The year x to year y cohort

‘Simply the best’

Some years the grape harvest produces ‘vintage’ wines

Year 11• ‘One of the best year groups we have ever had’ (me)• ‘GCSE Art students have been well motivated and a

positive group to teach.’ Miss Lands• ‘Our Yr 11 BTEC group are working so hard to put on

their show on Feb 5th. They are a dedicated, motivated bunch who are a pleasure to teach. They are rehearsing lunchtimes, after school and even Sundays! The show is based on a performing arts school and the school motto is: Not to be is not an option-to be is the only option-be an inspiration! You are an inspiration girls - go for it! The P.A. Team.

• ‘The Biology GCSE group (approx. 3 classes) entered for the exam in January left the Hall in exemplary silent fashion to show respect for a 6th former who was continuing after their exam had finished.’ Mr Smith.

• "There are some girls in set 1 who have really grown in confidence and ability this year, and are ahead of their predictions. That is so good to see.“ Mr Mayhew

AIM HIGH(ER)

• Aim for the best that you can possibly be. You may not get to the very top but you will certainly do better than if you aim for what you think you can do easily

• It is a bit like having to stretch to reach something on the top shelf. Children always seem to find a way to reach the sweet jar that has been placed out of reach or the Christmas presents that have been hidden, because they don't give up.

• Students need to apply the same sort of thinking to their grades. Mrs Photay

Why is it some students outperform others?

• Do you ever look round your classes and think, ‘How did she get that module result – that girl is not as clever as me?’

• Or do you think, ‘My result shows that hard work pays off no matter what your target grade is on paper’.

• Have you achieved a module result this year that is above your target grade.

Will your dream results be inside?

What do you want to find when you open your results in the summer?

My dream results August 20xy

Subject GradeEnglish LanguageEnglish LiteratureMathsScience

The impossible dream?

• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7-padnN66Wo&feature=related

So how are YOU going to achieve that (im)possible dream?

• First some tips......

A definition of insanity

• Repeatedly doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result

• So if you want a different result you have to make some big changes.

• How do you learn? • What can we learn from how we learn sport

or how to play an instrument?• How did David Beckham learn to score goals?

• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaGWrLFVOk

So like David Beckham (and other sportsmen)

• Train your reflexes – tennis ball at 100mph means you have to be able to respond automatically

• Learn from your mistakes – the more you make the more you learn

• Advice from the coach – giving you feedback, tells you how to improve

• Identify what skills are needed for the particular sport so you can practice and get good at them

• Practice and improve fitness levels

How does this relate to exams? How do we learn?

• Asking questions – the question / answer reflex• Making mistakes – you don’t want to make the

mistakes in the exam but before!• Feedback is related to advice from your coach,

you can create your own feedback and give you confidence

• Repetiton = you need a system to repeat the learning process – mental conditioning

Question – answer reflex

• If you don’t ask questions you don’t get any answers and then you don’t learn

• Small child touches hot oven quickly pulls his hand away – reflex action, doesn’t have to think about it

• In sport you haven’t got time to think about what stroke you are going to return the serve, so you have to train your reflexes so it is done automatically, but this reflex has to be trained

• Returning the ball is like giving an exam answer to the stimulus of the question

• Stimulus = heat, reflex = pulling hand away• In an exam you only have a certain amount of time to

respond, you are going to fail if your reflex isn’t trained well enough, if trained you can react at lightening speed – you’ve done all the thinking in your training, so it is almost automatic

• Train for the exam in the same way as you are expected to perform in the exam – question - answer

Some advice• Imagine that the person marking your exam paper is stupid (bit

like me really), who knows very little about the subject. • It's up to you to "educate" the examiner by answering questions

is such a way as to prove you understand the subject. • I recommend you "pee" all over your exam paper.... make your

point, explain what you mean and give relevant examples to support your answer.

• When answering longer, essay type questions, a rough plan made before you begin to write will help to focus thoughts and could gain a few extra marks which may make the difference between one grade and the next.

• Good luck with your exams! Mrs Fothergill

Making mistakes

• One of the most effective ways of learning• In sport and music, making mistakes and correcting

them is called practice• Learning is simply a process of making mistakes, finding

out what you don’t know and correcting• In the sport of taking exams when do you get the chance

to make mistakes and learn how to correct them?• Mistakes tell you that that you don’t know something

that you need to know and then you can address this yourself or with help

I can’t leave it until I’m happy

• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc5gHm8Po20&feature=related

Don’t expect overnight success

• According to analysis theory it takes 10,000 hours to be an expert or elite performer, in sport, music, art etc.

• Ten thousand hours is equivalent to roughly three hours a day, or 20 hours a week, of practice over 10 years… No one has yet found a case in which true world-class expertise was accomplished in less time. It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that it needs to know to achieve true mastery.

Time management

• Prioritise using to do lists – do the most important things first; each day create a list of five things that you need to finish that day; go through your list and see which is the most important

• Batching – answer your e-mails, go on msn or Facebook twice a day – don’t keep logging in

• Stop time wasting – think of the consequences of studying at the last minute; ask yourself ‘Do I really want that to happen?’

Your support team• Alongside your friends and people at home the staff are

on your side.• It is actually much less work for teachers if we just leave

you to it. • Teachers and your Heads of Community moan and nag

because we know that your summer grades could change your lives – they are unlikely to have any effect on ours.

• Teachers are not the enemy!!!!• Some students are/will be given the support of a mentor

Difficult is worth doing

• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hI2U7xkcgbc

And after this?

• Ask your family to help you plan a treat to celebrate all your hard work!

• Sit back and wait for your dream results to arrive!