GCSE revision....

familyissues12345 · 2025-03-12T20:26:34+00:00

Hi GCSE's being taken this summer - lower to average student (expected to pass everything, some scraping!) How much revision should he be looking at? How much does your child do? Thanks!

Namechanged4obviousreasons · 12/03/2025 21:05

My daughter probably isn’t representative of a lot of kids and is really motivated to do well but she does 3 hours every evening after school and usually about 5 hours on one weekend day, with the other 1.5 mostly free or for catching up on normal homework. She has been doing this since September and is expected to get all 8/9’s. At the other end of the scale, she has friends who are doing virtually nothing even now but aren’t expected to do so well.

I wouldn’t push a child, it has to come from them. Maybe help them to sit down and plan a rota and ensure they know how to revise. Beyond that, it’s part of growing up to manage it themselves.

Hollyhedge · 15/03/2025 22:08

Hi OP, I think if your DS wants to improve their grades like mine does, they need to pull all the stops out. DS and I have discussed 1-2 hours per evening and around 5 a day at weekends. Friday eve off. He has someway to go so, in theory wants to give it his all. He would much rather be relaxing or out with his mates, fair enough. It might be hard to sustain this but he has been going pretty hard at it last few weeks. Some will do more. Others will have worked hard throughout. Others will have nailed their mocks and a lot less to worry about. For my DS now, I think it is as much possible! It’s all over in 13 weeks!! Good luck

Hoppinggreen · 15/03/2025 22:11

DS's school spends a lot of time helping them revise in school and gives them lots of tests/exams and homework is set every night and is revision based.
SO DS does around 1or 2 hours each evening around 2-3 on Saturdays and Sundays.
Its enough to be honest, I feel he needs downtime as well.

Muchtoomuchtodo · 15/03/2025 22:16

DS who got 12 A* last year didn’t do a great deal at home. About an hour in the week and double that at weekends.

They were doing lots of revision and past papers in school, so he carried on with all of his out of school activities as normal.

It’s a really long haul.

Hollyhedge · 15/03/2025 22:28

Muchtoomuchtodo · 15/03/2025 22:16

DS who got 12 A* last year didn’t do a great deal at home. About an hour in the week and double that at weekends.

They were doing lots of revision and past papers in school, so he carried on with all of his out of school activities as normal.

It’s a really long haul.

Useful insight

dootball · 15/03/2025 22:33

@Hollyhedge
Not really as that's a complete exception - there are extremely few people who get all 9s and the vast majority of them are doing a ton of revision.

PrincessOfPreschool · 15/03/2025 22:43

I think it depends on the kid. DS is predicted 9s and is working very hard. It's motivated him and he also has a capacity for lots of study (I would say about 1.5/ 2 hours per night and 3-4 at weekends so not ridiculous amounts).

DD is predicted lower and seems to have lost her mojo since Y11. She's doing maybe 1-2 hours at weekends and 30 mins in the week. I think they are working so hard in school she just doesn't have extra. They have extra periods after school/ evenings and she has tutoring once a week. She used to work much more at home, but it was more chilled out at school. I think she's just at capacity mentally now and that's OK. She won't do as well as DS and that's OK as she has other skills, and is way more determined.

Oblomov25 · 15/03/2025 22:48

Ds2 is barely doing any, but then school advised not to start too early.

Hollyhedge · 15/03/2025 22:50

dootball · 15/03/2025 22:33

@Hollyhedge
Not really as that's a complete exception - there are extremely few people who get all 9s and the vast majority of them are doing a ton of revision.

I was being sarcastic. Any thread about education leads to people writing about their DC who got 12 9s. Ir’s not relevant at all to this thread tbh

sausageupanalley · 16/03/2025 01:37

My DS is predicted 4s 5s and 6s so very middling and got 4s for most subjects in the last mocks.i was hoping that might focus him a bit more but it doesn't seem so. He has been going to after school revision sessions for an hour 3 times a week. I'm trying to get him to do more on the other weekday evenings and a few hours on the weekend but it's so hard to get him to do it so not a lot of that has happened so far. He has done maybe 2 hours extra today but I don't think he's giving that time 100% either. Because of other commitments he won't be able to do much tomorrow. It's so hard to know what the best thing is to do. I don't want to push too hard but I also want him to reach his potential. I can't wait for it all to be over!

