Questions to ask about GCSEs

Some of these suggestions are taken from the article on ‘Questions to ask your teacher’.

The most important thing to find out is the exact name of the course. 

This is because only then will you be able to find the right resources to buy or the right websites to look for.

There are four things to be clear on:

• Exam board
• Name of course
• Modular or linear
• Tier of entry

“ What is the exam board for this subject?”

This is not relevant if you’re son or daughter is in year seven of eight.

For GCSEs in England and Wales there are four exam boards: AQA, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC, and there’s one covering Northern Ireland: CCEA. There can be different exam boards for each subject and, sometimes, there may be a choice of courses involving different boards for a single subject – especially in science. For example, ‘AQA mathematics B 9307′ or ’21^st Century Additional Science’. See the sections on Maths GCSE and Science GCSE for a list of current courses.

This information will be essential if you decide to buy resources such as textbooks and revision guides or to find online resources such as exam papers, examiners’ reports, course specifications and exam dates.

“What is the name of the course?”

If you look at the Maths GCSE or Science GCSE sections, you’ll see descriptions of all the courses. Examples include:

‘AQA Modular Maths A’ and ‘OCR GCSE 21st century Additional Science’

“ How is the course structured – Is it Linear or Modular?”

Many courses, such as Maths and Science, may be modular (sometimes called Unitised). Modular courses are assessed by one or two exams during the course plus a terminal exam at the end. You’ll need to be especially clear on when the dates are for the modular papers as they can pop up at odd times during the year.

Linear courses are assessed by a single exam (usually of two papers) at the end of the course.

“Is the subject tiered, and if so, will they be entered for the foundation or higher tier, or has that not been decided yet?

Not all GCSE subjects have tiers. Most do, including the core subjects of Maths, English and Science. But your teacher may not have decided yet which tier to enter your child for.

I’ve had many students who have been placed in bottom or near bottom set, and they really struggle to move up, despite their best efforts. It’s sometimes as if the school has given up on them. If your teenager is in the bottom set, you need to ask the teacher what it will take to move them up.

“Is there any internal assessment?”

Most courses have some form of internal assessment – coursework projects or practical exams. Find out what, exactly, is required and when the assessments will take place. Dates are flexible – they will often not be decided until later in the year.

Finding out about exam dates sounds straight-forward, but it’s not so simple. There are always the final, or terminal, papers, but in addition there may be intermediate module exams, internal assessments and mock exams. Timetables for the real exams are usually sent to you by the examinations officer, but you might get short notice for module exams.

I have had students say that they are not sure whether an exam they have just taken is a ‘real’ one or just a mock! Finding out well in advance will help with revision planning. And if you’re intending going on holiday, knowing the date of the last exam could be important. Luckily, the government has decided that all courses should be linear after 2012, so the module confusion should disappear.

Put this information on a calendar that is dedicated to school information. Take mock exams seriously! They can determine whether your son or daughter is moved to another set or another exam tier. And they are essential practice for the real thing, so prepare for them as if they are the real exam.

“How much homework is expected?”

Will there be any homework at all? Will it be regular or will it be set as needed to support class-work? How much will there be? Will it be written in a homework diary? Should my son or daughter be doing extra work in addition to set homework? My personal answer to this is definitely Yes! Don’t rely on school to give you enough work, especially if you want a decent grade. I say more about this in the article on Creating your own study plan.

If your teenager says that they don’t get homework, while the teacher has told you they should be getting plenty, you’ll be able to do something about it. The government has published guidelines for homework http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/_doc/12761/full.pdf that recommend between 1.5 and 2.5 hours per day for years 10 and 11. That may come as a shock to many parents, let alone students!

“What learning resources will the school provide and what else can I get from school?”

What does the school supply? Normally, there is a course text-book. But the school may not allow it to be taken home. They might sell revise guides at a discount – usually those published by www.cgpbooks.co.uk . I always recommend buying your own copy of the recommended text-book. See the article on Textbooks for details.

There may be other products that the teacher knows about that they could recommend.

Will the school supply a good set of exam papers? Do they recommend downloading papers from the internet?

If you have questions about this topic, do ask me. Use the contact form below.