PONTELAND HIGH SCHOOL

YEAR 11 REVISION GUIDE

MAKING REVISIONWORK FOR YOU

GCSE EXAMS 20161

CONTENTSPage

Introduction 3Students – How to revise 4Some useful revision resources 5Parents – How you can help 6Revision Preparation – a checklist 7Subject-by-Subject Information and Tips:

Art & Design 8Business Studies GCSE 9Applied Business Studies GCSE 10English Language & English Literature 11-12Expressive Arts:

Drama 13Media Studies 14-15Music 16

Humanities:Geography 17History 18Religious Studies 19

Mathematics 20Modern Foreign Languages:

French 21German 22Spanish 23Support for parents/students 24

P.E. / Sports Studies 25Sciences (Separate and Additional) 26-27Technology:

Food and Nutrition 28Health & Social Care 28Textiles Technology 28Graphics 29Resistant Materials 29

Revision Timetable: example of term-time 30Revision Timetable: term-time blank (for photocopying) 31Revision Timetable: holiday-time blank (for photocopying) 32

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to your copy of “Making Revision Work for You” for the 2016 GCSEs.

The coming months are an important time for Y11 students as they prepare for their examinations. This booklet is aimed at helping all students plan and use revision time effectively as well as giving parents/guardians some tips on how they can help and support.

The Autumn and Spring terms are particularly crucial. By Christmas 15 weeks of teaching will have passed. Only 15 weeks of teaching after Christmas remain before the full exam period starts. Therefore making good use of evenings, weekends, half term holidays and Christmas and Easter holidays is essential if you are to do your best in the exams. It is important to have a balance between work, social time and family time but now is the time that clear, focused revision begins in earnest.

This booklet includes some tips on how parents can encourage, enable and support students to revise effectively. It also contains subject-by-subject revision advice which, in some cases, will be supported by material that you will receive directly from your subject teachers.

Please read this revision support booklet and;as a parent help your child to get organised, and as a student work with your parent to ensure a good, focused revision schedule.

Checking progress from time to time is very helpful, too. Subject teachers are more than happy to provide any other guidance that may be needed.

You will achieve your potential with: a clear revision schedule (see back of booklet for photocopiable timetables) concentration on areas in need of improvement determination and sustained effort support from family, peers and staff hard work a sensible, and good balance, between work and relaxation.

If you have any concerns, please do contact the relevant member(s) of staff at school.Never give up.

Jim Balkwill Assistant Headteacher

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Students – How to revise Make sure you understand – if you understand something, you are far more likely to remember it

easily. If you aren’t sure about something, ask a teacher, a friend, or a member of your family.

Plan your work – draw up a timetable of what you need to revise, and when you plan to do it.

Don’t be too ambitious – set targets which are hard, but achievable.

Revising often for shorter periods is better than studying for long stretches, less frequently. Most people begin to lose concentration after 20 minutes. Most people learn best near the beginning and ending of a revision session – so, the more breaks you have, the more beginnings and endings there are.

If you find your attention drifting, take a 10 minute break – physical activity, such as a short walk or stretching, can be helpful – then go back to your studies. Taking a drink of water helps keep your body hydrated and alert.

You will be aware that people learn best in different ways. Think about how you learn best.

Don’t just re-read notes, try:

highlighting key words making mind maps, spider diagrams, timelines, flow charts, Venn diagrams, etc. summing up key points making lists writing down key points on cards and using them to test yourself, or getting someone to test you teaching or explaining to someone else what you have learned producing a poster making up a rap, poem, or song, based on what you are learning producing a storyboard or cartoon, based on what you are learning talking over what you have learned either in your mind, or out loud, or to someone else using different rooms, or different areas of one room, to study different topics – when you return:

- each location should remind you of what you have learned, and - thinking about each location during the exam can trigger memories, too

walking around or assigning a gesture or movement to a fact or topic can help some people learn reviewing what you have learned so far, ideally by testing yourself, doing a mind map or list etc., before beginning something new.

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REVISION – THE TIME IS NOWLittle and Often 15 teaching weeks before ChristmasStep by Step 15 teaching weeks after Christmas

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

Some useful resources

The Internet offers a wealth of revision material – so long as you do not make the mistake of spending too long surfing.

Materials available on the exam boards’ websites, such as past papers, offer excellent practice and revision opportunities.

Here is a list of some useful addresses:

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/revision - BBC Bitesize is one of the best-known educational websites, and covers a variety of subjects. Recent additions to the site include revision help for students studying PE and Information Technology.

www.schoolsnet.com - this is mainly aimed at teachers, but it also contains links to around 140 revision sites on all the major National Curriculum subjects.

www.gcse.com - useful revision information.

www.letts-successzone.com, www.s-cool.co.uk, www.whsmith.co.uk - all of these addresses provide information on revision guides.

www.britannica.com - general information.

www.gcsepod.co.uk/home/ - some excellent revision materials for a wide variety of subjects.

www.aqa.org.uk – for past papers for courses following the AQA specifications

www.ocr.org.uk – for past papers for courses following the OCR specifications

www.edexcel.org.uk – for past papers for courses following the Edexcel/Pearson specifications

Revision Books/Guides: There is a huge range of revision books available from well-known publishers like Letts and York Notes, many of which can be found on the shelves of WH Smiths, Waterstones and other good bookshops. If unavailable, you can ask the shop to order you a copy.

