One of the discussions I'm currently having with colleagues across the school concerns pupils in s4 who are underperforming. Having sat prelims in December we are now in a position to analyse results and decide which pupils would benefit from additional help. For some pupils the prelim results provide a timely wake up call whilst for others the results confirm that they are on track to achieve in line with expectations. As parents and teachers we all want the best for our children but what is the best way to do that in the lead up to the final exams?
I would suggest that there are a number of important steps in increasing chances of success. They include: planning a revision programme; learning from the prelim experience; attending extra classes offered by teachers and maintaining a balance between 'work' and 'play'.
On Wednesday 8 February there will be an opportunity for parents of s4 pupils to meet with teachers to discuss their child's progress and to discuss next steps. I hope to see all of our S4 parents on that evening.
As a parent of an S4 pupil who has done reasonably well in his prelims with the help of some private tutoring, I would strongly suggest that pupils be given more homework on a regular basis. Compared to friends who attend private schools, my son seems to do very little work. I would like to point out that a need for more homework throughout the year was mentioned by my son himself after the exams. Private tutoring seems to be quite widespread among pupils, but - given that not every parent can afford such expensive additional help for their children - more extensive homework would make an important contribution to social justice and equality, and help to be more self-sufficient.
ReplyDeleteThanks for raising this point. In the coming weeks I would like to hear from parents as many parents as possible in order to get a feel for what areas we need to build in to our planning for next session. Djm
ReplyDeleteAs the parent of a S4 pupil I would welcome some feedback, for future years might it be possible to do this quicker? It is some time since pre-lims in November.
ReplyDeleteI'm really keen to engage in discussions about how to help my child achieve well in the exams. I hope there will be an oppertunity to meet with all teachers on the 8th - sometimes demand for times exceeds supply !
Having read the comments from anouther parent I also think that the homework situation seems 'patchy' at best, more regular homework might encourage an ethos of study at home - it seems to me that we had more homework set at Primary. I also hear from time to time that homework has not been asked for or returned by teachers.
From what I hear many children in private schools use private tutors - but lets not get into comparing systems,what we want is a good education for our children.
PS I really appreciate the effort being made with this blog - good to be kept informed, and have the oppertunity to comment.