG universities, and it was common in both.

For example, some RG universities, like Warwick for example run courses for local students with no entry qualifications. Clearly you have to pass each each to get to the next, but it is still possible to get a Warwick degree with no GCSEs at all.

..and some let students stay to a certain data collection date to ecord how many are on role to get the funding, then if they dont buck up they are out. It's always number game.

AElfgifu as the PP with the dyslexic DD, I can assure you she does work very hard, but, not necessarily longer than her peers.

Her talents balance her weaknesses. She may spend ages learning how to spell technical terms in science, Geog and music, but she will have instantly understood what they mean and how things fit together.

The flip side of having no short term memory is you learn to make things into a coherent story, that bypasses the wonky wiring and gets remembered.

Isolated facts are deadly, they are like sand in a colander, MFL are utterly impossible, but science is a dream, physical geography isn't bad and English Lits. bare able if the set books aren't to dire.

Go on - andsmile chip in

I'll start.

Mind maps to avoid passive reading without taking anything in.

Mnemonic drawings for vital but tricky points/formulae.

Anyone else got useful stuff?

Look away Creamteas

Psst!
Everyone!

Creamteas is the dog's bollocks about this kind of stuff. Her sanity on the Higher Education topic is exceptional. (intended )

She was even on there helping out after working through results day last year. Solid gold.

As you were.

pointy I agree that good schools should, and will have, replaced modules with end of unit tests. However, I dread to thunk what the parental attitudes to those are, given the tone of this thread!

Can I just clarify, I'm not necessarily defining success as 10 As, although to some students it is . Success is reaching your potential. If you need an absolute, the border between having many choices and having few is 5 A-C, including English and maths, although there is some leeway and flexibility there.

Obviously, you can go to uni as a mature student, I have many friends who have done that! but you need to be successful enough BEFORE then to take the time out of working, and find the money.

No, we don't have official data on where our students are 10 or 15 years later! But we can look out of the window, or ask them at the bus stop!

all research indicates academic learning happens most efficient when your brain is 15-21 years old, which is why the education system in most cultures is arranged so that the most important exams of your life fall into this time frame.

Draw pictures of diagrams on an A3
Write key terms around a topic title A3

THEN ...the next day go back and label the diagrams, write defintions next to key terms then go back again and write examples down

Write out key terms on cards, post its are fine:

Mix them up leave it a while then group them acording to sub topics - this type of quick sorting exercise can be done while standing around making a culpa, on the bathroom mirror while brushing teeth.

Form a sentence containing each key word.

Chose fie related key words, write an explanatory paragraph for each.

Use app and online learning

Photograph key words and diagrams and create a slide show in phone.

Put notes onto voice iPod..most kids know how to do this. They can listen to them while walking dog, on the way to friends house.

Have a revsion party - do snacks, get the pens out and invite well chosen others round. They each can write short quiz questions to test each other, one play quiz master.

Pictionary of the topic lends itself to it - but need others unless parents get stuck in.

Tiny bits, repeated recall of knowledge, this is key terms and facts.
The start to link it together in explanations with examples

Dont forget exam technique...a lot of school teach POINT, QUOTE, COMMENT

P - stating a fact, this deonstrates knowledge
Q - back it up wth evidence such as ref to material in exam paper/examples
C - evaluative say if good/bad support with reasoning and logic.

PQC, is somthing that needs to be drummed in and followed like a formulae. Get the exam papers downloaded. Cut them up into small questions do one/two at the end of a session.

Own the materials, get creative and talk a lot, dont just sit and write. Parent dont worry of you dont know something - just look it up.