Ponteland High School

1. Ponteland High School Welcome to the Year 10 Parents’ Information Evening Kieran McGrane Headteacher 23 September 2015

2. Information Evening Staff • Kieran McGrane Headteacher • Jim Balkwill Assistant Headteacher • David Cockburn RAL Maths • Sarah Routledge RAL English • Mark Warland RAL Science • Phil Armstrong PL Year 10

3. Information Evening Students Maths Adam and Georgina English Catherine, Haneenand Rory Science Libby, Annabel, Andrew and Alex

4. Supporting Your Child Jim Balkwill Assistant Headteacher Information Booklet: • Key dates • Preparing for GCSEs – parents’ roles • Revision – helping your child progress • Specification details

5. Information Booklet Subject information • Controlled assessment • External examinations • Setting arrangements • Key dates • Homework

6. Supporting Study Controlled Assessments (CAs) and Linear Exams • Some subjects have just GCSE exams at the end of the 2 years’ study (e.g. Maths) • Some subjects have a mix of Controlled Assessments and end of course exams (e.g. MFLs) • Information on each subject is to be found in the Information Booklet

7. Levels of Control The exam boards set different levels of control for different subjects • High Control– Exam conditions apply. Students are not allowed to communicate with other students or to bring new work in to the session (e.g. MFLs, Art and Design) • Medium Control– Students can communicate with each other but they are not allowed to collaborate with each other during the controlled assessment itself (e.g Media Studies, Graphics). • Low Control– Generally means students can work together and take resources to and from sessions to work on at home (most subjects are low control during the preparatory phase)

8. Managing controlled assessments √ Students must … • act on feedback provided by the teacher. • prepare thoroughly for the task beforehand using the information provided. • read guidance and prepare resources • set aside time to carry out supporting study at home whilst carrying out the assessment. • make sure that you meet all of the deadlines.

9. Switch to only linear examinations • There are no longer any modular examinations: • Most exams will be sat in May and June of year 11. • Exams will test the work covered over two years. • CAs will take place throughout Y10 and Y11 • English and Maths have no CAs and will also be graded differently (9-1 and not A*-G). • Changes required in study strategies: • Internal assessments, tests and mock exams will take on even greater significance • Students to summarise topics to aid revision • Longer revision period in Spring of Year 11 to prepare for end of course examinations

10. We are ‘designed’ to forget • It’s quite normal to forget things, it’s how our brains have evolved – but repetition overcomes this • Evolution did not prepare our brains to remember much of the information we see once only – review and revision are vital

11. Improving MemoryLearn to remember Understanding Unaware • Building understanding • Takes time • Confusion often precedes understanding • The ‘pit’ is good for you, don’t fear it • Review and revise • Improves recall • Find ways to make repetition interesting The pit Recall Time

12. MATHS IN YEAR 10

13. THE NEW MATHS GCSE At the moment people can get… A* A B C D E F G U

14. THE NEW MATHS GCSE They are being replaced with a number 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 U

15. THE NEW MATHS GCSE How the grades are equivalent…

16. THE NEW MATHS GCSE FOUNDATION HIGHER A LEVEL

17. THE NEW MATHS GCSE FOUNDATION HIGHER

18. THE NEW MATHS GCSE Why all these changes?

19. THE NEW MATHS GCSE Why all these changes? A* A* A* 8 8 9

20. THE NEW MATHS GCSE Why all these changes? C C C 4 4 5

21. THE NEW MATHS GCSE How the grades are equivalent…

22. 1) Multiplying out brackets: Worked examples: • Multiply out • Expand • Expand 5 x 2x 5 x 3 Multiply out and expand mean the same thing. You get rid of the brackets x x 4x x x 3 4x2 x x3 4x2 x 3y 4x2 x 7 You Try: Expand (i) (ii) (iii)

23. Struggling in maths is not the enemy, any more than sweating is the enemy in basketball; it is part of the process, and a clear sign of being in the game

24. THE NEW MATHS GCSE Supporting Your Struggles… Revision Guides Tutoring from sixth-formers Morning revision sessions Testing Regime Key Question Booklets Exam Question Practice Revision Cards Online Support After-school revision sessions

25. TOP 5 TIPS FOR STUDENTS

26. 5 Show Your Working Out • It will help you understand what you’re doing and when you look back to revise it will make it clear how you got your answer. • It helps you maximise your marks in your exams. • Get your notes organised so you don’t miss anything.

27. 4 Find Your Revision Technique • Spending hours revising things in the wrong way for you can be very unproductive and a waste of time. • Find your weaknesses and work on those most. If you have been doing a topic in class that you’ve found difficult, don’t ignore it. • You could try: flashcards; revision notes; youtube videos; practise papers; mind maps; mymaths etc. • Sort it out as soon as you can or you’ll end up with too much to do in Year 11

28. 3 Use Your Teacher • Teachers are here to help you – don’t be scared to ask any questions no matter what they are. • It is important to complete all of your homework as it support your classwork. • Close to your exams support sessions are available in the morning which we found to be very beneficial.

29. 2 Learn to love MyMaths • Clear, simple, interactive lessons.

30. 2 Learn to love MyMaths • Clear, simple, interactive lessons. • Linked tasks with instant feedback.

31. 1 Do Practice Papers • If you can do everything in every practice paper you should do extremely well in the real thing. • Practise them in timed conditions to stop you from getting stressed and understand the way in which the questions are worded.

32. TOP 3 Parents TIPS FOR STUDENTS

33. 3. Test them or ask them to explain things to you.

34. 2. Encourage revision but allow small breaks

35. 1. You can’t beat rewarding effort and hard work!

36. ENGLISHA Guide to the New GCSE for Y10 Parents EXAM BOARD: Edexcel

37. General Information • Exam board: Edexcel • All students will take a GCSE in both English Language and English Literature. • It is an untiered qualification. • The assessment consists of four externally examined papers (2 for English Language; 2 for English Literature), plus a separate endorsement of Spoken Language which is internally assessed. • It is a linear qualification so all examination papers must be taken at the end of the course. • The qualification will be graded and certificated on a nine grade scale from 9 to 1, where 9 is the highest grade

39. 9-1 Grading System

40. 9-1 Grading System YEAR 9

41. 9-1 Grading System YEAR 10

42. 9-1 Grading System YEAR 11

43. GCSE English Language

44. GCSE English Literature

45. What Can Parents Do? • Encourage your son/ daughter to read widely and frequently. • Help to proofread their work. • Talk to your child about their strengths and areas for improvement. • Help your son/ daughter to access past papers and revision materials on FROG.

46. Y12 Advice • Catherine Young • Haneen Amer • Rory Liddell • Xan Milligan

47. GCSE Sciences 2015 Ponteland High School

48. Entry Level Award Entry Level Science GCSE Science Dual Award Science GCSE Science GCSE Additional Science Separate Science GCSE Biology GCSE Chemistry GCSE Physics

49. Dual Award Sciences (2 x GCSE’s)

50. Advice to Parents Dual Award Science Students will gain a GCSE in Science at the end of Year 10. If students wish to retake this qualification in Year 11 they must redo all examined units in May 2017. Only their controlled assessment mark can be carried forward.