Do all Most Secondary Schools Allow their Y11s to go on study leave for their GCSEs?

[Reasontobelieve]

I am asking as my dd was told today that they will have to come in to school when they haven't hot exams and work in class rooms. This is a change in the school's policy following the appointment of a new head.

They were told that not all schools allow pupils to go on study leave. I had never thought about this, as even when I did my O Levels, we did this and I hadn't come across a school where this didn't happen, until today.

DS1 had study leave, DS2 (two school years behind) didn't . Their school decided that they would get more actual studying done in the school environment than at home, which tbh was probably the case with us. I expect DS2 did a lot more at school than DS1 managed at home with the temptations of the internet and consoles...

Some do, some don't. Those that do vary in detail of when they can start study leave.

My kids have gone/go to three different secondary schools - two have study leave, one doesn't. One of the one that does have study leave do actually call in about 10% of the year to come and revise in school each day (mornings only I think). Wondering whether my ds will be one of them!

Not having study leave was frustrating sometimes for my dd, as she's very organised and self motivated, and we don't live very near the school and sometimes she felt like she was just wasting time on the bus! But usually it was fine, and useful that teachers were geared up ready and expecting to have kids wanting to talk to them etc.

Mine used to, usually from Easter onwards depending when it fell.

They stopped in the last few years and I don't think any of the schools round here do for GCSEs anymore. For my old school I think the thinking was that those who would spend all study leave prattling about would benefit and those who would use study leave at home wouldn't be disadvantaged.

Hate the idea of having to go in for full days on exam days though. I remember me ing shattered after some of my GCSEs and suspect that having a relaxing afternoon and a bit of downtime after one exam and before the next is very beneficial rather than going from an intense exam into a revision session straight after.

I have heard that some have stopped completely round here, and one gives it 'dependent on grades and behaviour' leading up to exams.

A lot of schools stopped study leave because the kids weren't studying and it affected results.

The government also put a stop to schools turfing out unruly Y11s onto the streets from Easter by making it unauthorised absence.

Our school puts on revision sessions that the kids are expected to turn up for. So it's not the same as the regular timetable, sessions are timed around exams especially the bigs ones, English, maths, science etc will all have revision sessions before the exam.

I never heard of study leave until DC1 did his GCSE's

I'm hoping my DC2 school ditch it- having a moody teen hanging around the house for weeks not doing revision, being nagged, never being able to get away from the books etc is not a recipe for success! If they spend a day at school doing a mix of guided revision and personal quiet work I'd be far more willing to allow evening relaxing /socialising.

DD did GCSEs 2 years ago.

Up until half term (2 weeks after exams started) they were meant to be going to all lessons, any finished subjects had 'revision' instead.
After half term they had to be in for any subject where exam not yet taken.

They very kindly didn't complain when after half term DD didn't attend anything much apart from English. They knew I was doing 1-1 revision with her instead which was far more use for her.

Ours doesn't do study leave, they have to continue attending until each exam has passed with any spare lessons used for revising. They do this for GCSE and A-Level.

However, I think the other two schools do allow study leave.

It's been really cut back on from what it used to be several years ago.
There's still some variance but pupils are all generally in school until much later now, and more often now.

Yes, I was in school last week and they said that their study leave next year will probably start on 15th May, which i think is also the week the exams start. It felt like dd1 had about a month off before her exams started!

Dd's will start in early May. They have the option to go in when they don't have exams for revision. She also has it for mocks in January, first two weeks of term.

I was under the impression that it has basically completely stopped because it counts as absence for the school's attendance figures and therefore damages their ofsted grade. But I don't work in education and this might be a mistaken impression.

Having had 2 daughters do "study leave" I would far rather they went into school.

As pp has said, some schools do, some don't.

My DNiece who did her GCSEs last year didn't, nor did my DNephew 2 years ago (different schools in different parts of the country).

My eldest DD had quite a few weeks study leave before the exams but the youngest at the same school (4 years behind) had a sort of 'restricted' study leave where they did not need to come into school when they didn't have exams but there were a few revision sessions.

From half term here, so two weeks of exams without. I actually phoned DD in sick a couple of days the last week as she works much, much better at home.

She didn't miss any structured revision though.

It's been majorly cut back round here.
I was telling dd1 I started study leave on May 6th-and we only went in for exams after that.

After May half term, if the timetabled lessons have finished exams they are allowed to go home for that lesson.
They have actually found that it increases results quite a bit though.

We used to have study leave but not anymore. Theyre expected in school and there's student support staff on hand every day to guide them through the best ways of studying. IT suites are open to them at any time to study and its encouraged that they use all the schools facilities to help them study. They just no longer have to attend structured classes.

Its much better than just letting them go home and mess about or half heartedly study.

AS the school leaving age is now 18 its becoming rarer and rarer

Study leave is rarer, but school leaving age is still 16. There are options other than school

My son did his GCSEs this Summer and they had no study leave, the policy had been changed from when my older son sat his three years previously and went on study leave in the May.
Sixth Form don't get it for AS or A Levels either.

Dd1s school do it once the English and Maths exams are done.

DD did GCSEs this summer. According to her, for some, study leave started in January (not official!) otherwise it started officially once the first exam had been sat. Some extra revision classes were offered for different subjects.