“How to succeed in the GCSE exams – Advice on how to support your son or daughter to prepare, revise and be successful”.

WHAT CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE? Helping your child prepare for their GCSE’s Advice for Parents and Guardians Parental support is 8 times more important in determining a child’s academic success than social class. The good news is that you don’t need to be an expert in any of the subjects your child chooses to make a real difference. You also don’t need to give up your life and other responsibilities – you just need to know how best to spend the time you do have. One of the hardest demands on students is that of understanding the long-term importance of doing the best they can, and learning to shelve short-term fun at times in the interest of long-term benefits (not easy even for adults). Children will also differ in their levels of maturity, their ability to take responsibility for their learning, organisational skills and levels of motivation. This is where parents come in. Your support, encouragement and interest can make a spectacular difference to your child’s motivation and ability to cope with the academic and organisational demands of the exam period.

The National and Ashlawn context on performance of Boys and Girls All StudentsBoysGirls 5A*-C including English and Maths Ashlawn 73% National 56% Ashlawn 66% National 51% Ashlawn 79% National 60% A*-C EnglishAshlawn 87% National 67% Ashlawn 80% National 61% Ashlawn 94% National 74% A*-C MathsAshlawn 80% National 67% Ashlawn 77% National 67% Ashlawn 82% National 68%

Support available in school Mentoring 1-1 support in English, Maths and Science After school revision sessions Personalising timetables for individual students Support during holidays in some subject areas

Re-reading texts Highlighting text Low impact in retaining information Students like to do this because it takes relatively little mental effort, and it feels like effective revision. Ineffective strategies that students like to use

Cramming information -Have not been organised -Panicking about the exam -Causes stress and anxiety Regardless of how much you study each day, if you sacrifice sleep in order to cram a little bit more, you are going to struggle the following day Ineffective strategies that students like to use

Mrs Gold Advice from a parent who has been through the GCSE exam season with her daughter Niamh and her son Harry

More effective strategies - Using Mind Maps Encourage your student to try and recall the content of a given topic – this is more effective than writing notes. Test yourself first by adding everything you think you know. Then add to it in a different colour using revision guides and notes

Help each other with information that they can specifically remember and vice versa. Help each other to create memory cues allowing them to recall in exams. Needs to be a “good revision partner” More effective strategies - Revising as a group

Recalling things from our memory, actually helps us to remember things better. How as parents can we do this? -Plan short bursts of time -Sit down and do this over a meal -Avoid criticism -Be positive and use praise More effective strategies - Quiz each other

More effective strategies - Spaced revision Revising the information over a period of time Keep coming back to topics. Allows for longer term memory retention as it makes better use of how the brain stores information

Test yourself over several weeks Leave lengthy intervals between each session. Test yourself, make notes etc for 10 minutes Test yourself an hour later Test again on day 2,day 7 and day 14. The biggest mistake you can make is just to keep reading it over and over to yourself.” Ed Cooke,British “memory champion” Start early but learn in short bursts

Ed Cooke,British “memory champion” Cooke is adamant that the capacity to learn huge amounts of information does not require any natural ability – just technique, and a healthy dose of motivation.

Ed Cooke,British “memory champion” At the end of a revision session force yourself to write down everything you know about the subject on a blank piece of paper. Rather than testing yourself on individual bits, you’ll test yourself on the whole, and it forms in your mind as a narrative. When you compare what you have with your notes, you’ll also notice the gaps

ACTIVITY - Use Revision Resource B You have 5 minutes to use some revision techniques to try to learn as much of the information as you can.

Distractions of technology and social media “Often the reason you can’t concentrate is because you feel that the world is going on around you, and somehow you’re missing out.” Ed Cooke,British “memory champion” No memory technique works without focus and discipline

Pomodoro technique

Ed Cooke,British “memory champion” “Pomodoro technique” Remove distractions (phone, tablet, computer) Set a timer for 30 minutes Then have a 5 minute break to do what you want

Create an environment that is conducive to work

ACTIVITY Look through the statements Decide whether they are a “Do” or a “Don’t”