CD ROMS are a popular method of helping with revision, and are also widely available from outlets such as WH Smith. Again, if what you need is not in stock, the shop will order you a copy.

All BBC Bitesize television programmes are worthwhile viewing for students revising for exams.

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Parents – How you can help We all remember how stressful exam time is, and how important the right kind of support from

parents – and other members of the family – can be. Try to ignore the occasional slammed door, long silence or tantrum.

Read through Students – How to revise (above), and the various subject-specific pages, and see what you can do to help.

Providing a quiet study room, away from distractions, is important. However, different people learn in different ways: some people learn better if there is appropriate background music, or by talking aloud, or pacing, so absolute silence isn’t always the best approach.

Showing an interest in progress, and providing regular praise or rewards can be very supportive – sometimes, even a simple “Well done!” can mean a lot.

Remember, one of the best ways of understanding and learning something is explaining or teaching it to someone else – so make yourself available, ask questions and so on.

Make sure your child sets a realistic revision timetable, starts early, and sticks to it, without overdoing things. See the back of this booklet for an example weekly revision template.

Timetabling in ‘down time’, exercise or sports, meals (of course), social and relaxation time is also important to a successful and fruitful revision schedule. Finding the right balance is key.

ACTION:Help your son or daughter produce a week by week revision timetable.You will find at the back of this booklet example weekly timetables for:

whilst still in school and following normal lessons whilst on holidays (Oct/Feb/May ½ term and Christmas/Easter holidays) or exam leave

Please copy the blank timetables at the back as required to create a week by week revision schedule.

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What do you need to do?Checklist

LocationIs the place where you revise appropriate and ready for you? Is there anything that we need to do?

ResourcesDo you need to buy anything?

TimetableHave you begun to complete a weekly revision timetable and plan?Do you have your individual exam timetable? This is given to students before the Easter Holidays.Does it make sense?

ContactsWho do you need to speak to?

8ART and DESIGN

Course Assessment

Portfolio of work (controlled test - coursework) – 60%Externally set controlled test (exam) – 40%

Portfolio of work - Throughout year 10 and year 11 students will have completed a portfolio of work demonstrating

their ability to respond to different project briefs and explore a variety of material and techniques.

- Opportunity will be provided for ‘one to one’ portfolio improvement sessions at lunchtimes and after school.

- Students will also have a copy of the current assessment and grade boundaries - Objectives and clear guidance will be given to ensure individual success.

Controlled test (exam)

- The controlled test will take the form of a 10 hour exam in which the students produce a personal outcome in response to a chosen theme, set by the exam board.

- The students will be given approx 8 weeks starting in January 2016, to prepare for the exam, in which time they will produce a sketch book of research and development work.

- A checklist and support materials will be given to all students and sent home to parents.

Top tips for parents

Encourage visits to art galleries and exhibitions. Encourage use of sketchbook work at home – drawing, painting, photography, etc. (minimum

of one hour per week) Encourage students to discuss their artwork and share their ideas.

Useful websites

The students will be directed to relevant websites appropriate to their themes.The following websites are useful in provided a broad and varied selection of art and design:

www.tate.org.ukwww.nationalgallery.org.ukwww.designmuseum.orgwww.vam.ac.uk

GCSE exam dates: March 2016 (exact dates to be confirmed).

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Students have two final examinations worth 75% of their final mark in May. The exam will test their understanding and skills in the following units:

Unit 1: a) Business and b) People Unit 2: a) Production b) Finance and accounts and c) External influences

February/March 2016: Case study with “getting to know you questions” . Students should read through the case study

numerous times to ensure that they are very familiar with it before returning to school.

Revision programme:

Class based programme . Students will work systematically through the five examined sub-units and apply what they have learned to the exam case study, as appropriate. During this time we will focus intensively on exam technique.

Unit revision guides (written by staff). Students will be given 5 revision guides covering Business, People, Production, Finance and External Influences. Students should revise from these regularly. In each case there will be a mock exam for students to complete at home linking that unit to the potential questions in the case study.

Weekly support and enhancement classes (after school). All students are invited to attend a weekly revision session after school, which will start March/April 2016.

T:/Drive. All revision lessons, revision guides and past papers will be available to download from the school’s T:/Drive (Business).

