How much revision do your year 10 dc do during holidays/school days?

[gortgf]

Just wondering how much revision should year 10's be doing during school holidays and during school days? Also, how do your dc revise?

Thank you

When my DD was Y10 she only revised if she had a test or exam coming up. The rest of the time she just did the homework that was set (which was quite a lot 2-3hrs a night).

How she revised depended on the subject and the purpose. She had a lot of the CGP revision books which were helpful. Used some online resources such as BBC bitesize and Seneca, some YouTube videos. Flash cards and mind maps which she had prepared. Probably most helpful, once she had done some of this type of work was doing past-paper questions and then checking through them with the mark scheme to see where she could improve.

In year 10, only if they had a test coming up. But I generally didn’t get involved in their revision. They sorted it themselves with whatever guidance school provided.

I used to do a ton of active revision. I used BBC bitesize games in order to help me revise and made notes as well. YouTube videos were somewhat helpful. In addition I had a fair amount of homework to do each week and I also ordered workbooks off Amazon to use at home for revision.
I also stayed for after school revision sessions which helped. You may also consider hiring a tutor part time at least for now. Another method of revision is to tweak the questions on past papers you find online. You can also try doing practice questions in class etc.

None

Unless they had tests coming up

Only when tests coming up.

But revising for those tests also involved making proper revision cards / mind maps so that in theory by the end of the academic year all necessary notes for topics covered so far were made.

The exception was that anything not understood in maths / science was mentioned at home at the time so we could ensure that was sorted.

Year 10 exams treated seriously.

DS2 is in year 10 now and the expectation from his school (and us) is 2.5 hours work (homework and revision) on school nights and then 6 hours over the weekend.

If he has exams after a holiday period, I’d expect a minimum of 6 hours revision a day.

Don't have a current year 10 but:

None during the holidays. Except about 30 minutes a day of maths and foreign languages in the last holiday before school exams.

Only homework after school/weekends unless a test was coming up and then about 2 hours revision the night before the test (or sometimes the morning of...).

Revision for maths (and some sciences) was doing practice problems, for languages and other sciences was pure memorisation. Other subjects e.g. English not revised to be honest. Except a batch of learning poetry but I think that was actually year 12 not year 10. My memory is failing me.

I'm in awe of these parents whose DC voluntarily do 6 hours a day in the holidays...!

But if your DC are not really revising, whether it's a problem depends on their grades. Some kids just get some (or all) subjects simply from classes. Homework and extra revision is a pointless chore if you already know and understand the material.

@GreenLakes

DS2 is in year 10 now and the expectation from his school (and us) is 2.5 hours work (homework and revision) on school nights and then 6 hours over the weekend.

If he has exams after a holiday period, I’d expect a minimum of 6 hours revision a day.

I think from previous threads that Green's school is a bit out an outlier on this, if not an outlier then right up one end of the spectrum.

@TeenMinusTests

It may well be on the higher end of the spectrum but that probably says more about the low expectations of many schools than anything else.

If DC can’t cope with that level of work in year 10, they will struggle in year 11. DS1 is in y11 and he’s expected to do 3 hours of work on school nights, 10 hours over the weekend and 8-9 hours a day over the Easter holidays.

We as parents have to sign diaries to say that this has been completed and DC who don’t do this level of work will be hauled in to see the HoY.

Nothing. Unless he has a test coming up.
Assessments were the fortnight before half term.

@GreenLakes

DS2 is in year 10 now and the expectation from his school (and us) is 2.5 hours work (homework and revision) on school nights and then 6 hours over the weekend.

If he has exams after a holiday period, I’d expect a minimum of 6 hours revision a day.

Sounds like a fantastic way to make sure your DS2 ends up a dead ringer for Gollum from the LoTR films [looks and personality].

Green Remind me, what type of school is it your DC go to? I think that level of expectation would be totally unrealistic for 80%+ (or even 95%+) of teens.

Wow Green that's a crazy amount of work.

I was a teacher at a high achieving school and wouldn't set those levels. That isn't sustainable/great for mental health.

Also I'd be looking at better revision practices. Better to have a few 20mins focussed sessions with clear aim and interacrion with material than 6 hours of just trudging through it repeatedly.

