COUNTDOWN
TO
SUCCESS
Making the most of Year 11
Guide for Parents and Students
December 2016
1
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Thank you for taking them time to read this handbook. I hope that you find it helpful in
supporting your child, and yourself, in this important year. Teamwork without doubt will be key
this year.
Inside the handbook you will find key dates, top tips, revision techniques and individual subject
information.
If there are any questions or concerns about any aspect of your child’s pastoral or academic
progress, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Best wishes,
L Wilkinson
Leah Wilkinson
Head of Year 11
*********************************************************
Dear Year 11 Pupil,
Thank you for taking the time to read this handbook. I hope that you are able to take on board
some ideas and you will now look to work through a number of different exam techniques.
Start sooner rather than later! I wish you every success this year and with hard work and
determination I am sure you will all achieve the grades you deserve.
Best wishes,
L Wilkinson
Leah Wilkinson
Head of Year 11
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HOW PARENTS AND GUARDIANS CAN HELP
The good news is that you don’t need to be an expert in any of the subjects your child studies to make a
difference. One of the hardest demands on pupils is that of understanding the long-term importance of
doing the best they can, and learning to shelve short-term fun in the interest of long-term benefits (not
easy, even for adults). Your support, encouragement and interest can make a spectacular difference to
your child’s motivation and ability to cope with the academic and organisational demands of the exam
period
TEN TOP TIPS FOR HELPING YOUR CHILD TO ACHIEVE OUTSTANDING RESULTS!
1.
Talk to your child about what they have learned at school each day... And get them to teach you!
The more your child talks about what they are learning at school, the more this learning is reinforced in
their brains. This learning will be super reinforced if you can give them the opportunity to teach you
something they have been learning. Quiz them at random times; at breakfast, in the car or during dinner.
Their exercise book should be a good place to start and a good source of quizzing information for you. Get
them to explain their answer, this will help them to remember it. It will also really help to increase their
confidence, which is sometimes the only thing that holds students back from achieving their best!
2.
Make sure your child is at school as much as possible.
Attendance, or lack of it, is one of the biggest reasons for students under achieving. It is impossible for
your child to learn if they are not here and every day missed adds up very quickly to whole weeks of lost
learning. We know that there are genuine reasons why students sometimes have to miss school, but
keeping absence to an absolute minimum is without doubt one of the best ways you can help to ensure
your child achieves their best. 90% in an exam is a great result but in terms of attendance it means that
the student has missed 1 of every 10 teaching days – over a period of a year this is equivalent to 4 weeks
of school. Research suggests that 17 days missed from school (approximately one half day each week),
equates to a GCSE grade. Please help your child to attend school and all lessons.
3.
Ensure your child has somewhere at home where they can work in peace.
We understand that not every pupil will be lucky enough to have their own bedroom, but if there is
somewhere in your home that your child can work without being disturbed at regular times then it will
really help them to establish an effective work routine. It will also really help them (and us!) if you
encourage them to put work away safely when they have finished so that it doesn’t get lost or “adapted”
by younger brothers or sisters!
4.
Persuade your child to get into a good sleep routine.
We know that it can be difficult to wake teenagers up sometimes, but the more you can persuade them to
develop a routine conducive to sleep at night, the better prepared their brains will be to learn the next
day. The most obvious things to try are:
1)
Encouraging your child to go to bed at the same time every night
2)
Have a cut off point for television, games consoles etc. (in their bedrooms as well as living areas).
Persuade them to read instead.
3)
Encourage your child to do homework earlier rather than later, so their minds have
time to relax
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4)
5.
Keep caffeinated drinks to a minimum and persuade your child to drink more water so their brain
is hydrated.
Encourage your child to start revising early and to use a revision timetable.
The earlier your child begins to revise the more confident and in control they will feel. There are revision
tips later on in the handbook. If you can also encourage them to write a revision timetable it will help
them to plan their revision so that they are regularly covering and revisiting all the different elements they
need to remember for each exam. START NOW!
6.
Show your support for your child by coming to Parents Consultation Evening and talking through
reports and grades as much as possible.
You will have a lot of information this year about your child’s progress and achievement. If you don’t
usually come to Parents’ Evenings, please make an exception this year. We promise your child will
appreciate it (even if they say they won’t!). Talk through reports and grades with your child. If they are
unsure of the reasons for low grades, then ask them to discuss it with the subject teacher or feel free to
make contact them yourself. Monitoring is vital this year.
7.
Discuss what your child would like to do next year with them and the results they need to
achieve in order to do this.
Obviously your child’s examination results are very important in themselves, as they represent their
achievement at the end of secondary education, but they are also the passport for whatever they would
like to do next. If you can discuss with your child their plans for next year, what they need to do to apply
(if they haven’t already) and the results they need to achieve it will really help to motivate them. All
students will have support from the school’s Career Advisor, Mrs Lawrence, to help them progress on to
the next stage of their lives.
8.
Encourage your child to participate in the extra-curricular activities.
Extracurricular activities are a fantastic way for your child to take breaks from their academic studies,
something which is vital for success. Ewell Castle School offers a wide range of activities before lunch,
during lunch time and after school. Each pupil will be provided with a timetable showing what is on offer.
There will also be a number of subject specific revision sessions available, especially as we get closer to the
examinations. Please encourage them to attend those activities which will help them in subjects where
they are below target or have a special interest in.
9.
Finding the correct revision techniques.
Revision techniques will be looked at in closer detail later on in the handbook but it is vital that your child
finds techniques which work best for them. These techniques should be tried out throughout the year so
when it comes to the exam period your child is happy with a number of techniques. These techniques
should be tried out sooner rather than later!
10.
Be ambitious for your child.
Your child will have targets that have been individually set for them in each subject. These targets
represent the minimum grade that your child should be aiming for and are based on what they achieved
throughout their time at school. The targets are therefore totally realistic if the pupil is willing to put in
the hard work needed to succeed. The amount of work that pupils are willing to put in is often directly
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related to how confident they feel about their abilities and both parents and teachers have a huge role to
play in building that confidence. The more you can encourage your child to discuss their learning, the
more the information will be reinforced and the more your child will see the believe you have in them.
EWELL CASTLE SCHOOL’S “HOW TO REVISE” GUIDE FOR STUDENTS
The basics:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Find a quiet and tidy space where you can work
Switch off/hide your phone and other electronic devices so that you are not distracted – better still
hand them to your parent/guardian!
Make sure you have the equipment you will need, for example, your exercise books for the
subjects you are revising/preparing for, textbooks, revision guides, paper, pens, pencils,
highlighters etc.
Are you hungry? Get something to eat – you learn best when you are not hungry. Lay off the
sugar! Eat well.
Are you thirsty? Make sure you have some water nearby, lay off the fizzy drinks!
How often do I revise?
The timetables you have been provided in this handbook are guides. You might need to revise some
subjects more often than others because it is a subject that you find more challenging. As a general rule,
little and often is the best way.
The revision timetable provided means that you will revise each subject you study at least twice a week.
Revise actively for 30-60 minutes for each subject scheduled for that day. If there are two subjects to
revise, then you will revise for a maximum of two hours.
Take a break after each subject. Do something completely different to the task you have been doing. A
form of exercise is a really good way to switch off and have an effective break. Perhaps go for a walk, kick
a football around outside, talk with someone at home.
Split your subjects into smaller, topic based chunks. Your teachers can help you with this.
Important note: Revision is in addition to the homework set for you by your subject teachers.
Later on in the handbook you will find examples of revision timetables and revision advice.
Other advice:
1)
2)
3)
Eat well. Try to eat a balanced diet with plenty of brain food, like oily fish such as salmon and tuna,
lots of fruit and vegetables. Drink water and try to avoid drinks with caffeine and sugar in them –
