The C/D Borderline “Opening Doors”

Research has highlighted that the parent-child relationship could be the most important factor in a child’s academic and social development. Professor Tanya Byron reported:  parental or carer engagement is key to a child’s educational success, but many parents are struggling to get involved with their child’s learning.  Just 16% of children actively share any information with their parents about their school day. 43% of parents find it either difficult to extract information from their child about their day at school.  31% of parents admit to feeling ‘excluded’ when their child won’t tell them what they’ve done at school that day.

Fulfilling Your Child’s Potential Steps to success Support the school in supporting your child Discuss progress with them Encourage them to get grade 1’s (outstanding) for their Effort, Homework & Attitude Support their efforts to achieve C grades or better Take decisive action when 3, 4 or 5 grades regularly crop up. Come to Parents’ Consultation evenings & Progress Review Days

Reporting and Assessment – Year 11 Academic Progress Review Days November 20th Monitoring November 13th January 29th March 26th Trial Examination Results January 29th Parents’ Consultation Evening February 3rd

The Importance of Attendance All data based on Shelley College Year 11 students

Attendance Group% Attend Year Year Year Totals94.0

Figures based on 2008/09 Academic Year at Shelley College

Attendance and Achievement at GCSE Level of Attendance Average GCSE Grades Achieved for best 8 subjects 100%A and B

Attendance and Achievement at GCSE Level of Attendance Average GCSE Grades Achieved for best 8 subjects 95+% to 99.9% B

Attendance and Achievement at GCSE Level of Attendance Average GCSE Grades Achieved for best 8 subjects 93 to 95%C

Attendance and Achievement at GCSE Level of Attendance Average GCSE Grades Achieved for best 8 subjects 90-92%D

Attendance and Achievement at GCSE Level of Attendance Average GCSE Grades Achieved for best 8 subjects Under 90%E

Attendance and Achievement at GCSE Level of Attendance Average GCSE Grades Achieved for best 8 subjects Under 80 %F

The Importance of GCSE Maths All schools and colleges require at least grade C if you want to study As & A levels All Universities require at least a minimum of grade C in English & Maths The majority of employers will require a minimum of GCSE grade C

Impact & Reality If staying in 6 th form – many students have to drop an As subject to allow them to re sit their Maths This will possibly impact on University and job applications

MODULE 5 EXAM Module 1 & 3 provide 45% of your final grade Module 5 is the remaining 55% (the most important) 69% of last years Yr 11 students had A*-C in modules 1 & 3, however 8% of these achieved a grade D overall – due to poor performance in Module 5 Much of this was due to a lack of preparation & complacency

PB/PSHEE LESSONS All students must attend every Blue week. This will support Module 3 re sits and preparation for Module 5 Year offices and SLT will check attendance and chase up any absentees This is a support mechanism, not a punishment

The Key Statistics

Parental Support Be aware of support on offer and key exam dates, hence pressure points in the year. Help your son/daughter access the department Virtual Learning Environment Use websites to help your son/daughter revise Insist your son/daughter ‘actively’ revises. Revision is far more effective if you DO Maths as opposed to just read Maths.

English Intervention

Course Outline All students in sets 1-6 do two GCSEs in English and English Literature Pilot group of five teaching classes taking English Exam in November 2009 and English Literature June The other seven teaching classes taking both English and English Literature in June 2010.

The Importance of English GCSE Being able to speak, read and write accurately is acutely important in today’s society. A c grade in GCSE English is essential to gain a place on any A Level course and subsequent University course. It is also the communication standard that employers expect.

Boys Performance – GCSE English The National Trend shows Boys perform less well than Girls This trends is also apparent at Shelley College Evidence suggests that boys respond well to male role models Reading & writing are crucial Speaking & listening are crucial Coursework is crucial

Types of intervention A variety of intervention strategies will be implemented throughout year 11 in English and will cater for individual student’s needs. The strategies will depend upon when each student is taking their English exam and will focus on weaknesses in coursework and/or exam performance.

English GCSE - coursework Worth 40% :- 4 written essays – Original Writing Media Shakespeare Pre-1914 Prose 3 Speaking and Listening assessed tasks

English GCSE – Exams Paper 1 30% Section A – Reading (unseen media texts) Section B – Writing to argue, persuade or advise Paper 2 30% Section A – Reading Poetry from Different Cultures Section B – Writing to inform, explain, describe

PB / PSHEE Lessons There are three English Intervention classes running in PB / PSHEE lessons in Yellow week. All classes will follow the same revision module in that time with three very strong English teachers. Attendance at these revision classes is essential and any absence will be reported to the year 11 Office and SLT.

Parental Support Re-iterate the importance of attendance at revision sessions Support English teachers, by encouraging the completion/improvement of coursework and reinforce the importance of deadlines Refer to the revision guide Encourage your child to read newspaper articles and summarise the main points of the argument Use websites nearer the exam for interactive revision

Intervention sessions after school There will be several intervention sessions running after school:- Coursework catch up/ improvement sessions Exam revision classes this term for those entered for their English Exam in November. Exam revision sessions starting after Christmas for those entered in June.

Exam Board/Websites Exam Board – AQA Specification - English Awww.aqa.org.uk The English Moodle has many links to websites