Parents’ Information EveningExam Focus

Some simple advice!

Parental support..

● Exams are stressful for students and probably even more for parents!

● It is not easy to watch your children suffer and not to know what you can do to help

The students who do best in exams…..

● Have revised thoroughly and carefully

● Feel confident

● Have parents who take an interest in their revision

How much revision should my child be doing?

● We recommend at least 1 hour per evening

and 3-4 hours on a Saturday and Sunday.

● A revision timetable is vital! - an example

has been provided to every student..!

● Revision should take the form of short

bursts. For example - 45 minute slots, with

short breaks!

Revision timetable - sample!

One has been provided but we have advised students that making their own is even better for personal planning!

So parents, what can you do?

Do……

● Offer help as a tester; as a reader; as a source of

knowledge; as a buyer (of equipment, books, rewards)

● Make them feel you are on their side

● Organise non study activities for them

● Encourage them with praise and rewards

● Work out time limits with them

● Make their environment revision friendly

So parents, what should you not do?

Do not…● Encourage them to revise in ways you think

best● Get involved in their stress; don’t shout

back● Make comparisons with other students, or

yourself at a younger age ● Give them permission to do badly!!● Do not….believe the revision untruths….

Untruths your child may tell you about revision.

● It's too early to start yet. It isn't..! The most effective revision starts early and continues at a reasonable pace

● It's too late to start now... It's never too late to start! Better to start early but better late than never!

● No-one else has started revising. Yes they have. And if afterwards they tell you they got an 'A' without revision - don’t believe it!

● You can't revise for...(English, Maths, RE, ICT etc, etc). Yes you can..!

There's always something to do; some way of helping you understand or know more..!

More untruths your child may tell you about revision...

● You don't need to do well in... (English, Drama, RE, ICT etc)... Employers and Universities prefer to see

consistent results. ● Revision is boring because it's just sitting

staring at a book. No, it isn't. The best revision is active, lively and varied.

● I can revise and listen to music/watch the television at the same time. Not if it requires concentration.

Time Management

Some quotations ………● Some is better than none; a lot is better than too much.● It is unwise to do too much on one day and none on

another.● Your concentration span is constantly changing. It

depends on the time of day, what you're doing and what you've done before. Half an hour is an accepted average before you need a change of activity. Sometimes it's ten minutes, sometimes three hours.

● Breaks are essential, even a short 20 minute break every 90 minutes will refresh your child's mind.

● Walking, exercise and fresh air are good for the brain. Students always forget that.

Active Learning

● Variety, novelty and activity are the friends of the reviser. They keep the brain alert and fend off the worst enemy: stress-induced boredom.

● Sitting reading and re-reading a book or a notebook is often the worst form of revision; the mind blurs, the pages drift together, anxiety about the exam takes over the mind. But too many students think it's the only revision that counts and so waste far too much time looking at pages instead of revising.

Variety of Activity is Vital – Five possible activities

1. Reduce everything you know on a topic to 500 words, then to 200, then to 50, then to 10. Write those ten on a card for the morning of the exam

2. Use the internet or buy revision guides3. Spend some time each day on note

learning. It gets easier.4. Revise with a friend – it can help to

question each other.5. Watch a related Youtube clip, video..

Variety of Activity is Vital – Five more possible activities

1. Do exam questions from past papers (for an hour or ten minutes or …)

2. At the end of each day, write everything you have learned in very quick bullet points

3. Invent and learn mnemonics4. Make mind maps, put them on your wall

and look at them every day5. Make flow charts, diagrams, graphs,

drawings as well as notes

Managing stress

● Exams are stressful…. So is revision!

There is a constant fear of being found out; of not being good enough, of opening an exam paper and finding you can't answer any of the questions

Some things parents can do to reduce stress.

● Encourage them. Point out what they're good at. Tell them daily what they do well. Make mention of past success, current success with revision, success in previous exams.

● Be relentlessly optimistic● If you look at their work, do not point out their errors,

point out what they've done well● Get them to invite their friends round. Shared revision

makes it easier and more fun.● Every now and then do something together you've

never done before: go to a theme park, try sailing…!● Don't join in the general anxiety; be a picture of serene

confidence

Environment and diet

● A healthy diet, important always, becomes vital at times of pressure. Fresh vegetables, fruit and water are the most important. It is best to reduce sugar and fat. Fish is supposed to be good for the brain.

