GCSE

TIPS FOR SUCCESS & HOW

PARENTS CAN HELP
 HOW CAN PARENTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Parental support is 8 times more important in determining a child’s academic success than
social class. The Campaign for Learning found that parental involvement in a child’s
education can mean the difference between an A* and an ‘also-ran’ at GCSE.

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.
KEEPING THE MOTIVATION UP
FOR STUDENTS
 Don’t stop going to, or working in, lessons you find hard or dislike – talk to someone about
any difficulties you are having – there is always a solution
 Revise your revision schedule if necessary and stick to it – even when you don’t feel like it.
Don’t wait until you are in the mood – the further behind you get the less you will be in the
mood (agree the schedule with your parents for a hassle-free life)
 Resist the temptation to bury your head in the sand if things are getting out of hand – talk to
your parents/tutor/teachers/Head of House
 Ignore what friends and others are doing or saying – you are working for an easy life for YOU
now and later – let your friends have the hassle of redoing coursework or even the full GCSE

FOR PARENTS
 Agree the balance between work and social life and stick to the agreement. Again, flexibility
is the key – if a special night comes up, agree that they can make up the work at a specified
time
 All students fall behind, feel demotivated or overwhelmed, or struggle with the balance of
social, work and school demands at times. When your child feels like this, berating and
threatening them will have a negative effect. Talk to them about the issues, acknowledge
their feelings and adopt a sensible attitude in wanting to find a solution
 Be flexible – use the 80/20 rule. If your child is sticking to what they are supposed to be
doing 80% of the time, they will be doing alright
 If your child asks for your support, encourage them by helping them to see the difficulties in
perspective. Teenagers often take an all or nothing ‘catastrophic’ approach to difficulties –
“I’ve messed up this essay, I might as well give up.”
GETTING READY FOR REVISION
FOR STUDENTS –
 Start revision early. The sooner you start the less you will have to do each day and the less
stressed out you will be
 The most important thing is to make a realistic revision timetable that you will stick to
 Get one good revision book or aid for every subject. They do much of the initial work for
you by breaking the subject down into ‘do-able’ chunks

DOING THE REVISION

 Go to all lessons and make them work for you – especially the ones you don’t lke or find
hard
 When your teachers tell you about exam technique – try them all out to see which one will
work for you best (it might even be the one you thought wouldn’t work). The key thing is to
reduce the notes you work from to a single A4 by the night before the exam
 Match the revision notes you make to the sort of questions you will be asked. Get hold of
old papers (ask teachers which websites to look at – they are also in your planner)
 Have a clear goal for each revision period. For example – ‘at the end of these 2 hours I will
be able to label a diagram of the heart and answer a question on how the heart works.’
 Have a start and finish time – and stick to it!
 Get into the routine of following your revision plan – if you really don’t feel like it, tell
yourself you will do 15 minutes and then decide whether to carry on. At least you will have
done fifteen minutes. Set your aim for the session and get right on with it – ignore the
impulse to suddenly tidy your room for the first time in 3 years!
 STOP and take a break if you are becoming frustrated, angry or overwhelmed. Put aside the
problem
 Don’t waste time struggling – note down anything you are finding hard and take it to your
next lesson or if on study leave, phone friends or your teachers
 DO NOT BE INFLUENCED BY FRIENDS WHO TALK ABOUT HOW LITTLE WORK THEY ARE
DOING
Get you head down – your results don’t matter to your friends – but they are crucial to your
future.
Tell yourself it’s not for long and think about that long summer holiday
 Make yourself start however much you don’t want to – the hardest bit is over with then.
IMPROVING YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING AT LEAST A GRADE ‘C’
There are a number of factors that cause students to lose marks in the exams. The factors below
are often reported by examiners. You will also find them in revision books. Here is a list of factors
that you need to be aware of and concentrate on –

 Start in good time – leave it too late and you will start panicking
 Plan for half hour or, at most, one hour slots. Nothing extra is likely to sink in if one subject
is revised for much longer
 When revising during the evenings plan 1 or 2 subjects only. Leave some time for relaxation
 Allow some days off, but not in the few weeks just before the exams
 Plan to revise specific topics or aspects of a subject – for example, not just science, but
human systems, or waves, or chemical reactions or electricity
 Read through a topic and then make brief notes on cards which can be used for further
revision later
 Use colours to highlight key works
 Work in small groups to discuss a topic
KEY TASKS ON THE DAY BEFORE THE EXAM
FOR STUDENTS
 Make sure you know your timetable
 Get there early – only fools leave it too late and rush – catch the much earlier bus
 Allow time for your brain to wake up – have a shower, eat breakfast – take a banana with
you
 Do a final check of the subjects you will be doing that day – know the structure and how
many sections there are
 Make sure you have EVERYTHING you need and take spares – do not get into the stress of
asking teachers for things you should have brought
 Take a pen you enjoy writing with – take 2 just in case

During the exam –

 Don’t forget that it is natural to be nervous. It actually gives your brain the extra
adrenalin it needs to make the final effort
 If your mind goes blank, don’t worry. Look at the question again, write down some
notes – it’ll get your brain ticking over again
 Don’t start writing until you know what the instructions are and you are ready to write
sense
 Make and keep to a time scale for each question depending on the number of marks
(you will have done this in revision classes – stick to it). If you only have 3 minutes left
for a question, write the answer in note form – the examiner will give you marks for it
 Allow a little bit of time at the end to check through your work to see if any changes
need making. Examiners have said that this can make the difference between a higher
and lower grade

