Year 9 & GCSE Prep - am I just too anxious or are we all just winging it?

[seema189]

My DS is in Year 9 and we’ve just hit that slightly strange moment where GCSEs feel close enough to think about but far enough away that the school is saying “he’s doing fine, don’t worry.”
The thing is — I remember from my own GCSEs that the students who did well weren’t just clever. They knew how to revise, had built the habit early, and weren’t starting from scratch in a panic in Year 11.
I’ve been looking at what’s out there — Seneca, Save My Exams, GCSEPod — and they all seem to be built for students who are already in revision mode, not for Year 9s who are still finding their feet.
I’m doing some research and would love to hear from parents across different school types:
• When did your DC start taking revision seriously — and do you wish it had been earlier?
• What have you tried to help structure their independent study at home?
• What’s been missing that you wish existed?
Any school type welcome — state, private, grammar. The more varied the better.
If anyone would be happy to have a quick 15-minute chat over the next few weeks, I’d be really grateful. DMs open 🙂

Well my youngest is in y10 and we aren’t doing anything more than usual school work.

I work in a school, albeit in a pastoral role and I wouldn’t be worrying yet. Ours haven’t even finalised their options yet.

Thanks for your response! It does help quell my anxiety a bit. Do you think it’s too early?
I just see so many parents feel super stressed in year 11 and wonder if early learning habits are the key.

I think if he is in year 9 (and chose his options in year 8, right?) then he has a good chunk of time to get through the work (as most schools start work on GCSEs (apart from linear ones like maths) in year 10).

So I wouldn't worry too much and I certainly wouldn't be looking at GCSE revision resources as they won't help until he has covered the content.

My advice (I was a secondary teacher and still tutor plus my three DC have all done GCSEs) is to encourage him to keep on top of any HW and ongoing learning; I would expect this to be along the lines of consolidating in-class learning (for example notes on a specific theme in Eng lit, or learning French vocab on a topic).

Beyond that the most helpful thing to do is to do some revision notes (flash cards, mind maps, one-pagers of notes, whatever helps) when a topic in history or a text in Eng lit or a case study in geog is finished. Starting in year 9 and doing An Inspector Calls means it will be a long time ago (like two years) when it comes to May of year 11; there will be revision in class of course but not redoing of the work. This was what DD said would have been the most helpful thing to do (she was reffing geog case studies done in year 10 but it works for all subjects really).

Kindly, you need to relax. Your DC hasn’t even started the gcse course yet. Don’t burn your poor DC out due to your own anxiety and trust the process.

The school has a lot of experience taking kids through GCSEs- take your lead from the schools messages. if the school aren’t writing to you telling you to need to do a b and c then it’s fine.

let your child have time to develop and the high pressure point will be here soon enough.

Mind didn’t really get into revision mode until year 11.

if you really are desperate for stuff to do Duolingo or similar is good for languages, tassomai for science and try corbettmaths or dr frost maths for maths,

but it’s not necessary at this stage.

I’d say you need to chill a bit unless your dc is obviously struggling. We’re test 10 and twins are finding maths hard (they’re youngest in the year and I think that’s showing). We had parents evening which confirmed my thoughts so we have now put extra tuition in place for them. It’s expensive but I’m willing to invest in their learning. We couldn’t afford 3 dc in private school so we are trying to enhance state school. It’s not about 9s (my dc are all clever but not 9s level - I’d say they’re well rounded though).

it’s also important not to make it all about GCSEs. Other hobbies are really important imo.

I have a dd who is in Year 9. She has end of topic and end of year assessments. She knows how important it is to revise for these in terms of understanding how you best learn and revise. She used to underperform in year 7/8 but was absolutely fine in lessons. I left her to it and something just clicked, she has slowly built skills in how to revise and answer questions and has performed brilliantly in all her assessments this year. All credit to her for not giving up. She now has a good set of skills to take on her GCSEs.

Thank you all so much for these responses — genuinely really helpful and exactly the kind of honest perspective I was looking for.