● Students need a place to revise which is quiet, calm and comfortable. Probably the most important is quiet.

The Calm, productive space…. (No media devices in the area – unless as a disciplined part of the revision)

The place

or

Be organised in your work and your place of work!

So, as parents

● There is a great deal you can do. You can't revise for them and however much you'd like to, you can't take the exams for them, but you can be invaluable in making the exam process smooth, calm and successful.

● Please do contact college if you would like any extra support

Timings of exams

Expectations -

● All students arrive in good time - for prompt start; less stress! 9 o'clock start - 830 arrive!

● Be equipped! Calculators, rubber, ruler….

● No study leave!..so ongoing revision..

Easter revision

Expectations -

● All students attend even if they do not have a subject session: 8am - 1pm.

● Bring necessary equipment ● Use your time wisely

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 3,4,5th April

Subject Information, Advice

& Guidance

A Level Biology

H420/1 Biological Processes 2h 15 7 June (am)

H420/2 Biological Diversity 2h 15 11 June (pm)

H420/3 Unified Biology 1h 30 18 June (am)

Revision Sessions are Wednesday 3.15 - 4.05pm

A Level Business

AS UnitsTheme 1 - Marketing and People Theme 2 - Managing Finance A2 UnitsTheme 3 - Business decisions and strategyTheme 4 - Global business

The Business A-Level consists of many complex elements including Finance and Marketing. There is a high emphasis on the students producing high quality work and

using their own time, both during non-contact periods in college and at home, to complete work and respond to feedback. It is expected that for every 50 minute

lesson, students commit a further 50 minutes of personal study time to their development and exam preparation.

Revision Sessions are Thursday each week 3.05 - 4.05pm

Paper 1 : 35%: 2hr exam: Theme 1 & 4

Paper 2 : 35%: 2hr exam: Theme 2 & 3

Paper 3 : 30%: 2hr exam: Pre-release study

A Level Chemistry

Periodic table, elements and physical chemistry

2h 15 6th June (pm)

Synthesis and analytical techniques

2h 15 11th June (pm)

Unified chemistry

1h 30 18 June (am)

Revision Sessions are Thursday Week 3.15 - 4.05pm

A Level Computer Science

Programming Project - Needs significant work out of class

● Deadline 1: Complete program and documentation → Friday 30th March● Deadline 2: Evaluation → Monday 16th April● Final Deadline → Friday 27th April

Exam 1 - Computing Principles● Monday 11th June am

Exam 2 - Algorithms and Problem Solving● Friday 15th June am

A Level Drama

‘Creating Original Drama’ Component 2 Completed November 2017 - Well done!

‘Texts in Practice’ Component 3 Completed Tuesday 6th March - Well done!

‘Drama and Theatre’ Component 1 Written exam - Monday 11th June am● 3 hours● Open Book ‘Our Country's Good’ and ‘A Servant of Two Masters’● 40% of A-Level

A Level English Language

Paper One - Exploring Language - 2 hrs 30 minsPaper Two - Dimensions of Linguistic Variation - 2 hrs 30

mins

Focus in revision should be on KNOWLEDGE primarily - ● Technical language (grammar, pragmatics, lexis,

semantics, discourse, phonology, graphology)● Theoretical perspectives in power, gender,

language debates, CLA, changeLessons will help students put this together and apply it to texts

Revision sessions are Thursday at 3.05

A Level English Literature

There are three exam components:Paper 1 (Dramatic tragedy) - ‘Hamlet’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ and literary criticism for the tragic genrePaper 2 (Prose comparison) - ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’Paper 3 (Poetry) - Contemporary poets and John KeatsKEY REVISION : Re-read set texts and identify key quotations; the better students know their texts the better they will perform. PLUS Use study guides like the York Advanced series and the British Library online to enhance understanding

A Level Film Studies

FM4 - Varieties of Film Experience - Issues and Debates - 2 hours 45 mins

● French New Wave● Emotional Response● Single Film Study

The paper calls for students to have an in depth knowledge of the films and the issues and debates surrounding them.

