SUPPORTING YOUR DAUGHTER

IN YEAR 11 EVENING FOR PARENTS AND CARERS

September 2015YEAR 11

BE BRILLIANT

Key DatesWork Experience - 28th September

Sixth Form Open Evening – 11th November

Parents’ Evenings - 22nd October, 23rd March

Mock Exams – 2nd November, 22nd February

Mock Results Days – 10th December, 22nd March

Reports issued - 21st October, 26th January, 29th April

GCSE’s written papers begin – 16th May

Easter Revision during Easter Holidays

Assessment• ALL THAT DATA!• EFG Estimated Final Grade• KSTG Key Stage Target Grade

PE Target

PE Yr10T2

PE Yr10T3

Sci : Core Target

Sci : Core Yr10T2

Sci : Core Yr10T3

Sci : Addition

al Target

Sci : Addition

al Yr10T2

Sci : Addition

al Yr10T3

RS Target

RS YR10T2

RS YR10T3

Art : Shor

t Cour

se Yr10T2

Art : Shor

t Cour

se Yr10T3

Photography Target

Photography Yr10T2

Art : Shor

t Cour

se Yr10T3

BTEC

Art Target

BTEC

Art Yr10T2

BTEC

Art Yr10T3

Helth & Soci

al Care Target

Helth & Soci

al Care Yr10T2

Helth & Soci

al Care Yr10T3

ICT Target

ICT Yr10T2

ICT Yr10T3

Info Sys

(Funct

Skills)

Pupil 1 C C C B B B B B B B C C   M P P     FS

Pupil 2   C C C     P M M   FS

Pupil 3   C C C C C C C C C C C C C C       FS

Pupil 4   C C D C C D C C C     P M M   FS

Pupil 5   B B C B B C B C C       D M M  Pupil 6   C B B         FS

Pupil 7   B C C   M ? P     FS

Pupil 8   C B C C B C B B B       D D M  

Attendance• Good attendance is directly linked to good achievement

• Government data shows that only 35% of pupils with poor attendance (less than 85%) achieve 5 GCSEs, including English and Maths, at grade C or above

• However, for pupils whose attendance is 95% or more this figure rises to 73%

• ‘It’s only one day’

• On that one day you might miss:

Only one day...• Important notices about projects/events in tutor time

for the rest of the week/month• Period 1: Introduction to a new topic in English; • Period 2: Explanation of a new concept in Maths;• Period 3: An important experiment in Science, on

which your later work is based• Period 4: 12-20 new words/phrases in a foreign

language plus a grammatical concept• Period 5: A demo in food tech showing what you

are expected to do in the next lesson

Attendance

Natalie was in Year 11 last year. Her attendance was always around 90%. She thought that this was pretty good.However …….

90% attendance means that she was absent from lessons for the equivalent of

one half day every week.

90% = ½ day

80% = 1 day

Percentage Attendance Weekly

Percentage Attendance Yearly90% = 4 weeks80% = 8 weeks

Percentage Attendance Termly90% = 1 week 2 days 80% = 2 weeks 4 days

Miss Chapman

What we aim to do to help your daughter achieve

• 1. Teach different ways to revise.

• 2. Some students will receive a Mentor.• 3. Ensure there is regular feedback given to you

regarding how your daughter is progressing. Mentoring will help this, as will parent mail. If you are not signed up to this then please let us know at the end.

• 4. Help your daughter to produce a revision timetable.

• 5. Help with college applications.• 6. Ensure they get the opportunity to meet with the

careers advisor.

Top ten tips for parents

• 1. Make sure you daughter attends school every day and arrives on time.

• 2. Check their planner and show my homework weekly, if you have any concerns e.g. No homework then contact their form tutor.

• 3. Create a revision timetable with your daughter (we will look at doing this in form time at school also)and ensure they stick to it. The mocks after half term. They should be revising now.

• 4. Help your daughter to organise a work area, ensure they have all the stationery they need.

• 5. Have clear expectations of how much work they should be doing each night/week.

• 6. Discuss with your daughter if the TV/music helps or hinders them. On the whole I would say a quiet space is needed. There are some good revision apps available but unless you definitely know they need their phone/I-pad/laptop etc, they should probably not be working with them.

• 7. Put key dates/exams in your own diary/ calendar so you can support before the ‘panic stage’.

• 8. Time your daughter answering questions, timings in exams can be key to success.

• 9. Choose one good revision guide for each subject. Ask your daughter to check with their teachers that it is the best one.

• 10. Ensure they eat a good breakfast before their exams and have a bottle of water with them.

Organisation

Weekends

What your daughter needs to do

• 1. Catch up on any missed work.• 2. Start revising now.• 3. Ensure she comes to school fully equipped

and ready to learn.• 4. Ask their teachers what they need to do to

improve their grade.• 5. Ask for past papers/exam questions.

• 6. Know how many minutes per mark are needed for each exam.

