How are you helping your Yr 11 prepare themselves for their GCSEs?

[Ggirl27]

My DS is taking his GCSEs in 4 weeks and is back to school tomorrow. He is really starting to panic about how quickly they are looming. He has been revising since February - nothing manic but a couple of hours every night during the week along with homework and revision classes at school. I think he has been working diligently and I am proud of the way he has applied himself. The problem is he is so worried about failing. Does anyone have any advice to boost his confidence? I am listening to his worries, have told him how proud I am and I can see he is working hard and trying his best. I have told him I am ready to listen whatever his worries are. I want to help as much as I can. What are you doing to help your DS/DD prepare and to make them feel OK about the exams that are fast approaching?

I've tried to help dd see how she is spending her time - helped her make a timetable which she can colour code depending on if she is revising or not, and what she is revising. She likes to give me cards to test her for some subjects, but mostly it is about reassuring her.
She too thinks it is all "too hard" and "too much". I can only assure here that everyone (across the country) is in the same boat. This will be the first time since O-levels that everyone is going into every exam with everything depending on that exam / those exams for every subject. I try to assure her that we will be proud of her efforts.

I have also let her off helping out around the house
I also make her go out and walk her friends dog every now and then, to both get some fresh air, and move around, but also to chat and laugh with her friend.

My DS took his last year and he also worked hard and was diligent with revision. The most important thing I felt I could do was encourage regular breaks, my ds often felt swamped by the volume of work he had to cover in so many subjects, and also to eat well and not revise too late into the evening. Basic stuff but he needed reminding! If they have worked hard they should be ok so I also had to remind him of this, it was almost as though he forgot how much he knew and began to panic instead. Now that he is onto A levels, I can’t believe the slog that was GCSEs. Good luck with it all!

There's a long running GCSE 2018 thread you could try to find.

Why is your son so worried about failure? Has he done badly on his mocks, or does he have SLDs? What are the entry tariffs for his next step (assuming he wants to go to 6th form)? The toughest entry Reqs around here are 6 x Grade B (6) GCSEs. Most kids who study for 2 hours a night for 3 months before the exam season would manage that fine.

Sounds like he has been working consistently which is really good...Is your DS doing past papers and marking them himself. I think this can give them reassurance even if they answer questions incorrectly because often its not knowledge but silly mistakes like not reading or answering the question asked. If there are gaps of forgotten knowledge you can also aim the revision in that direction.

For the 'worried about failing' I would go with:

"You have been working hard, you deserve to do well, keep trying your best and we will be proud of you whatever the results. If you don't do as well as predicted we will deal with that if it happens and find a route for you to continue on. You are doing well and we are proud, keep it up."

Basically, he can't control the exams themselves, but he can control his preparedness, which he is doing, so that's OK.

Thanks for your replies everyone. I have looked at the GCSE 2018 thread but everyone on there seems to have children who are looking at 9's in every subject and my DS is just a normal lad! His mocks weren't great before Christmas but the mocks he did in February showed improvement and were all 4s and above. He goes to a school that just scraped a good on it's last Ofsted and he is doing his best with the resources available to him. He's been into school everyday over the Easter holidays for revision classes and will be going in Saturdays as well from this weekend. He seems to have been doing exam questions in every lesson for the whole of Year 11! It's just a confidence thing - his classwork is fine but he seizes up when it comes to exams. I actually wish I had a magic wand to take the pressure away from him, I'd happily take them for him if I could...

I'm on the GCSE thread, and my DS is "supposed" to do well (although I'm having my doubts about that in some subjects). I wish you didn't feel that the threads are not for you, as it wasn't supposed to be about just the more able.

FWIW, this is what you could say to your DS to make him feel better: he has been working consistently and that it is much better than cramming or not doing any work at all (some say that they still aren't according to DS).
So that gives him a major advantage.
He got 4s which showed a big improvement. The hardest thing is getting started but now your DS is getting into the groove of working, he'll become increasingly more effective when revising, which may well have a positive impaçt on grades.
Remember that these exams are graded on a relative, not absolute basis. How he does against everyone else in year 11 up and down the country is how his grades will be determined, and with the way he has been working, plus the 4s already attained, it gives him an advantage.

It's sort of true, but if you can get him to buy into it, it will help his confidence, which will make a difference to how well he studies and therefore his results.

Then, just do the obvious: make sure he is physically ready: regular healthy meals, stay hydrated, S ome outdoor exercise, a decent amount of sleep.

Apart from that, you can test him from the revision guides, flash cards etc. Encourage him to do the parts he feels weakest at first in the subjeçts that he most needs and make sure he knows which topics are in which papers and on what dates.

That's what I would do and say to help your son, if he were mine. Mainly, I'd be looking to make him see that he has optimised his chances by the way he has worked and that has given him an advantage.

I have occasionally posted on the GCSE thread and my dd is definitely not an all 9s candidate. They are a very friendly bunch.

My dd is struggling with some health issues and has got a bit behind. Its really stressing her out so I am doing more than I otherwise would.

I've helped make an elaborate revision plan (partly inspired by @mmzz thanks )

We are reading all the literature texts together a chapter or scene each evening. I'm particularly enjoying my Shakespearean acting at the moment!