Revision sessions are Tuesdays at 3.05

Students should closely revise - ● Scene analysis with

particular focus on technical language

● Theoretical debates and concepts - narrative, spectatorship, auteur, psychological and feminist theories

● Contextual factors impacting film production

A Level Fine Art

Exam question paper was given out Feb 1st

All students should be researching their chosen question and creating all their supporting back up exam work. They will create their final piece on:-

Thursday April 19th - Exam session 1 (5hrs)

Friday April 20th - Exam session 2 (5hrs)

Monday April 23rd - Final Exam Session 3 (5 hrs)

Thursday May 10th - Final deadline for all coursework

Friday May 18th - Final deadline for personal essay

A Level French

Yr 12

Component 1 (speaking)

Monday 30th April - 60 marks

Component 2 (Listening, reading and translation)

Monday 4th June - 2h30 - 100 marks

Component 3 (essay)

Friday 8th June - 1h15 - 40 marks

Yr13IRP should be completed over the next couple of weeks

Component 1 (speaking)

Monday 30th April - 60 marks

Component 2 (Listening, reading and translation)

Monday 18th June - 2 hours 30 - 100 marks

Component 3 (essay)

Wednesday 20th June - 2 hours - 60 marks

A Level Geography

Mon 4 June am : Physical geography: Water and carbon cycles Section B: Coastal systems and landscapes or Glacial systems and landscapes Section C: Hazards Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes • 120 marks • 40% of A-level

Fri June 8 pm: Human geography: Global systems and global governance , Changing places Contemporary urban environments 40%

NEA • 20% of A-level • marked by teachers • moderated by AQA

BTEC Health & Social Care

UNIT DATE DURATION

Unit 1 Human Lifespan Development

16.05.18 AM 1hr 30min

Unit 2 Working in Health and social Care

23.05.18 AM 1hr 30min

YEAR 12

YEAR 13 RESIT DATE TIME DURATION

Unit 1 Human Lifespan Development

16.05.18 AM 1hr 30min

Unit 4 Enquires into Current Research

Release Date Window for Supervised period

Submission Deadline

Length

Part A 23.03.2018

Part B 08.05.2018

08.05.2018 15.052018 Prep :18 HoursSupervised: 3 hours

Available at a subside cost of £8.00 from teachers. Exam 1&2 students have to gain at least a Pass to complete the qualification.

Unit 4 is a controlled assessment, which will have two parts. Part A will be issued to students six weeks before the date of the Part B assessment.

Part B will be a three-hour written assessment completed under supervised conditions

A Level History

Component 1: Breadth StudyPaper 1C: The Tudors: England, 1485–1603Date: 6th June

Duration: 2 hours 30 mins● 80 marks

● 40% of A-level

Component 2: Depth StudyPaper 2O: Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918–1945

Date: 13th June

Duration: 2 hours 30 mins● 80 marks

● 40% of A-level

Component 3: Historical

investigation

Deadline date: 23rd March

A personal study based on a

topic of student's choice. This

should take the form of a

question in the context of

approximately 100 years. It

must not duplicate the content

of options chosen for

Components 1 and 2.

● 3000–3500 words

● 40 marks

● 20% of A-level

Exam preparation.

Students need to..

*get to grips with historiography -

what are the major

historiographical trends? who are

the key historians in these trends?

how have these trends been

formed? i.e. political or religious

reasons? what does recent

research suggest?

*read around the subject, a lot and

after reading a book or article write

a brief summary of what you have

read to ensure you have

understood it. .

*write well structured clear essays which address the question. If you can't do this, practice! do loads of past and pretend papers

A Level Law

Year 12 - resit examinations

G151: The English Legal System exam - Tuesday 15th May

G152: Sources of Law - Thursday 24th May

Year 13

G153: Criminal Law - Tuesday 12th June

G154: Criminal Law Special Study - Monday 18th June

● This exam is worth 50% of students overall A level

grade.● 30 mins of revision/research

needs to be happening at home per evening.

● Independent research is vital for G154 - see leaflet.

Information leaflets provided - please

take one.

A Level Maths

Course ContentYear 12: You will study for AS Mathematics:

· Pure Maths: proof, algebra and functions, coordinate geometry, sequences and series, trigonometry, exponentials and logarithms,

differentiation, integration.

· Mechanics: kinematics, forces and Newton’s laws.

· Statistics: sampling, data presentation and interpretation, probability, distributions, hypothesis testing.

