year 11 information evening€¦ · year 11 - countdown to exams brighouse high school help with...

Year 11 - Countdown to Exams

Brighouse High School

Year 11 GCSE Exam Preparation and

Revision Information2019/20



Timeline – Key DatesMock Exam

results(Weds 11th)

Tracking 2(Fri 10th )

Parents Evening

(Weds 15th)

Exam timetables published

Easter Revision School

(Wed 15th–Fri 17th)

Half-term revision(Wed 27th–Fri 29th)

GCSE Exam contingency day

(Wed 24th)


First GCSE Exam (Mon 11th)

6th Form Open Evening

(Weds 27th)

6th Form Taster Day (Weds 12th )

Mock Exams (20th – 26th)

Final GCSE Exam (Thurs 18th)

XMAS HT HTEASTER

JuneMayAprilMarchFebruaryJanuaryDecemberNovemberOctober




Results• Published on Thursday 20th August.

• Results collected from 6th form.

• Followed by interview if planning to attend BHS 6th form.

Exam Dates

• First exam: Monday 11th May

• Last exam: Thursday 18th June

• Contingency day: Wednesday 24th June

• Exam timetables:

• Published just after February half-term.

• Summary timetable on website.

• Final timetable including seating issued after Easter.



Timing, Regulations and Equipment

Timings and absence

• am session – 9:00am start.

• pm session – 1:00pm start.

• If unable to attend due to illness – ring as soon as possible.

Equipment and personal belongings

• Correct equipment in a clear pencil case.

• No access to iPods, mobile phones or smartwatches.

• We recommend that they are not brought into the exam room.

• Any phone/smartwatch/headphones found on a candidate is likely to result in disqualification from that paper.

• No watches.

• Water in clear bottle without label.

• Full uniform worn throughout.



• Two GCSE’s so two grades.

• Based on overall performance in all

exams.

• Intermediate grading points, not just

5-5, 6-6 etc.

• Interpreting grades: 7-6

is not a 7 and a 6.

• Standard pass grade

is 4-4.

• 4-3 is not a standard

pass.

Combined Science Grading

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GCSE GradingH

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Revision & Study TipsA Parent’s Guide

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, BUT ENTHUSIASM PULLS THE SWITCH!

IF YOU STUDY TO REMEMBER, YOU WILL FORGET, IF YOU STUDY TO UNDERSTAND, YOU WILL REMEMBER!

FOR EVERY MINUTESPENT ORGANISING, AN HOUR IS EARNED!

AN ORGANISEDSPACECREATES CLARITYANDCLARITY ATTRACTSSUCCESS!



Revision & Study…• Exams are stressful for your children!

• We advise our students to “get it under control, start early and find what works you”

• But…the exam period is also stressful for YOU as parents at home!

• You want to know what you can do to help, worry that you are not doing enough, worry that you are doing too much, worry that the house isn’t quiet enough!

• You have unanswered questions such as:

• “What can I do to help my son/daughter?”

• These 12 Tips provide support and guidance to help you through this important time in your son/daughter’s life



Print a Revision Timetable

Get a copy of the exam timetable and put itsomewhere visible.

Knowing the days and times of the exams canhelp you make sure you child gets to the examson time or gets an early night for morning exams!

It helps you to also monitor that they arefollowing their revision plan and not cramming!

The best strategy is to plan ahead to avoid cramming.

This is known as “distributed practice”

Just think about it – you wouldn’t revise for a dance recital the night before!



Reward Short-Term GoalsPromising the BIG treat at the end of theexam is a big carrot on a very long stick!

Give rewards for short-term goals egafter x number of hours

It doesn’t have to be anything costly –run them a nice hot bubble bath, takethe dog for a walk, an hour of TV,Facetime with friends, coffee and cake?

A study in America found that when they gave a “miniscule” reward, the average

number of submitted homework assignments from those who received it

almost quadrupled to that of others.

They stated that:

“Small rewards increase autonomous motivation to learn rather than crowding it out, as larger rewards are more likely

to do”



Get Them Equipped

Buy new stationery – pens, pencils, rubbers,highlighters, post-it notes, scientific calculator,protractor, ruler, pencil sharpener, compass etc!

School will remind you to send your child in withtheir correct equipment for the big exams but theyneed to bring the standard equipment to everyexam!

Remember, the tools you use frequently are theeasiest to use – this could include your good luckcharm!

One in three students admits to wearing “good luck underwear” to try and boost exam performance.

Others admit to having lucky jewellery, charms or pencil cases!

60% of students have a ritual ie eating a good breakfast or banana before each exam

What is your child’s exam good luck charm?



Provide the Environment

Help your child to revise in a variety ofenvironments at different parts of the day.

Take them out for a coffee and read a bookwhilst they revise, take them on a weekendaway and schedule revision time andrelaxation time, let them have the lounge andyou go upstairs!

Provide the right lighting, temperature andconditions to make them comfortable in theirrevision environment.



Help with Timing

Lots and lots of students worry that they willrun out of time in their exams.

Help by being the time-keeper when you childis doing past papers or individual questions.

Remember this is part of the learning, theymay need more time to start with and build upto that exact time!

Calculate the number of marks per minutethey have on each paper!

If you have a three-hour exam (180 minutes) and you can achieve

100 marks, it gives you just over one and a half minutes for every mark.

Therefore, a six mark question should take you nine

minutes.



Encourage Exercise

Physical exercise releases endorphinswhich help to lift our mood!

Make sure their revision timetablebuilds in time for exercise – going tothe gym, for a walk, playingnetball/football will all help whenthings are getting tough!

Exercise is one thing that can increase your willpower. A study in 2013 showed that in adolescents, short bouts of exercise had a significant affect on self-control and will-power – again helpful in exams!http://thebrainflux.com/brain-benefits-of-exercise/#section1



Provide a Good Diet

Make sure you child has a balanced diet duringthe exam period, especially breakfast on themorning of an exam!

Provide snacks for them to have just beforethe exam.

Provide brain food and slow release energyfoods ie oily fish, eggs, dark leafy greens,peanut butter, green tea, fresh fruit etc.

Do some research and find some recipes toprovide that varied diet? Make sure they keephydrated too!!

Food has the incredible ability to affect your mental clarity, mood,

memory, and ability to focus, so if you’re looking to boost your focus,

one of the places you should start with is what you’re eating. Here are 9 foods

that will help improve focus”https://alifeofproductivity.com/9-brain-foods-that-will-

boost-your-ability-to-focus/

https://alifeofproductivity.com/9-brain-foods-that-will-boost-your-ability-to-focus/



Make Time for a Chat

Make sure you make time so your child can tell you about their day!

Help them to not dwell on the errors or mistakes they think they have made– keep it positive!

Help them focus on the next day with simple prompts like “what have yougot next?”, “Do you need any help with…?”



Sort a Revision File

Trawling through the Internet to find and print past papers or questionstakes a lot of time!

Help you child out by doing this for them.

Get a list of their exams and produce a file with the syllabus and past paperswith the mark schemes so they can pick and mix from it.



Set a Bedtime Routine

A good night’s sleep is important everynight but more so during the exam period.

Help your child get to bed on time – there’salways a temptation to keep on revising foranother ½ hour!

Help that bed-time routine by havingsupper ready at the right time andencouraging them to stop!

“Brain recall becomes stronger after sleep and information becomes

easier to access, Professor Della Sala says. "Sleep is fundamental, as it

allows memories to consolidate. It's a good idea to learn something just

before going to bed, and then let your brain do the work”

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/apr/24/revision-advice-students

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/apr/24/revision-advice-students



Avoid Nagging

You may see it as giving encouragement, your child might see it as“nagging”.

Does it matter that their room is untidy, do they really need to do theirchores (unless it’s a positive break), do they need to walk the dog or cleanout the guinea pigs?

Avoid any unnecessary distractions for this short window in their lives.



Make a Revision Playlist

Research says that background music getsbetter results than background noise whenrevising!

Music releases dopamine which helps us to seerewards and take actions to move towardsthem!

Help your child create a suitable revisionplaylist. Avoid rock / rap, add quiet calmingmusic to block out annoying background noisefrom inside and outside your home.

“Music can help to relax and clear your mind, allowing you to focus and concentrate more easily on your revision, therefore increasing the

levels of information retention. ... Not only that, but listening to

classical music can also improve logical skills as your brain begins to unwind

with the music“

https://www.pastest.com/blog/medical-revision/how-listening-to-music-can-help-you-revise/

https://www.pastest.com/blog/medical-revision/how-listening-to-music-can-help-you-revise/



Useful Revision Techniques

http://www.rocketmemory.com/articles/memory-improvement/

GCSE Pods

Revision Websites

www.getrevising.co.uk

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revision

www.s-cool.co.uk

These are just a few of the websites available to help you revise – see your subject teachers for

subject-specific websites – there are loads!

Go to the exam board’s website. Here you will be able to access past exam papers and download

them for completion at home – you can also download the mark scheme

Past Papers

www.gcsepod.com

Each pod is a highly concentrated, 3-5 minute burst of audio-visual learning and specialist subject knowledge. You can listen to them wherever you have your mobile phone and

Internet access

Flash Cards help to improve memory because they require active recall. They are also good if you study

with your study buddy.

Highlight your notes to identify key words in one colour and key phrases in another!

But… don’t leave it there!

Research shows that highlighting is not effective on its own. It is important that you then do something with

the highlighted notes. Think about creating a mind map; think about linking keywords; think about

transferring the information onto your revision flash cards etc

Mind maps help you understand and absorb information.

Mind maps involves a combination of imagery, colour and visual-spatial arrangement which has a greater

impact than simple note-taking.

Start by creating the main branches for the main topics from your notes and then see what you can

recall from memory

http://www.getrevising.co.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revision

http://www.s-cool.co.uk/

http://www.gcsepod.com/



Work Out Your Revision Style

http://www.rocketmemory.com/articles/memory-improvement/

We all learn in different ways. Some of us like reading, some of us like sketching, some of us like listening. The important thing to remember when preparing for exams is to find out what works for you!

Mrs Cresswell says…“I think highlighter pens are a great revision aid – using colours to categorise notes or highlight

key words. Write down the definitions of the highlighted key words and get someone to test you on them.

This always worked for me.”

Mr Lyne says…“If you are dyslexic , including a visual with each of the key words, and making links helps with

memorising. Writing out the keywords in different colours and fonts helps also with spellings.”

Miss Oldfield says…“The idea of creating revision cards with the question/term on one side and the answer on the

other is a good one. You can test each other, or use them on your own. Swapping revision cards with your friends gives you a different set of questions too!”

Mrs Aitken says…“One tip I learnt was not to keep revising the things you know already - it's the easy option and

makes you feel like you are doing something but you're not embedding anything new!! So use coloured post-it notes to flag up pages in your notes / revision guides; green (I know

this), amber (I know some of this but not securely), red (I am not confident, must revise/get help).”

Mrs Lee says…“Past papers were the way for me and got me through some of the

challenging subjects. Revision was a bit like sport, you have to practice over and over again (even if it’s the same practice or paper) to pass my Maths I did

the same papers for weeks! ”

Mrs Brierley says…“Virtually everybody uses mnemonics, even if they don’t realise it! It’s a

simple way of memorising information so that it “sticks” in your brain longer and can be recalled more easily in the future. Mnemonics were used in the

Ancient Greek times!Some are a little strange / silly but that all helps in the memorising

ARITHMETIC: A Rat In The House May Eat The Ice Cream”

Mr Aston says…“Personally I could not sit still for more than ten minutes so I found revision

difficult. So, myself and like minded individual got together and chose certain topic eg the corn laws in history (dull as dishwater) and presented the key points in an interesting way to the other person. Who would then repeat the main points back. Then we’d answer some questions together. Working like this was the reason I passed all my exams and I have continued to use same technique at A level and uni. The process became more imaginative and creative eg role plays and impressions of David Attenborough were a

common theme.”



Revision Support

• Subject support – timetable showing details of revision sessions being offered by individual subjects will be sent out later in the term.

• GCSEPods – Online revision videos covering the content for all subjects.

• Revision websites – BBC Bitesize, Seneca Learning

• Revision guides – available through subjects.

• School website – mock exam and countdown to exams pages contain subject specific sections with links to exam board websites, useful revision websites and other online resources. These will be updated as the year progresses.

• Revision schools – Revision sessions run for most subjects during Easter and May half-term.



Points of contact• For curriculum queries:

• Telephone or email [email protected] and mark for the

attention of the subject teacher or Head of Department.

• For pastoral queries:

• Telephone or email [email protected] and mark for the

attention of your son/daughter’s form tutor, Mrs Whittington (Pastoral

Assistant) or Mr Kantola-Smith(Head of Year).

• For queries relating to SEND:

• Contact Ms Harfield (SENCO).

• For queries relating to examinations

• Contact Miss Walters (Exams Officer)

• If you need to contact a member of the senior leadership team:

• KS4 Director: Mr Rule (Assistant Headteacher)

• Y11 Line manager: Mr Brass (Deputy Headteacher)

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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