Any tips from those who’s kids got great GCSE grades?

[ILiveInSalemsLot]

What do you think helped your kids achieve good results?
My ds will be doing his in a couple of years. He’s doing ok but definitely needs to put more effort in. I’d be really grateful for any tips.
TIA

[MinaPaws]

DS1 has natural aptitude but also natural work ethic. With no prompting he worked hard consistently for alle xams. His instinct was to get to a level where he really enjoyed every single subject. So he came out with A8s in everything. But that was very much a mixture of genes and personality. I'm guessing OP wants tips that aren't just 'be clever and enjoy academic study.' Much as I'm very proud of DS1, DS2's grades are more indicative of what you can do despite having processing problems, and not really enjoying most subjects, and not having any in-built motivation to work hard and excel.

He made a timetable for every mock from Yr10 onwards and stuck to it. He researched lots of different revision techniques and used the ones that helped facts stick in his brain (writing stuff down/copying out info does nothing for him. Whereas watching videos helps facts go straight in. I'm the opposite. If I haven't written it down, it's as if I never heard it.)

He went to all maths and chemistry clinics.

He was strategic in revision. If he'd worked hard, he could have got As in two subjects where he was already scoring a high B. But instead he chose to bring up to C grades to Bs so the overall spread of marks was more consistent. That was his choice and he was really happy it paid off.

[NipInTheAir]

Their genes
Functional family
Excellent schools
Encouragement
Love and good food.

[LoniceraJaponica]

Past papers definitely helped DD with maths and sciences. She got A* for them. They don't just test the knowledge, but exam technique.

[themagicamulet]

DS got all A* or 9 with a couple of very high 8s. He had been lazy and disorganised all through Y10 and 11, lost/crumpled notes etc. His mocks were very mixed but were a wake up call. Doing lots and lots of past papers for his revision really helped, so that he had experience of every question type and could highlight what he didn't know. He went to the library to work with a couple of friends every day during study leave so they got out of the house, had some structure and set goals for each day, but still had some downtime. Had a break for lunch etc. Still went out at weekends as it kept him sane. Obvs he must be bright and I wdn't recommend essentially teaching yourself the curriculum in the final few months, but as an approach to revision it worked for him.

[Wowthatwasabigstep]

Following for later.

[LoniceraJaponica]

DD's school had parents evenings on how to get their children through GCSEs.

[LooseAtTheSeams]

Depends on the child and it also depends what's going on at school. If the school is on top of the specifications and has experienced, specialist teachers who can teach dcs how to prepare for the exam, including how to revise, then it's fine. If not, sometimes help is needed from home. And I was bombarded with emails from school about GCSEs and revision from the November of Y11 so clearly our school wanted parents to be involved whether that's sitting down to test them on their revision or simply making sure they've done some.

[ShanghaiDiva]

Agree with Lonicera - depends on the child.

[LoniceraJaponica]

"I think at that age its up to them."

Wrong!

Not all 15 or 16 year olds have the emotional maturity to be left to their own devices when it comes to revision. Your DS clearly is emotionally mature, but DD wasn't. She needed a bit of a boost when it came to revision. In the end she did very well, but she wouldn't have done so well if I had left it up to her.

Not all children are the same

[PrincessoftheSea]

DS got 4 9s and the rest 8s and much higher grades than expected. His expected grades in some topics were 5 and he got a 9. I was not involved in his revision at all. I think at that age its up to them. I can only guess he crammed at the end and I think it helps he is really chilled out and kept calm on the day. He said some of the top students panicked and were just so burnt out that they achieved much lower grades than expected. I personally also think parents get too involved and perhaps think they provide support, but actually put too much pressure on these kids.

[LoniceraJaponica]

Don't do any group coursework.

DD took her GCSEs in 2016 and Citizenship was compulsory at her school. She had to do group coursework with a girl who just didn't do any work at all. The girl even managed to lose a letter from the prime minister.

Fortunately DD got an overall B because she aced her exam, in spite of her, although her coursework was graded a D

[LooseAtTheSeams]

As the parent of a DS with a slightly 'spiky' results sheet I totally endorse the advice here for sciences, it's definitely a marathon, not a cramming sprint. DS did well in subjects where he built up expertise over a much longer period. The geography teacher had them doing masses of practice papers from the summer of y10 and I just wish the biology and chemistry teachers had done the same. Physics went better because it uses maths ability and because DS realised it's not just about learning formulae but about really grasping concepts.

