Anyone up for a GCSE handholding thread?

[BaconAndAvocado]

DS2 has his GCSEs in June. He had mocks in November and more (why??) next month.
He needs to get 5 6s to stay at his current school (IB, not overly keen) or to transfer to another local 6th form.
He said he’s going to start revising this week......
Think his school will be helping him devise a revision timetable this week. I’ve bought him flashcards, he just needs to knuckle down now.......

How is everyone? My DD has had some really encouraging mock marks in some subjects recently which has given her confidence a boost which is just what she needed. Still struggling in a couple of subjects but I can see she's trying, we've had a lot of tears!

Half-term here, and not a stitch of work/revision done. I'm ok with that TBH - I think at this stage a week of lie-ins and MarioKart is as valuable as anything. Only frustration is that we could have had a few days away cheaply, as all the neighbouring areas have a different half-term, but DD1 didn't want us to book anything so she could revise!

She formally gets her exam timetable, mocks results and final predicted grades at a meeting on the 16th March, although the teachers do give informal feedback prior to this. She's in a tricky group - she will do well, but could do really well, depending on effort. She will have extra Spanish speaking practice after half term, which is one of her weaker areas, so that will help.

My son did no revision during half term, I just couldn't be bothered to argue with him! But on Monday he chose to put together a revision plan for the next 6 weeks. Honestly, looking at it makes me feel sick so I can only imagine how he feels! Whether he sticks to it remains to be seen!

His old English teacher has returned early from maternity leave to try and get the class back on track. I'm so pleased and grateful as he really likes her so I'm hoping to see some improvements from him. He now has a Food Tech teacher who also seems to be getting on top of things, his practical is on 15th March so he's practising 2 of the dishes this weekend. Construction is still a mess, no permanent teacher, they're just limping through each week.

Still no progress on choosing a college course!

My daughter had a change of English teacher at half term which I posted on here as I was worried about. She has had first lessons with him and all has gone well - he also marked her first essay well and so she said she has lost her lingering fear that her old teacher just marked high and actually she wasn't that good!

We are 8 mocks down 6 to go, teachers strike on one so they are just coming in for that.

Just been told that 3 hours revision today is too much. He wrote the revision plan. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. What do I do? Make him do it or leave him to do it when he's ready? Problem is, I can see him never bring ready. He's so apathetic.

3 hours is a lot! Can he split it up a bit in an organised way? DD has found the Pomodoro method works well for her. When she was revising for mocks, she would do a couple of Pomodoros and then have a longer break. It seemed less daunting than thinking of all those hours. If you only have to do 25 minutes in one go, it seems much more achievable.

Sorry, I meant 3 hours across the whole day, not all at once. It was going to be an hour of English, an hour of German and an hour of Food Tech with a break between them and a break mid way through each subject. I don't think that's too much in one day. Especially as the English is watching the film of Macbeth for an hour.

Name change fail 🙄

That doesn't seem too much for a weekend tbh.

Can he break up activities. My DD does 'blurting' where she just sets a time limit and writes as many facts as she can remember about a subject. Guess it makes a break from reading!

Ah, OK, that doesn't sounds impossible. Breaking it up is definitely the way to go! I would definitely suggest slots shorter than an hour, eg two half hours with a break in the middle. It does help with motivation if you know you are getting a break in half an hour! And it's fairly easy to concentrate for half an hour but hard to concentrate for a whole hour. Tell him to watch the film with some kind of snack to keep him going, and once he has one thing under his belt the others might seem more achievable. Always good to feel you are succeeding!

Your dc seem very good. Ds says why should he revise when he's getting 5s and 6s and that's all he needs.
He's not ambitious and all he wants to do is get one mark more than his friends as far as I can tell.

He said paying him £90 for a 9 down to £10 for a 1 would motivate him. He's doing 12 GCSEs. I said "no". "Bother," he said, "I thought that would be an easy £120."
Sigh!

