GCSE Science from 2016

What are the changes? GCSE Science 2016: What’s changed? From September 2016, there will be two pathways in science that students can take: GCSE (9-1) Biology GCSE (9-1) Chemistry GCSE (9-1) Physics or GCSE (9-1) Combined Science (Double Award) There will no longer be a single GCSE Science qualification

Assessment tiers There will be a new 9-1 grading system, replacing A* - G There will be Foundation and Higher tier examination Foundation will cover 1 – 5 grades Higher will cover 4 – 9 grades

Eat breakfast! It is estimated that around 27% of boys and 39% of girls skip breakfast some or all of the time. It’s not called the most important meal of the day for nothing: research has found that skipping this meal significantly reduces students’ attention and their ability to recall information.

Encourage active revision as apposed to passive revision Encourage active revision as apposed to passive revision. Many students make the mistake of revising passively, they simply read a text book and try to remember the information it contains. Active revision involves students producing their won materials such as notes, flash cards or mind maps.

A key thing for all parents to do is to talk to your child about their revision. Talk to them about what they have been revising. Look at the revision materials that they have been producing. Ask you child specific questions not ‘what did you do in science today’, look at a page of their book and use it to ask questions e.g. ‘What is the answer to this question?’ ‘How do you work it out’

Ensure that your child is studying in the evenings, at weekends and crucially over the holidays and half-term holidays

Encourage a healthy balance of study and ‘fun’ activities. Your child will need some down time!

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