you won’t be able to sleep well if you have lots of sugar and caffeine in your system.
Get plenty of sleep. Do not be tempted to stay up late revising, this will only make you more tired
for the next day and you will not be able to concentrate and take in information.
Revise effectively. Don’t just sit and read through your notes made in lesson. You retain more
information by revising actively. On the next few pages there are some suggestions from your
teachers of the best ways to revise for their subject area. Find a way that works for you early on in
the year.
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4)
Begin revising earlier than you think you need to. This will reduce any feelings of anxiety as you
get closer to exams and you will have more time to check your knowledge and understanding with
your teachers. The sooner you start revising, the better.
5)
Do not be influenced by friends. Get your head down – your results don’t matter to your friends –
but they are crucial to your future. Tell yourself it’s not for long and think about that long summer
holiday. Remember different people have different abilities/aims, find yours work hard to achieve
your goals.
Things to do on the day of the exam:
1)
Make sure you know your exam timetable
2)
Get there early
3)
Allow time for your brain to wake up – have a shower, eat breakfast or take some food with you.
Eating is vital - feed your brain.
4)
Do a final check of the subjects you will be doing that day
5)
Know the structure of the exam and how many sections there are. This helps by doing lots of past
papers.
6)
Make sure you have EVERYTHING you need and take spares – do not get into the habit of asking
teachers for things you should have brought
7)
Take pens you enjoy writing with – take at least 2.
During the exam:
1)
Don’t forget that it is natural to be nervous. It actually gives your brain the extra adrenalin it needs
to make the final effort
2)
If your mind goes blank, don’t worry. Look at the question again, write down some notes – it’ll get
your brain ticking over again. You can always come back to the question later on.
3)
Listen to and read the instructions on the exam paper carefully. Ask an invigilator if you are not
sure about the instructions
4)
Make and keep to a timescale for each question depending on the number of marks (you will have
done this in revision classes). Keep a close eye on the time
5)
Allow a little bit of time at the end to check through your work to see if any changes need making.
Examiners have said that this can make the difference between a higher and lower grade
6)
Don’t compare yourself to others in the exam, they might have asked for extra paper, but that
doesn’t mean that they have done better than you. Focus on yourself.
7)
Read through your work once you have finished.
THE APPROACH TO REVISION FOR PARENTS
We can all remember from our own school days the feeling of confidence going into an exam when we felt
as prepared as we could be and dread when we didn’t feel prepared enough! Revision isn’t about
spending every spare minute of every day cramming information into an already stressed brain... it’s
about using the time that your child does have as efficiently as possible to enable them to understand,
practise and remember the skills and knowledge they will need in each exam. Use the following tips to
help your child revise calmly and proactively...
1)
Create a revision timetable that covers the months/weeks/days left before exams. Many of the
exams happen in a short intense period of time, so make sure your child doesn’t spend weeks
revising for their first exam, leaving themselves only hours to revise for every exam that follows
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2)
Talk to your child about the way they feel they best revise. This may be with music or it may be
without. Either way it will probably be best without the distraction of other humans unless the
other humans are helping with the revision! It is also important to make sure they have enough
space to spread themselves out with books, notes etc, and that any notes can be kept in a safe
place.
3)
Ensure that your child has some time off from revising. This way their brains will be fresher when
they come back to it and more is likely to stay in. Time off refers to days in the weeks up to the
exams, and an hour or two off in the days up to the exams.
4)
Encourage your child to revise one section of notes or one set of topics together.
5)
If your child has trouble with one particular topic in a subject, make sure that they do not just
ignore it and move onto something they find easier. Encourage them to talk to you about what
they do understand as this will build their confidence and help to break down the feeling of “I just
can’t do any of it!”. Make sure that your child gets any extra help from the subject staff that they
need with these kinds of topics.
KEY REVISION TECHNIQUES FOR STUDENTS
Study Tips
1.
Establish a regular study area at home e.g. desk, quiet area
2.
Study short and often
3.
Study when you are wide awake (early mornings always best)
4.
Set a specific goal for each subject you study – “By the end of this study session, I hope to have
learnt XYZ in Geography”.
5.
Study your most difficult subjects first.
6.
Make summary notes on what you have learnt
7.
Use diagrams and mind maps to help with learning
8.
Highlight key words using highlighter pens
9.
Take regular breaks
10.
Vary your work e.g. make notes, draw diagrams, read, problem solve.….
11.
Reward yourself!
12.
Produce revision timetable organised in advance and displayed for everyone to see.
13.
Keep a stock of post-it notes, highlighter pens, and revision cards at home.
LOOK SAY COVER WRITE CHECK
“You are doing your best only when you are trying to improve what you are doing”
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Online Tests
Find a test online and do it under test conditions.
Make posters/diagrams or cartoons to help you remember information.
Make sure you display the posters where they are likely to see them.
Make flashcards
Summarise one key concept on each card using highlighter pens to pick out the most important words and
draw a picture where possible. Online flashcards www.examtime.com/gcse/resources/flashcards
Memory Techniques
•Rhyme
•Acrostic
•Acronyms
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjh10kj9Y64&feature=related
Make up a song or rap.
Find a song and change the lyrics so the song is all about one of your subjects. You could tape yourself
singing the song and play it back at night before you go to bed.
Spider Diagrams/Mind Maps
Write the topic of a topic in the centre. Decide on how many sub-topics it can divided into and draw a line out to
each one. At the end of each line, divide the sub-topic into key points. Use colours to make your diagram more
bold and memorable. For examples see www.examtime.com/gcse/reresources/mind-maps
Post-it-notes
Put them up everywhere with key information on.
Revision Templates
See below.
Revisit old work
Look up in a
revision guide what you are not good at.
Exam Practice
Do practice tests/exam style questions.
Teach it!
Find someone who is willing to be your pupil, then prepare a ‘lesson’ in which you will teach a particular topic
to them. Encourage them to ask you lots of questions if something’s not quite clear.
The Quiz
Make a folder of plain sheets of paper, one for each subject you’re studying. Whenever you’re revising a
subject, pull out its sheet of paper and add some more quiz questions. Make sure you write the answers
down. Then find a study buddy and swap copies of you quiz sheets. http://classtools.net/
Tape it: record yourself
Once you have made your notes, you could tape yourself reading them out, then re-play and listen to this
later on. This is a good way of revising when you are too tired to revise in a more
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Your memory - it is important to understand it!
Some of us are better at remembering things than others. However, here is a trick that should. Help.
If you learn something new, in general it will already start fading in your mind after a few hours (unless
it is particularly exciting). However, if you revise again in the next few hours, it will take about 24 hours
before it starts to fade. Revise it in the 24hr period and it will last for four days, then one and a half weeks,
then one month and so on.
By setting your revision schedule to make the most of this (learning something, revise it again after few hours,
revise it again in the next few days, and so on) you will be using the way your memory works to an advantage!!!
What kind of learner are you?
It is important that you know what kind of learner you are. You can do tests online to see what works best
for you. Or try different techniques to try and find out. Do this sooner rather than later!
Some key websites
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/11_16/ http://www.educationquizzes.com/
http://www.languagesonline.org.uk/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/ http://www.mymaths.co.uk/
http://www.examtime.com/gcse/revision/tips
Exam Boards
Edexcel—www.edexcel.com
AQA— www.aqa.org.uk
OCR—www.ocr.org.uk
Example revision timetables/Study plans.
There are lots of sites online where you can make study plans:- such as https://getrevising.co.uk/
You can also make timetables such as the ones below. Remember to factor in rest, meals, other activities and
sleep! You should not spend more than 30-60 minutes on one subject at a time. Start revision early, at least 8-6
weeks from your exams. It is advisable to not revise more than 2 subjects a day.
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KEY SUBJECT INFORMATION
PHYSICAL EDUCATION - Head of Department N. TURK
Examination Board: AQA
Course Title: GCSE Physical Education (4890)
www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/physical-edcuation/gcse/physicaleducation
The Examination:
What does the written paper look like?
Section A: 10 multiple choice questions
Section B: 7 short answer questions
Section C: 2 questions – combining short and extended questions
(NB: This is based on the scenario, which will be issued to the candidates in January 2017)