You’ve made me think about this differently actually. I think I was framing it wrong in my head — I was using the word ‘revision’ when what I actually mean is something more like study habits and consolidation as you go.

What you said about doing notes and flashcards at the end of each topic really resonated — that’s exactly the kind of thing I was thinking about. Not sitting down with a revision guide in Year 9, but building the muscle of ‘I’ve just finished a topic, let me consolidate it now’ so that by Year 11 the notes already exist and the panic doesn’t have to.

I suppose what I’m really asking is: did your DC develop that habit naturally, or did it take a nudge? And for those who wish they’d done something differently — what would earlier have looked like, if not revision in the traditional sense?

I’m asking because I’m genuinely exploring whether there’s a better way to support this — not a revision tool for Year 9s, but something that helps build the study structure early so it’s already there when it’s needed. The kind of thing that meets a Year 9 where they are (low pressure, habit building), grows with them through Year 10 (consolidating topics as they finish them), and means Year 11 is intense but not overwhelming because the groundwork is already laid. you think kids genuinely pick this up on their own?
and totally agree with you all, school is so much more than GCSE’s.

My son did very little until the Feb mocks of year 11, then not very much!

I will add that he did all his homework and all the extra sessions provided by school and did v well

DD is in Year 10. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry just yet.

Once your DC has started their GCSE courses in Year 10, you will get a much better picture of which subjects (if any) they could require more support with and, at DD’s school at least, they have started to build revision sessions in at the end of each module ahead of the assessment exam. The assessment exams give an excellent idea of how DC is likely to perform in their GCSEs.

We have just had parents evening for DD & have been reassured that the aim in exam subjects is to be “finished” with the syllabus by March of Year 11 & have plenty of in school revision guidance ahead of the actual GCSEs.

In short, wait until Year 10 at least before worrying 😁.

There is a continuous cycle of testing - there are end of topic tests, then end of year exams, then at least one set of mock exams. For each test/exam your DC will be expected to revise. I think it's good to get them into the habit of revising for each test/exam, making sure they know the subject thoroughly as they go along and ideally to make good notes they can refer back to.

However, you can lead a horse to water ... but you can't force a reluctant child to revise and make useful notes. So if you have one such, I would not panic. As long as they are keeping up with school work and doing some preparation for tests this is not a disaster. Many DC can't see the point in Year 9, but become more studious in Year 11. Actually "this is not a disaster" should be a mantra. MN will have you believe that anything less than grade 9s is absolutely dreadful, but actually as long as your DC is doing enough for the next step, then that is probably "good enough". in fact even if your DC isn't doing enough for the next step, that doesn't make it a disaster, it just makes it a longer road.

Nonsense. I didn’t revise once for my GCSEs and did well. Your kid is in year 9… if you go at them hard now they’ll burn out by the time they sit their exams.

did you find anything that actually helped beyond tutors?

Does your ds’s school do end of year exams each year, and do they test each term/ during term? Dd in y10 has a mini test at end of every topic and a termly subject test using real gcse questions now, and then end of year tests. This is a step up from Y9, but testing has always featured in her school life since y7 so revision technique is now second nature. But I know schools where the approach is different and results are still good.

My DD’s school is a fairly academic comprehensive state school. They select options inY9. Every year there is a presentation to the parents which includes study tips and techniques including various apps, addresses what parents can do to support, and so on. It also covers mental health and how to survive and succeed at KS4.

Her primary school best friend went to a school where the approach is very different and no very formal tests until end of y9. I am not sure how they instil revision habits there. But they still get good results (not stellar but above average).

So I’d let the school take the lead on the approach.

My dd loves Seneca and it has really improved her science results. She also loves Bitesize - it’s a very good resource if you have a less-than-fabulous teacher (often a problem at a state school).

She uses various apps and websites - there are loads and her subject teachers recommend ones that they think will help her best. You could ask at Parents evening (we cover a lot in the 5 min online slot!)

For start of y10 I also equipped dd with relevant revision books purchased 2nd hand for all her subjects.