Muchtoomuchtodo · 16/03/2025 08:24

dootball · 15/03/2025 22:33

@Hollyhedge
Not really as that's a complete exception - there are extremely few people who get all 9s and the vast majority of them are doing a ton of revision.

So perhaps it is useful for me to comment to show that there’s not one right answer for any child.

Each child should, supported by their teachers, know which areas they really need to focus on, know their learning style and plan their revision accordingly. Practicing past papers to learn the exam technique, literally how to play the game is a key part of this. For my son, doing more than he did, and prioritising revision over his out of school activities would have been counterproductive.

Mocks in their school weren’t until after February half term so that was useful but meant that they didn’t really take their foot off the pedal from Christmas (when mock revision started) until the end of their exams. As I said, 6 months is a long haul.

Original poster

familyissues12345 · 16/03/2025 08:39

@sausageupanalley, that’s exactly like DS. He’s very much a middling student and whilst he passed most mocks, most weren’t a comfortable pass. In fairness to him, he attends every available school led revision class (3 days a week), but home revision is IMO pretty poor. He’s made himself a timetable, spends 45 mins a day doing a different subject - some days he does 2 subjects, but has even allocated himself 2 days off a week !

it doesn’t help that DS1 was much the same, except he was a 7/8/9 student so naturally bright, unfortunately DS2 doesn’t see that. It also doesn’t help that his school mentor (English teacher) has told him that short bursts are better than a long slog, however I don’t think that means only one short burst a day…!

Thanks all, I don’t have much faith in DS’s school, so it makes me question everything they say/recommend

OP posts:

rosemarble · 16/03/2025 08:41

DS2, predicted 4s, 5s and 6s which is not his potential.
He is only just knuckling down.
Goes to after school revision classes twice a week (45 mins) and has 1hr maths tutoring every fortnight.
He's barely doing anything.
School are putting on classes over Easter hols.
He has refused to make a timetable.

He will get what he needs for A level.
He's happy. Goes to the gym, football, spends time with his GF.
I am encouraging him and being supportive but have to draw a line because he pushes back if I go on and on.

PinkChaires · 16/03/2025 08:42

Muchtoomuchtodo · 15/03/2025 22:16

DS who got 12 A* last year didn’t do a great deal at home. About an hour in the week and double that at weekends.

They were doing lots of revision and past papers in school, so he carried on with all of his out of school activities as normal.

It’s a really long haul.

This is why it really depends on the school. At my dds school this time last year they were no where near done so revision at home was needed a lot more. Maybe see what stage they are in content and then go from there

atesomanybananas · 16/03/2025 08:43

From February half term DC did about 2 hours per night, with 3 hours each weekend day. A couple of days off each week. 2 hours after school sounds a lot, but if they cracked on with it they were finished by 6.30 and then chilled. They passed 10 GCSEs.

Wisenotboring · 16/03/2025 08:45

Muchtoomuchtodo · 15/03/2025 22:16

DS who got 12 A* last year didn’t do a great deal at home. About an hour in the week and double that at weekends.

They were doing lots of revision and past papers in school, so he carried on with all of his out of school activities as normal.

It’s a really long haul.

What qualifications were they doing As GCSEs are graded 9-1 now!!

rosemarble · 16/03/2025 08:45

@sausageupanalley our boys seem very similar.
I have to take a step back and look at the full and long picture.
I'd rather it's this way than manage a super stresses, non sleeping, anxious child who measures their worth on exam results.
He is going the right way. Summer exams were terrible, Jan mocks an improvement so hopefully it'll come together in the summer.
His school has struggled to even find teachers for some subjects, it's not a great school.

DeffoNeedANameChange · 16/03/2025 08:47

1.5-2 hours on week nights (this can include official set homework, but should be supplemented if there are any days without homework).

5-6 hours over the weekend, ie 2-3 each day.