Create revision diagrams mind maps on key topics
Answer exam questions/practice papers
NB: Exam papers can be found at:
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/physical-education/gcse/physical-education-4890
Mark Schemes can also be found at the above web address
Condense notes into bullet points
Purchase a revision guide
Visit GCSE Bitesize for revision notes
If you would like more information on the course content, please contact LW and it can be sent to
you separately.
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HISTORY- Head of Department- C. Blencowe
The qualification is an Edexcel B course
The website link is
http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/history-a-2009.html
**Please be aware that there is a new History specification has changed from September 2016 and
pupils should not get confused with these changes as it does not affect them. **
It has four components each making up 25% of the final total
1.
The Cold War 1943 – 1990. This is a paper of one hour fifteen minutes with a mixture of source
analysis and essay type questions
2. Germany 1918 – 1939. This is a paper of one hour fifteen minutes with a mixture of short
answer and essay type questions
3. Britain 1903 – 1928. This is a paper of one hour fifteen minutes with source analysis questions.
4. The Vietnam War. This is a controlled assessment with three separate questions that are prepared
in class and then typed up using notes under exam conditions. One of the questions has already
been done and the others will be finished by Christmas.
We will have finished the controlled assessment and teaching by Christmas. The students will do a
mock exam in papers 1 and 2 in January. They will need to revise properly for this using the
resources we provide. This will leave plenty of time for consolidating knowledge and practising
exam technique in preparation for the three written papers in June.
The pupils have text books for each of the three examined units. In addition, they all have access to
the Ecole sites which contain a wealth of resources and links prepared by members of the
department. We will also be providing pupils with a separate revision guide.
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CLASSICAL CIVILISATION- Head of Department- C. Blencowe
It has four components each making up 25% of the final total.
The written papers are in the same format
1. The Odyssey. This is a paper of one hour with a mixture of source based and essay type questions.
2. Greek Drama and Medea. This is a paper of one hour with a mixture of source based and essay type
questions.
3. Pompeii and Herculaneum This is a paper of one hour with a mixture of source based and essay
type questions.
4. Ovid’s Metamorphoses. This is a controlled assessment with one question. The students have been
given this to prepare and will be writing it up just before Christmas. It will be typed up using notes
they have prepared.
We will have finished all the controlled assessment and teaching by Christmas. The students will do
a mock exam in papers 1 2 and 3 in January. They will need to revise properly for this using the
resources provided. This will leave plenty of time for consolidating knowledge and practising exam
technique in preparation for the three written papers in June.
The pupils have text books for each of the three examined units. In addition, they all have access to
the ecole site which contain a wealth of resources and links prepared by me.
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNCATION TECHNOLOGY- Head of Department- J. Bernardo
Exam Board
Specification details/code
Exam Board Website
Assessment
AQA
GCSE Information and Communication Technology (4520)
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/computer-science-andit/gcse/information-and-communication-technology-4520
Unit 1 Systems and Applications in ICT (120 marks)
1 hour 30 minutes
40% of the marks
Externally assessed
Section A: 10 structured questions featuring a range of types of
questions from very short to questions requiring 2 or 3 line
answers. (72 marks)
Section B: 3 structured questions featuring short and extended
answer questions. (36 marks)
All questions will be compulsory in Sections A and B.
Section C: 1 essay question from a choice of 2. (12 marks)
Unit 2 The Assignment: Applying ICT (100 marks)
Approximately 25 hours of Controlled Assessment
30% of the marks
Internally assessed, externally moderated
The description of a situation will be provided by AQA each year.
Within the given situation, and working independently,
candidates will be asked to solve one or more tasks requiring
independent use of ICT. A new Assignment will be provided every
year by AQA. Candidates must submit the Assignment current for
the year in which they enter for the exam.
Unit 3 Practical Problem Solving in ICT (100 marks)
Approximately 25 hours of Controlled Assessment
30% of the marks
Internally assessed, externally moderated
The purpose of this unit is to ask candidates to solve practical
problems which they may meet in education, the community or in
the work place. ICT must be used to solve the problem. Each year
six tasks will be provided by AQA. The centre can then choose
which tasks to make available to its candidates.
Details of Controlled
Assessment if applicable
There are 2 controlled assessment tasks. Unit 2 and Unit 3 of the
course.
The tasks are set by AQA. Each student will be working
independently the students demonstrate their ability
to produce a solution using existing software.
The student will be required to produce a portfolio for each unit.
1.
2.
3.
4.
The portfolio for Unit 2 includes these sections:
Analysis
Design
Implementation
Self-evaluation
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5. Report
6. Evaluation of others
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
The portfolio for Unit 2 includes these sections:
Milestones
Risks
Progress
Managing Storage
Collecting Information
Selecting Information
Formatting Information
Modelling
Developing Information
Report
Evaluate my own work
Evaluate other’s use of ICT
It is expected that the majority of the portfolio will be
produced using a word processor. However, certain aspects will need
to be created using other types of software such as spreadsheets and
databases.
Revision Tips/Links
Revision sessions
available
Any advice for how
Parents can help
Use the revision notes given to all students and the PowerPoint
presentations. Do not just rely on all the resources given to you by
your teacher and write you own revision notes to supplement what
you are given.

