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Secondary education

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Original poster

GCSE Revision - how much should they be doing ?

40 replies

ICantFindAFreeNickName2 · 21/01/2019 21:33

My DD is sitting her exams in the summer. A teacher has told her she should be doing 3-4 hours revision per subject every week. As she is doing 10 GCSE's that's 30-40 hours revision on top of school.

My DD is trying to work out a plan where she can fit this much in but I'm worried that she will burn herself out before the exams start. How much revision are your children being asked to do at this stage ?

OP posts:
Comefromaway · 21/01/2019 21:41

Dd did her GCSE’s last year. She did 8 subjects and got mostly Grade 8 with a couple of Grade 9, a 7 and a 6.

At this stage she was doing about an hour a night with a couple of extra hours at weekends, so roughly an hour a week per subject.

Her school didn’t have study leave so all classes after Easter were revision sessions. After school she was doing 60-90 minutes a night plus 3-4 hours at the weekend.

JustRichmal · 21/01/2019 21:46

That seems a lot. Dd is doing about 1 hour per week on every subject, but, as she still has 3 or 4 hours of homework as well, is struggling even with this. She does 2 hrs/night most nights and 5 or 6 hrs at weekends. (On day working, one day off).

Nearer the exams she will probably do more.

TeenTimesTwo · 21/01/2019 21:49

That's a daft amount, totally unreasonable and unsustainable.

Inforthelonghaul · 21/01/2019 21:51

Hmm I’d be ecstatic if DS did any!

goldengummybear · 21/01/2019 21:54

Dd does 1-2 hours a school night and 4-6 hours over the weekend.
Ds didn't start until March but that was far too late.

donajimena · 21/01/2019 22:00

My son has done bugger all. He's managed to get 4 c's so far. If he pulled his finger out he could be brilliant (he is brilliant, but at least he'd have certificates to prove it)

Original poster
ICantFindAFreeNickName2 · 21/01/2019 23:14

Thank for all your feedback. As I thought it does seem too much.

OP posts:
Soursprout · 21/01/2019 23:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Zoflorabore · 22/01/2019 05:23

Ds started his in September just by us buying all of the revision guides and highlighting any areas that he struggled with. He then started seriously revision for mocks and did very well.

Currently he has so much coursework for art and similar for photography.
He's staying every night after school for revision classes and has been since November and will continue until the exams.

He does around 1-2 hours every night and most of Sunday revising. Saturdays he goes to watch his football team either at home or anywhere else in the country.
Last week it was Southampton ( from Liverpool ) so he took some books and revised for a few hours on both journeys. He also uses some revision apps which test his knowledge which is especially helpful for science which he really struggles with.

Any revision is better than none and I'm glad that he's off the bloody Xbox and only goes on for an hour a day.

clary · 22/01/2019 07:55

Haha inforthelonghaul same!

OP she needs to have a life and other activities too. Has she had mocks? How did she do? Look at what she needs to target eg time management - practise questions against the clock. Quotes for Eng lit? Write them on flashcards and get you to test her.

Better to do a reasonable amount of targeted, sustainable, useful revision than trying to do overwhelming hours.

Seeline · 22/01/2019 09:21

My Ds had 2 -3 hours of homework each night, and over the weekend. Some of that was revision in that it was going over stuff already covered so practice questions etc.
He didn't do any individual revision until the Christmas holidays for his mocks straight after the break. He then went back to doing his set homework, which took up a significant amount of time, but again included some revision work set by teachers.
He didn't really start revision for his actual exams until the Easter holidays, but was away on a school trip for a week of that. Real independent revision started with his study leave. He did attend revision sessions laid on by the school before that started. He got all 7/8/9s.
30 - 40 hours on top of school and homework is ridiculous! When does the child eat/sleep/relax?

lanalon · 22/01/2019 11:06

My DD is totally stressed with GCSE revisiom. She wants to get all 9. From what I see she is doing revisiom all the time, except for Saturday morning when she does sport. She has got 8 in mocks and is not happy. She is ambitious and her school is very pushy to the detriment of children’s health.
How donI help her ? I tried aroma oils in the evening for relaxation, she does not like them. I am worried she will burn out before reals exams, which is a shame as she is a bright and able girl.
How do you help your children in these stressful time?

portico · 22/01/2019 15:01

GCSE Revision - how much should they be doing ?

Answer: “A fucking lot”

One hour before school and a couple of hours in the evening. Get my child to practise topica past paper questions. Eng Lang and Lit is my biggest concern.

OlderThanAverageforMN · 22/01/2019 15:06

One hour before school Shock

I am quite shocked by the amount all your DC's are doing. Needless to say, we are doing nothing like that. I would hope that where they have finished the curriculum classes were structured around revision, and any homework set now, would be revision too, therefore no extra revision needed. DD will be starting some home based revision after half term, and then start in earnest during the Easter holidays, which for us start beginning of April.

