First week of GCSEs: any tips from parents who’ve been there?

[Roseyposeypie]

My DC1 has their first GCSE exam on Monday. It’s going to be a crazy week with 6 exams in total but I know it’s only the start of a long marathon over 5 and a bit weeks (albeit with a half term break in the middle). I’d love to hear from parents who’ve been through this. What are your top tips? Anything you wish you’d done differently? Anything that worked really well?

It’s a sort of balance between laying off the pressure, at this stage what will be will be, and making them feel a bit special and supported. My ds has a box of ‘exam snacks’, and a bit of extra pocket money to go out with his friends tomorrow. Plus I’ve agreed to give him a lift to school on exam days. On a practical note, good sleep, good food and a little leeway with behaviour.

This is such good advice.

I’m seeing my third dc through her GCSE’s this year. The most important thing at this stage is to reduce pressure. Absolutely revise, but also lots of downtime and TLC. we’re going to make sure we get out to do something fun each weekend.

Keep everything calm. They won’t do best if a nervous wreck. Mine did first on Thursday as I was just glad she got there on time, did her best and no tears

We had some sheets of paper stuck on the wall with the exams listed out in order. Each exam got ticked off after it had been sat.

To begin with the quantity looks very daunting but it doesn't take too long for quite a few to get ticked off and it was good to visually see the progress.

We also had a separate sheet that ticked off each subject when all of that subject's papers were sat.

DS did his GCSEs last year. Every morning I gave him a new pen, a bottle of water with the label taken off and a postit note with the exam/location/seat & duration written on it. I also made sure I didn’t go to work until I knew he was on the bus.

For the next 4-6 weeks do absolutely everything for them, don’t expect them to do any chores. Their job is revision and rest. Lots of drinks and snacks taken to them.

Good food. Good sleep and a supportive quiet environment.

Favourite meals from a list sorted out in advance.
Batches of chocolate brownies etc made so always available.
No chores.
Exam timetable pinned up in the kitchen, exams crossed off after each one.
Pizzas and a break from revision on Fridays.

Thanks everyone. This has given me a bit of reassurance that I’m doing the right things. I think I’m currently more anxious about it than they are (though obviously I’m trying not to let that show).

Youngest starts Monday too, 10 GCSEs and oldest doing A levels at the same time 🫣
We'll do what we did last time - I made a cooked breakfast every morning, we drove them to and from school and turned a blind eye to bad language, yes to any dinner requests and a holiday after it's all over! Good luck 🤞

I have twins starting tomorrow as well. I’m doing much of the above. Doing absolutely everything for them. Providing endless snacks. Trying to bake a few healthy ish treats. Exam timetables on the wall colour coded for each child. Box of spare stationery in the hallway. Keeping routine re dinner times and bed times.

the advice here is already really lovely.

Just want to add a few things The exam timetable tick-off idea is genuinely really really useful. Each tick is a small win and visually watching the list shrink makes the whole thing feel less like an endless marathon. Highly recommend doing this.

On the revision side for any last minute prep between exams the key at this stage isn't covering more content, it's sharpening exam technique for whatever's coming next. Even 30-40 minutes of targeted past paper questions on the next subject beats hours of anxious note reading. Kingsbridge Education is worth having bookmarked for this they have well reviewed pre-exam practice resources.

The practical stuff everyone's mentioned is spot on. good sleep genuinely affects memory consolidation more than an extra hour of revision, proper breakfast on exam morning matters more than people think, and having favourite meals to look forward to after hard exam days gives them something to mentally anchor to.

The one thing I'd add try not to ask "how did it go?" the moment they walk through the door. Let them decompress first. Some will want to debrief immediately, others need an hour of quiet first. Follow their lead rather than yours 😊

Good luck to everyone starting this week