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Secondary education

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Original poster

7 hours a day revision for GCSEs!

54 replies

EllenJanethickerknickers · 30/03/2018 20:08

Has anyone seen this article?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-43599684

What do you think? Is 7 hours reasonable? He's got a point in a 'mindset' way that those who succeed are those who work for it but I think 7 hours a day revision is ridiculous, more than I did for my degree! Maybe that's why I got a 2:2! Grin

OP posts:
Original poster
EllenJanethickerknickers · 30/03/2018 20:09

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-43599684

OP posts:
Pengggwn · 30/03/2018 21:06

It's a bit much, but 5-6 hours on the ten (approx) weekdays of the holidays, then 2-3 hours one weekend day and one weekend day off? That's just what they need to do to cover the content.

pigshavecurlytails · 30/03/2018 21:07

Perfectly reasonable, think I did similar.

mercurymaze · 30/03/2018 21:08

i don't really get why anyone would have to revise if you're taught it correctly in the first place so it sticks? My ds did revise for his GCSEs last year but not that much did do alot of extra classes though, saturdays and early mornings.

ChippyMinton · 30/03/2018 21:11

6 hours a day is the expectation from DS’s school. He’s made his own timetable and teachers have provided revision materials. He’s only doing weekdays though.

Pengggwn · 30/03/2018 21:11

mercurymaze

Then no one is ever taught well, or hardly anyone.

Runningissimple · 30/03/2018 21:12

I call bullshit. I did 6 - 8 hours a day for my finals at 21. Anymore and my brain was fried. Got a first. Oxbridge. And definitely not a genius. More hours doesn't mean more thinking. We're lighting a fire not filling a pail...

GCSE's 4-6 hours a day with the weekends off is plenty. They're 16. Jesus.

Nousernameforme · 30/03/2018 21:12

I think the 5/6 hours a day 2/3 school days is ridiculous especially 2 months before exams. DD does 2 hours on non school days in 20 min blocks and 1 hour on school days. I think too much too soon they will burn out and risk not remembering it.

Pengggwn · 30/03/2018 21:14

Runningissimple

Revision isn't about thinking. It's going over and learning the quotations, the facts, the interpretations, the question structures etc. Some people can do that more easily than others. Most people need to study hard for that stuff to stick.

Nousernameforme · 30/03/2018 21:15

Am I being really crap then? Cause I honestly thought that was a reasonable amount. We have had no guidelines on amount expected.

abilockhart · 30/03/2018 21:17

Not every student will want to put in this amount of revision time nor will many students need to put in this amount of time.

However, those who are striving to achieve their very best will be putting in the time. Self-discipline outdoes IQ in predicting academic performance.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 30/03/2018 21:18

They would burn out with that advice. The advice was for 100 hours over two weeks, Working 7 hours 7 days a week only gets you to 49 hours.

Rest is important as is time to assimilate what has been learned. dds college recommend about half of that with full days of no work at all.

RandomMess · 30/03/2018 21:19

Well DD is screwed been horrifically unwell for the last week and probably not going to be 100% until the end of her hols!

Forevertired19 · 30/03/2018 21:22

I didn't revise much at all and I did alright. Not the best but I definitely think a set amount of hours should be put into place. But 7 hours is a bit extreme. I agree with pp, if they're taught it correctly in school they shouldn't really need to revise. Just go over.

My maths gcse I remember looking at the textbook in tears because I didn't understand it because I wasn't taught.
It was the only gcse I didn't pass. But my teacher spent most of her time telling kids off than teaching..

FellOutOfBed2wice · 30/03/2018 21:25

On study leave me and my best friend studied together and we always aimed to do the amount of time we would have been in school anyway so 9ish-3ish which is six hours. We did sometimes do it in Starbucks and drank a lot of Frappuccinos but it did seem to work. We would alternate between doing a couple of hours of our own individual subjects- we didn’t do the same options- and then spend some time quizzing one another on the core subjects. If you think your DS can be trusted I would recommend revising with a friend. I continued to do this for my A Levels, degree and PGCE. And did pretty well!

