 Friday 13 th May  Exams start for all at the start of May –Art exams are in the last week in April.  Revision sessions and additional lessons during the examination period for some subjects.  Lessons will continue in subjects that have not completed their examinations – students are expected to attend these.  The library will be available for Year 11 only for revision and as a base between lessons.  Briefing sessions immediately before each examination.

Talk to your child about how you can support them Provide all the resources that your child might need – pens, files, paper etc. Help them organise their subject folders and books now – this will pay dividends later. Get one good revision guide per subject – these are often excellent and they summarise all of the important information – making it much easy to take notes when revising – teachers may have recommended one already. Revision materials (including past papers) are on the school website. Help your them write their revision timetable – this may take several hours but this is time well spent. It is probably the single most important thing that will make the difference to how effective the revision is. The process of identifying and prioritising topics is as important as the revision itself.

How many days are there until the first exam? How much revision can be done each day? Are there any dates that are not available for revision? How many subjects are they studying? How many topics in each subject? Which subjects do they need to focus on most?

Up to Friday 13 th May (from the start of the Easter holiday) Number of non school days – 24 Number of school days – 26 If I revise 4 hours on non school days – 96 hours If I revise 2 hours on school days – 52 hours Total revision time before the exams – 148 hours Take off any time for days that I cannot revise – 10 hours Total time available – 138 hours

English20 hours Maths30 hours Science30 hours Graphic Products12 hours French14 hours History20 hours RE12 hours Total138 hours

TopicTime Native Americans4hrs Early Settlers1hr Pioneers1hr Mormons3hrs Railroads1hr Homesteaders2hrs Cattle Industry2hrs Law and Order2hrs Plains Wars4hrs

Subject:Total time for revision: TopicTime allocatedCompleted

Top Tips for Time Management  Make sure that time is allocated according to revision priorities.  Before the 13 th of May revision should be planned by dividing time by subject and topic. From May 13 th it should be driven by the examination timetable.  Use a different colour for each subject for revision sessions.  Time to revisit a subject/topic should be built in – in particular just before the exam.  Any school organised revision / briefing sessions should be built into the timetable

Support and nagging ! (but only at regular ‘check-in times) – help them stick to their revision plan, ask what they have done during the day / session. Be prepared to listen to explanations of what they have been learning. Use rewards if necessary. Make sure that you allow them some free time – be flexible about this, they can always make up time later. GCSEs can be very stressful – if they are under pressure they may need to let off steam.

Build in short breaks – with an opportunity to exercise / move around. Talk to friends/ parents if you are having problems – revision sessions with friends can give you the opportunity to talk through a topic. Use different strategies for different subjects. Drink plenty of water – avoid sugar – have healthy snacks. Take a day off to do something completely different. Don’t leave the difficult parts to last. Keep a record of what you have covered by ticking off your revision timetable. At the end of your session tidy away your notes in an organised way.

Non-religious marriages  The purpose of a non-religious marriages could be for a man and woman to comfort and help each other, for a happy sex life and bring up children in a stable family.  The main points include public witnesses giving reasons why you can’t get married, exchanging vows promising you’ll live together until death and giving rings.  People get married because they publicly witness their love, makes children happier and have a legal contract. Non-religious marriages Purpose: comfort and help happy sex life stable family for children Main points: witness (public) – no objections exchange vows – live together forever exchange rings Reasons: vow of monogamy declaring love stable for children –so happier legal contract so “stick at it” more

1.Think of a number between 1 and 8 2.Multiply this by 5 3.Add your age to this number 4.Divide by 3 5.Add the age of your oldest child 6.Subtract the age of your youngest child 7.Add the number of planets in the solar system 8.Make sure that you only do question 1

On exam days : Ensure that your child has all of the equipment that they need. Talk with them about the exams for that day – where and when it is etc. Make sure that they have a good breakfast. Ensure that they attend the briefing session. If they are unwell – contact the school if they are unable to attend (last resort) or make arrangements to get a doctor’s note (for special consideration appeals). During the examination period: Encourage attendance at revision sessions – make arrangements for transport or take advantage of independent study facilities at the school (the library will be given over to Year 11 for this purpose during the exams).

‘I’ve left it too late to revise’ It is never too late to revise – a little knowledge is better than none. If they have not done enough preparation then help them to prioritise their remaining time by: Focusing on subjects in which a pass is most likely Identify key areas with the subject Dealing with stress The most important thing is to help give them a sense of perspective if they feel under pressure. Help them to talk through the problem and to break it down into manageable chunks and remind them of the positive things that have been achieved (eg good coursework or module results).

MondayTuesdayWednesdayThursday Friday LunchtimeMathsEnglishHumanitiesScience English AfterschoolEnglishMaths Science Easter revision sessions Geography – Friday 1 st April 10am-2 pm History – Tuesday 29 th April 10am -12 pm