Tell me what is wrong with this GCSE revision timetable....

[IfYouCantSeeMyMirrors]

….which I have made up. Child due to sit GCSEs in summer 2020 - reasonably bright, reasonably amenable, and not that bothered one way or the other.

Here's my idea in brief: 200 hours of revision, starting from the New Year. (Child sorts out what actually needs to be revised before then and retrieves books from the rubbish tip of bedroom.) To be done in 1-hour slots. 2 hours per night for 3 nights of the school week (with the rest of the time taken up with activities and generally slobbing about), 5 hours for one day of the weekend (the other day at their intermittent Saturday job or relaxing).

Any homework given will be done during those 'work periods' too. During the Easter and May holidays, most days will be 5-hour revision days, making up for the time lost to that.

200 hours, 10 subjects, 20 hours for each. Divide each subject into ten 'parts' and revise each part twice.

Sounds perfect to me. What's wrong with it? This is my first child through the system, but I have more to come....

Oh and doing past papers and then marking himself will mean he learns what the markers are looking for with answers, they're easy to find on the exam board websites and his teachers can show him too

I was under the impression that piccolos post referred to normal term time, not the holidays.

I might have misunderstood piccolo's post too. I thought that had been a suggested amount from the start of Year 10. If that's just for the holidays, then it does seem OK to me (though clearly not to a lot of posters!). And surely nobody thinks that when you say '6 hours a day' you mean 6 solid hours - it's 6 hours across the course of the day. Or at least that's what I meant (well, 5 hours) in that amazing timetable I dreamt up....

The problem with it? Your dc needs to want to do the revision themselves not you.

Sit down with your dc*. Ask them what they think they need to do. Ask them how many sections to divide their subjects in to according to their syllabus. Ask them how many minutes they can concentrate. Then write down their timetable as they^ think of it for themselves. They will learn far more and far more happily if they feel they have chosen to do it.

You can lead a student to a revision guide but you can't make them think.

Have you worked on it with your DC? Also it depends how they learn. I revise better if organised, this is going back a fair few years, but I would sticky note the start of key topics (ie have them poking out of the exercise book) and label them, so that when it came to revising it was super quick to locate what was needed, and I would note any references to textbooks eg page 68-101 for x. At the end of a topic I would make flash cards, fairly brief, but it meant that when it came to revising they were already made. If things are on computers more now then files would work in the same way, 1 a subject and split into topics to keep reference material etc. It took time in the evenings, but honestly, it meant that when everyone else was scrambling around making revision tools etc I was already done- and I am convinced that it saved a fair amount of time in the long run.

, with regard to testing on flashcards and so on. My parents never tested me or anything like that and I think it's unlikely to be something my child is interested in doing with me

I can't see that either - so seneca, tassomai, quizlet, you tube subject sites - the getrevising site pp linked to - seem useful to getting little and often done early before past paper and more intense revision is needed.

Dd is in Y9, they have started their GCSE courses and they are already expected to revise...

I am hoping that a little light reviewing of subjects as she goes along will help her not get stressed later. We are certainly not doing lots of work in holidays for another couple of years!

She is my first, it is all new to us. We were told nothing about revising.

There needs to be some flexibility. For example if a Chemistry past paper is 1 hr 15 mins it makes sense that the schedule would be
Sit exam (75 mins) Break (20 mins) Mark and revise wrong answers (30 mins) rather than 2 hours of chemistry in one go.

One period at my kids school is 55 mins so our school recommended 55 minutes for general revision.

The splitting in 10 parts is a problem. Maths probably has 30+ topics while 1 History topic is massive (say The Cold War) and cant' be all covered in one session.

Going through the list of topics and marking them as confident/ok/weak is probably a good idea so that for subjects like maths with loads of topics, more time can be spent on the weaker bits.

Flash cards are not for everyone and not suitable for every subject imo. My dd mainly used them for German because she had lots to memorize for the speaking and it was good to have someone who could check she was saying things correctly.

Revision techniques - the good, the OK and the useless

I think it's the frequent testing rather than flash cards per se that works.

I used to rely on summary diagrams or list of less than 7 key concepts - practising reproducing till I had them memorized.

Though maths and physics it was working through problems over and over till I got them right.

German was using a tape recorder to listen back with transcript to how far I'd memorized set conversations.

There’s a lot of stuff free or affordable sites these days that help with going over and testing and repeat cycle.

To clear up any confusion -
DD's year was told that they should be working 2.5 hours every weekday night and 6 hours each weekend day, from the start of year 10.
At the start of half term just gone, in year 11, they were told to work 6 hours every day of the holidays, (before resuming the former, post holidays).
Mocks are in January.

So, years 10 and 11 = an extra 24.5 hours work per week, over an above the normal school day ( which for DD is leaving the house at 7.10am and getting home at 5pm).

That's way more than the 200 hours revision the OP mentioned.

The 6hrs over xmas holidays is heavy but not totally excessive, I think.

The 2.5hrs/weekday + 12hrs each w/e is OTT as an ongoing from y10 imo.

My dgd did 3 hours a night and 8-10 hours at weekends plus on the train to and from school ( 45 min each way).
But it depends on child, what grades you need etc. For top grades you need constant revision each week as there is no coursework now.

My DD is shattered by school (she has processing issues and has to focus really hard to follow what's going on). She struggles to even do 30mins after school on many days.

This was from year 10. She came out with 10 GCSEs ( triple science so 3 full GCSEs in biology physics and chemistry) nothing below an A/7 and mainly 8/9 (A*)

teen you should speak to school for sen your DC should be able to get more time in exams.

Dgd used to make own flashcards and carry them in her pocket everywhere with her. The act of having to precise info and write on cards is a form of revision and helps a lot.

The only revision timetable that has any chance of working is the one that the child writes themselves. Why do you think it's your responsibility!? What are you going to do when they don't stick to it?!

The best lesson we can teach our teenagers is self management.

Trying to memorize 16 poems in a closed book exam is not easy ( or necessary) you don't have the time to sit and recite them in an eng. Lit exam. Learn main points of poems etc but no need to memorize word for word.

Totally agree with 45andfine.

P.s if you think GCSEs revision is bad recommended study for A levels outside school lessons us 15 hours per subject per week at dgds school! ( Includes free periods)

I micromanaged my DS with Aspergers and ADHD.

I think you are staying way to early.

My DS did his own thing for his mock and did really badly. This then gave me a reason to get involved.

Did full revision plan for him over a much shorter period (can't remember exactly). He's not gong to remember anything he revises in December.

Got lots of revision guides and split those up into number of pages he needed to complete each session. Plenty of breaks are needed where he was encouraged to go outside or exercise (get away from a book or a screen). I bought loads of snacks and made sure he was we'll fed and watered.

I actually sat with him while he revised to make sure he was doing it.

The key however were loads and loads of past papers (make time for them and feeding back results) I printed them off from the exam board websites and marked them for him.

He did really well in his GCSEs getting 100% in some if his science papers!

My DS is doing GCSE's next year as well.
Bejesus haven't even thought of a timetable yet and even then it has to come from him when the time arises.
He needs 8's and 9's to do his A level choices - I imagine he will start revising for his mocks in December for Jan exams

And no you don't need constant revision to get 8's and 9's
EFFECTIVE revision that suits your child.