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BUSINESS STUDIES GCSE

Top Tip for parentsThe first thing you can do to help is to work through each of the five revision guides and practice papers with your son or daughter. These will be sent home to you via students. Secondly, please ensure that your son or daughter has access to the additional materials on the T:/Drive (Business folder). In addition students may find GCSE Bitesize (Business) useful as an additional resource.

Students have a final examination worth 40% of their marks in May/June.

The exam will test their understanding and skills in the

following unit: Unit 2: Financial Records

Revision programme:

Class based programme . Students will work systematically through the key examinable topics. During this time we will focus intensively on exam technique. Topics covered will be:

Financial Documents Business Payment Methods and Costs Producing Financial Statements Importance of Financial Statements

Unit revision guide (written by staff). Students will be given a revision guide, produced by staff to revise from. Students will also have a number of mock exams to complete in preparation for the main exam.

Weekly support and enhancement classes (after school). All students will be welcome to attend a weekly revision session, starting March/April 2016. Further details will follow from the department.

T:/Drive. All revision lessons, revision guides and past papers will be available to download from the school’s F:/Drive (Business).

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APPLIED BUSINESS STUDIES GCSE

Top Tip for parentsThe first thing you can do to help is to work through the revision guide and mock papers. These will be sent home to you via students. Secondly, please ensure that your son or daughter has access to the additional materials on the T:/Drive (Business folder).

In addition students may find GCSE Bitesize (Business) useful as an additional resource.

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1. Read widelyNewspapers, novels, magazines, autobiographies, travel writing…try to step outside of your comfort zone and select texts that are challenging and different from what you normally read.

2. Write widelyDifferent forms: letters, articles, reviews…different purposes: inform, explain, persuade. Practise planning, writing and reviewing and editing your work.

3. Use revision websites Some of the best include:

o http://www.mrbruff.com/ o www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ gcse bitesize/ english o www.geoffbarton.co.uk o http://literatureguides.philipallan.co.uk/ o http://www.litcharts.com/ o www.gcseresult.co.uk

4. Clips on YouTubeSearch for Mr Bruff (see above)and Mr Davies - there are others but make sure they are for AQA English.

5. Revision GuidesUse the ‘Collins’ revision guide (available from school) or any of the other recommended guides below to help you to revise- work together in study groups so you can verbalise and talk through responses to texts.

6. Improve your vocabularyPractise writing tasks with a dictionary and thesaurus by your side - edit and review your work at the end asking yourself - does this vocabulary add to the intended impact/ effect?

7. Respond to PENSEnsure that you are clear about your strengths and areas for development - do you need to practise all of the skills or just some of them? Speak to your teacher if you are unsure.

8. Collect textsCharity leaflets, newspaper articles, editorials… identify GAP (genre, audience, purpose), highlight and underline key words that help the reader achieve their purpose, consider how the structure (opening, ending, order of ideas) and the use of punctuation heightens the effect on the reader.

9. Past papersFind AQA past papers on FROG and the AQA website - bring them to your teachers for marking.

10. Revisit your textsEnsure that you are rereading your literature texts and your poetry anthology so that you know the texts really well - each time add to your notes.

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE

ENGLISH LITERATURE

Please find below a list of revision guides for ENGLISH LANGUAGE and ENGLISH LITERATURE that have been approved by AQA (our examining body).

These can be purchased online or through a bookshop.

Publisher Title ISBN Nelson Thornes English & English Language Higher Student

Book 978 1 4085 0595 3

Nelson Thornes English & English Language Foundation Student Book

978 1 4085 0596 0

Nelson Thornes English & English Language Higher Revision Guide

978 1 4085 0691 2

Nelson Thornes English & English Language Foundation Revision Guide

978 1 4085 0692 9

Phillip Allan AQA GCSE English: Skills for Language & Literature

978 1 4441 0874 3

Harper Collins English GCSE for AQA 2010 English Student Book Targeting Grade C

978 0 0073 4219 8

Heinemann AQA GCSE English and English Language Student Book: Achieve a C

978 0 4351 1814 3

Heinemann AQA GCSE English and English Language Student Book: Achieve an A*

978 0 4351 1812 9

Heinemann AQA GCSE English and English Language Student Book: Basic Skills

978 0 4351 5130 0

Hodder AQA GCSE English, English Language and English Literature: Higher Student's Book

978 1 4441 0869 9

Hodder AQA GCSE English, English Language and English Lit Foundation Student's Book

978 1 4441 0868 2

Nelson Thornes English Literature Poetry & Anthology Student Book

978 1 4085 0599 1

Nelson Thornes English Literature Poetry & Anthology (online)

978 1 4085 0688 2

Heinemann AQA GCSE Working with the Anthology Student Book: Achieve a C

978 0 4351 1852 5

Heinemann AQA GCSE Working with the Anthology Student Book: Achieve an A*

978 0 4351 1850 1

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GCSE DRAMA YEAR 11 GUIDELINES: PREPARING FOR THE PRACTICAL EXAMINATION

Below is a checklist of work and strategies that all Drama students can employ to be well prepared for the practical element of the examination.

