Your top tips for keeping stress levels low during GCSEs?

[loveyouradvice]

Hi.... just five weeks to go until first GCSE paper....and today is the first day of holidays!

We're starting to think about how to best support her through her revision marathon.... and hoping she'll have lots of ideas when we plan over next few days.... She knows how she wants to do the revision and says she is committed to regular bedtimes (!)...

What are your top tips - from experience? Or things you're planning to try?

One friend suggested that you keep them doing the mundane tasks like emptying the dishwasher etc so they have downtime that isn't just mates and screens....

I'm thinking about suggesting some fun undemanding things that are satisfying and engage your brain so it isn't doing stress cartwheels.... like cooking or local dance classes to keep some sort of exercise going....

Oh .. and I liked the idea suggested by another poster of celebrating the hours put in... having a chart for 100 hours and them being able to see the hours they've achieved as they go...So they can see what they are achieving rather than feeling freaked by how much they have to do....

Look forward to hearing yours!

With DD1 we made sure she had fresh air and exercise every day.

We also kept praise levels high, 'you'reworking hard, that is the best we can hope for, you deserve to do well' that kind of thing.

We also did small

I think there's a lot to be said for keeping to regular routine, at least wrt light duties. If she usually empties the dishwasher, then she still empties the dishwasher -- would be my approach. Life is more important than exams.

Talking them thru their revision plan once or twice a week just so they know they are on top of things, seemed helpful.

We always have a take-away big pizza on last exam date, to celebrate! I don't celebrate results formally -- don't really agree with that.

Reading the thread title I was assuming the answer was a bottle of wine a night but now realise you were referring to DC rather than parent.

I had also assumed you were talking about the parent, and was going to recommend wine!

Me three!

I used to take my DD out for lunch at our local garden centre, perhaps three times a week. Got her out of the house, made her take a break, forced her to talk to me (although I avoided the revision word) and made sure she ate something reasonably healthy.
She didn't go into school at all once study leave had started, apart from exams, but found it useful to go to the local library on occasion, just for a change of scene. Again, got her out of the house and doing at least a little exercise by walking there and back.

This has nothing to do with your question, but could you please indulge me for a second. I immediately guessed you were a man, it I gave no idea why I thought that si really want yo know if I'm right!

To answer your question we're just trying to be in tune with DS. For example he said he wanted the last three days off revision as Easter hols are coming up and he plans to go hard in them.

In English : 'I have no idea why I thought that so I really want to know if I'm right'

We're also exempting him from chores and will be waiting on him hand and foot if he's revising

How curious ... I'm definitely a woman... though do identify as a Man on Fridays! (see Fem chat)...... Wondering why you thought that?

I made DD a little basket of goodies, 2 body shop sprays (fruity smelling), essential oils, pastilles, graze-type healthy snacks, etc which she really appreciated.

We also encouraged DD to continue going to dance classes though we cut down on the number of classes, plus she continued with most of her Saturday drama school classes and fitted revision around them.

Her school didn’t provide any study leave until the exams started so she was in school most days anyway. Once the exams were underway, we drove her in to school if it was a morning exam rather than getting the bus just so she didn’t have extra stress if the bus was running late. - And it was a bit of a treat.

So yes to some pampering but also continuing with usual routines and activities to help keep a sense of perspective.

Second fresh air and exercise.

My DS broke up yesterday, and tomorrow he and I are going to sit down and work out the ground rules for what his revision schedule is going to look like for Easter and study leave. I actually think that having a really clear structure and set of expectations is a stress reliever in itself. Also, to put it diplomatically, I do not have concerns about him over-exerting himself during this period , so I think negotiating and agreeing something we all have bought into will help both of us.

There are several events coming up around his hobby over the next 3 months, both watching and participating, and we have got those clearly marked off. He is really looking forward to them, so that is good and is all happening at the right time. All of the events are happening on a Saturday, which works well as DH will do it with him. Its a sport he does outside of school, with a mixed group of people so it will be very good for him as literally no one will be angsting about GCSE's. I have agreed that he can take part in one event which is on a Saturday during his GCSE's, on the basis that he has one on the Thursday before, then not till the following Tuesday, and the Tuesday one is something you can't really revise for (English language, off the top of my head). He appreciates that we are flexible about this and it also means that GCSE's are not this huge dark Dementor squatting over the next 3 months and sucking all the joy out of everything.

He has fairly recently decided that its quite cool to go to the gym, which I'm all for (he was able to go alone since he was 16 but initially wasn't really interested). We got one of the trainers to do him a programme, and he is quite into that. He told me he's going to go on Mon/Weds/Fri which will be excellent if that works out. Funnily he cycled over to the gym the other day and has suddenly decided/ remembered that he likes cycling, so says he is going to do a bit more of that. I think all of these are HUGE displacement activities, BTW, but they are good ones, which won't stress him out, will keep him fit and help him sleep.

I'm also going to be pretty liberal about money for coffees, I think. He likes taking his laptop and hanging out in our local coffee shop drinking an Americano and working what he hopes is a general instagram/hipster vibe. DH and I live in hope that he'll meet a nice studious girl with high standards in there doing the same thing.

I'm keeping an eye on this thread for useful suggestions - thanks for the thoughts to date.

I did the basket of goodies thing for DS1, because he's the sort of person who is given a boost by that sort of thing. It contained a combination of stuff for revision (highlighters, post-it notes) and stuff for relaxation (herbal tea, some bits from Lush).

