New to England, GCSE and School system help?

Hi, my name is Yiechang and I've just moved to Manchester from Australia
(woot). I'm 16 next March and think I'll be going to Yr 11 (?), would an informed person please explain how I can catch up/ fit in with the curriculum and how the testing works?

Also, how strict is the uniform code? My school uniform is supposed to be a white blouse and black skirt, does that mean I can wear ANY type so long as it's 'appropriate'?

Thanks in advance :biggrin:

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1

User182034

Original post by Yiechang

You'll be year 11 if you're turning 16 in this academic year, and year 11 is usually the second year of GCSEs. Usual procedure is to choose your GCSEs during year 9 and study for them through year 10 and 11. Obviously you've missed the year 10 things, but I imagine your school will check what you covered at your old school and do their best to fit you into their GCSE classes to sit for your qualifications next summer. In terms of catching up, I used good revision guides for my GCSE study and they usually give you a good idea of the topics you'll need to know for your exams. I recommend CGP revision guides, and also Letts and Collins. You can find them in most book shops (WHSmith, Waterstones etc) but you might get a better deal if you search for them on Amazon or other online stores.

You usually have some choice when it comes to choosing year 11 subjects, but you'll obviously be sitting maths, English and the sciences (either 'double science' or the single sciences of chemistry, physics and biology). Humanities subjects will be chosen from history, geography and religious studies (you may have the option of things like business studies and sociology). You'll probably also do a language such as French, German or Spanish depending on what you've studied already. And then the arts subjects will be chosen from art, music, textiles and the like. I only sat 3 GCSEs, but at most schools you can sit anything from 6/7 to 11 subjects. I don't know how it works at your particular school. Some exam modules are (or at least used to be..) sat in November, but most exams in all subjects take place in the summer. If you're only just registering at school you won't be sitting exams next month.

In terms of the uniform, there's usually a certain style of skirt worn but again I don't know your specific school. Most high school skirts are straight and worn above the knee.

Reply 2

tgwktm

Original post by Yiechang

as you are going into yr11 you would have missed the first year of gcse (year 10) however, i think your school will sort it out to see how much you have done and then decide on how it would be best for you to catch up if necessary. as for what gcse's you take it does depend on your schools policy. for example at mine we had to do double science as well as english and maths and we also had to do either english literature, english media or film studies alongside our english language gcse. some schools also make you do a language and a humanities subject but for me these were optional although i did do several humanities (geography and history) along with a language (spanish). my school also made us do a gcse short course which is basically half a gcse in R.E (ethics). as i said this does depend on what your school requires you to do. you may also get the option to study some non gcse qualifications such as ECDL (european computer driving licence) and OCR nationals (i did a OCR nationals level 1/2 in ICT and it was very useful).

exams now take place mainly in the summer, although i think a few modules do still take place in november but i doubt you will be entered for these. my school did mock exams in january and end of topic tests which were basically a past paper covering that specific topic.

as for revision and catching up i would recommend you make a revision timetable so you an set time aside each day to revise a couple of subjects. the way i did this was to revise subjects during the week and on weekends i would do past papers. past papers are really important as it gives you the opportunity to get a feel for the exam paper and know how to structure your answers and also see how questions are layed out and which ones come up the most. this is in my opinion the best way to revise maths. past papers can be found on your exam boards website. find a revision method that works for you, this may be making flashcards, mind maps or you may find that just rewriting your notes in bullet point form is best for you. no doubt you will be told by your school the best way to revise, but really it is down to what works best for you. get hold of revision guides from amazon, you may not need them for all subjects and sometimes your teacher will give them to you anyway, they will help with filling in any gaps in things you may have missed or don't understand. make sure you get the correct one for your exam board though.

as for uniform, some schools are stricter than others, mine wouldn't let you wear a skirt that was above the knee, which was stupid but it is best to check with your school about that.

i hope this helps you and if you need to ask anything else feel free to PM me. :smile: