Rewards for GCSE results

[mumblechum]

Am currently in shock at the stuff ds's mates are supposedly going to "earn" for good GCSE results.

Friend A is going to get a two seater sports car, fully insured if he gets good results (he's been failing in the last six months, so I can kind of see the point in bribing him as a last ditch attempt to avoid resits)

friend B is getting £200 for every A*, £100 for every A, £75 for Bs, and losing £75 for anything below a B. As he's taking 12 GCSE and is a good worker (these lads are all grammar school boys btw so more than capable of getting straight As), his parents could easily be paying out £2,400 in August.

I just think these are a bit mental. I haven't offered anything to ds, as I think the results are their own reward, but would probably scrape up a couple of hundred if he gets outstanding results, but that would look really crap compared to what his friends are getting.

Maybe this should be in AIBU not to chuck thousands of pounds at ds in these circs...

[mumblechum]

[DustDustDust]

I'd happily fail to get that money, then re-enroll somewhere else and head off to uni with considerably less debt.

Anyway, I think it's ridiculous to pay children for their good grades. Firstly it's basically paying for results rather than what effort they put in. And secondly, shouldn't getting great results be enough motivation anyway?!

I got 13 GCSEs, mostly As, and my parents didn't 'pay me per A' or anything stupid like that. They bought my brother and I a present each in May because they knew how hard we'd worked. It was before results day, and that was more sensible IMO.
£200 per A* is so stupid. If they were my brother's parents they'd have to shell out £2,600 just for GCSEs, plus £1,875 for me. I wouldn't accept it. It's mad, and a waste of money, imo.

[upahill]

I think it is easy with the hindsight of being an adult to say it's silly to pay for results and the good grade is in it'self enough of a reward. The trouble, to use a quote, is that youth is wasted on the young. Sometimes they don't realise what opportunites they have until they are gone.

They may, and I know I did, look back and think if I worked harder I could have got this, done that. Sometimes rewards are motivation. I know sometimes I work that bit harder for reward whether it is extra time off or what ever it is an encouragement.

Once they have got the best grade they can then what happpens next is up to them.

I think Blackburn college are being a bit daft tbh.

[Starmummy]

Ds and I were shopping recently and he said he wanted a paul smith suit , anyway rashly i said if you get all a/A* then I will buy one. To be honest, if he does get that I will happily buy one.
bit worried now given the amount of effort he is putting in! gulp best I start saving.

[BikeRunScream]

I got a "ghettoblaster" stereo in 1987 for passing all my O Levels. I has to pass all of them to get anything, there was no booby prize for passing less than all.

[GrungeBlobofEctoplasm]

Good god I've no intention of bribing/rewarding mine - I just don't liek the principle as surely the grades are a reward in themselves?

Only thing we'd do may be meal out/theme park day out or something but that would be just for the effort or even BEFORE the grades are out to celebrate the end of exams.

[mumeeee]

Our DD's got rewards for working hard at thier GCSE's and A levels. Not money though. DD1 got a guitar and some lessons as that was what she wantes, DD2 and 3 got a trip with me to London to see a Musical as that is what they were both into.
I would never say I will give you so much for each A you get as that puts far to much pressure on a young person. Aslo DD3 is dyspraxic and has other mild learning difficulties and she did well to pass at all.

[snorkie]

We had a meal out when the exams were over and then an impromptu celebratory chinese takeaway with some friends on results day.

I don't really like the idea of rewarding results, but it can work for some people. Definitely wouldn't work for us though as there's a disparity between 'grades likely to be achieved for the same amount of effort' between my children, so it really wouldn't be fair.

[Ponders]

I was never keen on the idea of exam rewards anyway, & was put right off them by the affluent parents round our way who could easily afford to send their kids to independent school but paid for tuition & promised rewards like ponies, FFS, if their kids passed the 11+ (ie saved the cost of school fees )

Agree that best possible results in themselves (not necessarily a/a* either, just the best/better than school predicted), plus an appropriate treat - maybe after exams & before results - are plenty!

[badgerhead]

DD1 & I went to New York as a celebration of her working hard for her GCSE's, & she paid for part of the holiday . It was a good time & we went before the results which were worth receiving.

[pagwatch]

I don't believe in excam rewards

If you tell a child that they will get money oif they get a good result then a) they are not doing it to get the exam but for the bribe reward and b) the exams pass becomes about your aspitation rather than about their options.

We surprised DS1 with an i-phone for his birthday after he had done his exams but before he got the results. It was to congratulate him for the long hours he had put in and to acknowlegde his hard work regardless of the outcome

[mumblechum]

Exactly. I'm planning to get ds some sort of treat (all he's asked for is a really big chocolate cake ), but it will be after the exams but before the results, and only if he does actually put the work in.

