Preparing for Next Year Part 2

Useful Guide for Parents Old and New - KEY STAGE 4

 

Key stage 4 - Choices for students aged 14

Around age 14, your child will be able to make choices for study from 14 to 16 (key stage 4). This stage of your child’s education calls for more choices than at earlier stages:

• your child has to make choices about subjects, and might end up studying a unique mix of subjects;
• there are choices to be made about styles of assessment: should your child choose an option with lots of coursework, or will they be better off with exams?
• and at the same time as studying for exams, you and your child will be thinking about the next steps: what do they intend to do after age 16?

This section gives information you will find useful when your child is about 14. It also gives some answers to questions parents have about study and coursework during the two years that follow.

 

Which qualification?

Between 14 and 16, your child will spend most of their school study time working towards qualifications. Memorial International School of Tirana offers mainly GCSE’s and their international equivalent, IGCSE’s at KS4.

The information that follows explains how these qualifications work.

GCSE’s - General Certificates of Secondary Education

IGCSE’s – International GCSE’s

GCSE’s replaced O-levels and CSE’s in 1988. Most students should take GCSE’s in most of their subjects.

It usually takes two years to study for a GCSE. Coursework is part of most GCSE’s: work over an extended period, which could include essays, field work reports, art work, making products, or investigations.

GCSE’s are graded A*-G. The grade your child gets will depend on coursework and exam marks.

Students might take exams only once (at the end of year 11, aged 16) or twice (at the end of years 10 and 11).

GCSE tiers

At some time during year 10, when your child is aged 15-16, teachers will decide which tier they should enter in each of their GCSE’s.

Each tier has a target range of grades that can be awarded. The aim is for your child to take an exam in which their ability will be tested, without their being thrown off course by questions that are much too difficult or much too easy. Some GCSE subjects are not tiered: art and design, history, music, PE and religious studies, for example. Other GCSEs have tiers.

 

Studying from 14-16

Coursework and exams

The descriptions of the various subjects in the KS4 School Booklet will give you an idea of the different styles of study and assessment your child may meet. Some qualifications award more of their final marks through exams - but even for GCSE’s your child is likely to have to present a substantial amount of coursework. Find out what the mix is for each qualification your child is taking.

Coursework is different from homework, although to parents the activity may look much the same. The difference is simple: if it’s coursework, the mark your child gets for it will count towards their final grade.

This guide can’t generalise about the amount of homework and coursework your child will have to do every week because it will vary according to the ebb and flow of individual subjects and qualifications. Your child’s teachers will be able to give accurate advice.

It is very important that students pace and organise their work through the two years. It is tempting to organise your child if you think they are not doing the right amount of work on time, but remember that your child needs to learn to organise their own work, and interference can sometimes be very counter-productive. It is more productive to help your child sort out the big picture. For example, you might look through the scheme for each qualification with your child, noting when they will have to hand in coursework, when they will have to sit exams or tests, and how much each of these is worth. You and your child could draw up a timetable covering the two years from 14 to 16 showing the critical points for each qualification. Your child is then free to organise their work week by week, but can ask for more help from you when they feel they need it.

The homework tips dotted throughout the key stage 3 section of this guide are also relevant for parents of 14-16 year olds.

 

Spelling and punctuation

Some parents who have been asked to look at their children’s work wonder whether they should correct punctuation and spelling if the subject is not English.

When assessors are marking coursework and exam scripts, some of the marks available will be deducted for English errors - typically 5 - 10%. This means that if your child writes incorrectly, they will lose a significant portion of the marks.

So in marking terms there is a limit to how much your child can lose with poor spelling, punctuation or grammar. If your child asks for your help with geography you will need to spend more time talking about the key concepts and knowledge for geography than about incorrect English.

But writing correctly is essential for English GCSE and it plays an important part in almost every job in adult working life. This is why the government has put a lot of emphasis on literacy for every student. So if your child is making a lot of errors they will need to spend some extra time improving their skills. Take advice from your child’s teacher.

 

Help! Answers to questions

Frequently asked questions

‘This guide says that most students reach the ‘target for every child’ by age 14. But I’m worried that my child won’t.’

In the key stage 3 section of this guide, the ‘targets for every child’ in each subject described what children should be able to do and know. Levels 5 and 6 are the National Curriculum target for 14 year olds.

The aim of the targets is to give a level that most students should have reached by a certain age. There will always be some students below and others beyond the target. If your child finds their work easy, talk to their teachers about what target they should be aiming for - they may need to aim higher. If your child is likely to find level 5 or 6 hard when they get to age 14, the school will tell you in good time.

Qualifications taken at 16 are not assessed using National Curriculum levels. Although National Curriculum levels are not used at 16, the levels your child reaches at 14 give schools a good idea of how well your child is progressing towards the challenges of GCSEs and other qualifications.

If the school says that your child is likely to find it hard to reach the target, remember: students develop at different rates. Some may not reach the level at the given age, but will catch up later. At the moment, however, your child may need extra help from their school and from you. Talk to their teacher about how you can help.

‘Where can I find help if my child has health or social problems at school?’

School is about much more than learning: it’s about your child growing up, making friends, growing in confidence. School might bring all kinds of questions: for example, what kind of books and uniform do you need to buy? How can you get through to your child when they are moody, bored or resentful? This guide focuses on learning between the ages of 11 and 16, and there isn’t space to look at many other questions.

‘I see there are tips in this guide, but I don’t have time to do them all - will my child be left behind?’

No. The tips in this guide are there for you to help your child as they plan their homework and coursework, but at this age children need to learn to take responsibility for their own study. So the tips will come in useful from time to time, especially when your child asks for help. The main thing is always to show an interest in what your child is learning at school.

‘My child seems to have difficulty keeping up at school and finds the work difficult. What can I do?’

Talk regularly to your child’s teachers. You don’t have to wait for a parents’ evening: you can ask the school for an appointment with your child’s teachers at any time. Find out more about what your child is doing at school and ask the teacher what your child could do at home to help their learning at school. See also ‘special educational needs’ in the ‘Teacher talk’ section.

‘Will my child be taught sex and relationship education?’

Yes. Find out more in the parent conference.

‘My child just wants to watch television instead of doing homework. Help!’

Television can encourage learning if chosen carefully. For example, some wildlife documentaries are excellent explanations of important topics in science and geography. Schools don’t always have time to show these kinds of television programmes in full. So if your child watches them, this will add to their school learning.

However, homework is important and sometimes it may be demanding. On many occasions it will be best simply to turn the TV off (or record the programme!), and give your child both encouragement and support when they are not motivated.