Year 10 Parents Information Evening Monday 26th September

Important Dates Subject Consultation Evenings Napier & Trenchard– 24th November Henning Stratford – 1st December Tutor Consultation Day July 21st Mocks Week Beginning 26th June – for all subjects

Aims of This Evening To outline key areas of changes to GCSEs To lay out expectations of GCSE students. To advise you on how best to support your son/daughter. To give key information about the core subjects.

Important Dates Subject Consultation Evenings Napier & Trenchard– 24th November Henning Stratford – 1st December Tutor Consultation Day July 21st Mocks Week Beginning 26th June – for all subjects

The New Grading System Grading System will exist for all subjects. 1-9 (where 9 is the best) 5 considered a good pass. If students do not achieve a grade 5, they will need to resit Maths and English Language after Year 11.

How will we support students? Tracking Mentoring where appropriate Provide revision material Outstanding learning in the classroom Focused homework Sharing revision strategies – pastorally and academically

What do students need to be successful? In general: Positive attitude   • Clear vision • Display  behaviour  for  learning • Self confidence • Organisation Specifically: Routine Use of planner Quiet space at home Good, well kept class work Build revision up over time Be active in their revision – doing, not reading, not being passive Apply their knowledge to exam questions

How can you support your children? Know  what  your  child  is  studying. Look at their planners regularly. Be  aware  of  what  is  going  on  in  school. Keep  the  target  relevant. Guide learning. “What homework have you got tonight?” Ensure they have a suitable place to work – free from distraction. Support, encouragement and interest. Let them teach you!

Mathematics GCSE Claire Tanner

New GCSE Increased difficulty and content New grades: 9-1 Preparation began in Year 9 8 lessons per fortnight Year 11 are currently doing this course

Year 10: two teachers Two teachers The main teacher will cover the majority of the content and set homework every week The other teacher will cover a few topics and revise the work the main teacher has covered

Year 10 and 11: Assessment End of half term tests Exam questions used in lessons and for homework End of year ‘mock’ exam Further formal exams in Year 11

Grade Converter

Higher/Foundation Higher: sets 1-5 Foundation: sets 6-10 Subject to change after the first set of national exams have been taken.

Grades Higher: 4 – 9 Foundation: 1 – 5 20% of the questions will be common to both tiers, at grades 4 and 5

Preparation Have calculator (not a phone) and geometry set – don’t miss out the drawing questions. Know which formulae need to be learnt Maths clubs are for students to go over classwork and homework as well as get help with revision. Revision Guides and Workbooks Exam Practice Workbooks

The Exams (1) 3 papers End of Year 11 1.5 hours each One non-calculator paper Learn formulae

The Exams (2) Methods have to be written down – quite a lot is needed for one mark, sometimes more stages of work are needed than marks available Students will be tested on their understanding of methods by doing standard questions and also explaining mistakes in others

Further Help corbettmaths.com/5-a-day/gcse mymaths mathsorchard.weebly.com hegarty maths go to ‘old HegartyMaths’ for videos exam solutions for videos suitable for higher tier mathsgenie questions, answers and videos

English GCSE Advice for Parents Year 10 English GCSE Advice for Parents

Changes to GCSE Literature and Language 1 – 9 Grading. No higher or foundation tier; No controlled assessment or coursework. 100% exam based; 2 exams for each subject; 4 texts studied for Literature, including one 19th Century novel, a Shakespeare play, a modern text and a poetry cluster; Students are not allowed to take books into the exam; Increased emphasis on spelling, punctuation and grammar.

English Literature Students need to have memorised a range of quotations for each text. You can help by testing them on quotations to do with characters, settings and themes and by making sure that they begin revision notes early.

Easy revision tasks Pick a character from one of the texts. Make a mind map of everything that you remember about them. Add quotations from the book. Get your parent to test you to see if you can remember 5 key quotations about the character.

Easy revision tasks Make an A3 poster for the wall by putting the key themes in each corner. Choose the quotations that relate to those themes and explain the impact on the audience / reader. Try and include some quotations that help you to explore the structure of the play / novel as well as the language.

The importance of reading. Teenagers who choose to pick up a book for pleasure are more likely to succeed in life.

Reading …. Helps children to do better at school. Improves concentration. Improves imagination. Increases vocabulary. Helps teenagers develop empathy.

Get them to pick up a book! Fiction is better than non fiction for developing skills but reading any text is better than not reading at all. Regular reading is the key to success in many GCSE subjects. Encourage children to read as often as possible.

