GCSEs, year 11 and study after Easter . Does your school state or private give them study leave ?

[Foxy333]

I've found out my DC school.does not give them any study leave after Easter holidays until the first GCSE of the year. What does your dcs school do?

Our school does the same.
It considers focussed revision in school better for most pupils than what they may or may not actually do at home.

When DD did GCSEs 4 years ago, they had to be in full time until half term, and then they only had to attend for lessons not yet examined after half term. They tweak details a bit each year.

Ours starts the day before the exams start! They are not required to go into school during this period but the lessons will be running as normal for those who want to have teacher on hand to help. Some students have been told they must attend all lessons!

Dd had no study leave last year. She was expected in lessons until all exams for that subject were over.

I'm not sure for ds (he goes to a different school)

My DC private school gave study leave, I thought it was a bad idea as felt like we were paying for nothing, I’d have preferred them to have stayed in school and been given supervised revision.
It’s too hot and miss just sending them home.

We have no study leave.

DD has study leave from 1st May. No lessons at all are run after that, but they can come to school if they wish and use the library to revise. Teachers are also available on a one to one if required.

Even when I did GCSEs (which was bloody ages ago) we did get study leave until a couple of weeks before exams started. And no one did any studying.

My two (different schools) had to be in all the time until after half term - they went to lessons as timetabled or revised (if the subject had been completely examined).

Ours students don’t get study leave until after May half term and even then there are still revision sessions for subjects that have exams left to do. We got rid of study leave about 8 years ago and our students get much better results. When the Head made the decision I thought it would improve A-Cs but have a detrimental impact on the A and A students who I believed revised better independently at home. The Head was right and I was wrong.

I don't know any schools that start much before the first GCSE (not including things like language orals which tend to be early). I had done 2 GCSEs before mine started 30 years ago because I had some early exams.

Dc's school doesn't start study leave until after half term. They do have an altered time table., so as subjects finish they stop.
Even after half term they are expected to go in for some study periods.
This was because about three years ago they had a year that "lost" the study leave due to bad behaviour and they found the results were way up on what they expected. So since then they've cut study leave (and been very pleased with the results from that). If anything I think they might go to even later.

DS did GCSEs last year. No study leave - in right across the Easter holidays unless they were away and through the exam period up to the May half-term. If they didn't have an exam they were in revision classes.

After half term they only went in for exams.

I guess we must be one of the few comprehensives left that have study leave. Ours is from 28th April.
The teachers are expected to be in class during their normal lessons, however, and that means the DC can go in and have full days in school if they wish. During the couple of days study leave before the mocks in December, DS went in, and he found it brilliant, said it was like having a one to one tutor.
This year the Year 13s have their study leave only from May 8th, but if they are performing to expectations and they request it, they can have from April 28th.

Our school doesn't do study leave. In school revision sessions are compulsory until all GCSEs for that subject are done and in practice it means that even towards the end of GCSEs they don't have more than the odd morning or afternoon off. It worked for DD1 and I'm happy with it.

My school has done away with study leave completely. We expect all year 11 pupils in school full time until the last exam. So they sit in lessons for subjects they've already done the exam for and use that time to revise for exams yet to come.

As teachers we don't like it because those lessons after your own exam where you're supervising revision for other subjects are really hard work. The pupils don't like it, because they'd rather be at home. The parents mostly like it, because otherwise they'd have to find a way of bringing their children to school for exams or collecting them after exams. The general public of the small town we're located in love it, because so many of our kids get to and from school via school transport and actually have no way of getting home during the school day (don't suggest public buses, for a lot of the villages round here there's one bus a week!) So when we used to have study leave what the kids used to do was hang around the town centre messing around and generally being pains in the neck. We also got our best ever GCSE results last year, which does back up SMT that the kids do more revision if they're in school than if they're on study leave.

We do get loads more year 11 who are suddenly "ill" on days they don't have exams, or dentist appointments for half days, but that's only the kids who can get to and from school easily. The vast majority just do as school say and sit revising in classrooms rather than "revising" at home.

I can't imagine any state school now starting study leave before the exams start.

My DS is at private school. He can go in during Easter holidays for pre-booked and paid for revision sessions with teachers. He’s doing 5.

After Easter break he’s back to school for 2 weeks and then on Study leave

No study leave here.

DD's old school stopped study leave several years ago. The results rocketed when they did this. Her school was in a similar situation to that of MsAwesomeDragon's - situated in a small market town with most pupils only able to get to school on designated school buses.

DD was one of the few students who revised better at home than at school, and I was more relaxed about her staying home on non exam days after half term.

I think more schools don't offer study leave than do these days.

Private school - study leave from 13/5.

In school revision lesson until that exam completed so amount of time in school tails off. Plus full after school revision sessions and some weekend sessions before exam. On morning of a particular subject most teachers available from 7:30 am in school for last minute help. This is at a state comprehensive which performs as well/ better than many local private schools. Both my ds did very well and I think the focused revision helped, I am very grateful that the teachers did this.

That's been 'then norm' for several years now.
Far better. It means they are up and working in the morning, and have no access to social media.

This year at DS2's (state grammar) school, year 11s can earn the right to 'home' study leave by having got above a certain points average in the recent mocks. Going on his results so far, he should be entitled to leave, but says that he will probably go in anyway.

Ds school used to have study leave when I was there, but some away with it- I’m so glad because none of us studied! Now they go in, have the teachers on hand for help, and even run extra classes 7:30am-8:30am in subjects like maths, if children express that they feel they need extra support, want to go over certain topics etc. I think this is a way better system, and am so grateful that staff are willing to do this for GCSE and A Level students.

Sorry forgot to say we are a state school.

Private school

• study leave after Easter hols but dd needs this as homework is still coming in and no time for revision yet. Also no Easter revision sessions offered. Only after school

Revision at the moment.