Contents
Welcome to the Key Stage 4 Micro-Site! A source of information for Tytherington School’s KS4 students and their parents…
Also, don’t forget the other information, revision support and materials that are available for access via FireFly.
Summer Examinations
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) has published the Key Dates in the Examination Cycle information for GCSE, GCE and Project qualifications in the Summer 2023 series.
The date of the first exam on the common timetable is Monday 15th May 2023. The afternoons of Thursday 8th June 2023 and Thursday 15th June 2023 are Contingency sessions in the event of national or significant local disruption to examinations in the United Kingdom.
Wednesday 21st June 2023 is the date of the final exam on the common timetable for GCSE and Tuesday 27th June 2023 is the date of the final exam on the common timetable for GCE (A-Levels). Wednesday 28th June 2023 is the Contingency Day in the event of national or significant local disruption to examinations in the United Kingdom and all candidates are expected to make themselves available up to and including the Contingency Day.
It is time to get yourself prepared for you summer examinations at the end of Key Stage 4. “What’s in your hands…?” is a reminder of the power that you have to impact your own future through the efforts that you make now. Consider the message that it gives and what you can do…
Exams Timetable
The national exams timetable has been published and you can download an Excel spreadsheet that you can filter to create a personalised timetable by clicking here.
Please follow @TythyDHTMrP on Twitter for updates to this.
Mock Examinations and Assessment Windows
When mock examinations are due to take place, details of them will appear here.
| From | To | Formal Assessment |
| Monday 6th November 2023 | Friday 17th November 2023 | Year 11 Core Subject Assessments (English, Maths & Science) |
| Monday 15th January 2024 | Friday 26th January 2024 | Year 11 Mock Examinations Timetable |
| Monday 17th June 2024 | Friday 5th July 2024 | Year 10 Mock Examinations Timetable |
Please follow @TythyDHTMrP on Twitter for updates to this.
Professionally Predicted Grades
PPGs are a prediction of how well a student is expected to do when considering their controlled assessments, ongoing assessment and effort and attitude:
Other subjects, especially the core subjects of English & Mathematics, will be running “Walking-Talking Mocks” and other mock examination style sessions in order to support our students in their readiness for the real thing.
Revision & Support Sessions
As the year progresses details of revision and CA or other coursework support sessions will appear here.
The following table shows the targeted revision and controlled assessment improvement sessions that are running at present for Year 10 students in the final weeks of the academic year and in preparation for their mock exams:
| Subject | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Other/Notes |
| English | After School, 15:10-15:40 for Year 11
Jubilee Block |
– | – | – | – | – |
| Mathematics | – | – | After School, 15:10-16:00
Year 11 in M2 Year 10 in M4 |
– | – | – |
| Biology | – | After School, 15:10-16:00 in S1 | – | – | – | – |
| Chemistry | Moved to Thursday | – | – | After School, 15:10-16:00 in S6 | – | – |
| Physics | – | – | After School, 15:10-16:00 in S10 | – | – | – |
Please see FireFly for the GCSE Essentials resources page, plus a wealth of general and subject specific revision materials to support your independent study.
Please follow @TythyDHTMrP on Twitter for updates to this.
Holiday Revision Schools
As the year progresses details of any Holiday Revision School sessions will appear here.
Please see FireFly for the GCSE Essentials resources page, plus a wealth of general and subject specific revision materials to support your independent study.
Aiding Revision & Preparing Yourself
Please follow @TythyDHTMrP on Twitter for updates to this and the other KS4 Micro-Site pages.
