GCSE English - Tips?

ChilliBob

Pollycat said:

Any use?

GCSE - England - BBC Bitesize

Cent believe it's still going. I used to record it in the night on long play or something. Many thanks! 

ChilliBob

itsthelittlethings said:

Has he been checked out for dyslexia or similar? It might be worth trying to speak to the Senco at school.

I don't believe he has, but I'm pretty sure it's not that but a good point  

YBR

ChilliBob said:
His Mum was mentioning a resit would be mandatory if a pass wasn't achieved.

This is true. I have a neighbour who is a SEND assistant in our local college. Even those for whom a pass is unrealistic are made to keep doing Maths and English. 

If it's going to motivate, do say that at least if a pass is achieved he can give up the subject and focus on what he likes better!

I'm also going to re-iterate "read the question" and "answer the question". I was involved in coaching adults for professional exams for a while and there were always those who'd answer some different question they wished had been asked! Could be a brilliant answer but still won't get the marks.

Newly_retired

As well as getting copies of past papers ( check and double check it is the right board, option , level etc ) get a copy of the mark scheme. If you know what will score points, it is half the battle. Definitely read and re-read the questions, know how many must be answered, how many marks for which question, so allocating a suitable amount of time to each question. Read the question set, and answer that question, not the one you wish had been asked. Generic advice.
There will not be much time one term re-starts and all subjects will be pushing revision, probably extra lessons etc. Check the exam timetable.

Sapindus

My eldest son got a U in his mock GCSE English.  He had forgotten to give me the letter about revision guides.  Once we got hold of one we did two pages every night in order to get through it before the exam.  He got a B.  I think his problem was an attitude of "I'm no good at this, so there's no point trying, it's painful trying so I'd rather not give myself the stress, and if I do badly enough people will just leave me alone".

It may help to point out that Maths and English are required for a reason because they are at the core of everything else.  If he's doing OK at other subjects, he has the ability to do well at English, and he just has to learn the rules however silly they seem and get it done so he can get on to more enjoyable things.

ChilliBob

Sapindus said:

My eldest son got a U in his mock GCSE English.  He had forgotten to give me the letter about revision guides.  Once we got hold of one we did two pages every night in order to get through it before the exam.  He got a B.  I think his problem was an attitude of "I'm no good at this, so there's no point trying, it's painful trying so I'd rather not give myself the stress, and if I do badly enough people will just leave me alone".

It may help to point out that Maths and English are required for a reason because they are at the core of everything else.  If he's doing OK at other subjects, he has the ability to do well at English, and he just has to learn the rules however silly they seem and get it done so he can get on to more enjoyable things.

Many thanks for the reply, and well done to you and your son - that's quite a transformation in grades, you must both have been very happy.

It's an encouraging story for sure! 

ChilliBob

I just shared this thread with my wife, it's her nephew who's the person concerned here. She, like me, is, bowled over with all the responses. 

It's mostly things I expected when I reflect on what I did as a teenager, but I think the pair of us must need to help him a bit more next week as we can. 

Thanks all  

Marvel1

Never too late for a tutor to at least try.

RAS

Listening to a couple of tutors working with lads in the local library was informative. Time planning was vital. Set aside time at the beginning to decide questions and sketch plan each answer. Allow specific time for each question and monitor it.

I have to say that similar advice enabled me to pass a professional exam. Most people got involved in the case study, then rushed the short questions, even though the case study only attracted 40% of the marks. Depending on your planning time, the case study shouldn't be started until 60-70 minutes before the 3 hour exam ended, rather than hogging the early hours.

For the library lads, mark schemes were vital, both were taught about an exercise for which part 1 and 3 each attracted 20% of the marks and part 2 the other 60%. Students were encouraged to write 3 paras for part 2, each on a different aspect and containing three sentences which cited evidence. If they ran short of time on a question, the third section should contain three conclusions referring back to section 2, even if they were barely described, before moving to the next question. This avoided them spending ages on section 1, rushing section 2 and losing almost all of the points on section 3. And running out of time to answer the last question/exercise, forfeiting a large chunk of marks.

The lads were also taught how to look for evidence in texts and quote directly.

Spendless

Hi, my daughter attended 3 different schools in yr11 (due to an issue not completely identified even now and she's 21 today!). She attended school part time and had  private tutors as well at home, When the maths tutor gave notice, I found somewhere  that she could attend which was at a  premises after school that ran English and Maths tuition and had several on-site tutors. Pretty sure it was a national chain but the name escapes me. I tried google with the address we attended but nothing has shown up. It's possible it went kaput due to the pandemic and several years of assessing work rather than sitting exams though. Worth having a look if you can find something similar though as it was this time of year that daughter started there.

Worst case scenario, what are post 16 plans? Will his desired course take him on and just say you re-sit the English exam/s again if you don't attain grade 4? When I was having school strife with DD one of the the tutors told me that places would accept English Lang OR English Lit as the required English qualification for sixth form. Whether that's still the case today I don't know but perhaps worth asking if just getting the grade in one would be enough.

Long term - once this blip is overcome  for many things it won't matter. My daughter due to school problems only took 6  GCSEs and had to drop her strongest subjects due to school changes. To my astonishment she passed them all  at grades 4-6 inc  (having tutors helped so did the numerous videos she watched about it) which included English and Maths and was accepted onto her level 3 course at an FE college (having zero desire to do A levels or continue at a school) and is now doing a degree.