Make efficient use of rehearsal time experimenting with a range of voice and movement ideas.Make use of what you have learnt during the course about how to use key drama elements to engage the audience.Look forward to the practical examination and appreciate that it is an opportunity to share your work with others.Work to a production plan which makes full use of the plenary part of every lesson to reflect on progress and set action points for subsequent rehearsals.Understand what is expected of you individually so that you can work independently in between rehearsals.In rehearsals observe carefully and concentrate fully so that you can give and receive constructive advice.Be prepared to learn from others and make effective use of constructive advice given to you by others.In devised theatre employ a range of drama devices which explore significant issues.Write and deliver thought-provoking dialogue which communicates your chosen themes.In performance, control and vary the pace delivery, thinking how to highlight key moments.Make varied and intelligent use of the acting space to engage the audience.Modulate and project your voice with clarity and precision to communicate the dialogue.Think carefully about the technical aspects of your performance and use costume imaginatively to communicate aspects of character.Plan the transitions between the scenes and use set and lighting creatively to ensure pace and control.Stay positive and focused, maintaining a willingness to experiment until happy with the outcome.Make sure you have a technical and dress rehearsal so that you are fully prepared for the practical examination and feel confident about doing well.Delight the audience with your energy and enthusiasm.Students are invited to attend additional after school rehearsals in order to get detailed, personal feedback on their individual performances.

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EXPRESSIVE ARTS

DRAMA

Unit 1: Science-Fiction Film Genre

All work on Unit 1 is to be covered after February half term 2016. This unit is worth 20% of the Double Award.

The external assessment will take the form of a contextualised simulation and candidates will be expected to respond in role.The brief will be pre-released four weeks prior to the external assessment date, giving candidates time to research and plan for the examination. In preparation for the external assessment candidates will be expected to have studied a wide range of films from the sci-fi genre.Candidates will need to consider aspects of narrative and genre codes and conventions as well as issues concerning representation and stereotyping. Candidates need to show awareness of target audience and audience appeal together with an understanding of how films are marketed to these audiences. Production skills will be expected with candidates showing effective practical skills such as storyboarding, webpage design, scripting, selection and editing and other design skills.

Units 2 and 4: Coursework

Units 2 and 4 will have been covered in class throughout the GCSE Media course.

Unit 3: Exploring media industries

The aim of this unit is to encourage candidates to explore media industries and how they operate. This unit is worth 20% of the Double Award.

Section A

Students should revise all of the work carried out on our two case study local media organisations; The Tyneside Cinema and BBC Radio Newcastle

Students need to have a broad understanding of:• how the industry creates a range of products to sell to particular audiences• how the industry and the products they make are influenced by ownership and control• the job roles and working practices within the organisation • how the organisation is financed and regulated• the effects of developments in technology within this industry.

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EXPRESSIVE ARTS

MEDIA STUDIES

Section B

Students need to have a broad understanding of: - The move from ‘old’ to ‘new’ media,

- Media consumption, different patterns in how people consume/access and even produce media

- Technological changes and advancements- Legal and ethical questions e.g. illegal downloading,

pros and cons of social networking- Control and regulation of TV, internet, newspapers, computer gaming etc- The future of media – where do you see the media being in 10, 20 years’ time?

FOR BOTH EXAMINATION UNITS:-

Students should practise applying their knowledge and understanding of the topics by working through sample papers and revision booklet/material.

Supporting material, sample exam papers, mark schemes and examiners’ reports can be found on FROG.

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Students have a final examination worth 40% of their final mark at the beginning of June.

The final exam will consist of two sections. Section A will have 8 compulsory questions that require students to respond to extracts of music. Section B has two questions, of which students choose one to answer, it will require an extended, essay-type answer.

Both sections are based on twelve 'set works' - pieces of music that students will have studied during the course. The set works are drawn from 4 areas of study: Western Classical Music, Music in the 20th Century, Popular Music in Context and World Music. Students are given full revision notes for all twelve set works and templates for Section B are available on the school network.

In order to do well, students must engage fully in listening lessons and complete all tasks set - this will frequently involve learning facts about the set works in preparation for the exam. Listening to a wide range of music, attending live music performances and performing music from a wide range of repertoire will also help students to gain the musical understanding required for this area of the course. Thorough revision throughout the course and as the exam approaches is also essential.

Over Easter:

I will be running a ‘Revision Day’ in school for Year 11. I would encourage all students to attend, however if students are unable, I will send copies of the notes home.

Revision programme:

Class based work – Students will work through practice papers of both Section A and Section B, which will focus on examination technique.

Weekly Support – The Music Department has set aside Monday lunchtime for GCSE students to discuss techniques, set works and exemplar material.

