YEAR 11 GCSE PARENT S INFORMATION EVENING Thursday 21st September 2017
GCSE Results 2017 The overall progress of students in Y11 is 'outstanding' (ALPS Value Added Judgment) New Reformed GCSE s in English and Maths English Language: 74.8% of pupils achieved grades 4-9 (National average 69.9%) Grade 9 = 6 pupils, Grade 8 = 11 pupils, Grade 7 = 21 pupils English Literature: 87.8% of pupils achieved grades 4-9 (National average 72.5%) Grade 9 = 11 pupils, Grade 8 = 32 pupils, Grade 7 = 33 pupils Maths: 76.7% of pupils achieved grades 4-9 (National average 70.7%) Grade 9 = 11 pupils, Grade 8 = 26 pupils, Grade 7 = 38 pupils
NUMERICAL GRADING
Changes to grading structure The grading system has changed from the legacy letters (A* - G) to numerical grades (9-1), with 9 being the highest possible grade achievable. GCSE Panjabi and GCSE Business are the only subjects which will remain as the legacy letter grading for this cohort of pupils.
Comparative Table
Numerical 7-9 Grades
ATTENDANCE AND SUPPORTIVE CATCH UP
Attendance
Attendance
Year 11 Supportive Catch Up When students are absent from school, they miss a minimum of four and a half hours worth of learning. This can create gaps in students subject knowledge, skills and understanding which can affect performance in examinations. In order to combat this, any student who is absent from school will attend a 90 minute catch up session from 16.00 17.30 the following day. This is a supportive measure to help support students and has proven to be beneficial for the current Year 11 students. Subject teachers will provide work via Firefly which students will complete during the supervised catch up sessions. Students are also advised to bring their own revision guides to use within this time.
HOME LEARNING/ SUPPORT
Home Learning Year 11 students will always have work to complete at home. Teachers will set pre learning tasks which students will need to complete before the next lesson. These tasks can include extended reading, revision, subject knowledge or memory tasks and will be set on Firefly. Pupils should also be using their revision guides, Firefly, GCSE Pod and other subject specific resources in order to develop subject knowledge.
Supporting your child Ensure they stick to their revision timetable and are not leaving revision until the last minute. Try and provide them with a quiet study area without distractions (this includes phones and mobile devices). Check the work they are doing, ask them to show you their notes and get them to explain what they have learnt. Supervise the use of a computer/laptop. Be aware of important dates and events within the academic year. Contact subject teachers and TLR11 team if you have any issues or concerns.
Revision Timetables
ACADEMIC MENTORING AND INTERVENTIONS
FHS Provisions ACADEMIC MENTORING The Year 11 team are focussing on working closely with selected students in order to improve attainment. This involves weekly meetings and support sessions with selected students. Your child will be set short term, achievable targets which you can reinforce at home. SUBJECT INTERVENTIONS There will also be focussed intervention lessons for selected Year 11 pupils across different subjects. These will be timetabled and attendance will be compulsory. The interventions will be focussed on addressing gaps in knowledge as identified by the mock examinations and teacher assessments. Interventions are generally put in place to help support students within subjects where there is significant underachievement. Interventions are privileges and are only offered to selected pupils.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Year 11 Timeline 21st September: Year 11 GCSE Parents Evening 2nd November: Year 11 Transition Evening 6th November: Year 11 Mock Exam Period 1 (some exams take place in weeks prior to the 6th Nov) 29th January 2018: Year 11 Mock Exam Period 2 22nd March 2018: Year 11 Subject Evening 14th May 2018: Actual GCSE Exam period begins
CORE SUBJECT INFORMATION
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND ENGLISH LITERATURE
Examination Information 4 exams in total; 2 exams for Language: both are 1hr 45 min; 2 exams for Literature: 1 hr 45 min and 2hr 15 min; The Language exam will be based on unseen texts; The Literature exams will be closed book and unseen; No @ered papers; 100% exam (no coursework/controlled assessments).
English Language Read 20 th /21 st Century texts, e.g. novel extracts; Read 19 th Century non- fic@on/literary non- fic@on texts, e.g. newspaper ar@cles, autobiographies; Answer exam- style ques@ons.
English Literature Re read all literature examina@on texts Animal Farm, Macbeth, Frankenstein and Power and Conflict poetry; Analyse key quotes/extracts; Memorise key quotes which are mul@- purpose; Research and read around the texts extending their understanding and interpreta@ons; Create character profiles; Compare key extracts with other parts of the texts; Prac@ce essays; Analysis of themes/seyngs; Research context and find links within the text.
Tips to improve literacy skills Read a challenging text for at least 30 minutes every day; Create a glossary of difficult words to build vocabulary; Spelling tests; Guess defini@ons of words by carefully looking at the context they have been used in; Encouraging your child to cri@cally analyse their own wri_en work; All subjects are assessed through wri_en communica@on - secure literacy skills are vital. Key Dates: 17 th October: Paper 1 for Language and Literature 6 th November: Literature Paper 2 7 th November: Language Paper 1
MATHS
Maths 3 papers (80 marks each. A total of 240 marks); Each exam is 1hr 30mins long; 1 non calculator paper, 2 calculator papers; Two @ers- Founda@on or Higher; Examining Board: Edexcel; 100% exam. No coursework.
Maths Mock Exams Students will have 2 mock examina@on periods. During both mock examina@on periods, students will sit all 3 Maths exam papers. Dates: Mock 1 Monday 6th Nov. to Friday 17th Nov. Mock 2 29th January to 2nd March
How to revise Pearson revision guides should be referred to before and following each maths lesson Students are now at the stage where they should be comple@ng their Pearson workbook during their independent study @mes. Prac@ce papers will be provided by the department throughout the year. The students need to complete these under @med condi@ons to help prepare them for their summer exams.
How to revise The students will be given a complete GCSE course revision topic list, with the necessary MathsWatch clips to revise from. A regular use of MathsWatch is heavily encouraged for students to study independently. Teachers in the department will be happy to assist in ensuring students are using the website properly. All students have their unique log ins.
SCIENCE
General Examination Information Examination board AQA Examinations are terminal Examinations consist of the following question styles Multiple choice Structured Closed short answer Open response (6 marks - QWC) Triple subjects study the same topics as Trilogy, but are required to learn extensive content.
Examination information - Triple Science
Examination information - Trilogy Science
How can you best prepare for your exams? Recalling equations Required practicals Practice exam style questions Resources on Firefly Revision guides
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Exam information Student will sit two exams- Christianity (Monday 14th May 2018) Judaism (Wednesday 16th May 2018) Both exams are 1 hr 45 minutes Each exam is made up of 4 sections 3 mark question (State/Outline) 4 mark question (Explain two reasons) 5 mark question (Explain two reasons +quote) 15 mark question (Evaluation statement + teaching + quote) Each paper is out of 102
What can you do? Textbook is on Firefly- read the textbook All lessons are on Firefly In house revision guide for each student CGP revision guide for each student Learn religious quotes Practise exam questions in revision guides and textbook
Parents/ Guardians Students Together We Achieve! Teachers and Support staff