Year 10
Purpose of the evening
Exams
Assessments
Key Dates
Teenage Myths
• I’ve got no homework…
• It doesn’t matter how I do in the Year 10
exams…
• I can re-do my coursework….
• The best way to revise is…..
• My target grades are B’s, so I will be OK…
Jill.davidson@northumberland.gov.uk
English
Mr N A Hamilton
English
Students prepare for two qualifications:
• GCSE English Language
• GCSE English Literature
GCSE English Literature (9715)
Exam Board AQA
Two Levels of entry –
Foundation
Higher
Your son/daughter’s performance this academic year
will begin to determine which level they will finally be
entered for in the summer of 2016.
GCSE English Literature
• The coursework will be completed in year 10 –
one controlled assessment which is worth
25% of their total mark – a comparative essay
on Shakespeare and poetry.
• Examination texts will be studied during year
10 and 11 working towards two written exams
in the summer of 2016
Literature exams
Unit 1: Exploring modern texts (1hr 30)
– ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘DNA’
Unit 2: Poetry across time (1hr 15)
– ‘The Moon on the Tides’ Anthology - the
‘Relationships’ cluster and an unseen poetry
question.
English Language
• All students follow AQA GCSE English
Language (4705)
• The coursework component is 40% for GCSE
made up of four assessments
• One examination paper worth 60%:
Understanding and producing non-fiction
texts (2hr 15) – Section A tests reading,
Section B tests writing – two levels of entry:
• Foundation
• Higher
Three Top Tips for English
• Become familiar with the texts your son/daughter
is studying and discuss them.
• Past papers and mark schemes are available on
the AQA website:
• http://www.aqa.org.uk/examsadministration/exams-guidance/find-past-papersand-mark-schemes
• Encourage your son/daughter to read and discuss
non-fiction texts e.g. newspapers, leaflets,
magazines
Revision Guides
• English Literature – specific text guides are
commercially available to buy
• English Language guides are available in the
library or to buy commercially (Pearson
‘Always Learning’ Revise AQA GCSE – by Tier)
• English Language workbooks also available
commercially (Pearson ‘Always Learning’
Revise AQA GCSE – by Tier)
Maths
Mr M Smith
GCSE Maths
Two Tiers
Higher Tier – Edexcel 1MA0H
Foundation Tier – OCR J567F
NO Coursework!
• Both a blessing and a curse.
QWC Questions (4 Marks)
QWC Questions (5 Marks)
QWC Questions (5 Marks)
www.mymaths.co.uk
www.mathswatchvle.com
Top Tip for Maths
• Be positive about maths – it is a key qualification for all
students
• Encourage them to begin working independently – 30 mins
twice a week at this stage would be ideal
• Don’t revise things that they already know how to do –
challenge themselves to improve/ perfect 1 new skill each
time they revise.
• Don’t be discouraged – we all make mistakes but over time
these will reduce and the marks will improve.
• Practise, Practise, Practise!!!
Maths Revision Guides
One revision guide, one workbook sold as a pair.
They cost £5 (50%RRP) for the pair.
Science
Miss S Neale
GCSE Sciences
Exam Board AQA
Two Routes
Science A and Additional Science
Biology, Chemistry and Physics
Both routes prepare students for Level 3 study of Science subjects
Biology, Chemistry and Physics
Students will take three exams in each subject in
May and June of year 11. These marks are
combined with the ISA mark to give an overall
grade.
All modules have equivalent weighting (25%)
Science A and Additional Science
Science A
Students will take the Science A qualification in
year 10. This is ONE GCSE.
Students will take one exam in Biology (B1),
Chemistry (C1) and Physics (P1) in June.
Additional Science
This GCSE qualification is completely separate
from Science A and is taken in year 11.
Science A and Additional Science
Science A
ISA date: Wednesday 10th November
Lessons after half term will all be used to
prepare students for this
What is an ISA?
Investigative Skills Assignment
Research
Exam 1: Hypothesis, Plan, Results Table
Practical Work
Graph
Exam 2: Own results analysis, Case Studies
What is an ISA?
Specimen ISAs and examiners commentaries are
available on the AQA website
http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/support/pdf/AQA-SCIENCECONTROLLED-ASSESSMENT-LEAFLET.PDF
QWC Questions (6 Marks)
In this question you will be assessed on using
good English, organising information clearly
and using specialist terms where appropriate.
Students are presented with an A4 side of
information to read, often including charts or
graphs.
QWC Questions (6 Marks)
They are then asked to
• describe a process
• give advantages/disadvantages
• evaluate a new development
• explain the data
In this question you will be assessed on using good
English, organising information clearly and using
specialist terms where appropriate.
Three Top Tips for Science
Download past exam papers and mark schemes
from AQA website
Watch and make notes from the website
myGCSEScience
Encourage your child to use the BBC website:
– use the bitesize revision materials
– watch science programmes from iPlayer
– browse the scientific news articles
Science Revision Guides
Nelson Thornes revision guides are available
from the science technicians.
They cost £3.25 (50%RRP) each.
All Students
• Year 10 Exam Week – 23rd March
• Careers’ Week –
th
13
July