Element focus – A key aspect of the Listening Examination are the Elements of Music. Using the notes given by myself and Mr Reid students should revise from these regularly. The main elements are; Melody, Dynamics, Texture, Harmony & Tonality, Rhythm, Timbre and Tempo.

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EXPRESSIVE ARTS

MUSIC

Top Tips for parentsThe first thing you can do is help is to work through the revision sheet with your son or daughter. These will be sent home to you via students. Secondly, please ensure your son or daughter listens to the set works at every opportunity. YouTube has a good channel with all twelve set works. Its web address is http://www.youtube.com/user/GCSEMusicEdexcel. The GCSE Bitesize website is also useful.

There are 3 examination papers in the summer. Each paper is worth 25% of the total mark for the course. The examinations:

Tuesday 24th May: Paper 1 – 1 hour. Skills and Challenges for the Planet.Wednesday 8th June: Paper 2 – 1 hour 15 mins. The Natural EnvironmentFriday 17th June: Paper 3 – 1 hour 15 mins. The Human Environment

Revision:There is a Geography revision booklet and unit summary sheets. These are issued by the class teacher. All revision materials will also be available on the school network.A revision book – Revise Edexcel GCSE Geography A Geographical Foundations Revision Guide (Pearson) can also be purchased through the Geography Department at a cost of £3.

Revision ScheduleIn terms of devising a revision schedule, students have already been advised to start reading their booklets on each topic, primarily to revisit case studies and geographical processes within material covered in Year 10 and 11. Cue cards and mind maps can be helpful revision aids to make at this point.

Once students are confident with the topic material, they should then progress to past papers and exam questions which are available on the FROG VLE.

Revision sessions will take place before and after the Easter break after school. These sessions will focus on a different topic each session as well as cover exam technique and levelled marked questions.

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Top Tip for Parents

Parents can help bytesting students

usingpast questions andmaterial from the

booklets.

HUMANITIES GEOGRAPHY

Paper Two History revision booklet to be issued to students February 2016Paper One History revision booklet to be issued to students before Easter Holidays. (Teaching of course still ongoing)

A supporting OCR GCSE Modern World History Revision Guide by Ben Walsh (Principal Examiner Paper Two), tailored to the current specification, can also be purchased to supplement the department issued revision guides. Previous students have commented that this resource has proved to be an invaluable revision tool.

Material is also available on FROGto assist with your revision.If in doubt – ask your history teacher.

Revision Schedule

In terms of devising a revision schedule, students have already been advised to start reading their summary sheets, primarily to start familiarising themselves with material covered in Year 10, which will make up the Paper One exam.

Once students are confident with the summary sheets material, they should then progress to wider reading, including their folder notes.

Lunchtime revision sessions will start in the summer term. These sessions will focus on specific exam skills, such as source analysis and how to answer certain question types.

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Top Tip for parents

Parents can help by testing

students using summary tests in

the History revision booklet.

HUMANITIES HISTORY

There are 2 examination papers in the summer. Each paper is worth 50% of the total mark for the course.

The examinations:

Wednesday 18th May 2016 (pm) 1hr 30mins Religion and Life IssuesMonday 23rd May 2016 (pm) 1hr 30mins Religion and Morality

Revision:There are numerous RE revision booklets and unit summary sheets from throughout the course. These are issued by the class teacher. All revision materials will also be available on the school network.

A revision book – ‘My Revision Notes – Religious Studies AQA GCSE’ (Religion and Life Issues and Religion and Morality) is available from Hodder Education or online for around £8

Revision ScheduleIn terms of devising a revision schedule, students have already been advised to start reading their booklets on each topic, primarily to revisit key ideas and concepts within the material covered in Year 9, 10 and 11. Cue cards and mind maps can be helpful revision aids to make at this point.

Once students are confident with the topic material, they should then progress to past papers and exam questions.

Revision sessions will take place before and after the Easter break during after school.

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Top Tip for Parents

Parents can help byencouraging the

use of colourful and detailed star

diagrams and mind maps.

HUMANITIES RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Students sometimes talk about wanting or needing a certain grade in maths but when you enquire about how much additional revision they have done it is clear that they must not want the grade as much as they claim. Students should be doing about five hours of maths revision a week in the run up to exams, this time needs to be effective. Targeting weak topics is essential because answering the questions on these topics will increase grades. Revision should be a mixture of learning key facts and practising questions.

Students will sit AQA Linear Maths 4365. Students who have gained a C grade in the mock exam at the end of Year 10 or are in the top two sets of each population study for the higher paper. Double entry is no longer allowed so final decisions on tier of entry will be made in the spring term. For both H and F tiers the non-calculator exam is on Thursday 26th May and the calculator exam is on Thursday 9th June.

REVISION RESOURCES Revision cards : These contain key facts that students must know in order to get the grade they

want. These must be learned over a period of time rather than trying to learn them all just before the exam. We have placed our cards on the Quizlet revision app so students can access them on their phone. Students will be shown how to access these in the spring term. If you prefer to have them on card, you can purchase these in the spring term for a small printing fee.