Runningissimple · 30/03/2018 21:28

Penggwyn

Revision is about embedding knowledge from your short term memory into your long term memory. I think that's thinking. If you're not thinking when you're revising, I imagine that might be the issue Hmm

I didn't say students don't have to work, I said that they need to do between 4 to 6 hours a day and rest at at weekends.

I'm also a secondary school teacher, so I have some experience in this.

I also see a lot of kids with a lot of mental health issues but hey ho! If they've got 10 A*s, I guess a few panic attacks are by the by.

Original poster
EllenJanethickerknickers · 30/03/2018 21:31

My DS is doing 2 hours a day in half hour bursts. Personally, I think that's fine as a minimum. I did a little more for O levels back in the day, but only because I was a 'keener!' Grin

7 hours revision a day at 15 isn't sensible imo. You can't do proper high level learning for that length of time without burning out. Any DC telling you they're doing 7 hours is possibly being economical with the truth.

OP posts:
Malbecfan · 30/03/2018 21:44

We had an assembly for year 11 and they were given a blank revision timetable for Easter and a load of revision tips. The main advice was to take today, tomorrow and Sunday off, have a good rest and recharge. Then start in earnest on Monday. They should aim for 4 hours each day, but NOT all in one go. The HoY suggested getting up at 7.30 and working 8 - 10am, then going out and later doing say 4 - 6pm to keep a balance of work and family time. They need a mixture of revision activities, preferably active revision rather than simply reading their notes.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 30/03/2018 21:49

That sounds pretty sensible Malbec.

I also quite like the idea of just follow the school day in terms of revision. Stick to the same timetable.

TheSecondOfHerName · 30/03/2018 22:11

There's a reaction article in the Guardian, which includes the following...

"Reflecting on Lenon’s advice, Justine Roberts, founder and chief executive of the parenting website Mumsnet, said: “For young people who have left it to the last minute or who thrive on cramming, this advice could be great. For others, it risks adding to already considerable stress levels.
“In the run-up to big public exams there are always plenty of reports on Mumsnet about children who are visibly upset, not sleeping or eating, or just feeling generally hopeless. The consensus is that these children need to be encouraged to take more breaks, not chain themselves to their desks.”

stringmealong · 30/03/2018 22:45

I think it depends how much work actually goes on at school! DD knows which subjects she hasn't been taught quite so much in (disruptive pupils or teacher had time off sick) & is putting in extra hours in those subjects. But as a rough guide she is spending 10-2 in the library during the holidays then aiming for a break when she gets home. She mainly got B's in the mocks & would really like to move each subject up at least one grade. I don't think the time she is spending is unreasonable- anymore than that & she becomes far too stressed for it to be of any benefit!

chaplin1409 · 30/03/2018 22:50

I have a ds doing GCSE exams and a dd doing AS exams. They are both currently away completing their silver d of e expedition but I know when they get back Tuesday my dd will be full on revising yet my ds will only do a few hours each day. I can't make them do more or less. They know what they need to do and all I can do is encourage them but at the same time they need time to relax chill a d spend time with family. They will be very busy revising and working the next couple of months.

Petitepamplemousse · 30/03/2018 22:53

I don’t see the big deal at all. I did probably abot 4 hours a day for GCSEs and 6/7 for A Levels and got top grades that wouldn’t have managed otherwise. They are off school and not doing anything else! As a teacher, I would advise any of my students to do the same. Short term pain for long term gain - and they will have a lovely long summer soon afterwards!

Petitepamplemousse · 30/03/2018 22:56

And agree with PP that the amount of revision devoted to each subject will vary, depending on the child’s aptitude and the teacher etc. I never needed to revise English to get A*s but certainly did for Science, for instance.

Pengggwn · 31/03/2018 03:42

Runningissimple

I didn't say any student should continue to revise through panic attacks, or not take breaks, or not revise according to their own ability to do so.

My point is that revision isn't about 'lighting a fire' - it is more about filling a pail. In general, you will get out what you put in. Revising for more time (in short bursts) is likely to produce better results than not doing so. And I felt your post didn't recognise that, so I said so.

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