• 7. Be positive: It is not too late, they need to talk

to their parents and teachers if they are worried. • 8. Have a healthy balance between work, sleep and

a social life. • 9. Consider whether they really need to use the

internet at the moment. Facebook, twitter and so on are distractions which they do not need and will still be there when they have finished.

• 10. Think about the long term goal. Lots of girls 15/16 year olds do not know what they want to do for a job. However they all want to

have money and be able to afford the things they want. Better grades=more options in life.

Mrs Worth

How to Raise a Grade in Mathematics

• GCSE questions are predictable• Most girls will be entered at higher tier• Summer 2015 only 33% was needed for a C grade at

higher tier• Concentrate on key topics

Top 10 Topics for Students Targeting a C

Topic Topic AT

Target Grade

Average Percentage of Marks

Cumulative Percentage

1Basic Number Number C 10.06% 10.06%

2Simplify (inc expanding) Algebra C 6.47% 16.52%

3Linear equations and inequalities Algebra C 4.89% 21.41%

4Cumulative frequency inc box and whisker Data C 4.31% 25.72%

6Probability Data C 4.31% 30.03%

7Transformations and symmetry Shape C 3.81% 33.84%

9Straight lines Algebra C 2.87% 36.71%

11Area and volume (inc density) Shape C 3.09% 39.80%

12Substitution (inc rearranging) Algebra C 2.59% 42.39%

13Factorising Algebra C 2.23% 44.61%

So What Can I Do As A Student?

• Evaluate your learning –what do and don’t you understand

• Take every opportunity to finish tasks or attempt challenges

• When you don’t understand something ASK• Keep practising, do not READ a revision guide but do

questions instead• Show working out/ method• Make sure you have the correct equipment

What Support is Available?

• Maths clinic runs every lunchtime (except Tuesday week 1)• Anyone can come on any day• Bring your lunch• Bring your friends• Nice and warm and dry

• Mymaths.co.uk• Anyone can log on using username “frances” and password

“pentagon”

What Support is Available?

• Loads of great sites on the internet a quick Google search will turn up literally thousands

• Textbooks are on the VLE in Moodle• All pupils will be given a CGP book to use for

practising questions• Make sure you work through as many past papers as

possible, attempting as many questions as possible• We have old textbooks full of extra questions available

What Can I Do as a Parent?

• Monitor your daughter’s progress, ensure she seeks help when it is clear she does not understand

• Encourage her to set up a regular revision schedule; little and often is the best way to learn

Ms Fowkes

Regular Study time

• Study Hall – Fridays in the 6th Form Study Room giving access to quiet area to work and computers. Some Fridays we will have teachers present.

• Girls will be registered and given light refreshments, 2 stamps in their passports. There will be rewards/a draw for girls who attend.

Easter• Many subject staff offer revision sessions.• These encompass both weeks.• We strongly encourage girls to attend.• We recommend that girls do not go on holiday over this

very important period just before GCSE’s commence in May.

Digital Resources available from home

Contacting the school

Contact email addresses are in the booklet.

A summary of digital resources are listed in the booklet.Shortly you will find two documents on the website namely a student and a parent ICT guide.

Regular Clubs and Support

Information can be found in the booklet and will be published on the website.

Watch out for updates.

Before most of the written GCSE’s begin in May teachers will hold additional revision sessions to give students that extra boost and encouragement.

Year 11 English

Mrs Dowie

Head of English

GCSE English

• Made up of 2 separate GCSE qualifications:

English Language

English Literature• English Language sought by employers, colleges and

universities.• Government expectation that students reach C grade or

above in English Language.

AQA Qualification

• 4 Controlled Assessments (40%)

• Exam in reading and writing (60%)

IGCSE Qualification

• 3 pieces of coursework (40%)

• Speaking and Listening exam (20%)

• Exam in reading and writing (40%)

English Language – 2 routes

English Literature

AQA for all students

• 1 Controlled Assessment (25%)• Exams on Prose, Poetry, Drama (75%)

What students need to do

• Catch up on any missing Controlled Assessments/Coursework

• May need to redo a Controlled Assessment/Coursework to improve and meet their target grade

• Have copies of the texts they are studying and read them – not just once in class!

• Talk to teachers about their current grades and how to reach their targets

Exam Skills – English Language

• Reading and writing are both assessed

Key areas for improvement:• Spelling, punctuation and grammar• Proofreading• Expanding vocabulary• Reading a wide variety of texts – newspaper articles,

fiction, non-fiction (e.g. autobiography), blogs, online news• Knowing what the question is asking, how to tackle it and

how many marks it is worth

Exam Skills –English Literature

• Reading and essay writing skills are assessed

Key areas for improvement:• Proofreading• Knowing the texts• Structuring essays• Learning the context of a novel, poem, play• Being analytical in essays

Extra Help and Support

• Intervention for some students – timetabled lessons or form time

• Revision sessions run by the English Department• Seeking advice from the classroom teacher• Exam board websites – aqa.org.uk; cie.org.uk• The English Office