ON THE EVE OF THE EXAM FOR PARENTS –

 Please don’t add to the stress levels by ‘rising to the bait’ when your child pushes teh
boundaries. Shelve the battles that don’t need winning just yet
 Help prepare you child for the exam – talk with them about when it starts, how long it
lasts for, what are the main topics that might come up. Don’t ‘over egg’ this – they may
have worked all day and have come down stairs to relax
DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE LEFT IT TOO LATE TO REVISE?
One of the biggest mistakes that students make is not allowing enough time for revision. This
usually results in demotivation and the attitude that there is no point in doing anything as the
task is too big

 IT IS NEVER TOO LATE UNTIL YOU ENTER THE EXAM ROOM – with
revision a little knowledge is better than none at all and could make the difference
between a pass and fail.
 Draw up a grid like this for all your subjects – it really does work!
REVISION PLAN

EXAMPLE 1

SUBJECT – SCIENCE

TIME NEEDED COMPLETED/GET

HELP
SCIENCE PAPER 1 TOTAL –
20 HOURS
• Inheritance & 3
selection
• Structures & 4
bonding
• Wave & 4
radiation
• Humans as 3
organisms (difficult)
• Maintenance of 3
life
• Metals 3
SCIENCE PAPER 2 TOTAL –
23 HOURS
• Environment 3
• Patterns of 5
chemical (difficult)
change
• Forces 5
• Earth Materials 3
• Energy 3
• Electricity 4
 REVISION PLAN

EXAMPLE 2

SUBJECT – HISTORY

TIME NEEDED COMPLETED/GET

HELP
HISTORY PAPER 1 TOTAL –
NAZI GERMANY 17 HOURS
• Impact of Wall 3
Street Crash
• Impact of Treaty 4
of Versailles
• Fear of 4
communism
• Leader Principle 3
(difficult)
• Dislike of 3
democracy
HISTORY PAPER 2 TOTAL –
CAUSES OF W.W.II 19 HOURS
• Appeasement 3
• Role of the 5
individual (difficult)
• Failure of the 5
League of
Nations
• US isolationism 3
• Rise of the 3
Dictatorships
 REVISION PLAN

SUBJECT –

TIME NEEDED COMPLETED/GET

HELP
PAPER 1 TOTAL –
HOURS
•
•
•
•

•
PAPER 2 TOTAL –
HOURS
•
•

•
•
•
Useful Websites and stuff....

More information about the sites listed is given in the relevant chapters. Information correct at time of going
to press.

General support for teenagers

• www.projecteducation.co.uk/gcse offers links to GCSE chat forums.
• www.bbc.co.uk
• www.childline.org.uk/explore/Pages/Explore.aspx
• www.youthaccess.org.uk/
General parent support
• www.parentlineplus.org.uk confidential helpline for parents on 0808 800 2222
• www.projecteducation.co.uk
Exam boards
• www.aqa.org.uk the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA)
• www.edexel.org.uk Edexcel
• www.ocr.org.uk Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR)
• www.wjec.co.uk the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC)
Coursework and revision
(Please read notes on the use of essay banks in ‘revision’).
• www.coursework.info
• www.sparknotes.com
• www.gcseguide.co.uk – Use the ‘bookshop’ option to see what revision guides are available in each
subject area.
• www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize
• www.gcse.com

Careers
• https://direct.gov.uk. The governments’ official careers information site. Visit the Education
and Learning pages and choose ‘Which way now? Years 10-11’ followed by ‘Your Choices in
Year 9’ to find out more about your options.
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/studentlife/careersandchoices/
• Visit http://nextstep.direct.gov.uk and select Planning your career then Job profiles for
free information on hundreds of different careers.
• http://connexions-berkshire.org.uk/careers
E-CLIPS lets you view and print out leaflets on lots of different topics, including Options after
Year 9.
Kudos Online takes you through a series of questions to match you with career ideas.
Your password to begin is the academy postcode = SL3 7EF.
• www.Careersbox.co.uk - Careers films/videos – real people in real jobs
• www.icould.com - Career advice, HE choices
• www.opendoorsmedia.co.uk - Regional training prospectus – everything you need to know
about college, apprenticeships, careers, training schemes and jobs in local area
• www.apprenticeships.org.uk - National Apprenticeship Service
• www.futuremorph.org - STEM careers
• www.targetjobs.co.uk - Careers info – construction, accountancy, banking, law, engineering,
environment, media . . . . etc

ATTENDANCE
(90% in an exam is a great result but in terms of attendance it means that the student
has missed 1 of every 10 days – over a period of a year this is equivalent to 4 weeks of
school and it will ultimately affect their final result.

HOW DO YOU THINK 90% ATTENDANCE RATE WILL

AFFECT SAM’S CHANCES OF DOING WELL IN
SCHOOL?

♦ Research suggests
that 17 days missed
from school ( approx
one half day each
week), equates to a
GCSE grade

GONE WHERE?

The figures show the link between

Attendance and Attainment
100
A 90
T
T
80
A 70
I 60
%
N 50
M 40
E 5+ A* to C
N
30
20 5+ A* to G
T
10
0
93.5%- 92.5% - 91.5%- 90% - 88% - less
100% 93.5% 92.5% 91.5% 90% than
88%
% ATTENDANCE