GinWorksForMe · 22/01/2019 15:56

DS2 did some half-hearted revision (maybe 10 hours, total) over the Christmas holidays and first two weeks of this term for his mocks, which he's just finished. No results yet but he felt they 'went ok'. He's now having, according to him, 'a week or two off'.

DS1 did his GCSEs last year. I felt panicked when I read threads on here where everyone else's children (especially the girls) seemed to be doing loads of revision. My DS had worked pretty well all through secondary school, did all the homework set by his school throughout the spring term (mostly revision), did maybe an hour or two a day through the Easter holidays/study leave in the summer term, kept playing computer games, playing competitive sport and working a paid job throughout and got a fantastic set of results. I had to bite my tongue frequently in the months running up to the GCSEs to stop myself from asking him if he was doing enough/what he knew and didn't know/if he should get off the bloody PS4 and get on with it! But I'm really glad I did.

We all need to make sure we keep our children healthy, happy and enjoying learning through what could potentially be a stressful time. No need to worry about what anyone else is doing - the right amount of revision will vary according to the child. Better indicators of GCSE success are probably their ability to work independently, their school attendance record, and how much attention they have paid in class and to homework the entire way through their educational journey.

Justgivemesomepeace · 22/01/2019 16:02

Dds school have finished the curriculum now so all lessons are revision. They started in year9. They have to stay to 1 revision lesson after school every day. There are also revision lessons before school and at lunch time which are optional. They recommend another hour each evening. There will also be lessons in the Easter holidays. They have a 'Prom Passport' in which they have to collect 100 stamps, which they get for attending a revision lesson. If they dont fill it up they cant go to the Prom.

OlderThanAverageforMN · 22/01/2019 17:22

100 stamps!! Are there enough weeks left in the term?? I still think that is bonkers. They have done three years of the same stuff, now all they are doing is revision in lessons, they must be bored to tears. They really don't need the extra revision lessons as well especially after school...... what on earth is going on with these schools, where is the balance?

Zoflorabore · 22/01/2019 17:41

Re: prom passport, my ds's school does exactly the same!
He started his GCSE's in year 9 too and has finished the curriculum for several subjects, history was first to finish.
He's already done English Lit in year 10 so one less to worry about.

His mocks were in November and they have the next ones in February.
He is absolutely exhausted :(

TeenTimesTwo · 22/01/2019 18:18

re Prom passport. I too think that de facto compulsory extra revision sessions is a bit much.
My DD1 revised more effectively with me 1-1 for many subjects than in a group at school. Her school just had a total for usual stamps in planner that had to be reached (30 available per week).
I also think it is a unfair on the teachers to a) insist they run sessions and then b) have them filled with pupils who feel coerced into being there rather than actually choosing to be there.

goldengummybear · 22/01/2019 18:18

They've not finished the course at my DD's school. Most subjects won't be complete until Feb half-term ish. Our school does 3 sets of mocks Nov/Jan/Mar so dd started revising for GCSEs in time for the first batch. No morning lessons here but an hour a day after school atm,

pointythings · 22/01/2019 19:28

30 to 40 hours a week is bonkers, as is Portico's schedule. It's a marathon, not a sprint. If you want burned-out failing children, by all means push it that hard.

At this stage much of the homework will be revision based so counts towards the total. Our school is offering revision sessions every lunch time and every day after school. And yes, there is a card to be stamped, but it's about incentives, not 'fail to complete this and you won't go to prom'. If they get 30 sessions stamped between now and Easter, they get a £10 Amazon voucher. DD2 is attending every day and most lunchtimes (when she is not on prefect duty). She is diligent about homework, has asked for practice questions and gets them marked. She still has a life. A couple of hours a day after school including homework + a lunchtime session makes a working day longer than most adults have. That's enough - and weekend working pushes her well over that.

My DD1 in Yr 13 has a lighter load, even with 3 academic A-levels and an EPQ...

portico · 22/01/2019 19:52

OlderThanAverageforMN

We live 8n front of the school, so boys can afford to spend an hour studying before registration.

portico · 22/01/2019 19:56

Pointhings - son’s school stated GCSEs in Y10, so syllabuses are still incomplete, Just focussing on weak subjects in morning, so we can work strong ones in the evening. As we live in front of the school, we don’t have travel time to deal with. Boys still have good work life balance

pointythings · 22/01/2019 20:09

I live 5 minutes' walk from our school. Granted we started GCSEs in Yr9, which is a distinct advantage with the content heavy nature of them. It's still an awful lot for your boys to do, unless they get a lot of downtime on weekends.

Mind you, DD2 has been known to revise in the morning before school - she has to do it by herself because I'm off to work before she gets up. I'm lucky that both my DDs are very self-motivated.

portico · 22/01/2019 20:13

Pointy things - they get a lot of downtime - but they still need to put the hours in. Son S weak in English but gained 8s and 9sin mocks for everything else. If he wants all 9s, he must put the hours in; and much more than he’s doing now

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