Stoke Damerel Community College

How can I help my child to revise for their GCSE(s)?

As you all may know, year 10, 11 & 6th Form students have examinations in January, so we've put together this parents help sheet to help your children achieve and be the best they can be. Research has found that the most important factor in how successful a child is at college is how involved their parents are. 'Involved' can just mean taking an interest, but there are also others things that you can do to help your child achieve in their exams, tests and controlled assessments.

· Ensure your child is in college and misses no lessons

· To have a clear understanding of what courses your child is studying, when and what assessments are taking place

· Support and encourage them to achieve, while making sure that they do not feel under too much pressure. Help them to see how important the qualifications are to their future.

· Make sure they use their planner to keep up with homework. Many subjects involve assignments, and if a student gets behind, it is hard to catch up later.

· Help them to draw up a (realistic!) revision timetable, or to at least think about when they will revise.

· Make sure that their social life/ job is not interfering with their studying. They need rest and sleep to make sure that their brains are active and open to learning.

· Revision works best in smaller chunks. Regularly spending 30 minutes revising one aspect of a course at a time is more effective than cramming for hours the night before an exam.

· Talk to your child about what the subjects and exams are about, what they have to do in them, what they feel confident/ less confident about etc. etc. Talking to you about their learning will help them to think about their learning needs. If they have any worries, encourage them to see their teacher, or you can contact the teacher concerned.

· Encourage your child to use revision web sites, for example:

o http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revision/

o http://www.mymaths.co.uk/

· Encourage your child to attend revision classes. A copy of the intervention classes will be posted on our website.

· Encourage your child to use a variety of appropriate revision methods and equipment e.g. highlighter pens, post-it notes. Discuss with them how these methods work, and help them choose the best one for their learning style.

· When your child is revising, encourage them to drink water, eat healthily and to take regular breaks, including some exercise or relaxation techniques into their breaks would also help.

Stoke Damerel Community College welcomed to London 2012’s Get Set network

Successful application to the official London 2012 education programme ensures Stoke Damerel is eligible for Ticketshare tickets for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Students and teachers celebrated being welcomed in to London 2012’s Get Set network, in recognition of their commitment to the Olympic and Paralympic Values. By joining the Get Set network the we are eligible to receive an allocation of tickets for the Olympic and Paralympic Games through the London 2012 Ticketshare initiative.

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) awarded us a plaque and certificate to acknowledge their involvement in the London 2012 education programme. We are now a part of an active London 2012 community of schools and colleges across the UK– the Get Set network - and will receive access to exclusive competitions and 2012 Games related opportunities over the coming months.