Year 13: You will continue to study for A Level Mathematics:

· Pure Maths: extends all the work in Year 12 and includes numerical methods.

· Mechanics: extends all the work in Year 12 and includes work on vectors and moments.

· Statistics: extends all the work in Year 12.

AssessmentAS Level is awarded based on your performance in two equally weighted papers usually taken at the end of year 12.

Paper 1: 67% pure maths and 33% mechanics. Paper 2: 67% pure maths and 33% statistics.

A Level is awarded based on your performance in three equally weighted papers usually taken at the end of year 13.

Paper 1: 100% pure maths. Paper 2: 50% pure maths and 50% mechanics. Paper 3: 50% pure maths and 50% statistics.

Exams taken at AS do not contribute towards your A Level result.

A Level Further Maths

Course ContentYear 12: You will study Pure Maths and two options from Mechanics, Statistics or Discrete Mathematics:

· Pure Maths: complex numbers, matrices, polar coordinates, hyperbolic functions, further algebra and functions, further vectors, further

calculus

· Mechanics: dimensional analysis, momentum and collisions, work energy and power, circular motion.

· Statistics: discrete random variables, Poisson distribution, Type I and II errors and power of a test, continuous random variables.

· Discrete: graphs, networks, flow, linear programming, critical path analysis, game theory, group theory.

Year 13: You will study Pure Maths and two options from Mechanics, Statistics or Discrete Mathematics:

· Pure Maths: extends all the work in Year 12 and includes differential equations, trigonometry, numerical methods and coordinate

geometry

· Mechanics: extends all the work in Year 12.

· Statistics: extends all the work in Year 12 and includes the exponential distribution and inference.

· Discrete: extends all the work in Year 12

A Level Physics

H556/1 Modelling physics 2 h 15 m, Mon 4 June pm

H556/2 Exploring physics 2 h 15 m, Fri 8 June am

H556/3 Unified physics 1 h 30 m, Thu 14 June am

Revision Sessions are Wednesday 3.10 - 4.05pm

Week 1

A Level Psychology

A level Topics (Yr 13):

● Social influence● Memory● Attachment● Psychopathology● Approaches in

Psychology● Biopsychology● Research methods● Issues and debates in

Psychology

Optional topics:Option 1: Relationships, gender, cognition and development

Option 2: Schizophrenia, eating behaviour, stress

Option 3: Aggression, Forensic Psychology, Addiction

Assessments for A level:

- Paper 1: Introductory- Paper 2: Psychology- Paper 3: Issues & options

AQA Psychology: Illuminate PublishingWeblinks:

www.illuminate.digital/aqapsych1/www.illuminate.digital/aqapsych1/

A Level Religious Studies

• Philosophy and Ethics: 3 hours – 4 questions (25 marks each, 10 AO1 and 15 AO2)

• Religion - Christianity and Dialogues: 3 hours – 4 questions on Christianity (2 questions containing 10 AO1 and 15 AO2) and two questions on Christianity and Dialogues (25 marks each combining AO1 and AO2 material)

The Exam• To access the highest grades you

need an excellent set of notes to revise from – keep them in order!

• Extra reading around the subject will enhance your knowledge and understanding.

• Revision materials shared on Google drive.

Exam Dates5th June am Philosophy and Ethics11th June am Christianity and Dialogues

A Level Sociology

Paper One:

Education with

Theory and Methods in Context

5th June 2018 - Two hours

Paper Two:

Families and Households with

Beliefs in Society

13th June 2018 - Two hours

Paper Three:

Crime and Deviance with

Theory and Methods

15th June 2018 - Two hours

Education: Short Answers and Extended Writing (50 marks)

Methods in Context: Extended Writing (20 marks)

Theory and Methods: Extended Writing (10 marks)

Families and Households: Extended Writing (40 marks)

Beliefs in Society: Extended Writing (40 marks)

Crime and Deviance: Short Answer and Extended Writing (50 marks)

Theory and Methods: Extended Writing (30 marks)

BTEC Sport

IT1 is available each lunchtime for students to access and work in their own time.

No exams but the deadline for all work to be completed and submitted is Wednesday 13th June.

Tuesday - 3:05pm-4:05pm

Thursday - 3:05pm-4:05pm

THANKYOU! For your time..we really appreciate your support

Any questions - please ask!