Supporting your teens through GCSEs

GCSE year is upon us again in this house, the teen is in Year 11 and as both a parent and a teacher, I know only too well that the exams will soon come round and you want to do what you can to support your teens through their GCSEs.

It can be a really stressful time for your teenager. They know that GCSEs are important and not only that, for many the approaching exams represent oncoming change if they are planning to go onto pastures new after the exams are finished.

As a parent, your role is to support your teen and it can be hard to find the balance between encouraging them to work hard and revise for their exams and pushing them too hard. You do have to remember that they will be talking about exams and preparing for exams all the time in school too and you don’t want them to go into meltdown.

I also understand how hard it can be. Ultimately, you want your teen to do well, to do their best but also you want them to be happy. Sometimes you may have a more reluctant student and with so many things to distract teens these days, it can be hard to keep them focused and on track.

I have two consecutive years of GCSEs with my boys and I know that those two years are going to be oh so very different but these are my tips for supporting your teens whether they are reluctant or not.

You don’t need to be an expert in all subjects

Our role as a parent is a crucial one, we are there to support, to guide, to nag a little if necessary but we do not suddenly need to be experts in all of the current GCSE subjects.  Take our son as a good example, he has two teacher parents, one who teaches maths and the other French. we offer to help him but he doesn’t want it.  He wants us to be his parents, not his teachers.  And that is fine.  I have known many parents who have suddenly decided to read up on different GCSE subjects to try and support their teens and whilst it is lovely that you want to do that, I don’t think it is necessary.

You can offer to test them, of course, this is always a good way of helping with revision and you can have the answers in front of you to help.

Regular revision is best

It is common sense that small bursts of revision over a longer period of time are more effective than last minute cramming. I always say to my students that the night before an exam should be spent doing some light revision to refresh their memories but that cramming doesn’t work. A good night’s sleep is the most important thing.

Many parents worry about the best time to start revising and that depends when the mock exams are.  Most schools do mocks in November, December of January with some schools doing two sets of mocks.  Encourage them to do some revision for the mock exams as it all helps towards their main exams but January is a good time to start as it is the start of a new year, a new term and hopefully after the break of the Christmas holidays, they will be feeling refreshed after the very long Autumn term.

It is good idea to encourage your teens to create a revision timetable so that they cover a range of topics and subjects each week but as long as they spend time revising a two or three topics a night with

Harness their love of technology

If your teens are like mine, they can’t function if they aren’t looking at a screen. The good news is that you can use this to help with revision. There are endless websites that offer interactive revision in all of the subjects. Most teachers will point students in the direction of useful websites. My son is currently using Seneca which has a free or paid for option and quite frankly it has been brilliant for him. He aims for an hour a night and cover a couple of subjects and it has really engaged him. BBC Bitesize is also brilliant for interactive revision across all of the subjects.

Give them a space and tools to revise

If your teenagers are anything like mine, their bedroom is their most favourite place to spend time. Many will do homework and revision in their rooms, but it can be better to encourage them to work in a different place, away from noise and distractions and that way, they can use their bedrooms as a place to chill out and relax.

All teens are different in the way they revise, but there are lots of study aids out there to help support them and you shouldn’t have to spend a fortune.  Many schools will offer exam revision guides in a lot of subjects, sometimes with a discount if they bulk buy.  Otherwise, try getting second hand copies of revision guides as people sell them off very cheaply.  For English Literature, it is really useful to get the exam guides for the specific texts they are studying as this can help with exam techniques, characters, themes and more.

I also stocked up on revision cards and cheap folders from The Range, they were really cheap and the cards are a great way of noting down key pieces of information in small easy to remember chunks. You also can’t beat mind maps, so provide them with A3 or A4 pieces of paper that they can use to mind map topics and then stick them up on the wall to create a learning wall.

Make sure you give them the tools they need to survive in terms of their health too. Watch your children carefully to make sure they’re not struggling with straining at the screen or the effects of too much stress. You will find lots of advice online. You can read this piece on how to buy glasses online if you think your child would benefit while studying.

Talk to their teachers

Teachers will often have lots of tips to help your teen with their revision, so it is worth asking at parent’s evening.  They should be able the recommend revision guides and websites and might even offer other strategies to help.

Get a copy of the exam timetable

All students will be given an exam timetable, take a copy and pin it up somewhere so that you both know when all of the exams are happening.  Some students will have three exams in one day and it is good to know this in advance so that they can revise accordingly.

Consider a tutor

If there is a key subject that your teen is struggling with, it might be worth considering a tutor.  Even with a few months to go, a few sessions with a tutor can build that all-important self-confidence which can often be more of an obstacle than subject knowledge. I tutor French and many of the students that I tutor at both GCSE level and A level are really good but they need support in a few areas and a good confidence boost to help them think they can succeed.

Keep the revision life balance

We have to remember that they are still teenagers.  Most teenagers are just starting to develop social lives and when they aren’t out with friends, they are chatting on social media.  It is important to give your teens some times off in between revision as it is good for their mental well-being to go out, hang out with friends and let off a bit of steam. Also talk to them about planning regular breaks in between revision as this will ultimately make them more productive and less likely to switch off.

It can be a really stressful time, but if your teenager feels prepared for their exams it can help to keep those stress levels down during the exam period. If they come out of an exam feeling as though it went badly, encourage them not to dwell on it, exams often seem worse than they really are.  Remind them often that they have a lovely long summer to look forward to after the exams are all done and that whatever happens there are always lots of options open to them.