With exams constantly getting postponed, children can get extremely distressed. The worst-hit are students preparing for the GCSEs and A levels in England. Due to the constant threat of the lockdown, safety measures for the pandemic, and stress about exams getting postponed and rescheduled, children face incredibly stressful conditions.
For the parent of a teenager, mental health and stability are prime concerns. Most parents are at wits’ ends trying to look out for their teenagers preparing for the GCSEs since the uncertainty of the education system is putting a strain on everyone. With so many global issues surrounding the future of education and schooling, parents need to provide structure and guidance to children. Education experts believe there should be precise timings or boundaries for students between study times and relaxation. Doing this helps children unwind and study at appropriate times without facing burnout.
Let us look at how you can help your child do well on their GCSEs after the pandemic.
Help Them Prepare:
Find out which resources are offered by the school for online learning. After the pandemic, there will be plenty more subject matter to cover. Making a revision timetable will help your child keep track of each subject. In addition, you should encourage your child to start writing notes from the revision books instead of only reading. Writing notes with flashcards and bullet points helps retain a lot of information.
Help them prioritize tough subjects before moving on to the easier ones. Doing this will help build confidence and get the studying done faster.
Review Past Exam Papers:
Just studying and revising the subjects isn’t enough to crack the GCSE. Approach the school and teachers for past examination papers. You can also try to find mock tests online with answer keys and marking schemes. Familiarizing your child with the types of questions, paper patterns, and difficulty of the questions will help them get a feel of the examination.
Most parents forget that reviewing past examination papers is also an excellent way to gauge which questions might reappear. If any similar questions keep reappearing every two or three years, there is a good chance that they might be included again.
Study For Specific Subjects:
Studying for specific subjects always helps a student cover the course content faster and more efficiently.
- Math: Math is probably one of the best subjects to study since it gets better with practice. Encourage your child to solve as many past Math papers as possible. Like we mentioned earlier, similar questions will get repeated, giving your child an edge over others.
- Science: Science can get extremely interesting for your child if you find GCSE science tutors. Tutors help students revise physics, chemistry, and biology with logical solutions. Practical examinations and observations can also be covered in tutoring. Again, past papers are a huge help when dealing with science questions.
- English Language and Literature: Help your child list the required readings and encourage them to read everything. Your child will also benefit by reading newspapers, periodicals, editorials, and non-fiction books. However, avoid magazines and tabloids since the level of English required for the GCSE is more advanced. You should also help your child make some essay and literature-type questions based on mock tests and papers.
- History: Help your child research information from sources that can be linked to the history coursework. Just knowing the dates and facts does not help. In-depth knowledge of history is required.
- Geography, Religion, and Information-specific Subjects: You should quiz your child about exact dates, information, and other critical reasoning questions that make them evaluate the data. These subjects need accurate and precise information (without guesswork). Quizzes help speed up the information-retention process.
Encourage Online Team Studying:
Since the past year has been all about online learning, you should encourage your child to gather online study groups. These groups should be carefully vetted by you and should only include close friends. Having a study buddy is a great way to get solutions to methods or problems.
Downtime and Sleep:
When your child is studying, ensure that he/she takes regular breaks to exercise, eat, and walk around. It is also necessary to give the brain a break and recover from all the information overload.
You should encourage them to sleep at a scheduled time to wake up fresh the following day. Rest, sleep, and healthy food are great ways to keep the stress levels at bay while helping your child do well on the GCSEs after the pandemic.