Complete past exam questions. Past papers from the last 3 years are
available to download from the AQA website. These are
accompanied by the mark schemes so you can check the accuracy of
your answers and find out what the examiners look for in a model
answer.

Revision Cards – condensing your notes down into key points makes
them easier to digest. Bullet points are another great way of
selecting key information that you can then build on later. Using
highlighters and colour coding important text is also a good way
remembering important information.

Using Mind maps and diagrams is a good way to visually summarise
topics.

Use: http://www.teach-ict.com/gcse_new.html.
This site has a great range of notes covering most aspects of the
GCSE that you can use with quizzes and detailed notes.

Attempt an examination paper under timed conditions. This enables
you to see how you might perform in a realistic examination setting.

Complete all the 'exam style questions' on the E-revision website.
They each have individual accounts to this which they should know.
After school revision club sessions between 3:30pm-4:30pm starting
in the last term of the year.
Support child as much as possible at home by making sure he is
completing homework and meeting course deadlines.
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COMPUTER SCIENCE - Head of Department - J. Bernardo
Exam Board
Specification details/code
AQA
GCSE Computer Science (4512)
Exam Board Website
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/computer-science-andit/gcse/computer-science-4512
Assessment
Component 1 – Practical Programming
Approximately 50 hours of controlled assessment
(2 tasks of 25 hours each)
60% of the marks
126 marks (63 marks for each task)
180 UMS
Internally assessed, externally moderated.
Different tasks will be provided by AQA each year.
Each student should complete two tasks from a choice of four.
Working independently students demonstrate their ability to code a
solution to a given problem. The tasks will be set in engaging and
relevant contexts, e.g. gaming, web, mobile phone applications.
Tasks may be completed and submitted on paper or electronically
(saved to CD and posted to the moderator).
Plus:
Details of Controlled
Assessment if applicable
Component 2 – Computing fundamentals
1 hour 30 minutes
40% of the marks
84 marks
120 UMS
Externally assessed. Schools/colleges can choose to enter students
for either a paper-based or on-screen version.
All questions will be compulsory and will be taken from across the
subject content.
This component will include a range of types of questions from very
short to extended answer.
There are 2 controlled assessment tasks.
The tasks are set by AQA. Each student will
complete two tasks from a choice of four. Working
independently the students demonstrate their ability
to code a solution to a given problem. The tasks will
be set in engaging and relevant contexts, e.g. gaming,
web, mobile phone applications.
The student needs to complete a portfolio for submission.
The portfolio for each scenario should be divided into
four sections:
1. Design of the Solution
2. Solution Development
3. Programming Techniques Used
4. Testing and Evaluation
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It is expected that the majority of the portfolio will be
produced using a word processor. Certain aspects
such as flowcharts, diagrams and plans may need to
be created using other types of software or drawn by
hand.
Each of the two controlled assessment tasks should
take around 25 hours to complete.
Use the revision notes given to all students and the PowerPoint
presentations. Do not just rely on all the resources given to you by
your teacher and write you own revision notes to supplement what
you are given.
Revision Tips/Links
Revision sessions
available
Any advice for how
Parents can help

Complete past exam questions. Past papers from the last 3 years are
available to download from the AQA website. These are
accompanied by the mark schemes so you can check the accuracy of
your answers and find out what the examiners look for in a model
answer.

Revision Cards – condensing your notes down into key points makes
them easier to digest. Bullet points are another great way of
selecting key information that you can then build on later. Using
highlighters and colour coding important text is also a good way
remembering important information.

Using Mind maps and diagrams is a good way to visually summarise
topics.

Use: http://www.teachict.com/gcse_computing/ocr/GCSE_A451_topics.html. This site has a
great range of notes covering most aspects of the GCSE that you can
use with quizzes and detailed notes.

Attempt an examination paper under timed conditions. This enables
you to see how you might perform in a realistic examination setting.

Complete all the 'exam style questions' on the E-revision website.
They each have individual accounts to this which they should know.
After school revision club sessions between 3:30pm-4:30pm starting
in the last term of the year.
Support child as much as possible at home by making sure he is
completing homework and meeting course deadlines.
21
MUSIC- Head of Department- B. Essenhigh
Exam Board
Specification details/code
Exam Board Website
Assessment
AQA
GCSE Music 4270
www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/music/gcse/music-4270
Unit 1 – Listening exam (20%)
Unit 2 – Composition to a given strand (20%)
Unit 3 – Performance, solo and ensemble (40%)
Unit 4 – Free Composition
Details of Controlled
Assessment if applicable
Unit 2 - Candidates are required to compose one piece of music and must choose
two or more of the five Areas of Study (10%). There must be a link to Western
Classical Tradition. Candidates have up to 20 hours of Supervised Time in which
to complete the composition, under informal supervision. There is no time limit
in terms of the duration of the composition but candidates should be aware of
the need to demonstrate sufficient development of musical ideas in the music
and, as a consequence, very short pieces may not
allow for this.
Candidates appraise the process and the outcome of the composition in relation
to the Areas of Study and indicate the link to the strand (10%). Candidates have
up to 2 hours of Controlled Time for the appraisal.
Unit 3 - Candidates perform individually or through ICT and as
part of a group. Each candidate should perform two different pieces:
a) one for ‘Individual Performance’/ ‘Technology-based Performance’, lasting no
more than five minutes, and
b) one for ‘Group Performance’, lasting no more than five minutes.
Unit 4 - Candidates are required to compose one piece of music which explores
two or more of the five Areas of Study. This may be in any style or genre of the
candidate’s choosing. Candidates have up to 25 hours of Controlled Assessment
in which to complete the composition. This must be undertaken as an individual
exercise
under informal supervision. There is no time limit in terms of the duration of the
composition but candidates should be aware of the need to demonstrate
sufficient development of musical ideas in the music and as a consequence, very
short pieces may not allow for this.
GCSE Bitesize on the BBC website is always a useful resource, as it covers all of
the key terminology with lots of visual and auditory examples to assist in revision.
We also provide a booklet of key terms and definitions which is essential to
providing quality answers in the Unit 1 exam. It is also useful to use the correct
musical vocabulary in the Unit 2 appraisal.
Revision Tips/Links
Revision sessions available
TBC once study leave has started – there will be several options to account for
availability
Any advice for how Parents
can help
Ask your son/daughter about the music that you are listening to collectively and
seek clarification on any of the terms that they use which may be unfamiliar.
Perhaps have the vocabulary sheet to hand to make sure they are accurate in
their interpretation and make sure that they know which Area of Study the terms
they are using relate to.
22
MATHEMATICS - Head of Department - D. Vijapura
Exam board: EDEXCEL
Specification details/code: EDEXCEL (9-1) 1MA1
Exam board website: http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcelgcses/mathematics-2015.html
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Assessment:
100% examination in May/June.
331/3 %- Paper 1; Non-calculator
331/3 %- Paper 2; Calculator
331/3 %- Paper 2; Calculator
Topics can appear in any papers.
Revision tips:
Along with the papers that you will be given from your Mathematics teachers every week
later on in the school year, complete as many extra past papers as possible. Nothing quite
prepares you for the exam as much as trying previous questions. Even papers from different
exam boards (e.g. OCR and AQA) can be used as the same material is assessed.

Produce posters or mind maps for different topic areas e.g. data representation methods,
area of 2-D shapes.

Condense notes into smaller chunks that will be easier to remember.