MyMaths.co.uk: School login: ponteland, password: square. This is an excellent interactive website that students know. If students have any tasks on their list then they should get these done first and then target topics that they know they struggle with. Students sometimes complain that they don’t like using this site but this is mainly because they get frustrated by scoring poor marks and then rush through the attached lesson and then claim it does not help. If a student scores poorly on a task they need to slowly go through the revision lesson one step at a time and make notes about the key points. They should always use a pen and paper when using the site for working out, students sometimes think they should just do it all in their head, this will not lead to good marks.

10 key questions: This is a booklet with 10 examples of key questions that often make the difference between a certain grade. These are accompanied by worksheets with similar questions. Students attempt the sheets and when they are stuck they look in their booklet for help. By the time they are doing the last sheet, they should no longer need to look up anything.

Past papers: These are an essential part of revision for maths but for them to be useful students must devote sufficient time to them. If there is a question a student cannot do then they must not ignore it. By going to the effort of looking up the topic and working out how to tackle the problem, students will be well equipped to tackle a similar problem in their real exam. If past papers highlight a weak topic then this topic should become a priority for revision.

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MATHEMATICS

Revision Guides and Workbooks: Some Year 11 students have purchased these already and they are an excellent resource – so do use these for practice and re-learning. If students have not yet purchased these and would like to then they should ask their maths teacher for an order form.

There are many published and internally created aids to revision available in all modern languages, all aimed at enabling pupils to practise, review and develop their knowledge of vocabulary, structure and grammar.

Letts Revision Guide- Books available from school for help with all aspects of the French exam. These can be purchased from the subject teacher at a cost of £3.50

GCSE specific Revision web sites

www. bbc .co.uk/schools/ gcsebitesize / french / Useful for exam practice with both foundation and higher listening and reading tests

www.gcse.com/french/index.htm

www.linguascope.comUsername - ponthigh

Password - cloudyday Best for all grammar and structures and more advanced vocabulary. Choose Intermediate level

www.languageskills.co.uk for practice in all skills, though it is a little more difficult than the real GCSE level (Zut)account id- 1250password- lechatnoir

www.languagesonline.org.uk – best for grammar and structures. Exercises gradually increase in level of difficulty.

www.aqa.org.uk- excellent for past listening and reading papers/markschemes

www.memrise.com – students create their own account. This is a fantastic website for vocab revision for the listening and reading papers- students should see their class teacher to find out the specific programme they should follow ( AQA GCSE vocab)

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MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES

FRENCH

Letts Revision Guide- Books available from school for help with all aspects of the German exam. These can be purchased from the subject teacher at a cost of £3.50

German Revision Siteswww. bbc .co.uk/schools/ gcsebitesize / german / Useful for exam practice with both foundation and higher listening and reading tests

www.klar.co.uk Fantastic for everythingUsername: ponthighPassword: pontlangs

www.lerndeutsch.org.uk Online revision games on all topics

www.linguascope.com Best for all grammar and structures and more advanced vocabulary.Username - ponthigh Choose Intermediate levelPassword – cloudyday

www.languageskills.co.uk Good for practice in all skills, a little more difficult than GCSE level (GUT)account id- 2752password- dasklavier

www.languagesonline.org.uk-Excellent for revision games on all topics

http://www.funwithlanguages.vacau.comExcellent for revision games and exercises on all topics across the different skill areas

www.aqa.org.uk- Excellent for past listening and reading papers/markscheme

www.memrise.com Students create their own account. This is a fantastic website for vocab revision for the listening and reading papers - students should see their class teacher to find out the specific programme they should follow ( AQA GCSE vocab)

www.quizlet.com Students create their own account.

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GERMAN

This is a fantastic website for vocab revision for the listening and reading papers - students should see their class teacher to find out the specific programme they should follow ( AQA GCSE vocab)

Letts Revision Guide- Books available from school for help with all aspects of the Spanish exam. These can be purchased from the subject teacher at a cost of £3.50

Spanish Revision sites www. bbc .co.uk/schools/ gcsebitesize / spanish / Useful for exam practice with both foundation and higher listening and reading tests

www.espanol-extra.co.uk Username - ponthigh Password - callerton Best for vocabulary games/grammar

www.linguascope.comUsername - ponthighPassword – cloudyday Best for all grammar and structures and more advanced vocabulary. Choose Intermediate level

www.languageskills.co.uk for practice in all skills, though it is a little more difficult than the real GCSE level (OYE)account id- 1327password- oye

www.languagesonline.org.uk – best for grammar and structures. Exercises gradually increase in level of difficulty.

www.aqa.org.uk- excellent for past listening and reading papers/mark schemes

www.memrise.com – students create their own account. This is a fantastic website for vocab revision for the listening and reading papers- students should see their class teacher to find out the specific programme they should follow ( AQA GCSE vocab)

24

SPANISH

Yr 11 Languages GCSE – Support for Parents/Students

Speaking Controlled Assessment (CA) Information:There are 2 speaking CAs throughout the GCSE Each CA is a 4-6 minute conversation on a specific topic.Students will normally have completed their 2 speaking CAs by Easter, butin some circumstances a number of students might be attempting an additional speaking test to try to boost their grade.