DS2 is a very different person and a basket of things wouldn't really do much for him. What will help him is keeping everything routine during the exam period and planning things for him to look forward to when it's over.

Ds claims that he's read on a website that it will reduce his stress levels if he's excused from chores. I pointed out that only really works if he does chores in the first place!
To be fair he walks the dog, which chills him out, he's played a bit of footy with ds2 and has just gone for a milkshake with some mates.

Hi, I'm a head of year 11. Here are some of the things I advise my students to do:

• revise in short bursts (20 or 30 minutes, then a short break)
• do revise in the mornings (doesn't have to be at 4am or the second you wake up)
• set a specific goal at the start of each 20 to 30 minute revision session and write it/them down, then tick them off when you finish
• write down all the topics/subtopics that will be in each exam. and rank them 1 to 5 depending on how confident you are of them. Re-do this exercise every 10-12 days. Focus on the topics you've ranked 1 and 2, but also think about WHY they're a 1 or a 2...chances are you have a fundamental lack of understanding and need to review the topic from the basics and probably need an expert friend, older student mentor, or teacher to answer your questions
• practise past papers and practise the questions/tasks that you find most difficult. This kind of 'high impact' revision is much more effective than gazing at the page of a textbook or highlighting some photocopies/notes
• make sure you have somewhere quiet to study. Go to a library if home is noisy.
• sleep (at normal sleeping hours), fresh air, water, varied and healthy diet, getting up and showered and dressed in the morning even if it's only to stay indoors revising
• clear periods of fun/relaxation
• make your revision timetable on a 3 to 5 day basis then review and make the timetable for the next few days. If you go off track, don't worry, just re-make your timetable for the future days. Make sure the timetable is realistic and achievable - show it to a parent or teacher, for example
• throw away your mobile phone (or give it to a parent while you're revising)
• avoid friends who make you feel stressed...you can resume the friendship after exams.!

And some of my tips for parents/family/guardians (my 2 bosses who each have 3 kids who've done GCSEs and A Levels in the last 5 years, and our school's Head of Boarding, contributed many of these) -

1. Don't have an exam. timetable on the fridge/pinboard unless your DC has specifically requested it. They're bound to have one in their bedroom so they don't want/need to see it all over the house. DO have one in your phone/handbag/diary so you can be discreetly aware of which exams. are coming up, and make a note of when the exams. with special equipment like Maths and Physics are.
2. DCs can definitely do chores during revision and exam. time! Stress is definitely reduced if there is a reliable supply of clean underwear/uniform/hairbands/etc. so parents can help by ensuring that whoever in the family does the laundry/shopping is on top of that. Something like finding out your deodorant has run out the morning of the dreaded French oral exam. can seem like the end of the world...
3. Same for food. You don't have to do the cooking but exams. do take their toll on the brain so it can be less stressful to say to your DC 'will X be ok for dinner tonight?' than asking them what they fancy or presenting lots of choices. X = a reliable favourite meal of DC.
4. When left home alone to revise, DCs WILL get obscenely hungry so make sure there is a plentiful supply of snacks/quick foods they like/are healthy.
5. Same for stationery and supplies. Have an emergency stash of black pens (some exam. boards will allow blue, but others only permit black so black is the safest bet) and resist the urge to say things like, "you had hundreds of pens yesterday" when pre-exam. DC claims the whole house is a pen-free zone.

Basically organisation is your friend. Whatever you do, don't let their school shoes go missing the morning of an exam.

lockedout Really useful advice thanks

Thanks, hope didn't come across as patronising. We do an "exit survey" with each year group after mocks and the real exams. to get their feedback on what we can improve at school, what we can advise parents and most of all tips to be passed down to the younger students...the latter tends to be the most helpful as Year 12s can be evangelical about coming to give advice to Year 10s and Year 11s and the younger ones will actually listen to them!

No absolutely not locked I have a anxious DD so any tips to keep her calm most welcome

Set very specific, short term goals and visibly/clearly tick off when they've been achieved.

I am very glad you started this thread OP!
DS thinks the answer is ‘ignore it, go out, have your mates round’.

I’ve let him have a couple of days off, and today he cracks on.

The only stipulation I’ve said is he MUST carry on with physical activity. I’ll make sure he eats and sleeps well. He needs to put the hours in.

Good luck to you all.

I can pass on what I advise my students:

• make a plan and make the plan sensible
• don't decide you are doing revision in massive chunks. Do smaller 45 min chunks. Then a break.
• make sure your revision is purposeful. E.g. copying out a revision guide for hours may feel like revision but remembering after isn't as effective as making flash cards and then doing short bursts of quizzing
• don't revise with your phone or anything linked to sociql media to hand
• plan in time off and commit to things with family and friends
• keep your hobbies going (even if it means say dancing 2 nights a week rather than 4)
• when planning revision, make a list of all the topics. Revise the weakest first. End the day with something you are confident with.
• try to keep to a routine and reasonable sleeping hours.
• avoid getting into competitive revision group chats (some types of students whip up stress and anxiety that's totally unnecessary)
• ignore people who claim they aren't revising. Most will be and the ones who aren't won't do as well.
• talk to friends and family if you feel overwhelmed

Keep calm and carry on. If you've been working hard in class, doing your homework, treated your mocks sensibly and a bit of revision then you will be absolutely fine.

Great advice maisypops, I really hope you right are as DD keeps me firmly at arms length. She took a huge knock in confidence following poor mock results.

She is putting a lot of pressure on herself but not actual doing a lot of revision