For lots of clear examples, go to BBC bite size at www.bbc.co.uk/education, then click GCSE,
and Maths (2015 onwards). Also, www.mymaths.co.uk has worksheets, puzzles and online
lessons. The login to My Maths is Ewell, and the password is currently ‘cuboid’. Another one
is www.corbettmaths.com, click on the more resources tab, and then Symbaloo revision

There are many websites that can help you with revision.

Revision Workbooks - these are available from a number of publishers

Create formulae revision sheets so that you can clearly see the formulae that you will need
to learn.

Bright revision posters with different examples, common misconceptions and important
facts.

There are lots of clips explaining how to answer exam questions on different topics at
www.examsolutions.net

Discuss methods with friends- explaining things to other people can help to consolidate the
ideas in your own mind.
Stick key facts on post-it notes and put them somewhere prominent, such as the fridge or
the back of your bedroom door.


Try and complete 5-10 minutes’ revision per day- short sharp chunks, well in advance of the
exam. Covering lots of small topics regularly will help you to remember in the long term.
23
SCIENCE- Head of Department- K. Hungsraz - ADDITIONAL SCIENCE-
Paper 1
P3: Forces For Transport
C3: Chemical Economic
B3 Living and Growing
75 marks 1 hour 15
minutes written paper
35% of total GCSE
Paper 2
P4: Radiation for Life
C4: The Periodic Table
B4: It’s A Green World
85 marks 1 hour 30
minutes written paper
40% of total GCSE
Physics Controlled assessment
48 marks Approx. 7 hours
25% of total GCSE
Revision tips:







Create posters or mind maps for each unit and or topic area.
Make revision flash cards.
Use the revision workbook available from the department, and or bookshops
Use your textbook and exercise book to complete the questions
Answer past exam you can download them from the OCR Gateway website. There are mark schemes
here too; why not try marking your own work first and then ask your teacher to check it.
Use the online resources http://www.my-gcsescience.com/
Use BBC Bite size http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/biology/ OCR Gateway.
TRIPLE SCIENCE (Biology, Chemistry and Physics)
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Paper 1
Paper 1
Paper 1
P1: Energy for The Home C1: Carbon Chemistry
B1 Understanding
P2: Living for The Future C2: Chemical
Organisms
P3: Forces For Transport Resources
B2 Understanding
C3: Chemical Economic Our Environment
B3 Living And
Growing
Paper 2
Paper 2
Paper 2
P4: Radiation for Life
C4: The Periodic Table
B4 It’s a Green
P5: Space for Reflection
C5: How Much?
World
P6: Electricity For
C6: Chemistry Out
B5 The Living Body
Gadgets.
There
B6 Beyond The
Microscope
Physics Controlled
Chemistry Controlled
Biology Controlled
assessment
Assessment
Assessment
Revision tips:

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

Examination length
75 marks 1 hour 15
minutes written
paper
Marks
35% of total GCSE
per subject
85 marks 1 hour 30
minutes written
paper
40% of total GCSE
per subject
48 marks Approx. 7
hours
25% of total GCSE
per subject
Create posters or mind maps for each unit and or topic area.
Make revision flash cards.
Use the revision workbook available from the department, and or bookshops
Use your textbook and exercise book to complete the questions
Answer past exam you can download them from the OCR Gateway website. There are mark
schemes here too; why not try marking your own work first and then ask your teacher to check it.
24
GCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND ENGLISH LITERATURE- Head of Department- K. Wallace
EXAM PAPER
English Language (01) Communicating
Information and Ideas
2 hour written paper
English Language (02)
Exploring Effects and Impact
2 hour written paper
English Literature (01)
Modern Drama and 19th century prose
2 hour written paper
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English Literature (02)
Exploring Shakespeare and Poetry
2 hour written paper


REVISION
Reading and writing non-fiction texts (see class notes and OCR
Books1 and 2 text books); complete past papers
Read and analyse non-fiction texts (you will also have to write a
non-fiction piece yourself so revise spelling, punctuation,
grammar)
Ask class teacher to share their PowerPoints on One Drive
Reading and writing non-fiction texts (see class notes and OCR
Books1 and 2 text books); complete past papers
Read and analyse literary prose texts (you will also have to write
a creative piece yourself so revise spelling, punctuation,
grammar))
Ask class teacher to share their PowerPoints on One Drive
An Inspector Calls: class notes, teacher Power Points, web-sites,
you have been given a study guide, annotate your texts further;
complete past papers
Pride and Prejudice: as above
OR
War of the Worlds: as above
Romeo and Juliet OR Macbeth: class notes, teacher Power
Points, web-sites, you have been given a study guide, annotate
your texts further; complete past papers
Use the online resources http://www.my-gcsescience.com/
Use BBC Bite size http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/biology/ OCR Gateway.
www.ocr.org.uk
Graded 9-1
How to Revise English if Sitting Down and Re-reading / Annotating your Texts and Study Guides Just
does not work for You:
Make a list of 10 key quotes and memorise them, create a word bank of technical terminology from
your notes, try to predict the exam themes and mind-map what you would include in an answer,
logon on to Quizlet or other GCSE online quizzes…
Here are some quote banks that we have started for you – contextualise them, analyse them, learn
them, add to them
“I do but keep the peace.”
“I hate the word, as I hate hell, all Montagues and thee.”
“If ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace”
“Many a morning hath he there been seen, with tears augmenting the fresh morning dew.”
25
“Why, then, O brawling love, O loving hate, O anything, of nothing first create!”
“Younger than she are happy mothers made.”
“If you not be of the house of Montagues, I pray, come and crush a cup of wine.”
“Enough of this, I pray thee, hold thy peace.”
“It is an honour that I dream not of.”
“Not I, believe me. You have dancing shoes with nimble soles, I have a soul of lead so stakes me to
the ground I cannot move.”
“O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you.”
“I fear too early for my mind missives some consequence yet hanging in the stars.” this night.”
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a
wife.”
“rightful property of one of their daughters”
“the business of her life was to get her daughters married”
“to be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love”
“I quite detest the man”
“he has a right to be proud”
“I could easily forgive his pride if he had not mortified mine”
“when she is secure of him, there will be leisure for falling in love”
“every savage can dance”
“you are always buying books”
“the improvement of her mind by extensive reading”
“to yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding of either”
“Charlotte could not help cautioning her in a whisper not to be a simpleton”
“I am sure we never read the same, or not with the same feelings”
“the design of selecting a wife”
1. “The lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder”
2. “hard-headed business man”
3. “There isn’t a chance of war” and “the Titanic...unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”
4. “a man has to mind is own business and look after himself and his own – and –”
5. “The inspector need not be a big man but he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness”
6. “Rubbish! If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people they’d soon be asking for the earth”
7. “I don’t suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that class –”
8. “I haven’t much time. You’ll be able to divide the responsibility between you when I’ve gone”
9. “Then – you killed her. She came to you to protect me – and you turned her away – yes, you killed her – and the child she
would have had too – my child – your own grandchild – you killed them both – damn you, damn you –”
10. Birling: “Look, Inspector – I’d give thousands – yes, thousands...” / Inspector: “You’re offering the money at the wrong
time, Mr Birling”
11. “Well, Eva Smith’s gone. You can’t do her any more harm. And you can’t do her any good now, either”
12. “One Eva Smith has gone, but there are millions and millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with
us”
13. “We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”
14. “I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men and women will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in
fire and blood and anguish.”
15. “So nothing really happened. So there’s nothing to be sorry for, nothing to learn. We can all go on behaving just as we
did”
26
Fair is foul, and foul is fair
For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that
name!
‘With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little
affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter.’
What, can the devil speak true?
Let not light see my black and deep
‘A big greyish, rounded bulk, the size perhaps, of a bear, was rising slowly and
desires
painfully out of the cylinder.’
Yet do I fear thy nature;
‘My terror had fallen from me like a garment.’
It is too full o' the milk of human kindness
Come, you spirits
‘A monstrous tripod, higher than many houses, striding over the young pine trees,
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me
and smashing them aside in its career; a walking engine of glittering metal…’
here,
‘It’s bows and arrows against the lightening, anyhow, ‘said the artilleryman. They
And fill me from the crown to the toe top’aven’t seen that fire-beam yet’.
full
Of direst cruelty!
The decapitated colussos reeled like a drunken giant; but it did not fall over.’
that but this blow
‘The Martian staggered with the violence of her explosion, and in another moment
Might be the be-all and the end-all—here,
the flaming wreckage, still driving forward with the impetus of its pace, had
But here, upon this bank and shoal of
crumpled him up like a thing of cardboard.’
time,
We'ld jump the life to come
‘In the darkness I could just see the thing- like an elephant trunk more than
Had he not resembled
anything else - waving towards me and touching and examining the walls, coals,
wood and ceiling.’
My father as he slept, I had done't.
Methought I heard a voice cry "Sleep no
‘London about me gazed at me spectrally.’
more!
Macbeth does murder sleep,"
‘Out of the hood hung lank shreds of brown at which the hungry birds pecked and
tore.’
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this
blood
Clean from my hand?
Thou hast it now:
King, Cawdor, Glamis, all,
As the weird women promised, and I fear
Thou play'dst most foully for't
'Tis safer to be that which we destroy
Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.
Come, seeling night,
Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day;
And with thy bloody and invisible hand
Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond
Which keeps me pale!
It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood
I am in blood
Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o'er
27
FRENCH- Head of Department- P. Hernandez
Exam Board
Specification details/code
Exam Board Website
Assessment
Pearson- Edexcel
2FR01
https://qualifications.pearson.com
The scheme of assessment for the GCSE examination is as follows:
Unit 1
Listening Comprehension
Final Exam.
Students are entered for Foundation (30min) or Higher tier (40min).
20%
Unit 2
Speaking
Controlled Assessments- completed in school, marked by the teacher
and moderated by the exam board.
4 – 6 min each.
30%
Unit 3
Reading Comprehension
Final exam.
Students are entered for Foundation (35min) or Higher tier (50min).
20%
Unit 4
Writing
Controlled Assessments- completed in school, marked by exam board.
60 minutes each.
30%
Travel and Tourism
Writing: sat in Year 10.
Speaking: sat in Year 10.
Details of Controlled
Assessment if applicable
Business, Work and Employment
Writing: October 2016.
Speaking: November 2016.
Controlled assessment tips
(If applicable)