For the speaking controlled assessments each student must: Have a task sheet with the required elements on Have prepared some answers to the bullet points on the task sheet Have prepared a planning sheet to help remember the conversation (40 words at the most in the

target language or English. No pictures/drawings/symbols/conjugated verbs are permitted)

Parents can support this learning by: Helping their child prepare an effective 40-word plan Test the conversation questions by asking each question and prompting the child when necessary Know the time and date of the speaking exam and encourage their child to be prepared mentally as

well as in terms of revision

Listening/Reading exam Information: These exams are in the main Summer examination period There are two exams of 30 mins each foundation/ 50 mins higher On the listening exam they hear a CD of French/Spanish/German questions

and note their answers On the reading exam they read small passages in French/Spanish/German and note down answers

(mainly multiple choice) Vocabulary revision is of utmost importance for these exams

By the listening /reading exam each student must: Have a list of common exam vocabulary learned Have practised the past papers in class and at home via the AQA website Have listened to/read French/Spanish/German in the morning of the exam to prepare themselves

mentally for the exam

Parents can support this learning by: Testing their child on the vocabulary lists Encouraging their child to listen to and read French/German/Spanish via revision websites for

focussed learning

25

Encouraging their child to attend the pre-exam practice in school

Access AQA website for past papers and mark schemes.

Internet revision.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/pe/

www.samlearning.com (school has issued passwords)

www.aqa.org.uk once on this site follow the links to PE and access past papers and exam tips.

Your class teacher will provide you with a list of key words and their meanings. Try to learn them all.

Revision classes will be arranged after school on days convenient to staff and students. Dates will be circulated with topics to be covered.Your class teacher will give you a revision guide which includes help with every topic covered.

Check all your work is up to date. Ask for any information you don’t have in your files or workbook.

Practise as many different types of questions as you can.

Section A includes multiple choice and short answers, one word or one/two sentence answers.

Section B is the scenario section where you have to answer in sentences and also continuous prose.

Don’t be shy! If there is anything that you are not sure of or need help with ask your teacher. Chances are you will not be the only one.

Go through all of your work and make notes on your notes!

Use a variety of techniques to help you cover all your work e.g;

o spider diagramso power pointso blind reveal

26

PE / SPORTS STUDIES

&

Your preparation for science terminal exams should have two stages; learning and revising the work covered in lessons and applying your understanding to answer exam questions.

Learning & revising

Download a copy of the syllabus from the OCR website (www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/by-subject/science/). If you cannot find it, ask your teacher. Go through the syllabus statements identifying those you understand and the statements that require further study. Write a set of revision notes based on the topics you do not understand. Topics in bold are for higher tier students only and modules B7, C7 and P7 are for Separate Science students only.

Using either the course textbook or revision guide, read the information on the topics that you do not understand. Reading by itself rarely leads to remembering and understanding, so re-write information that you have read in your own words, draw concept maps to link topics, create question and answer cards, or try to teach your family and friends new and difficult ideas. Revision guides are available from the science prep. room and cost £5 each.

The course textbooks are available as an ebook through Kerboodle or can be purchased from Oxford University Press: http://global.oup.com/ . Click on the tab ‘education’ and select ‘secondary’.

Use the online science resources to revise all units. Visit the website www.kerboodle.com and enter the login details that you have been issued with in class. If you are unable to login or have lost your details, speak to Mr Warland. Once on the site you will be requested to change your password. You can then either complete tasks set by your teacher or ones in the bank of practice tasks.

27

SCIENCESSEPARATE SCIENCES

DUAL AWARD

Access to the Biology, Chemistry and Physics textbooks in electronic format is also available through the Kerboodle website. The textbooks are the same as those used in lessons.

Applying your understanding

Once you have learnt and revised the material you now need to practise applying your understanding to answer exam questions. Complete as many past exam papers as possible, including those on the OCR website, FROG and the hardcopies given to you by your teacher. Remember the most important questions are those that you find difficult. Use the mark schemes on FROG, textbooks, revision guides, lesson notes and the internet to ensure all questions are completed.

Other sources of GCSE style questions include the exam practice questions in the textbook at the end of each module, the questions in the revision guides, workbook questions issued by your teacher and redoing class module tests.

Out of lesson support

Your science teachers are there to help you so if you have a question or are confused by a topic make the effort to see them before or after the lesson, before and after school or at break and lunch.

The science department will also be running afterschool revision sessions in May & June as well as intensive revision sessions during lessons closer to the summer exams.

