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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

Advice please. WWYD? DC Y11 is in middle of GCSE's and doesn't want to go into school tomorrow.

24 replies

notangelinajolie · 18/05/2017 22:08

DD Y11 has asked me if she can stay at home tomorrow to revise. She has no exams tomorrow. Next exam is Monday English Lit.

New head - doesn't like study leave and said all year 11's are to attend school until GCSE's are over. This is new to us - her 2 older sisters had study leave.

Should I let her stay at home and revise? What will happen if she doesn't go in to school tomorrow? Can they stop her sitting exams next week??

OP posts:

Iamastonished · 18/05/2017 22:11

I normally am for sending DC to school, but under the circumstances I would bend the rules. DD did GCSEs last year and a number of students had a lot of "sick days" during the exams. The school turned a blind eye.

noblegiraffe · 18/05/2017 22:11

Lots of Y11 students mysteriously develop migraines or sickness bugs at this time of year.

There's absolutely no way on earth they'd stop her sitting her exams. If you're confident she'd actually revise at home then I'd phone her in sick.

noblegiraffe · 18/05/2017 22:13

Although I will add the caveat that if she's got maths next Thursday and has a maths lesson tomorrow, then she should go in. (Maths teacher!)

nigelsbigface · 18/05/2017 22:17

What would she do in school? We had study leave whilst exams were on (and I needed it badly for last minute cramming). Let her stay off and revise-much more useful than being in school for the day at this point I would think?

BrexitSucks · 18/05/2017 22:23

What is the point of her going in?
The last thing school will do is upset her or you with a telling off b/c she didn't go in on a day when she could just as easily revise at home.

crazykitten20 · 18/05/2017 22:25

Stay at home.

Peanutbutterrules · 18/05/2017 22:33

If she will actually revised - let her stay home.

DustyMaiden · 18/05/2017 22:36

My DS is on study leave, English Lit on Monday. I think it would be the best use of time.

NoSquirrels · 18/05/2017 22:49

I am all for kids being in school - when I read any thread titles about staying off and my auto-reaction is Nope! - but unless she has specific lessons tomorrow where they're covering important exam stuff then I'd let her stay off, for revision. A bit of trust is no bad thing at this age.

MooMooCat · 18/05/2017 22:51

Stay at home on the proviso she revises.

clary · 18/05/2017 22:54

Surely if she is in school she will either be doing lessons for which she has not yet done the exam - so useful for revision/past papers/exam tips - or she will have lessons where she has done the exam (eg French) and will revise other stuff in those? Does she have English, Maths, Geography, Physics tomorrow?

But anyway it's up to you. She won't be stopped from taking exams of course. I presume you would call her in sick.

Original poster

notangelinajolie · 18/05/2017 23:40

Thanks everyone for your replies. No lessons tomorrow - year 11's are expected to go to school and study independently in the library during GCSE''s and then go to exams as and when. Head believes revision at school is better than at home. I agree with him to some extent but if you take into consideration the time it takes to get to school and back and the break/lunch times - bearing in mind she has no exams tomorrow she would probably get more revision done at home. There are revision lessons at half term which she will be attending.

I trust her to revise. She isnt academic but knows what she is doing and where she is going after she leaves school. It isn't uni. She knows what grades she needs to get and is absolutely determined to get them as she knows she won't get on the course she really wants to do. I think I will let her decide - I feel it's important that she has some responsibility in all this.

I think I've made my mind up and will let her stay at home just for tomorrow. She is in school all next week as she has exams every day. She has gone to bed now so I will talk to her in the morning.

OP posts:

PossomInAPearTree · 18/05/2017 23:42

I'm in same boat.

I let Dd stay home yesterday. She revised all day. About a third of the kids didn't turn up. School have sent a snotty email saying they expect the kids in.

PossomInAPearTree · 18/05/2017 23:44

And Dd says yes she can revise in school. But other kids are arseing around And being a distraction. Plus she can't use a computer so can't access Sam learning which she likes.

Monkeyface26 · 18/05/2017 23:51

Dd1 is now on study leave but I confess that she had several headaches in the couple of weeks before it started because it suited her better to work at home.
If you are completely confident that she will revise properly at home, then you have nothing to lose.

Iamastonished · 18/05/2017 23:57

DD said that she found it easier to revise at home because of other pupils just messing around and distracting her.

Original poster

notangelinajolie · 18/05/2017 23:59

Possom - I'm expecting a snotty email. It's a very small school and the head knows them all by name - she asked him if she could revise at home and he told her if she didn't come in it would affect her attendance I just want whats best for her note to self - stay calm and don't lett DD notice my stess levels

OP posts:

PossomInAPearTree · 19/05/2017 00:04

Her revision is more important than the schools attendance stats.

Original poster

notangelinajolie · 19/05/2017 00:06

Exactly.

OP posts:

ridinghighinapril · 19/05/2017 07:59

Everyone revises in different ways & are more productive in different settings. I'm a bit at the HT's unilateral approach. Children should be developing their own revision strategies & figuring out what is best for them. The sooner they are allowed to figure this out the better it will be in the long run when it comes to A levels, finals etc. Your DD sounds mature enough to know she is better off at home than with her mates in the library.
Best of luck for her exams.

sheepskinshrug · 19/05/2017 08:26

If there were having revision classes I'd make her go in otherwise if she is self motivated then let her stay at home. I thought they'd all left school by now and just go in for exams?

Tw1nsetAndPearls · 19/05/2017 08:31

I would let her stay at home and let school know exactly why she was at home.
Hope your dd's exams go well

Fleurdelise · 19/05/2017 08:36

I think the schools should be more flexible and rather than being one way or the other let the pupils decide and their parents what suits them best during the exams.

DS school is the same, no study leave, pupils are expected to come to school, either being taught in the subject they haven't completed the exam yet or revise independently for upcoming exams.

DS asked to come home and revise yesterday after the chemistry exam and develop a sudden migraine but as his lessons were PE, English Lit and Chemistry I asked him to stay at school as he didn't complete the exams yet and he thought that was fair enough.

I did say though that in the last two weeks of exams, after half term, he can be off "sick" a day or two depending on that day's timetable as by then it would suit him better to revise at home and most of the exams would have been taken such as French, PE, geography and Maths.

roguedad · 20/05/2017 09:19

Keep the kid home. It's much better to revise away from distractions at school, unless the day has revision class targeted at your child's needs. The head should be fired for denying kids study leave. It's a ghastly policy.

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