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
Sport and Leisure
Writing: February 2017.
Speaking: March 2017.
Speaking and Writing:
Make sure you always follow the advice given in class.
Revise in the skill you are going to be tested in; if you are doing your CA
in speaking, make sure you practise speaking it!
Revise with a partner- get mum, dad, siblings, friends involved. It does
not matter if they do not speak French; give them the written copy of
what you are saying and get them to follow the text.
Have regular breaks and revise OVER TIME. Do not try to cram in lots of
information before your CA. Little and often is the key to success.
Use a code to help you revise. Write the first letter of each word. E.g. I g
t t= I go to town
Use post-its around your room with key phrases that you find hard to
remember. It’s amazing how looking at something several times can fix
language in your memory.
28

Revision Tips/Links









Revision sessions available
Any advice for how Parents
can help
-
Use a voice recorder on your phone to record yourself, then listen to it
when you are out and about.
Listening and Reading Exams:
Use the Kerboodle website to listen to or read previous pieces that you
have done in class or complete the mini assessments that are listed.
https://www.kerboodle.com
Use BBC Bitesize to listen and gain tips on how to approach listening
and reading exercises.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/french/
Use the Revision World website in order to revise for all parts of the
exam.
https://revisionworld.com/gcse-revision/french
Tune into a radio station in the foreign language, you can usually locate
one on the net. This helps with tuning your ear into the language.
Use Vocab express to practise vocabulary and listen to the
words/phrases you are revising. There is a loudspeaker symbol next to
each word to help.
https://www.vocabexpress.com
Use TV! If you have SKY TV you can change the language settings for
some channels like Euro news so that you can hear the news in your
chosen language.
Find French apps on your phone such as Duolingo. Great for learning on
the go!
Ask your teacher for past papers or go to the exam website and
download papers and the listening files to do at home. It does not
matter if you have done the paper before, doing it again helps to
reinforce vocabulary.
Revision booklets are available from the department.
From January 2017- details at Parents’ Evening.
Teachers always contactable and able to help at any point during the
year if needed.
Parents can help by:
checking that their child spends an adequate amount of time on
homework.
practising the writing/speaking controlled assessments at home.
getting their child to revise vocabulary regularly (vocabulary list
provided).
29
Spanish- Head of Department- P. Hernandez
Exam Board
Specification details/code
Exam Board Website
Assessment
Pearson- Edexcel
2SP01
https://qualifications.pearson.com
The scheme of assessment for the GCSE examination is as follows:
Unit 1
Listening Comprehension
Final Exam.
Students are entered for Foundation (30min) or Higher tier (40min).
20%
Unit 2
Speaking
Controlled Assessments- completed in school, marked by the teacher
and moderated by the exam board.
4 – 6 min each.
30%
Unit 3
Reading Comprehension
Final exam.
Students are entered for Foundation (35min) or Higher tier (50min).
20%
Unit 4
Writing
Controlled Assessments- completed in school, marked by exam board.
60 minutes each.
30%
Theme 1
Writing: sat in Year 10.
Speaking: sat in Year 10.
Details of Controlled
Assessment if applicable
Theme 2
Writing: November 2016.
Speaking: December 2016.
Controlled assessment tips
(If applicable)

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

Theme 3
Writing: February 2017.
Speaking: March 2017.
Speaking and Writing:
Make sure you always follow the advice given in class.
Revise in the skill you are going to be tested in; if you are doing your CA
in speaking, make sure you practise speaking it!
Revise with a partner- get mum, dad, siblings, friends involved. It does
not matter if they do not speak Spanish; give them the written copy of
what you are saying and get them to follow the text.
Have regular breaks and revise OVER TIME. Do not try to cram in lots of
information before your CA. Little and often is the key to success.
Use a code to help you revise. Write the first letter of each word. E.g. I g
t t= I go to town
Use post-its around your room with key phrases that you find hard to
remember. It’s amazing how looking at something several times can fix
language in your memory.
30

