Extra curricular commitments in GCSE year

[BackInTime]

DS is currently in Y10 and does a quite a lot of activities during the week and at the weekend. He is just about coping with homework and the extra curricular stuff this year but just thinking ahead to next year and wondered if he should consider scaling things back a bit.

He has a tendency to get a bit overwhelmed when he has a lot on and seems to need more downtime and sleep to function properly these days.

Any advice or experience greatly appreciated. TIA

I think it depends on your child.
Dd1 scaled back all except piano, musical theatre and youth group. I wouldn't have wanted her to take those away as she needed a break.
Dd2 is in year 10 and scaled back (to trumpet, orchestra, musical theatre, gym) at the start of year 9, but I don't think will scale back any more.

My DS is in Yr11 and does DofE, Explorer Scouts, and plays football and rugby both weekend days, he also has footy training every other week. He hasn’t scaled back at all, but dropped guitar lessons which he refused to practise for

I think it's best to carry on as normal unless the DC is a bit meh about the activity, in which case why bother.

DD sat her GCSEs in the summer. The first 6 months of the year were a logistical nightmare as she had revision sessions after school 3 nights each week, held down a part-time job, played tennis for several hours and had a season ticket for premiership rugby. We monitored how tired she was, made sure she ate properly and didn't stop her doing anything. Yes, she could possibly have got a couple of better grades, but it really doesn't matter in the great scheme if things, as she came through it unscathed whilst dealing with some significant traumas.

I agree Soursprout it is important to have some stuff outside school and GCSEs for wellbeing and to have a balance.

I am probably being extra cautious as the DHs cousin had a breakdown weeks before her GCSEs. She was training for her sport for hours every day after school and at weekends also traveling for competitive events. All this on top of GCSEs, DofE, school clubs and pressure from parents to keep going when she was feeling overwhelmed it just got too much.

I would play it by ear. You know your DS best, look out for signs he is overtired and overwhelmed. I agree it’s important to keep a balance and get a ‘mental’ break from studying. My DS (y11 last year) carried on with 14 hours+ of dance training most weeks, but when tired slept in late weekend mornings and missed the first couple of classes some weeks. He was however very efficient and good at managing his time as he was motivated to keep his training going and get decent grades. Sunday’s were devoted to sleep and study!

I guess it also depends on the impact of your DS not doing his extra curricular stuff. For example, my DS does a lot of musical activities but these will be hugely useful for him to get into the course he wants to do at Uni. So for us it's a massive balancing act to ensure that he gets plenty of sleep, keeps up with his academic study and has enough time to dedicate to his music. And that's without any pressure at all from me or my DH - all this is driven by my DS himself but I feel as his parent I need to make sure he's healthy both physically and mentally, hence ensuring he's in bed nice and early with no phone!

My DS (currently Year 12) kept up his music and sporting extra curricular all last year as a time when he could allow his 'academic' brain to decompress.

Interestingly, I found myself doing more 'facilitating' than in the previous year as I wanted him to use his time profitably rather than (for example) waiting for 3 buses to get to band practice.

My ds is in year 11 and does athletics three times a week and swimming once a week. Extra-curricular activities are really important for teaching soft skills and for college/uni/job applications as long as the kids aren't overwhelmed.

I would play it by ear.

Personally, i recommend students to keep their enrichment and plan for GCSE revision and prep early.
Mock exams are often in December/January so I would advise starting little and often revision from September. Starting early helps prevent stress later on.
I'd also try to look at effective revision strategies. Too often students think staring at revision guides, copying their casework out or spending hours making pretty mindmaps is effective revision but more often than not students don't know how to revise effectively.

Maybe evaluate workload at October half term.

Like most, I think it is important to have something 'other' than school work. You know your child best though Your dh's cousin seems extreme. Most dc who are 'busy' , thrive on that, and doing the other things is a 'break to them as much as a couple of hours in front of the TV is to another youngster. Indeed, a couple of hours running round a football pitch is lFAR better for mental wellbeing in terms of exercise / fresh air / friendships etc, than a couple of hours watching netflix or playing x box in their room.
After Easter, then just take a 'sabatical' for a couple of months rather than giving up on all extra curricular things for Yr11.