Year 10Parent/Carer

Information Evening

11th September 2014Paul Williams Assistant Headteacher

Welcome & Overview• Introductions • Subjects in Year 10• New demands upon your child• Parent support• Key dates

Recent results5+ A* - C GRADES INCLUDING ENGLISH AND MATHS

2010 56%

2011 60%

2012 70%

2013 68%

2014 70%

Recent Results• 20+ students achieved 8 or moreA and A* grades

• 98% achieved 5 or more A* - G grades

Subjects in Year 10/11CORE SUBJECTS (ALL WILL DO)• MATHS (7 hours) GCSE• ENGLISH (8 hours) GCSE• SCIENCE (8 hours) + 5 hours for separate sciences• MFL (5 Hours) GCSE • PE ( 4 Hours) GCSE• RS (2 hours) GCSE Full/Half course• Study Skills (1 hour)• OPTIONS X 3 (5 hours)

Course Details

Each course is different, they can include elements of:• Coursework• Controlled assessment• Practical exams• Written exams• Teacher witness statements

Coursework…

Traditional sense• One or more pieces of work to be completed

by the student• Can usually work on this outside of lessons• Strict deadlines to be metCoursework – parental help• Proof read draft coursework• Support with planning (if needed)

Controlled Assessment…

• A task or series of tasks that are set by the examination board –usually on a given topic

• To be completed within lessons at school• Controlled conditions• Number of hours allowed• ‘Normal’ exam rules

Examinations…• End of year 11• Full examination conditions marked externally• Notified in advance usually 5 months for summer exams

Parental help…• Pupils will be issued with their exam timetable in advance of the

examination period• Remind pupils about exam rules – e.g. no mobile phones,• Arriving at least 15 minutes before having eaten and exercised• Remind pupils to revise – in advance!• Support with correct equipment – pens, pencils, rules etc(differs for each exam)

Who’s job is it?Isn’t it the schools’ job to get them through their exams?• School clearly has an important and integral role to play • Provide the expertise and resources to help your child

acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to do their best in each subject.

• New expectations of your child in Years 10 and 11 expectations which for many children, even the very brightest, are hard to meet.

• You don’t need to know anything about maths, science or resistant materials to help them with these things – you’ve been doing it all their lives!

New Demands on your child:• Being more-self motivated, and taking more responsibility for their own learning.• Asking when they do not understand!• Developing their abilities to overcome

frustrations, and strategies for persisting when they are finding it challenging.

• Organising themselves.• Completing work independently• Organising and planning their time over longer

periods

More New Demands….• Understanding the exam structure and the

relative importance of each piece of work to their final grade.

• Planning out and carrying out revision.• Perfecting their ‘exam technique’.• BUT the hardest demand…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!

And this is where you come in!

You are the expert on your own child and always have been his/her most important teacher. 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 years.

Parental support is eight times more important in determining a child’s academic success than social class, according to a new study. 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.

Times Educational Supplement

Parental Support

Your role (in partnership with the school)

• Attendance officer• Partner with school• Tool Box provider!• Study Buddy ( not doing it for them )• Project manager• Go-between for your child and school

He always leaves everything to the last minute– one moment he has all the time in the world –the next it’s all stress and stropping becauseit has to be in tomorrow and he hasn’t got thestuff he needs to do it…

I don’t understand allthis coursework, levelsand module exams – it’scompletely differentfrom when I was atschool.

She’s always gotan excuse – I don’tknow what to believe.Surely she

shouldn’t be goingout again whenshe’s got examscoming up?

He’s alwayspanicked in exams

– when I try to helphim it always endsin a slanging match– it always seems to

end in me making himmore stressed.

Tips for Parents, from Parents who survived!!

• Stay in touch with school (via website) and your child's teachers.

• Know the course structure and requirements, such as timings of coursework and examinations.

• Plan the schedule for work and formulate an agreed routine for study.

• Agree regular ‘check-ins’. Once a half- term is a good aim in Year 10. Discuss, in relation to timetable, where up to in each subject.

Further Support• www.hartfordhigh.org.uk • ‘Getting involved’ starring James Nesbitt• www.parentscentre.gov.uk/webchatsintervi

ewsvideos/gettinginvolvedshortfilm• GCSE's - What Can a Parent Do? (101 tips to

ensure success) (available amazon)• Exam board websites• www.projecteducation.co.uk/gcse

And so…• Attend all lessons• Keep an organised file for each subject• Know deadline dates and plan run in time• Get draft work in before the dead-line, give your

teacher chance to make suggestions• Balance the social life and study• Don’t get a new job that drains your energy and

takes time from studies.• Put key dates & dead-lines in your diary phone

with warning points along the way!

Friends?

• Ignore what friends and others are doing or saying- you are working for an easy life for YOU now and later- let them have the hassle of redoing coursework and the last minute panics over finding notes, and books etc.

Further information

• www.bbc.co.uk/teens offers an A-Z of life with advice on a whole range of issues that might worry your son/daughter

• www.childline.org.uk/Examstress.asp Tel 0800 11111Offers tips and advice on exam stress as well as a downloadable booklet‘Exam stress and how to beat it!’

Key dates for Year 10

• September 30 Careers Fayre• December CRU• January 26 Progress Day• March CRU• April 30 Parent Evening• June CRU & Report• July College Taster Days

And finally.• Careers Advisor• Colleges • Term-Time Holidays

Please stay and ask any further questions you may have

Good Luck….