Revision Tips/Links









Revision sessions available
Any advice for how Parents
can help
-
Use a voice recorder on your phone to record yourself, then listen to it
when you are out and about.
Listening and Reading Exams:
Use the Kerboodle website to listen to or read previous pieces that you
have done in class or complete the mini assessments that are listed.
https://www.kerboodle.com
Use BBC Bitesize to listen and gain tips on how to approach listening
and reading exercises.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/spanish/
Use the Revision World website in order to revise for all parts of the
exam.
https://revisionworld.com/gcse-revision/spanish
Tune into a radio station in the foreign language, you can usually locate
one on the net. This helps with tuning your ear into the language.
Use Vocab express to practise vocabulary and listen to the
words/phrases you are revising. There is a loudspeaker symbol next to
each word to help.
https://www.vocabexpress.com
Use TV! If you have SKY TV you can change the language settings for
some channels like Euro news so that you can hear the news in your
chosen language.
Find Spanish apps on your phone such as Duolingo. Great for learning
on the go!
Ask your teacher for past papers or go to the exam website and
download papers and the listening files to do at home. It does not
matter if you have done the paper before, doing it again helps to
reinforce vocabulary.
Revision booklets are available from the department.
From January 2017- details at Parents’ Evening.
Teachers always contactable and able to help at any point during the
year if needed.
Parents can help by:
checking that their child spends an adequate amount of time on
homework.
practising the writing/speaking controlled assessments at home.
getting their child to revise vocabulary regularly (vocabulary list
provided).
31
ART- Head of Department- D. Carrick
Exam Board
Specification details/code
Exam Board Website
Assessment
AQA
4201 (unit) 1 & (unit) 2
AQA website http://www.aqa.org.uk/
Art & Design specification
http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/art-anddesign/specifications/AQA-ART-GCSE-SP-2016-V1-0.PDF
GCSE Art is a two year course and continually assessed from the
beginning of the course in Year 10.
Unit 1 is 60% of your total GCSE. This is made up of several projects
in Year 10 and the first of two projects in Year 11. These projects are
set internally by the Art Department.
Unit 2 is 40% of your total GCSE. A paper is given in the new year of
Year 11 and a subject title is chosen by the student. This subject area
is developed over approx. 3.5 months and the majority of the work is
in the sketchbook. These projects are set by the exam board and
changes every year.
All projects have a planned structure to incorporate the four
assessment objectives (AO) that the exam board set out.
AO1 Develop ideas through investigation of contextual studies (artist
research)
AO2 Explore and refine experimenting with materials & processes
AO3 Record ideas and observations
AO4 Final Idea Realise intentions, linking AO1-3
The Art Department mark the work based on the ability
demonstrated in each AO from ‘minimal’ to ‘highly developed’. Work
should be ‘consistent’, ‘clear ‘and with ‘purpose’. Depending on
which category the art work matches, a mark out of 20 is given for
each AO, therefore a mark out of 80 is required for both units 1 and
2.
These marks are submitted to the exam board in May and an
external moderator from AQA checks a sample of some students’
work in June.
Details of Controlled
Assessment if applicable
A ten hour (two day) exam in December for the AO4 final piece of
the Year 11 unit 1 project.
A ten hour (two day) exam in April for the AO4 final piece of Unit 2
project.
All work is submitted on the last day of this exam to be officially
marked. The work is not available for return until November the
following academic year.
Exams are in the Art department and adhere to school exam
conditions.
Controlled assessment
tips (If applicable)
N/A
32
Revision Tips/Links
Students need to meet deadlines with quality work as revision is not
applicable. Keep referring back to the assessment objective grid to
self-assess.
Ensure your work is presentable and legible – you can use a
computer to write your annotation. Stick in all loose work and label
your books; write your name and school/phone number if you use
public transport in case it is misplaced.
Visiting galleries and places of interest, particularly those relating to
your projects is beneficial especially if you take photos and complete
sketches AO3.
Revision sessions
available
Lunchtimes & evenings: Monday-Thursday throughout the academic
year. Weekend &/or Easter drop in sessions before the April exam.
Any advice for how
Parents can help
Please encourage your children to complete work to the deadline so
we can give feedback and they can improve and manage their
workload.
Trips to galleries are useful, particularly with dialogue regarding the
art.
A selection of art equipment (acrylic paints + brushes, oil pastels,
pencils) to complete work at home is very beneficial.
33
DRAMA- Head of Department- L. Bader-Clynes
Exam Board
AQA
Specification details/code
Drama 4240
Exam Board Website
http://www.aqa.org.uk/
Assessment
60 % Practical – The best 2 acting Modules out of 3 go towards the
final grade
40% Written exam (1.5 hours)
Details of Controlled
Assessment if applicable
Controlled assessment
tips (If applicable)
Revision Tips/Links
NA
NA
All Pupils have been given a comprehensive Revision Document with
Tasks to complete on ‘Neville’s Island’ and their Theatre-inEducation’ Module.
Pupils should watch the performance DVDs of their modules which
will be soon in the library and make further notes on their
performances.
Most past papers will be covered in class and for homework.
The Performance modules will be completed by February and the
remaining months shall be used for revision sessions.
Revision sessions available
Lunchtimes and after school
Any advice for how
Parents can help
Ask to see their Task revision document.
Do not hesitate to contact Mr Bader-Clynes for any further
assistance on: [email protected]
34
GEOGRAPHY- Head of Department- R. Owen
Exam Board
AQA
Specification details/code
Geography A (9030) – From 2014
Exam Board Website
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/geography/gcse/geography-a-9030
Assessment
Students sit two written examinations and conduct one piece of
fieldwork for controlled assessment. The breakdown is as follows:
Unit 1: Physical Geography
Written Paper – 1 hour 30 minutes – 75 marks – 37.5%
Students answer THREE questions, TWO from Section A and ONE
from Section B:
Section A
Question 1: The Restless Earth
Question 2: Rocks, Resources and Scenery
Section B
Question 7: The Coastal Zone
Unit 2: Human Geography
Written Paper – 1 hour 30 minutes – 84 marks – 37.5%
Students answer THREE questions, ONE from Section A and TWO
from Section B:
Section A
Question 1: Population Change
Section B
Question 5: Globalisation
Question 6: Tourism
Details of Controlled
Assessment if applicable
Controlled assessment
tips (If applicable)
Unit 3: Local Fieldwork Investigation
Controlled assessment – 60 marks - 25%
Completed by September 2016.
NA
Revision Tips/Links



Use the revision guides created for you on Ecole.
Condense your case study knowledge using case study cards, also
found on Ecole.
Use visual stimulus such as diagrams and mind maps.
35