I do not organise or supervise my DD’s home learning at all. She neither wants nor needs my intervention. A few times she has made me talk her through a maths topic or help her revise but it tends to annoy her as I “don’t help her enough” and she feels I waste her precious time!

I think he should be practicing revising poperly for tests now.
So not doing extra just because, but if he knows that in 2 weeks there is a test on X then practicing making revision notes / mindmaps, revising then recalling etc etc. So he learns what works for him.

What you need to know about is spaced repetition: https://ncase.me/remember/

I think saying "I did no revision and did well" is not really helpful. Most DC need to do some work – revision, consolidation, past papers (much later for those) whatever you call it.

@seema189 I assumed from your OP that your DS in year 9 has started his GCSE work having picked options last year. But I see others infer he doesn't start GCSE work until year 10 (which is more common tbf). If it's the latter then there is even less reason to worry just yet.

In terms of how quick my DC were to revise and self-study, IME it’s difficult to make them do it. I felt my role was to provide physical support (place to study, stationery, any revision books, snacks) and also be supportive as in be available to test or help as needed, but basically it’s got to come from the DC themselves. But encourage the habit of HW and test revision now by all means.

I think it depends on the child. My eldest was very committed and revised without being prompted. Twins are not so keen/self motivated.

I really wouldn’t worry at all in year 9 unless your dc grades are not what they are capable of.

My dc just kept on top of school work year 9 and 10 - literally nothing else. Year 11 did minimal study for mocks then before the actual exams did the equivalent of 2-3 days study for each of the (many!) exams. I don’t recommend this approach but they just couldn’t focus and were quite naturally bright. Lowest mark was a 7, most were grade 8 with a couple of 9s. All on the strength of paying attention in class (small classes, good teachers, private school) and then a big push on the home straight. I don’t think my blood pressure ever quite recovered!

You should get them to cover the 70 lessons on crackmaths, they cover the qualification called level 2 functional skills, which is all stuff assessed in the GCSE, but is also a separate qualification equivalent to a grade 4/C, so if they get that in their back pocket its a real safety net. The lessons are also really well explained and give an excellent grounding for the GCSE.

Mine started GCSE content in year 9 for both science and History. History was the last term so they made flashcards as soon as they covered the topic that day. Better to do that than try to make all the flashcards in year 11.

Science was because they don't offer triple science as an option, everyone does combined science and then only 1 class from each side of the school does triple science as they accelerate the teaching as the class can keep up. This is done in the normal timetable block for science. They still do 4 option subjects too.

Mine honed their revision skills with end of topic tests and end of year tests pre year 10. They preferred flashcards to mind maps or knowledge dumping so we helped them look into the best way to make flashcards.

The best advice is this summer over the 6 week holidays would be to read the books they will cover in English Lit and possibly look at what themes they will be looking at. Any film of it too especially Shakespeare as it is meant to be watched, not read, it helps them understand it. Also learn or at least look at the 15 poems they will study too. The CGP revision book on this was used in class by my children. Maybe look at some random poems and see how well your child can start to understand what they are about, this applies to song lyrics too.

It is too early to look at past papers or revision as such because they haven't covered the content yet. But learning what works for them on memory recall is the key to success. GCSEs of today cannot be compared to the past, they are very content heavy and do require revision. Even if they are not doing this at home they are doing it in class.

I have a child in Y12 and one in Y9.
There is no need for anything extra for GCSEs just yet. Y11 is a long slog. Don’t burn your child out too soon! Follow the school’s lead into Y10 and 11. Schoolwork, homework. Any set revision. Y9 is far too soon to start worrying.

Schools now seem to do continuous testing (definitely none of that when I was at school!) So they get into the habit of preparing for tests. DD is in year 10 and some weeks they have set as homework to make revision cards. They have also had some sessions in form on different ways to revise.

If I were you I wouldn’t worry about it too much at this stage, but perhaps discuss the schools approach at parents evening. Year 10 and 11 can be a long haul so unless kids are behind it’s good to let them go through the process over the 2 years - a decent school knows what it’s doing