I’m laughing at that @MargaretThursday the cheek and the optimism.
I’ve flipped the narrative with my DD saying it’s her life and it’s upto her what she does with it with a shrug (inside I’m thinking arrhhh just revise..) but the hands off just providing food n drink n snacks approach is working I think as feedback at parents eve was she’s doing ok. She’s knackered though after lots of sport commitments linked to coursework options after school.

Down side is 3 English teachers are leaving at Easter and the head has resigned- school has been in “needs improvement” for 5yrs…& it’s got worse!

I have resorted to bribery for English and German @MargaretThursday but rewards only for grade 6 and above for English and grade 5 for German (is only doing Foundation so cannot get higher).

For Maths and Science which he wants to continue at A Level, I’ve told him he has to find his own motivation.

Maths mock here today, when i ask how it went i know ds will say it was very hard. This means if he does badly he can say he told me it was hard and if he does well he can say that the little revision he did was enough. So win win for him!!!

One of my daughters friends got 100% in her November maths mock - even she found the non calculator paper hard for this mock so my daughter didn't feel so despondent that she found it horrible.

Argh. My DS appears to have developed migraines :( I get them very badly, so it was always on the cards, but the timing's not great! We saw his GP today and she wants to rule out things like anaemia and vitamin d deficiency before she does anything else, but there's a four-week wait to even get the blood tests done and that's practically Easter! He has a chemistry test tomorrow but he went straight to bed after his appointment, came down briefly for his tea and then slept for the rest of the evening. His health is much much more important than anything else, but the blooming school gave him such a hard time when he went to the office to say he was ill this morning and then rang me saying he looked at fine and they didn't want him to go home.

Sorry. Just a bit stressed and trying not to let on to him!

A revision timetable has finally been made here by DS1!

My DD has officially asked me for help with revision this evening. I’m proud of her for asking actually as she’s very much wanted to do it herself (aka avoid the fact exams are happening) but it transpires things have not really been happening much and she feels she may fall behind and she doesn’t want to regret it by not asking me. I’ve set her up with revision guides, lots of info on methods, encouraged her to think about what works for her, etc but she’s wanted me to let her get on by herself. Anyhow, I want to help her get on to a successful revision path so basically what I’d like to ask is for those on you who were really actively involved, what did you do that worked for your child? Did you sit and test them, or help them learn how to produce revision materials etc? In context my DD has suffered a lot with mental health issues the past three years so our collective objective is to simply get her through enough that she can move on and study the subjects she wants to at A level. We’re not aiming for 8s and 9s across the board. Appreciate it’s tricky as what suits one doesn’t suit another but any tips would be gratefully received. Can’t wait for 16th June in this house!

@BestofLuck my approach has been pretty hands off but just setting expectations so she knows on certain days of the week I’d expect her to be revising at least 2 subjects. She does a lot of sport training so her time is quite restricted and previously non-training days were rest now I just casually ask so what are you going to work on today? She’s the type of person if I told her to do xyz she wouldn’t so I’ve just had to give encouragement & provide food n drink. She looked really tired this morning due to extra training and getting her period so she just did 2hrs today whereas previous Sundays it’s 4-5hrs as it’s her catch up day, and I’ll ask how has it gone but not criticise if I don’t think it’s enough just say it’s up to her. School seem happy with her and she knows her weak spots that need working on. Previously she would cram-memorise stuff at the last moment so she’s found it hard revising this far away from the exam.

Ds uses index cards to make revision notes which seem to work for him. Elder ds used to make huge mind maps and have them all over his walls. I think they have to try different revision techniques to see what works. Today ds full of cold but gone off to do another maths mock. He also looks very tired.

Thanks both for your thoughts and tips. Hope both of yours get by ok.

Anybody else's DC at home the last two days due to strikes? It's just really concerning after the last few years, and now so close to exam time ☹️

DD's school opened for yrs11 and 13 only.
2 months until her first GCSE paper yesterday. Deadlines are seeming very real now.

At DC's school Year 11 are the only group in over the strike days, but actual teaching was patchy, as most of the classes were covered by SLT. DC1 gets her exam timetable tonight, which will make this seem very real indeed.