Look at revision videos on YouTube. Links to some relevant ones are
on Ecole.
Revision sessions
available
Once the course has been completed (aiming for Easter latest)
revision sessions will happen in class time.
Any advice for how
Parents can help
Get your children to teach you an area of a topic so they understand
it fully. This is particularly helpful in understanding physical processes
and the creation of landforms.
Help them keep to time by timing them to complete a question(s)
under examination conditions. General rule of thumb is 1 minute per
mark.
NOTE: CGP revision guides only cover the superficial parts of the
GCSE. The revision guides on Ecole are in far more detail and have
past examination questions to practise.
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DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY: PRODUCT DESIGN- Head of Department- S. Getty
Exam Board
AQA
Specification
details/code
Exam Board Website
4555
Assessment
Unit 1 Written Paper (45551)
40% of total marks
2 hours
120 marks
Candidates answer all questions in two sections
Pre-release material issued
www.aqa.org.uk
Unit 2: Design and Making Practice (45552)
60% of total marks
Approximately 45 hours
90 marks
Consists of a sing design and make activity selected from a range of
board set tasks
Details of Controlled
Assessment if applicable
The ‘Design and Making Practice’ coursework is an assessment a
student’s ability to develop and improve their design concept over
many stages, in doing so, the controlled assessment communicates
that a student understands that no design concept or product is ever
‘perfect’, as such their idea and model can be pushed forward in-terms
of aesthetics, functionality, reducing material, working from their
target client’s feedback, etc.
An outstanding piece of controlled assessment will see appropriate
and considered research influence the design process; design concepts
will be modelled and tested in the workshop, offering areas for
development and improvement.
A full scale, high quality and functioning prototype should then be
accurately manufactured in the workshop. This is then evaluated and
tested in situ.
Controlled assessment
tips (If applicable)
There is no thing as ‘too much design work’, a positive and proactive
approach will make the design process much easier to handle.
Make sure your CAD skills are good, even free 3D design software
Google Sketch up is good for your controlled assessment.
There work is open before during and after school – skip the queues
for the machines by spending some of your own time here working in
the workshop
There are excellent 3D sketching tutorials on YouTube
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Speak to your teacher if you are unsure how to sketch/communicate
your idea, but remember DT isn’t Art, as long as your design work is
communicated via appropriate annotation, your design work does not
need to be AMAZING!
Revision Tips/Links
-
Work on your areas identified in your Parent’s Evening feedback sheet
Be aware of deadlines
Designing: Week beginning 12 December
Making: Week beginning 27 March
Completed coursework: Week beginning 24 April
Answer past exam questions (ask your teacher to mark them too). Past
papers and mark schemes; why not try marking your own work first
and then ask your teacher to check it. These can be found in here:
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/design-and-technology/gcse/designand-technology-product-design-4555/past-papers-and-mark-schemes
Answer past exam questions under timed conditions – this is one of
the best ways to revise and find out what you can do in the time
allocated in the exam.
Condense your notes into bullet points.
This is a good revision book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Design-Technology-Product-RevisionGuide/dp/1847623549/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1473091367&sr=83&keywords=aqa+product+design
-
Revision sessions
available
Create mind maps – especially for the trickier topics, such as
Materials
Design Movements
Manufacturing Processes
If you have got a problem, see your teacher inside or outside of lesson
– we are here to help.
Tuesday after school
Any advice for how
Parents can help
There will never be one week where there is ‘no homework’, students
should be sketching, designing, 3D CAD work, consolidating theory,
etc.
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RELIGIOUS STUDIES- Head of Department- D. Hillman
Exam Board
OCR
Specification details/code
GCSE in Religious Studies B (Philosophy & Applied Ethics)
J621
Exam Board Website
http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse-religious-studies-bphilosophy-and-applied-ethics-j621-j121-from-2012/
Assessment
100% final examination at the end of year 11.
Philosophy (Units B601 & B602) - 2-hour exam (50% of GCSE)
Ethics (Units B603 & B604) - 2-hour exam (50% of GCSE)
Details of Controlled
Assessment if applicable
None
Controlled assessment
tips (If applicable)
n/a
Revision Tips/Links

Create posters or mind maps for different topic areas, e.g. Attitudes
to war; arguments for and against euthanasia, etc. Use different
colours and add arrow etc. to show links between ideas.

Answer past examination questions, and ask your teacher to mark
them for you. You can get these from the OCR website
http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse-religious-studies-bphilosophy-and-applied-ethics-j621-j121-from-2012/

Use the on-line mark schemes to mark them yourself, and then ask
your teacher to check it. This will help to get you used to what the
examiner is looking for!

Answer questions under timed conditions – this is the best
preparation for the actual examination.
39
Revision sessions
available
Any advice for how
Parents can help

You can also find a 'skills guide' and a 'parent & learner guide' on the
OCR site.

Condense your notes into bullet points.

Visit BBC Bite size www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/rs/ but make
sure that you are revising topics that are on our syllabus! Ask your
teacher if you are not sure.

Your textbook (Hodder Education ‘GCSE Religious Studies: Philosophy
& Applied Ethics for OCR B' by Mayled/Ohiphant) has syllabus detail
and exam tips.
Mrs Hillman will run revision sessions from the Spring Term. There
will be details of where/when posted in the RS room.
Pupils need to be aware of different viewpoints and the reasons for
them on a variety of topics – so have discussions! Ask the pupil to
justify/give reasons for different views.
Follow arguments on war/peace/equality/rights/relationships etc. in
the news in the papers. Listen to different views.
Play 'Devil's Advocate' and make your son explain
Christian/Muslim/atheist views on a variety of topics!
40
BUSINESS STUDIES - Head of Department - M. Houlahan
Exam board: Edexcel
Specification details/code: GCSE Business Studies 2BS01
Exam board website: http://qualifications.pearson.com/
Assessment:
Unit 1 is titled ‘Introduction to Small Business’ and is examined via a multiple-choice paper with a
total of 40 marks and 25% of the total GCSE.
Unit 2 is titled ‘Investigating Small Business’ and accounts for 25% of the total GCSE. Students have
to research, investigate and then write a report on a local small business. They are given the title to
work to and this changes each year. The Controlled Assessment is carried out in the second half of
the Autumn term.
Unit 3 is titled ‘Building a Business’ this is extended-answer, data response and scenario-based
questions. It has a total of 90 marks and accounts for 50% of the total GCSE.
Revision tips:
 Complete the self-assessment revision sheets stored in the Year 11 Business folder – very
important!
 Create mind maps for each topic area, e.g. product life cycle, product life cycle extension
strategies, product portfolio analysis using the Boston Matrix, etc.
 If you prefer making revision notes on topics, make sure you write comments for both
knowledge (e.g. knowing a definition of a term, etc.) and understanding (e.g. what does a
term mean, such as why is it important or why is it relevant?)
 Use the revision guide and workbook stored in the Year 11 Business folder. Answer all the
questions in workbook. Check your responses using the answer guide provided by your
teacher.
 Answer past exam questions (ask you teacher to mark them too) you can get these from
your teacher or you can download them from the Edexcel website
https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/support/support-topics/exams/pastpapers.html/student There are mark schemes here too. Attempt marking your own work
first and then ask your teacher to check it. You learn more by checking your own answers
 When answering past exam questions, make sure you write responses to a wide range of 3-,
6-, 8- and 10-mark questions in case study context
 In the final 3 months of revision, start answering past exam questions under timed
conditions – this is one of the best ways to revise and find out what you can do in the time
allocated in the exam
 Create a list of feedback your teacher has given you to improve exam skills such as
application, analysis and evaluation
 Make full use of the additional revision sources available on the internet – e.g. BBC Bitesize
at www.bbc.co.uk/education, www.businessed.co.uk, www.tutor2u.com.

Attend the weekly Business Workshops – See next terms revision timetable.
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