That said, hours are meaningless if they're not productive! Most teenagers really benefit from someone sitting with them while they decide/get started on a task, and then someone to do some questioning/discussion for them at the end of a session.

TeenToTwenties · 16/03/2025 08:48

Wisenotboring · 16/03/2025 08:45

What qualifications were they doing As GCSEs are graded 9-1 now!!

Show quote history

Wales still has letter grades.

Muchtoomuchtodo · 16/03/2025 10:36

Wisenotboring · 16/03/2025 08:45

What qualifications were they doing As GCSEs are graded 9-1 now!!

Show quote history

We live in Wales where we still have the letter system with WJEC.

EarthlyNightshade · 16/03/2025 12:40

Namechanged4obviousreasons · 12/03/2025 21:05

My daughter probably isn’t representative of a lot of kids and is really motivated to do well but she does 3 hours every evening after school and usually about 5 hours on one weekend day, with the other 1.5 mostly free or for catching up on normal homework. She has been doing this since September and is expected to get all 8/9’s. At the other end of the scale, she has friends who are doing virtually nothing even now but aren’t expected to do so well.

I wouldn’t push a child, it has to come from them. Maybe help them to sit down and plan a rota and ensure they know how to revise. Beyond that, it’s part of growing up to manage it themselves.

I disagree with this.
I think you do have to push a child who is looking at narrow passes, as taking resits, etc. is painful.
I would concentrate on past papers and markschemes for revision at home, and maybe encourage podcasts and revision cards for slotting into dead time - my DC looked at revision cards at the gym (between reps!) and listened to podcasts when out on foot.
I wouldn't think about it in terms of hours of revision done but make it more task focused. 3 hours staring at a page is not as useful as half an hour writing out Macbeth quotes or whatever
I had a DC who got mainly 5s, he struggled to retain all the info across all the subjects but little bursts of work ensured he didn't fail any.

What does he want to do next? Are there subjects that he needs to focus on more?

TeenToTwenties · 16/03/2025 12:56

Some kids are self motivated, others aren't.
Some are pushable/nudgable, others aren't.
There is no one size fits all.
You just do the best you can, and try to make sure plans B and C are in place.

PrincessOfPreschool · 16/03/2025 13:51

DeffoNeedANameChange · 16/03/2025 08:47

1.5-2 hours on week nights (this can include official set homework, but should be supplemented if there are any days without homework).

5-6 hours over the weekend, ie 2-3 each day.

That said, hours are meaningless if they're not productive! Most teenagers really benefit from someone sitting with them while they decide/get started on a task, and then someone to do some questioning/discussion for them at the end of a session.

I'm not sure many of us have that many hours per week to sit with our kids. (I have twins!). Their school teaches them how to revise. The main thing they bang on about is having no phones in eyesight or earshot as even hearing a notification can affect concentration for a long period. Also doing short, intense bursts like 25-30 mins at a time then break.

DeffoNeedANameChange · 16/03/2025 14:23

PrincessOfPreschool · 16/03/2025 13:51

I'm not sure many of us have that many hours per week to sit with our kids. (I have twins!). Their school teaches them how to revise. The main thing they bang on about is having no phones in eyesight or earshot as even hearing a notification can affect concentration for a long period. Also doing short, intense bursts like 25-30 mins at a time then break.

Show quote history

Oh god, no - I don't supervise every minute of revision! But if you're able to make sure they've at least got started on something sensible and if you're able to check in with them at the end, they're less likely to that classic thing where they sit very quietly in their room for 2 hours doing absolutely nothing productive.

rosemarble · 16/03/2025 15:43

DeffoNeedANameChange · 16/03/2025 14:23

Oh god, no - I don't supervise every minute of revision! But if you're able to make sure they've at least got started on something sensible and if you're able to check in with them at the end, they're less likely to that classic thing where they sit very quietly in their room for 2 hours doing absolutely nothing productive.

Show quote history

I don't think either of my sons have sat quietly doing nothing under the guise of revision, they've both been quite open about either doing or not doing it.

Once I've done what I can to enable them - pens, keeping the radio down, offering tea, taking an interest in what they're learning, listening to frustrations, printing stuff off, I leave them to it.