[Milliways]

I took DD out to the Theatre (in kids week so cost £50 for 2 Wicked tickets) which she thought was an Amazing treat :) (We were just going to have a meal but she did so well that I just went online & bought the tickets on results day)

To cap it all, same day she won a family ticket to Alton Towers from the local radio station :)

Some of her friends were on a Pay per results scheme, but we couldn't afford that.

DS is now at a top performing grammar school and one of his friends has been offerred £100 per A* - and he is predicted 11 of them .

[seenitallbefore]

I agree with cat64. My six have been rewarded after sitting the exams and before the results. rewarded for working really hard and doing as well as they could. The reward varied-ie trip to Topshop for girls for a couple of tops. A new computer game for the boys. No large cheques. But effort recognised .

[seenitallbefore]

oh and I also recall bribing one of the boys. A DVD (cheap one not top of charts ones) The bribe was one per 6 hours revision in the run up. Worked a treat. That was for Standard Grades before he got his act into gear. He just graduated with First Class Honours. Didnt need a bribe after early years.

[MmeBlueberry]

I did reward Common Entrance results, but by the time they get to GCSE, the results should be their own reward.

We do always go out to lunch on results day, however.

[YetAnotherMum]

This is a subject I've felt strongly about since I read about John Prescott being offered a bicycle for getting into grammar school. He didn't get in and was then doubly disappointed by not getting the bike. His brother subsequently got into the grammar and got the bike.

The problem with offering gifts for results is that a lot of the results people get are down to their inbuilt intelligence. How much worse will it be for siblings if they do less well, perhaps having worked harder than their sibling? And if you are offering say a laptop for good results, will you actually go through with not giving it if the results aren't as good as expected?

I agree with all the posters who give their DC a treat when the exams are finished, but before the results.

[scaryteacher]

I will not reward good GCSE grades either as I feel they have to achieve them because it screws up their next couple of years if they don't. I'll be thrilled if he does well, but linking it to money is just daft imo.

[BelligerentGhoul]

I hate the idea of giving money for exam results, even more so when 'prices' are agreed in advance.

DD1 did brilliantly at the end of her Yr 10 modules, so we paid for her to go to her first gig (a tenner plus enough for a bottle of water!). We will do similar for A levels and for dd2.

[kingprawntikka]

I don't like the idea of giving money for grades either. I think the good grades are reward in themselves. We gave our son £50 the night before the results came out and said whatever his results we were really proud of how hard he'd worked and how much revision he'd done, and that the money was reward for that. I knew a lot of his friends would get money for grades. He did very well on results day and we had several of his friends over that evening and I ordered food for them all and made a cake saying congratulations.

[Manda25]

My son got £50 of each A-C in his GCSE's ...he needed the motivation (he got 5 c's) .... he got (nor expected) nothing for his Ax2 & 1C in his A levels ... because he finally grew up !

[Julesley]

We rewarded our daughter for effort. My dad always told me he didnt care what results I had as long as I tried my best and I try to have that ethos with the girls.

Her favourite band were touring later in the year and I said I would get her two tickets and take her (plus mate) if she worked hard.

She did work hard and I bought her the tickets before the results came out.

Last night when the lead singer threw himself in the crowd ( shudders at thought) she managed to touch his leg. On the way home I was the best mum in the world for the first time in a long while!!

[Dukandoit]

We hadn't made any promises of money for results but many of Dd's friends had been offered rewards. When the results came out this year, we still resisted (but results were much better than we had expected!!)
So we bought her a gift, a camera under £100, and she was thrilled.
Now some of her friends are turning sixteen, and being given cars.....so brace yourself, GCSE's are just the start.

[Earthgirlzero]

I agree that the good results should be reward enough. My DH was disappointed that his DD (my DSD-who lives with her Mother) didnt get all a stars even though she did pretty well. He raged to me for a while and got it off his chest before speaking with DD. Then he was very non committal about it and she got upset saying that he was disappointed and had set too high expectations. Perhaps he had but we all feel she could have worked harder.

However a few weeks later when asked by phone if she could have same reward as her friends so that she could buy new clothes for sixth form college he immediately agreed to give the £100 for each A grade etc... I feel all children are spoilt materially today and most dont appreciate the value of anything. I also feel that this has sent a very mixed message and cannot understand except to say that the divorced parent guilt thing must have kicked in..

[cory]

We'd end up rewarding dd for being bright and happening to have important school subjects as her main interest in life- and punishing little brother because he is less talented and his interests lie outside of school. So I don't think we'll be going down this route. Rewarding for effort seems a bit pointless when she reads Shakespeare as a treat.