Honestly, where are you with your GCSE syllabus coverage?

[vintage66]

I'm a science teacher at a highly selective independent school and we have still not completed some of the course content. Normally, we would have finished most, if not all, by Christmas, with some topics still to gap fill up to Feb half term. Mock results weren't what we would have expected either and quite far off predictions.

I can't put my finger on why this is so (obviously there was Covid but I don't think it's the main issue, but perhaps it is?). Are others noticing the same?

Is there any evidence of these revision session bring beneficial?

I always get the impression students do them instead of their own revision and so has a net negative effect. (Less work done overall, less ownership)

Niche GCSE subject here, so won't name it as I'll be spotted!

Nowhere near finished. Whole text to go...

For me, NEA , and annoying requirement to do the final part under supervision gets in the way.

But ,also, waaaay too much content. Compared with English , it's ridiculous and they get far more teaching time.

And, lastly, my school's obsessions with having two sets of mocks in year 11.

Same issues at A level, tbh and the overstuffed content is a huge issue which, again, looks suspect next to English Lit A level.

I'm one of those teacher wo doesn't approve of finishing early (serioulsy, January? It's meant to be a two year course!)and thinks revision is for home - but I don't mean by that that I should be finishing the content the day before the exams. I also would acknowledge I teach in a lot of detail but I am happy with that.

They are all very early this year, too, aren't they?

Totally agree.

So agree re are they actually beneficial, I would scrap them totally.
we did ours remotely this year and it was by choice, and there was (some) extra pay for them. I didn’t volunteer

Drama?

Nope!

Ah, the text comment threw me. I'm Drama, and there is just so much to cover!

I think so many of us are massively struggling.

Physics - we teach over 3 years and only just finish on time. It is absolutely crazy.

At my school there's absolutely an expectation from the students that we do Easter, half term and after school revision classes. We get paid for them through catch up funding, which is a sore point for me as I am running school show rehearsals so don't get the opportunity to be paid because I'm working for free....

I think the more we offer the less skilled at independent work our students become. They are generally very entitled and expect to be spoon fed.

I think it depends.

Last year, I did a lot of after school revision with Y11, which I know some won't agree with BUT they had massive gaps, and we basically used them to reteach lockdown content and for extra exam practice.

I think they helped students feel more confident, and it meant students were doing 1 hour a week focused revision from October onwards- which is probably more than most of them would have done otherwise.

This year I'm at a different school, which doesn't do this sort of thing (rural school, lots of students come a long way on the bus which makes it difficult). I do find it hard to know how to support my students who are really struggling and what to suggest to them. I don't want to give up my lunchtimes to helping students.

Agree- I teach Y12 students who've come from schools where this is the norm, and they definitely have weak independent study skills which is a problem for sure.

Media Studies- still teaching the course at GCSE and juggling nea. Little time for revision as a result. A level is a different matter, revision is underway.