GCSE EXAMINATIONS

A Parent's Guide to GCSE Exams

Your involvement can make a difference - the difference between success and failure or between C and D passes and As and Bs. There are a number of stages in the process of achieving exam success. The secret of good results in exams is about getting things right at each step of the process.

•    1: Learning the content first time round
The process of revision does assume that the content of the subject has been learnt in the first place - every lesson counts, therefore good attendance is essential
•    2: Revision
Even the 'perfect student', who has attended every lesson and paid attention throughout the exam years, needs to revise to achieve his or her potential.
•    3: The exam itself
Even with the first two stages successfully achieved, things can still go wrong. There are three sets of skills involved in taking exams - knowing the subject matter, organisational skills and 'exam technique'.
Coursework
•        Make sure coursework has been completed. It can make the difference between a reasonable grade and a good grade.
Revision
•        The biggest mistake that pupils make is not allowing enough time for revision
•        Choose one good revision guide for each subject - it's the best investment you will make
•        Help your child plan their revision timetable
•        Show an interest in how the revision is going, talk through any difficulties and be prepared to help them reschedule their planning as necessary
•        Make sure that your child revises for every exam exam
•        Encourage your child to keep a positive perspective
•        Ensure that your child is prepared for the exam and talk through where and when it is, what  they need to take etc.
•        Before the exam, remind them that you love and value them whatever happens.  Remind them of any strategies they have for keeping calm, and wish them good luck.
•      After an exam, ask how it went but don't insist on a long post-mortem.
More information, including the full version of this document and key website links can be found on the school website in the “For Parents” section http://www.city.sheffield.sch.uk
GOOD LUCK

For a longer and more detailed document which you can download or view on screen please click here.

The City School achieves Green Flag Status

Presentation of the Green Flag to The City School’s Eco-Schools Committee by Jan Wilson, Leader of Sheffield City Council.

Presentation of cheque for £2000 in the Town Hall in recognition of The City School achieving Eco-Schools Green Flag status.

The City School is the first Secondary School in South Yorkshire to receive this internationally recognized environmental standard.

Eco School What is Eco-Schools?

The Eco-Schools scheme provides a simple framework to enable the school to analyse its environmental attitudes and try to become more sustainable.
By following the scheme, the school will become a more stimulating place in which to learn, whilst reducing the environmental impact of the whole school on the community.
The scheme is rooted in a genuine desire to help pupils become more effective citizens by encouraging them to take responsibility for the future of their own environment.
It is not just about environmental excellence, but rather it is about the school starting to look at how it impacts upon the environment and how this is decided upon, and can be managed.
Pupil involvement is a key part of the Eco-Schools scheme. Having pupils engaged in the whole process, including monitoring, action planning and decision-making, leads to genuine ownership of the scheme and an increase in their sense of responsibility for the school environment and local area.
It is also an award scheme that will raise the profile of the school in the wider community and is a visible ‘pat on the back’ for all the students who have given up their free time to contribute.
There are three award levels: (See Eco-School Timeline for all the activities tackled in order to raise environmental awareness to date)
• Bronze award – The City School achieved this in October 2005 (for tackling the litter problem in and around school, raising awareness of the environment amongst staff and students and recycling all our waste paper and card for collection by Veolia)
• Silver award – The City School achieved this in June 2006 (for our work with the wider school community, especially for our links with the village of Malealea in Lesotho, Southern Africa  www.malealea.org )
• Green Flag – We applied for this in December 2007 and will be externally inspected on February 22 2008 (If we are successful it will probably be because we are having some success in our aim to be a carbon-neutral school, as we now have an operating wind turbine and a bio-mass boiler awaiting installation)
Eco-Schools is run internationally by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and groups can be found in schools all over the world. It is administered by ENCAMS (Keep Britain Tidy group) in England and supported by a wide variety of partners.
Some of the regular Eco-School committee members are also on the Student Council (a discussion forum across all school years to bring about change) so can take part in joint activities which are mutually beneficial to each group. For the second year running the school sent delegates representing each group to take part in Sheffield City Council’s Wicked Waste Conference this January. The delegates met in the beautiful surroundings of The Cutler’s Hall and spent all day in stimulating workshops, getting ideas about waste management and curbing litter, to bring back to school to share with the rest of the environment groups.



A group of Y7 students with Miss Harrison helping plant bulbs provided by the "Friends of Richmond Park"

The City School has 4 Eco School rules!

YES to recycling YES to energy conservation

NO to litter and graffiti in our school NO to waste (energy, food & paper)

The new website for Malealea? http://www.malealea.org.uk




Matete Nena, Deputy High Commissioner Lesotho High Commission attended the launch of the new web site for Malealea.

Ten things you didn't know about eco schools... Click here to read them!

We have another version of the 3 Rs here in school!

Reduce ReuseRecycle

If you are interested in seeing just how involved we are at The City School then read the timeline showing what we have done during the past 4 to 5 years! Click here to see the timeline document

There are five outcomes for Every Child Matters and we believe by coming to Eco-Schools and joining in with the activities we are able to achieve all of them.

Being Healthy
Belonging to Eco-Schools, we know how important it is to walk to school or use public transport as this is healthy for us and the environment.
Wherever possible the group will try to eat locally grown, in-season food and not fruit and vegetables that have been flown halfway round the world.

Staying safe
Belonging to Eco-Schools has made us aware of how dangerous and damaging litter can be as it looks awful and encourages rats who, in turn, can be dangerous to our health.

Enjoying and Achieving
Belonging to Eco-Schools has broadened our horizons as we can attend conferences, meet important people like Alan Johnson, a cabinet minister, and work with university students helping them with the research for their dissertations.

Making a Positive Contribution
Belonging to Eco-Schools has made us very aware of our world and how we can influence change. We are hoping to be involved in the Building Schools for the Future project from the start as we have lots of ideas on how the new building can be environmentally sustainable.
The Eco-School students who are old enough would relish the opportunity to travel to Malealea in Lesotho and take part in the community projects The City School is involved in.

 Achieving Economic Wellbeing
Belonging to Eco-Schools has made the group aware that there are many careers and opportunities open to them within the Ecology Movement from politics to conservation.