Ask if they want help Avoid nagging and arguments, they may be more sensitive than normal No matter how difficult they are being, stay calm Encourage them to get into a rhythm of revise/break/revise/… “Why are you not revising?” “You haven’t done enough work yet” “You are going to fail these exams” Create a quiet household that supports their revision Help them to be organised and plan a revision timetable that is realistic and manageable Be realistic and break revision up into smaller chunks Help them to have all their revision guides/notes easily available Assume that they are revising and leave them alone Take up a snack or a drink and give some praise and encouragement Encourage the rest of the family to be understanding of the pressure of exams and revision Stay in their room all night Have a change of scene, get out of the revision place for a while Treats as a reward for working hard on revision Try to get them to revise the way that you did because it worked for you “Your sister/ brother/ cousin was much more organised with their revision than you are” “It’s never too late”, “Every little bit helps”, “Just do 10 minutes and see how it goes”

Ask if they want help Avoid nagging and arguments, they may be more sensitive than normal No matter how difficult they are being, stay calm Encourage them to get into a rhythm of revise/break/revise/… “Why are you not revising?” “You haven’t done enough work yet” “You are going to fail these exams” Create a quiet household that supports their revision Help them to be organised and plan a revision timetable that is realistic and manageable Be realistic and break revision up into smaller chunks Help them to have all their revision guides/notes easily available Assume that they are revising and leave them alone Take up a snack or a drink and give some praise and encouragement Encourage the rest of the family to be understanding of the pressure of exams and revision Stay in their room all night Have a change of scene, get out of the revision place for a while Treats as a reward for working hard on revision Try to get them to revise the way that you did because it worked for you “Your sister/ brother/ cousin was much more organised with their revision than you are” “It’s never too late”, “Every little bit helps”, “Just do 10 minutes and see how it goes”

Why GCSE results are so important for your child's future choices All students now have to stay in education or training until they are 18 years old The number and level of GCSE qualifications your son/daughter achieves will have a massive impact on the opportunities that are open to them

Accounting AS and A2 Art & Design AS & A2 Biology A Level Business Studies A Level BTEC Business Chemistry A Level Computing A Level Creative Writing AS and A2 Drama and Theatre Studies AS & A2 Economics A Level English Literature A Level English Language A Level Enterprise Extended Project A level French AS & A2 Geography AS & A2 German AS & A2 Government and Politics AS & A2 Health & Social Care AS & A2 (Single and Double) ICT AS & A2 History A Level Food Nutrition and Health AS & A2 Maths Mechanics AS & A2 Maths Statistics AS & A2 Further Maths AS & A2 Media Studies AS & A2 Music AS & A2 Performing Arts BTEC (Single and Double) Photography AS & A2 Physical Education AS & A2 Physics A Level Product Design – 3D Design AS & A2 Product Design – Textiles AS & A2 Psychology A Level Rock School Music Practioner BTEC BTEC Science National Certificate (Double) Sociology AS & A2 BTEC Sport (Single and Double) Travel & Tourism AS & A2 Level 3 Subjects for B grade students 40 courses!!

Accounting AS and A2 Art & Design AS & A2 Biology A Level Business Studies A Level BTEC Business Chemistry A Level Computing A Level Creative Writing AS and A2 Drama and Theatre Studies AS & A2 Economics A Level English Literature A Level Enterprisenglish Language A Level Extended Project A level French AS & A2 Geography AS & A2 German AS & A2 Government and Politics AS & A2 Health & Social Care AS & A2 (Single and Double) ICT AS & A2 History A Level Food Nutrition and Health AS & A2 Maths Mechanics AS & A2 Maths Statistics AS & A2 Further Maths AS & A2 Media Studies AS & A2 Music AS & A2 Performing Arts BTEC (Single and Double) Photography AS & A2 Physical Education AS & A2 Physics A Level Product Design – 3D Design AS & A2 Product Design – Textiles AS & A2 Psychology A Level Rock School Music Practioner BTEC BTEC Science National Certificate (Double) Sociology AS & A2 BTEC Sport (Single and Double) Travel & Tourism AS & A2 Level 3 Subjects for C grade students Only 8 courses!!

GCSEs are now more important than ever!! A levels are becoming linear from 2015 Universities and firms recruiting apprentices will pay more attention to GCSE results when considering applicants applicants-harder-greater-reliance-on-gcse-results-will-penalise-late-developers/ applicants-harder-greater-reliance-on-gcse-results-will-penalise-late-developers/

Practise Active Repetition Encourage Notes Time management Stress management