Early morning (8.45-9.15am) intervention sessions for students at risk of not obtaining a grade C and/or are two grades below target will also run for identified students following the January mock exams.

If in doubt ask!

Other useful websites: www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/

www.youtube.com/user/virtualschooluk

www.khanacademy.org/

28

A revision programme will be in place in lessons when the controlled assessment task is complete.

The programme will include revision notes and each topic will be related to exam questions.

Students should work through their file making notes – bullet points, charts, spider diagrams to aid memory of key facts.

A revision checklist and comprehensive booklet will be provided to support revision at home.

A revision booklet will be issued to cover the content of Unit 1 (singles and doubles) and Unit 4 (doubles only).

Revision lessons are taking place with the emphasis on improving exam technique.

Students should use all notes from their previous units to help with revision questions set in class and for homework

A full revision programme will be in place in lessons when the controlled assessment task is complete after Easter.

The programme will include revision notes and each topic will be related to exam questions.

A revision lesson once a fortnight has been taking place since the beginning of Year 11, with the emphasis on improving exam technique.

Within ‘self study time’, students should work through their file making notes – bullet points, spider diagrams to aid memory of key facts.

29

TECHNOLOGY

FOOD & NUTRITION

HEALTH & SOCIAL

TEXTILES TECHNOLOGY

A revision checklist and the second part of a comprehensive booklet will be provided to support revision at home. (The first part was distributed prior to mock exams).

&

Once coursework is complete, students concentrate on exam preparation in lessons.

Every year the exam board supplies pre-release material for the written examination known as the ‘prep sheet’ for every student.

This year’s pre-release themes in Graphics and Resistant Materials will be received in March 2016. When students receive notification of these themes they must type the titles into Google. The themes will be on the first page of sites.

Worksheets and revision notes are created in lessons.

CGP Revision guides available for Resistant Materials and Graphic Products, in school for £5.

Internet Revision GSCE Bitesize www.designandtech.com www.technologystudent.com (lots of further links on this site!!!)

Past Papers and Mark Schemes are available on the AQA website. http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/design-and-technology#bm-GCSE

Download the APP Design and Technology Resistant Materials or Graphic Product revision and coursework

support application by J Plimmer.

Under the Start Programs under Technology, on school computers, select either:

1. Focus Technology2. Resistant Materials

These contain video clips, tonnes of information on manufacturing processes, materials information and mechanisms if you look for them.30

TECHNOLOGY

GRAPHICS RESISTANT MATERIALS

REVISION TIMETABLETerm Time (Example)

Targets: What I want to achieve this weekSubject Target DeadlineEnglish Complete reading “Of Mice and Men”. Essay to prepare Thursday 26 Nov

Biology Prep for unit 4 and 7 class test Friday 27 Nov

French Revise & Practise for CA written exam on Lifestyle (sections 1-4) CA write-upTuesday 1 Dec

Maths Unit 2 test preparation Wednesday 2 Dec

Art Update portfolio folder Ongoing

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

4.00 – 5.00pm

HomeworkBiologyunit 4prep

Biologyunit 7prep

H’workRead

throughMaths notes

9 – 11am

Footballmatch

x

5.00 –6.00pm

x Homework Homework x x 11 – 1pm

Footballmatch

x

6.00 –7.00pm

Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner MetroCentre

1 –3pm

x Art portfolio

7.00 –8.00pm

EnglishReading

&essay plan

xEnglishessay

FrenchCA section

3 & 4Cinema

and

Meal

3 – 5pm

FrenchCA

practise1-4

x

8.00 –9.00pm

FrenchCA sections

1 &2 x

Englishessay

Biology prep for

units 4 & 7 test

5 –7pm

Dinner Dinner

9.00 – 10.00pm

x x x x 7 –9pm

xFrench

CApractise

1-4Auntie Drama English Biology Cinema Saturday Go for

31

Week Beginning: Monday 23 November 2015

Notes Dorothyfor dinner

class7.30-9pm

essay intomorrow

testtomorrow

withRod, Jane & Freddy

Info night TV&

takeaway

walk PM

REVISION TIMETABLEIn School Term Time

Targets: What I want to achieve this weekSubject Target Deadline

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

4.00 – 5.00pm

9 – 11am

5.00 –6.00pm

11 – 1pm

6.00 –7.00pm

1 –3pm

7.00 –8.00pm

3 – 5pm

8.00 –9.00pm

5 –7pm

9.00 – 10.00pm

7 –9pm

Notes Info

32

Week Beginning:

REVISION TIMETABLE“HOLIDAY” TIME

MON TUES WEDS THURS FRIDAY SAT SUN

8.00am

9.00am

10.00am

11.00am

12 noon

1.00pm

2.00pm

3.00pm

4.00pm

5.00pm

6.00pm

7.00pm

8.00pm

33

Week Beginning: