Tuesday 27th September 2016

Yr10 An introduction to GCSEs

Aims of this evening

• To provide an overview of the GCSE years

• To highlight key messages for parents from

different subject areas

• To give a parent’s perspective on supporting

pupils through GCSEs

• To provide some practical revision tips

Section A

Compulsory Core Curriculum

• English 2 GCSEs Lit/Lang

• Mathematics 1 GCSE

• Science 2-3 GCSE

• ICT GCSE or Tech Award

• RS Philosophy and Ethics GCSE

• PE Core

• PSHE

Section B

Humanities

• Geography 1 GCSE

• History 1 GCSE

Section C Options

MFL Option Spanish GCSE

For Ebacc recommendation and keen pupils

‘Option choices’

• 3 subjects from an open list of subjects

English Baccalaureate

‘Ebacc’

English

Maths

Science (Also Computing)

History or Geography

MFL - Spanish

This was the National Picture

• The Ebacc is considered the ‘Gold Standard’

• 5 A*-C GCSEs with English and Maths is the

key to moving onto level 3 courses

• 5 A*- C GCSEs with equivalents (Tech awards)

Replaced by

• Attainment 8

• Progress 8

• % of students achieving grade 5 in English and

Maths

• Ebacc

The Attainment and Progress 8 Buckets

English

Mathematics

EBacc

EBacc

EBacc

Other

Other

Other

Bucket 1• One slot for English

and one for maths;

double-weighted

Bucket 2• Three EBacc qualifications

• (Sciences, computer

sciences, geography,

history or languages)

Bucket 3• Three “other” slots

• Any remaining Ebacc

qualifications

• Other approved academic,

arts or vocational

qualifications

11

22 33

New GCSE bands 9-1New Band Old grade

9 top A*

8 top A and low A*

7 low A

6 top B

5 (new 'good' pass) top C and low B

4 top D and low C

3 low D

2 E

1 F & G

The Big Picture

• No more modular exams

• Limited early entry

• Increased terminal exams

• Greater emphasis on Grammar, Punctuation &

Spelling in exams

• Tightened marking & exam board moderation

of coursework.

Year 10 is a big year

• Can’t coast Year 10 then cram in Year 11.

• Too many coursework & controlled

assessment deadlines.

• If pupils fall behind it’s very difficult to catch

up.

• Good work habits need setting.

Maths 9-1• There will be more content.

• All exams sat at the end of the course.

• A greater emphasis on problem solving and mathematical

reasoning.

• The need to memorise formulae with fewer given in the

exam.

Higher Paper Grades 9-4

Foundation Paper Grades 5-1

English 9-l

• All pupils follow English Lang and Lit.

• All exams taken at end of Yr11.

• No controlled assessment.

• Set texts NOT allowed to be taken into the

exam.

• All pupils have a Spoken Language Assessment

which is reported as a separate grade.

Impact of grade changesIn 2017 there is expected to be a drop in the percentage of pupils achieving a grade 5+ in maths and English.

The bar has been raised and pupils will need to aim higher to achieve the new grade 5+.

Entry to LPA 6th – a 5+ in EM will mean a wider range of courses available to you.

GCSE, Level 2 Certificate or BTEC (Tech

Awards)GCSE

• Controlled assessment in some subjects

• Examination – Linear no longer modular

• Weighting varies depending on subject

BTEC Firsts

• 25% of external assessment must contribute

to the final grade

• 75% coursework

“Before anything else,

preparation is the key to

success.”

Alexander Graham Bell

What can you do to help?

• Establish routines / expectations early on.

• Homework– 1-2 hours per night

• Recap learning – ask / discussion – you do not

need to be an expert!

• Sleep – crucial

• Balance – social / sport / school

• Jobs – no more than 10 hours per week

recommended

If pupils are absent…

• They need to catch up what they missed.

• They need to understand what they have

missed.

• Lesson resources are on ‘Itslearning’.

Gaps are the enemy of success as most learning

is sequential

Use the provision in school

• Library – open at lunch times and after school

• Home work club 3 – 4 pm

• Sessions offered as intervention

• Itslearning/SAM learning

Revision: What can you do to help?

Help your son/daughter to

set up a revision timetable.

Display it somewhere

everyone can see and make

sure they stick to it. Revise with them, test them.

Remove distractions

• Learning and revision is a (never-ending!) and ongoing process throughout Year 10 and 11

• Some subjects have a very large subject content with all information being tested right at the very end of Year 11.

• Work needs to be revisited regularly throughout the course.

• A little and often approach to revision helps.

• When they say they don’t have anything to do, they do!

So what should they be doing to

revise?

Study(verb)

devote time and

attention to gaining

knowledge of (an

academic subject),

especially by means

of books.

Revision needs to be active

• Looking at something or reading something

will not make the information stick.

• Students need to DO something with the

information that they need to know for their

exams.

• The revision process is UNDERSTAND it,

CONDENSE it, REVIEW it, TEST it.

Create a set of revision notes for

each topic of every subject to

CONDENSE your learning

Memorising Techniques

• Repetition and song.

• Breaking learning into small chunks.

• Use of images and prompts.

• First letter triggers

• Look, cover, write, check.

• Regular review of learning.

Practice makes Perfect