In November and December 2022, and amidst the festivities and weather issues of last term, Year 11 skilfully navigated their way through a packed Mock GCSE Exams period. Staff diligently marked the exam papers (there were over 40 separate exams) and more than 1,500 grades were awarded.

For Year 11, the Mock exams were a rehearsal for the Summer exams, exposing them to the pressures of multiple exams on multiple days, testing their staying power and the effectiveness of their revision.

For staff, it is an opportunity to take stock at a cohort level as to how the year group is progressing and what parts of the curriculum need to be adjusted. At class level, teachers are able to use the exam papers to help inform their planning over the next few weeks, as the teaching of new material comes to an end and targeted re-teaching and revision of previously taught material becomes the main diet in lessons.

On Friday 6 January 2023, our Year 11s received their Mock GCSEs results, after an assembly focusing on the mock exams and what their next steps are. This date marked the formal end of the mock exams but acts more as a nodal point in the ongoing flow of teaching and learning towards the summer exams.

Year 11 now have to balance their time in and out of school between the learning of new material and the revisiting of old material. They know that they cannot afford to wait until all the GCSE courses have completed and revision in class begins. The Mock Results clearly demonstrated to all Year 11 that those who revised from October last year through to the exams, using effective revision methods, had the biggest smiles on their faces when they received their mock exam results.

In order for all of Year 11 to have similar smiles on their faces on GCSE Results Day, (smiles of a job well done, reflecting the relief that it is all over, and the satisfaction of knowing that they put the right amount of effort in for the right amount of time), we have produced a new revision timetable for the pupils, which takes them through from January to Easter. This is designed to sit alongside homework and other revision that they will need to carry out as the taught curriculum in their subjects is completed. The timetables are available electronically through SMHW, there are paper copies on Year Leader Ms Barnwell’s desk in the Pastoral Office and it can be downloaded below.

Year 11’s next steps are clear...

If they started their revision in October and used effective techniques, then the next few months will be no different to the months leading up to the mock exams, in spite of what might feel like added pressure.

And for those pupils who are not yet in step, they need to grab a copy of the revision timetable, revisit the Year 11 Learning Conference for effective revision techniques and join the rest of their friends and colleagues on the next stage of their journey towards the summer exams.