Revision Guides Revision guides can be useful to help students to focus their revision. Most will contain self test questions to check their understanding. We have guides available in the English dept. if students wish to buy them for both Literature and Language Your son / daughter should check with their class teacher about the appropriate guide for them. 16/11/2018

Useful Websites http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/subjects/zr9d7ty http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/subjects/zckw2hv Kerboodle support Sparknotes 16/11/2018

New Science GCSE Specifications Slide 1 Follow us on Twitter @AQACPD.

Regulatory requirements Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Combined Science only Subject content specified by DfE – 100% compulsory All assessment at end of course More demanding content No coursework Grading change from A*-G to 9-1 No UMS No mixing of tiers for combined award Slide 5

Grading in Combined Science Either two numbers the same: 9-9, 8-8, 7-7, 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2, 1-1 Or one number different: 9-8, 8-7, 7-6, 6-5, 5-4, 4-3, 3-2, 2-1 No zero, so no 1-0 or 1-U No other grades Slide 6

Combined Science: Trilogy All content in Trilogy is common to separate sciences Fully co-teachable with separates Some common content between Chemistry and Physics Some fundamental content in Biology which will be assessed in either paper Some fundamental content in Chemistry, which will be assessed in either paper Logical topic order but not prescribed teaching order Required practical activities identical to separate sciences Assessment split by content Slide 35

Combined Science: Trilogy outline content Biology Chemistry Physics 4.1. Cell biology 4.2. Organisation 4.3. Infection and response 4.4. Bioenergetics 4.5. Homeostasis and response 4.6. Inheritance, variation and evolution 4.7. Ecology 5.1. Atomic structure and the periodic table 5.2 Bonding, structure, and the properties of matter 5.3 Quantitative chemistry 5.4 Chemical changes 5.5 Energy changes 5.6 The rate and extent of chemical change 5.7 Organic chemistry 5.8 Chemical analysis 5.9 Chemistry of the atmosphere 5.10 Using resources   6.1 Energy 6.2 Electricity 6.3 Particle model of matter 6.4 Atomic structure 6.5 Forces 6.6 Waves 6.7 Magnetism and electromagnetism   Slide 36

Assessments: separate sciences Qualification Papers Content Length Biology 2 papers equal weighting Topics 1-4 Topics 5-7 Under arching principles 1 hour 45 mins 100 marks Chemistry Topics 1-5 Topics 6-10 (topics 1-3 on both common content) Physics Topics 1-4 Topics 5-8 Questions on practical work woven throughout the paper Slide 37

Assessments: combined sciences Trilogy Six papers, 1¼ hours, 70 marks Two papers for each subject Assessment split by content as separates Questions on practical work in all papers Slide 38

Levels of challenge ‘Ramping’ of demand through questions and paper Slide 39

Extended response questions ‘A question that requires a response of sufficient length to demonstrate the ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent, relevant, substantiated and logically structured’ Means an extended answer in prose or a multi-step calculation Students may need to bring together knowledge and understanding from different areas of the specification Questions worth 4 or 6 marks Marked by levels of response mark scheme On the front of each paper we indicate which questions require an extended written response Minimum marks per paper: Foundation 10% of marks Higher 15% Slide 40

Physics equations 23 equations students need to know and be able to apply (21 in combined science) 12 equations students must be able to select and apply (7 in combined science) Grades 1-3 will be given equation to apply. Simple equations with substitution of two numbers, no transformations Grades 4-5 will be given prompt ‘Write down the equation that links…’ Calculation will involve something ‘extra’ Grades 6-7 no prompt. Questions will involve transformations or ‘something extra’ Grades 8-9 no prompts. Include complex equations. Will involve transformations and multiple steps Slide 41

Practicals in exam papers No ISAs – assessed in the written papers At least 15% of the overall marks will cover practical work Three main types of question: questions assessing knowledge and understanding of the required practical activities questions assessing knowledge and understanding of specific apparatus and techniques, but not relating to a specific required practical activity questions set in a practical context, requiring students to demonstrate understanding of the science rather than direct experience of the practical Questions may cover any of the assessment objectives (AO1, AO2 or AO3) Slide 42

Science at The Thomas Hardye School Students start GCSE on arrival in Y9. Put into sets at end of first term. Then have tests each ½ term to track progress. Also end of year exams and mock exams in Year 11. Students in Y10 sets 1-4 are following Triple Award (Biology, Chemistry, Physics). Sets 5-10 follow Double Award Combined Science (Trilogy). Lots of STEM clubs after school to join. Curriculum support happens closer to exams in Year 11. Slide 43

Science at The Thomas Hardye School http://www.passmyexams.co.uk/ https://www.doddlelearn.co.uk/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/education Slide 44

Science at The Thomas Hardye School Triple Award £5.50 each Double Award £4.00 each Slide 45