[Isentthesignal]

And another one saying that really linking the spec with their notes/handouts is vital. I did that 30 years ago - I still remember being quite surprised by the amount of material we had not been taught. Two of us did this and we were the only kids to get top grades.

[KingscoteStaff]

Yes to Tassomai - particularly if they have 15 minutes ‘dead’ time on the bus/train and they can do it every day on their phone.

And another one saying that really linking the spec with their notes/handouts is vital. During the summer holiday after Year 10, DS set up new (bargain from Amazon) lever arch folders for each subject with dividers with the same subheadings as the spec and filed all his Year 10 notes. It was then very clear what was illegible/missing/crumpled beyond recovery.

[IthinkIsawahairbrushbackthere]

A natural aptitude is important. I have one child who struggles academically and with all the support in the world she would not get the highest grades so you have to be realistic. The grades she had were the top grades she could get and we were pleased with her.

My youngest has the ability but most importantly she had the desire to do well. She is fiercely competitive and wanted to be at the top. She went to every revision session for her subjects and often she and her friend were the only two who turned up. Having that friendly rivalry spurred her on to do as much as she could.

Practically we were able to give her her own space to study - she has her own room but she kept that for sleeping/relaxing and the spare room became her study. Other than supplying food and drink and lifts to and from school for revision sessions we didn't do anything - her attitude and ability were responsible for her great results - she was one of the top 10 pupils in the school.

[preggersteach]

Don't think you can cram towards the end, these new exams (for science anyway) have much more focus on application of knowledge and so memorizing info is not assessed as much as it used to be. As some one else said it is a marathon not a sprint. You need to ensure you understand the material as you learn it so you can then apply it to other situations so ask teachers if you don't understand things from the start of your GCSE course. Complete as many exam papers as possible, not too much old spec ones as these don't transfer properly to the new spec. Listen to teachers when they talk about what the examiner is looking for and how to answer questions, listen to feedback from them. I found that so many students know the science but don't use the tight terminology or miss out keywords in answers and so miss the mark even though they understand the underlying content, it is a skill they need to develop.

[Cherryburn]

I’d definitely recommend Tassomai, especially if started early. It’s a great way to absorb the knowledge required. Then supplement with as many past papers as possible nearer the exams to nail the exam technique.

[Stickerrocks]

Tassomai has been highly rated by a lot of parents for science revision. Apparently they are offering a big disvou t if you sign up before the end of September.

[Stickerrocks]

Take advantage of every bit of out of hours help the school is willing to give you. DD's school ran sessions after school each evening and during school holidays. These were only attended by the DC who wanted to be there, not those forced to be there, regardless of their targets and their predicted grades, so there seems to have been a real partnership approach and lots of marginal gains which made a real difference.

[Cherryburn]

That is a lot! DS got great results and did nowhere near that amount until the Easter holidays and study leave when he was revising for 6-7 hours/day (with a day off/week on average.) I think he would have burnt out with rdexu’s DS’s schedule over the year.

My top tips would be:

• make sure they have a really good grasp of the syllabus for each subject. They make it clear exactly what they have to know
  
• be really clear about exam technique needed to answer each type of question
  
• use past papers where available.
  
• pay really close attention to the mark schemes
  
• ditto the examiner reports which tell you what they are (and aren’t) looking for
  
• use online resources. There are some brilliant ones out there now

[JillCrewesmum]

Gosh that sounds a lot! Can't remember what hours dd worked but not sure it was that many before Easter.

[rdexu]

DS1 did very well in his GCSEs this year. However, despite being bright, throughout his school career, he's never had the best work ethic.

Because of this, me and DH wanted to set in place clear expectations about his studying and revision. DS agreed to us enforcing this, as I think he's aware himself that his self-discipline isn't the best.

We were clear from the start of the year that we expected him to be doing a minimum of 3-4 hours work each school night(including homework and revision). We allowed him Friday night off, but expected him to do at least 12 hours work over Saturday and Sunday.

While it did take DS a while to get used to these expectations, he eventually got into it and actually became very motivated in himself which resulted in him doing even more work.

I don't think success at GCSE is purely down to hard work, but it certainly does play a huge part. DS thanked us for being strict on him when he received his results.

[ShanghaiDiva]

From my son:
Revise throughout the year to consolidate knowledge - especially in science subjects.
Do loads of past papers as similar/same questions do come up.

[MinaPaws]

Thank you Romany. He did. And I'm so proud of him.

[RomanyRoots]

Mina

Well done to your ds, he must have worked very hard to beat his target.
I bet you are deservedly well proud