If someone needs that level of work to do well at GCSE I'd wonder if maybe they were more suitable for a different type of exam and look at Btecs/less exams/ different type of schooling etc.

None whatsoever. They work hard on term time and do nothing weekends and holidays.
DS is got 4A* at a level. It's about working hard for intense periods, not soul crushing hours of study. If they want that they can go to Oxford and read English 😂😂
I'm an educational psychologist and would say that the level of study described above is detrimental to mental and physical health, which is a lot more important than results.

Those kids will burn out! 8-9 hours a day every holiday? When do they get to relax, do hobbies, socialise? Even in the holidays before mocks/public exams, mine only did probably 6 hours most days. We always made sure they had at least several half days off and if possible while ones here or there.

If DCs do their homework, and revise properly for tests and school exams that level of work is totally unnecessary and unproductive.

Neither of mine got below a 7 for their GCSEs, the majority being 9s, by working consistently

I wanted to be an ed psych 😭.

@TeenMinusTests

Both DC are at a grammar. Most DC end up doing more work than the school’s expectations due to personal or parental choice.

She has a small amount to do over the holidays for tests in a couple of subjects but that’s about it. I’m not sure what revision she could do after only studying the course for 7 weeks max.

[quote GreenLakes]@TeenMinusTests

Both DC are at a grammar. Most DC end up doing more work than the school’s expectations due to personal or parental choice.[/quote]
Riiigghhhtt.

I can personally recommend the elevenplusexams.co.uk forum, it's full of like-minded parents convincing each other that, yes, a 90 minutes each way multi-leg bus commute is healthy for an 11 year old and, no, it isn't at all strange to uproot the entire family from say Gloucestershire to Barnet if it means their eldest child [usually son] can get into a grammar school with fractionally superior post A level destinations.

@puffyisgood

The school’s results are certainly not ‘fractionally better’! Results at GCSE and A level are some of the best in the country.

And it is certainly not just a case of cherry picking the middle class DC- the intake is very diverse. The only common denominator is that all DC are expected to work extremely hard.

There is no reason why more schools could not have the same expectations rather than accepting mediocrity.

[quote GreenLakes]@puffyisgood

The school’s results are certainly not ‘fractionally better’! Results at GCSE and A level are some of the best in the country.

And it is certainly not just a case of cherry picking the middle class DC- the intake is very diverse. The only common denominator is that all DC are expected to work extremely hard.

There is no reason why more schools could not have the same expectations rather than accepting mediocrity.[/quote]
My "fractionally better" comment referred to these families who'll move to Gloucester when their kids are little hoping they'll end up going to say Pates GS, but after this will also sit the 11+ for say QEGS in Barnet, and happily move again if the kids get in there. The difference between Pates [20-th ish most Oxbridge admissions] and QEGS [10th-ish most] is indeed "fractional". But at least some of these creatures do indeed exist, unfortunately.

Also - if you tutor a kid up to the eyeballs & whip them into a 3-hour a night revision habit outside of exam season, they'll get near as damnit top grades whatever school they attend. Grammar schools have exactly the same class sizes and budgets etc as any of the states. Your chances of getting into say Oxbridge are slightly better if anything on average at a comprehensive because of contextual offers.

My daughters are at a grammar school and they are actively encouraged to NOT work during any holidays until doing mocks and the real thing in year 11. Homework is deliberately never set in any holiday. Great at care at this school and still have superb results at GCSE and A Level. In year 10, as with most who have commented here, they revise for specific tests only and do normal homework the rest of the time. X

Having to work that hard in y10 at GCSE level might indicate either poor teaching by the school, lack of academic ability by the pupil or poor mental health by either pupil or parent. My DC went to inner-city comprehensives - not in-demand leafy ones - and got A* in 13 subjects. They didn’t do revision in y10. My DC spent over 20 hours a week outside school on their hobby all the way through school.

@daisypond

I would dispute that ‘having to’ work hard is ever a bad thing! Success in life tends to depend on hard work and it is only right that this is taught and expected in school.

Too many schools ime have a culture of low standards and low expectations.

We are seeing now with schools like Michaela (where students are expected to complete 3 hours of study each evening in year 10 and more in year 11 and give up their smartphones in the run-up to GCSEs) that an ethos of hard work and effort can be encouraged in all schools and it will pay dividends in results!