We are both doing daily German on an app. It's only been a few weeks but now I can test her on her speaking test without her doubling up laughing at my pronunciation

I'm also quite involved in her English language revision. It's her weakest subject and it was my degree subject so you'd think I'd be useful but I've had to watch lots of YouTube videos to understand the exam marking. plus obviously I know nothing because I'm old

The main issue we're having is that she runs out of energy by around 7pm so she really needs to get her revision done early but she doesn't always start as soon as she gets in. She's aiming for 2 hours a night after school but she rarely manages it.

I think she needs to spend less time at school and revise at home but they haven't finished teaching all the subjects yet.

Thanks mmzz for the advice. It does seem ridiculous that the exams are graded on a relative not absolute basis. I suppose we all need to hope that this year our DC's are the bright ones amongst a year of low achievers! He's come back from school today and some of his friends haven't even started revising yet so he feels boosted by the fact that he's got a bit of a head start. I'm being positive with him and encouraging him as much as I can. Roll on mid June when it will all be over! I am also trying not to be show my anxiety as well. Last year only 50% of year 11's in his school got 5 passes at A-C so I don't want him to be in the wrong half...

DD is getting a bit frustrated as she feels that there are not enough hours in the day.
I have helped her by going through the exam specifications which give pointers on what the examiners are looking for.
For example , in English Lit ( Skakespeare) the AO1 marks are for the student’s personal response , whilst the AO2 marks focus on how the writer uses language , form and structure.
Furthermore, I have printed off some materials from the internet and put them in labelled folders.
However, sometimes what the dcs really need is a cuddle

If your ds has been doing a couple of hours every night since February, plus revision classes at school, plus going into school everyday over the Easter holidays for revision classes plus he will be going in Saturdays as well from this weekend plus He seems to have been doing exam questions in every lesson for the whole of Year 11! then he is going to be WAY ahead of the vast majority of other Yr11s. My only concern would be that he wasn't living a very balanced existence.

Ggirl that's the reason right there why only half the DC at your son's school get the basic amount of good passes: they don't put in the hours of study. It's also the reason your DS will be in the right half.
I'm not always an all out fan of schools, but to be fair there is only so much a school can do if the students aren't willing to put in the effort. It wouldn't matter how skilled, knowledgeable, organised, well-resourced and dedicated the teachers are if the students aren't willing to get stuck into the revision.

The relative versus absolute thing was to stop the grade creep because an A at GCSE achieved in 1990 (say) was a real mark of achievement but a few years ago it was nothing special at all.

DS uses senecalearning.com/ for science and he says it is really useful. He learns quickly with it and it explains things well. Its a new company - only started last month - so it is still adding new subjects and topics on every few days. eg at first they only had the first 70% of Physics but then they added the rest.

Best of all - it is free!

OP I'm dipping into the 2018 thread from time to time but not contributing at all because DD4 is predicted all 9s! (Despite being very dubious about the likelihood of predictions matching outcomes - just enjoying it while it lasts!). I'm not getting into any discussions with DD4 about GCSEs really beyond 'Everything ok?' etc and am just around on the sidelines (well actually I've just been away with one of the older siblings for a fortnight and DD4 stayed at home with a brother). I tend to be very matter of course. I don't get involved with what subject she's doing or how long she's doing what for. My position has always been just to do the normal stuff (meals etc) and try to avoid others making too much noise around the house at exam time (including, especially, our barky dogs!). I'm sorry your DS is worried.

BackforGood I do hope so! He is a busy lad away from school though he plays rugby on Sundays and trains during the week - he also volunteers to train the U7s one night a week at another rugby club so he has something other than his schoolwork to focus on. I did take my GCSEs in 1990 funnily enough and they seemed so much easier back then! I'll point him in the direction of senecalearning.com to mix his revision up a bit, sounds like a good resource. It's so nice of you all to share your experiences - so thank you. I'd really like to be able to help him with revision especially his English as it is his weakest subject but I'm not sure where to start so if anyone has any tips or pointers I'd appreciate it.

I have been searching for useful websites and past/sample papers so that DS doesn't waste time googling stuff. BBC Bitesize and MyGCSEscience spring to mind. I have been asking German speaking questions in probably the most awful German accent imaginable. I have been turning a blind eye to stuff around the house that I would usually expect him to do. Finally I have reiterated that he has had great attendance at school, has always done his homework, has done OK in exams and has had feedback on strengths and weaknesses - just trying to make him see that what he has done over the past 2 years will have a large bearing on his exam results.

English - Mr Bruff for English Lit and maybe English Lang too.
Find him on youtube.
Once he's seen the videos though, the next thing is getting lots of practice

and the CGP guides are good too (make sure you get the right ones though: 9-1, AQA/ Edexcel and Higher or foundation, as appropriate)

Gigi- As I said in an earlier post, use the examining boards website for English Lit and Lang. It basically tells you what they expect in the exams and gives you written examples.
Many people tend to only focus on past papers , which is great. However, the examiners reports are very useful. Particularly for students who are not getting the high grades that they deserve despite the fact that they are working hard.
One must remember that exam technique is a vital component in passing exams.

Have got my DS on senecalearning.com when he got home from school and he's been on it all evening! That was a great suggestion and far more interactive than deadly dull revision guides. Thanks for that :)