GCSE Advice For Parents: Helping Your Child Prepare for Their GCSE Mocks

With half-term nearly upon us meaning mocks are fast approaching, the big question on a lot of parents’ minds is ‘how can I help my child revise for their GCSE mock exams?’ Whilst the GCSEs require a lot more independence than your child might be used to at school, it is still vital to support them where possible.

We’ve listed out easy ways to help your child revise for their GCSE mocks below. 

And if you’re looking for an interactive and fun way for your child to revise for the exams, at Your Favourite Teacher, we offer online GCSE courses, videos, worksheets, quizzes and more for English Language, English Literature, Maths and Science. You can sign up for a free trial with the button below. 

Understand how the GCSEs work today

We know it is hard to keep up with all the changes to school life, especially those during the GCSE years. The recent change from the alphabetical to the numbered grading system shows you how different GCSEs are now to when you were taking them yourself (see the table for reference). Having a clear understanding of your child’s school life is a great first step in your support.

Though it can vary between schools, your child will likely officially start studying for their GCSEs in Year 10. They will study around 9-11 subjects, of which English Language, English Literature, Maths and Science are compulsory in all schools. The rest of their subjects will typically be their own choice. 

It is important to note that your child will be required to attain at least a grade 4 in both English Language and Maths to pass and avoid re-taking the exams.

Your child will study for all their subjects in class, taking mock exams throughout the year and revising in their own time too. Their official GCSE exams will then begin in May of Year 11, and the number of exams will vary based on the subject.

How to support your child during GCSE Mocks

1. Ensure they have useful study resources

Though your child will be learning subject material in their lessons supported by their teacher, it can be difficult to keep up in a classroom setting. With typically 30 students of varying abilities in one classroom, it’s to be expected that your child will need extra support outside of their lessons from time to time.

And, as a parent, you are not expected to be able to support your child with every topic they come across, although sitting down and looking through something with them is always a good idea. 

Therefore, investing in resources to both aid their learning and support their revision can seriously boost their progress. Sometimes all it takes for topics to click is looking at the content in a different way.

With Your Favourite Teacher, your child can watch lessons created by real teachers, along with podcasts and other resources that allow them to learn in a way that suits them. 

2. Create a study-friendly environment

Now that your child has the resources they need to start studying, sitting them down in a study-friendly environment can be the difference between an attempted and an effective revision session. 

In fact, studies have shown that multitasking during schoolwork can interfere with attention and memory, which are both not ideal for revision.

You can support your child by letting them work in a quiet, distraction-free environment. This could be a desk in their room, the dining room table or a home office. If you feel that creating a distraction-free area might be tricky, encourage them to go to a local library, or use their school facilities. 

Wherever your child chooses to study, they can do so with Your Favourite Teacher. Lessons are online and accessible on any device, meaning you can rest assured that your child will have everything they need to study, wherever they are.

3. Keep track of their progress

The formal mock assessments are vital for you, your child and their teachers to understand the level they are currently working at and how they can improve. 

It is crucial to talk to your child and their teachers about their grades. Our advice is not to put your child down if they get a lower grade than expected, but instead, reassure them that they can improve next time. Reach out to their teachers to find out how you can help them improve, and always attend parent evenings to have open discussions about your child’s progress.

Whilst assessments might be often, they might not be regular enough to help your child whilst they are still in the learning phase. That’s why at Your Favourite Teacher we provide regular quizzes for your child to complete after learning or revising a topic. You can also monitor their progress in real-time, which can ultimately allow you to support them when they need help most.

4. Encourage them to take long and short study breaks

Your child might be tempted to work into the early hours of the morning to try and revise, especially if they are doing so last minute. However, this will do more harm than good. 

Firstly, teenagers need a lot more sleep due to the rapid changes in their bodies during puberty. Additionally, one long study session is not effective for retaining information. Instead, it’s important to take regular breaks to help improve the quality of your mocks revision.

Whilst short breaks are needed during study sessions, long breaks are also necessary for successful revision. These could be breaks during which your child has dinner or simply has time to relax without thinking about revision. Our top tip is to try and make these long breaks at similar times each day to establish a routine. We have a free routine planner that you're welcome to download.  

It is also crucial for your child to have entire days off from anything school-related. Whether they want to spend time with friends or just have a day to relax, your child’s last years at secondary school should be spent having well-deserved fun alongside their hard work. 

5. Be there when they need you

It comes as no surprise that many students experience stress and anxiety during Years 10 and 11. In fact, it has been reported that 5-10% of males and 15-20% of females are highly anxious about their exams.

Simply being there for your child during these times is the best way that you can support them. Have open discussions about how they are feeling and don’t put extra, unnecessary pressure on them. Encouragement and praise go a long way with any sort of hard work, so be there to congratulate them on their efforts and pick them up if they’re feeling a little down or stressed.

Support your child’s GCSE mocks revision with Your Favourite Teacher

With Your Favourite Teacher, your child will have access to revision lessons created by real teachers along with extensive resources and assessments to help their progress rocket! We cover all the core subjects, including English Language, English Literature, Maths and Science.

You can sign your child up for a free trial today to help them get started with their learning and revision, wherever they are in their GCSE journey.