The table below gives you some sources of great general information and resources to help you prepare and do the best that you can when your exams come around:
| Web Link | Description of Resource |
| Mock Examinations at Tytherington School | Mock examinations serve many purposes and provide many benefits. More than students, teachers and parents may give them credit for. This guide is for Students, Staff and Parents regarding their benefits and making best use of them. |
| Parent & Student Revision Guide | Our own revision guide offers information and ideas on revision, study and how parents can support their children. |
| Chunked & Spaced Revision | Combining principles to plan revision and succeed – An article to help you understand the principles with an example and blank, printable, template of a weekly ‘Chunked & Spaced’ Revision Timetable. |
| Long-Term Revision Plan | This sheet can be printed on to A3 paper and offers a framework for planning revision over a long period of time, using the principles of ‘Chunked & Spaced’ revision. |
| SENECA Learning | A highly recommended revision site that was mentioned in the Ninth Edition of ‘The Journey’. |
| ExamTime | ExamTime is your place for Revision Tips/Sample Resources/Study Tools and much much more |
| Get Revising | Everything you need to find, create, and share study resources |
| BBC Bitesize | A home of both study guides and class clips |
| S-cool | GCSE revision site with guides and question banks |
| Guide to Revision from OCR | A guide to revision from OCR. |
| Skills Guides from OCR | We’ve produced a set of skills guides that aren’t subject specific, but each cover a topic that could be relevant to a range of qualifications – for example ‘communication’, ‘legislation’ and ‘research’. (OCR) |
| Surviving Exams | NHS tips on surviving exams and coping with exam anxiety |
|
(Large Download) |
A collection of 20 recipes designed especially by chef Mark Lloyd, all including ingredients that will enable students to feel fuller for longer and perform well. |
The ultimate key to success in your exams is to do the best that you can in your coursework and begin revising early so that you feel prepared and ready.
From Your NHS Youth Ambassador for Cheshire East
The NHS Youth Ambassador for Cheshire East, in partnership with Leighton Hospital and the Cheshire East public health team, has undertaken a project to create a leaflet informing Year 11 students about the importance of their physical health around the GCSE exam season, focusing especially on nutrition.
Having completed her GCSE’s last year she became aware of conflicting advice from both her own school and her fellow students about how to best prepare her mind and body for the challenges of the intense revision period. She feels that the health choices she made contributed to her academic success and enabled me to achieve 3 grade 9’s and 8 A* at GCSE.
Her leaflet can be downloaded here.
VISYON ‘Space to Talk’
Visyon is a charity that supports the emotional health of children, young people and their families in the Cheshire and Staffordshire moorlands areas – see https://www.visyon.org.uk/
They run open access ‘Space to Talk’ sessions for Year 11 students that are feeling anxious about their GCSEs after-school on a Wednesday afternoon at the Waters Green Medical Centre.
Students aged 15+ can book 30 minute slots to talk to a Counsellor – call 01260 290000 to book.
Parental Support for Students
| Parent & Student Revision Guide | Our own revision guide offers information and ideas on revision, study and how parents can support their children. |
From Your NHS Youth Ambassador for Cheshire East
The NHS Youth Ambassador for Cheshire East, in partnership with Leighton Hospital and the Cheshire East public health team, has undertaken a project to create a leaflet informing Year 11 students about the importance of their physical health around the GCSE exam season, focusing especially on nutrition.
Having completed her GCSE’s last year she became aware of conflicting advice from both her own school and her fellow students about how to best prepare her mind and body for the challenges of the intense revision period. She feels that the health choices she made contributed to her academic success and enabled me to achieve 3 grade 9’s and 8 A* at GCSE.
Her leaflet can be downloaded here.
From Partners in Excellence (PiXL)
Partners in Excellence (PiXL) have been looking into support that Parents can provide to their children in the build up to and during examinations. The following documents provide information, including practical tips for supporting students and recipes to provide the “Power to Perform”:
| Resource | Description of Resource |
| Prepare to Perform | A guide for parents providing 10 tips for supporting children through their exams. |
|
(Large Download) |
A collection of 20 recipes designed especially by chef Mark Lloyd, all including ingredients that will enable students to feel fuller for longer and perform well. |
KS4 Information Evening Resources
KS4 Information Evenings
Our KS4 Information Evenings provide students and parents with a great opportunity to learn more about Key Stage 4 and how to work together to get the best out of Years 10 & 11.
Below are the presentations from the most recent KS4 Information Evenings:
| Resource | Description of Resource |
| Take me to the web-page | The presentations from the most recent Year 10 Information Evening. |
| Take me to the web-page | The presentation from the most recent Year 11 Information Evening. |
Below are a number of resources from the past KS4 Information Evenings that remain relevant:
| Resource | Description of Resource |
| IPA – Ideas Plan Answer Presentation | A model for getting the most out of students in their literacy-based work |
| IPA Resource | Resources to use at home to work together to develop the speed and quality of literacy-based work (page 2 is a printable IPA worksheet with a guide to the sheet on page 11). |