Easter break

Discussion and advice on GCSEs

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Miltonkeynes1
Posts: 98
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2017 8:33 pm

Easter break

Post by Miltonkeynes1 »

Hi
DS has his GCSE'S next summer and I just wondered whether he will have too much work to go on a week's Easter holiday? I just wondered if it would be better to stay at home?
Thanks
booellesmum
Posts: 611
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:44 am

Re: Easter break

Post by booellesmum »

That's a difficult one and I think really depends on your DS.
Will he have done enough at that point to take a break? Would he be happy to take work with him?
If he's made revision cards by then he could take those as easier to transport than textbooks.
We didn't go away (DD did gcse's this year) but she went to stay with a friend for 4 days and went to slam dunk festival in May which is even closer.
I am a bad parent though - she was allowed to go and see a band the night before a gcse Spanish assessment and got home after midnight.
For my DD I think having things in place that she was looking forward to helped to focus her revision beforehand so she was allowed to go.
ToadMum
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Location: Essex

Re: Easter break

Post by ToadMum »

I think you will find that the 'right' answer is no, you definitely shouldn't even consider taking him away for even a day trip to Blackpool at this time, it will cause him so much stress, he will have so much to do that his entire 'break' must be minutely timetabled. Otherwise ha will drop crucial grades and that's his entire life blighted for the sake of a day on the beach.

However, admittedly we are only just at the beginning of the school year, but presumably you have some idea as to whether taking time out would be likely to cause him anguish, or whether it would be something to look forward to and therefore, as booellesmum's DD finds, help focus his revision?

My own inclination would be to plan a short break at the beginning of the school holidays. That way, he definitely has time to revise, with no stress that he might have frittered away 'work' time between the last day of term and your departure. DD also took GCSEs this year - we didn't go away (but this wasn't because of that; we just don't, much) and tbh, although I can't remember exactly what we did do, it certainly didn't involve making her stay in to revise for the whole fortnight. Perhaps her A*/A ratio would have been better if we had - who knows? - but she was happy with what she did and the results she got.
Last edited by ToadMum on Sat Sep 09, 2017 9:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
KB
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Re: Easter break

Post by KB »

My advice would be to have maybe one ( or two if he's on top of things)day out each week of the holiday and maybe some shorter treats like cinema or bowling or a meal out. That will break up revision and give everyone things to look forward to. If you book a week away he'll then end up pushing work into the remaining week or not enjoying the holiday by trying to revise while away, which is difficult.
If by Easter he has ground to make up and you have a week away it could be a real problem.
Sometimes schools put on extra classes at Easter which he would then not be able to make use of.

No doubt there are those who did go away and managed just fine but at this stage if you want to play it safe then I'd not book anything.
Ladymuck
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Re: Easter break

Post by Ladymuck »

A short break can be worthwhile - there is a long slog between end of Spring term and the end of exams.

But it can be hard to plan around what the school might put on. DS had a few key school revision days which did make a difference for him, eg revising English Lit texts from early year 4, honing certain essay approaches.
ToadMum
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Location: Essex

Re: Easter break

Post by ToadMum »

Ladymuck wrote:A short break can be worthwhile - there is a long slog between end of Spring term and the end of exams.

But it can be hard to plan around what the school might put on. DS had a few key school revision days which did make a difference for him, eg revising English Lit texts from early year 4, honing certain essay approaches.
I'm guessing yours is in a school where they start against Year 1 at age 11, not that the school felt that books they read at the age of nine were crucial to GCSE success? :)
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
mad?
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Re: Easter break

Post by mad? »

It is unlikely IME that he will have too much work to do and if he does he can do a bit when you are away. Real life is important, managing it is a skill to learn and being able to live, rest, study and succeed is a life skill that will hold him in good stead in the future.
mad?
Miltonkeynes1
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Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2017 8:33 pm

Re: Easter break

Post by Miltonkeynes1 »

Thanks all.
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