Examinations 2023 (Years10-13)

Ofqual has confirmed that examinations will return to pre-pandemic grading in 2023, meaning students will not receive advance notice of any aspects of their syllabus the exams will cover. However, there will still be support in form of formulae in Maths and some science subjects. Full details are here.

Results day for GCSE will be 24 August 2023 and sixth form qualifications on 17 August 2023.

Supporting teens with revision (Years 10-13)

Years 11 and 13 will be taking their finals this summer, and Years 10 and 12 will sit mocks. Parents can’t revise for their teens, but they can help them develop a good system that works well for them, as well as providing support at home to keep them strong, both mentally and physically. Do share some of our articles with your parents on how they can help:

• The Parents' Guide to making study easier
• The Parents’ Guide to teaching your teen to revise well
• The Parents’ Guide to creating a revision timetable
• The Parents’ Guide to making study interesting

Homelife influences success (Years 10-13)

Parents can give a great deal of support by helping their teens establish habits that will support their studies, not only with revision but with good lifestyle routines, such as being active, eating well and getting enough sleep. This is a good time to share The Parents’ Guide to Homelife and exam revision – GCSE or The Parents’ Guide to Homelife and exam revision – sixth form (free to school members).

What’s next after GCSE? (Years 10-11)

It’s never too soon to plan ahead. For parents to have comfortable conversations with their teens about what they might like to after GCSE, they need to know what the options are! We’ve created a summary in our article: The Parents’ Guide to What my child can do after GCSEs and there’s full details in our specialist guide: The Parents’ Guide to Post 16 Options (free to members).

What’s next after sixth form? (Years 12-13)

For parents to have comfortable conversations with their teens about what they might like to after sixth form/college, they need to know what the options are! We’ve created a summary in our article: The Parents’ Guide to Options after school or college - helping your teen decide and there’s full details in our specialist guide: The Parents’ Guide to Post 18 Options (free to members).

Coming up: Stress Awareness Month

April is stress awareness month - raising awareness and creating solutions for rising stress levels. Stress is a particular problem for teenagers, manifesting itself in a variety of ways including inability to sleep, poor concentration and regularly feeling on edge, anxious, nervous and/or irritable. Causes include the pressure to succeed, comparisons with others (most teens live their lives publicly on virtual platforms), family issues, significant life changes (parents divorcing, moving home, changing school) and world events. The Young Minds charity has pages for parents with ideas on how they can talk to, help and support their teens.
 
Stress can’t be avoided but it can be managed and building mental resilience is key to this. Adopting small habits that promote wellbeing and doing them on a daily basis helps to increase positive mindsets. These small habits cover a broad range of activities from expressing gratitude, relaxing, getting physical and eating well. There’s plenty of advice in The Parents’ Guide to Teenage Anxiety and Stress (free to school members).

What’s happening in March 2023 (Y10-Y13)

Awareness days, weeks and months are often an excellent opportunity to highlight important issues and involve parents, whether in a newsletter, social media post or blog. Timely, relevant content can be planned well in advance. March includes National Careers Week, International Women’s Day, Red Nose Day and the whole month is dedicated Women’s History. Members can log into the members area/what’s next to find out details of these events (and others throughout the month) including links to school downloads where offered by the charities.
 

International Women’s Day: 8 Mar (Y10-Y13)

A global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. This year’s theme is #EmbraceEquity.

British Science Week: 10-19 Mar (Y10-Y13)

British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths. This year’s theme – connections!

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Support your child's application to university, financing a university degree, moving from school to university, and more.

The University of Exeter’s Discover University platform provides information, advice and guidance for prospective students, parents/guardians, teachers, and advisers about studying at university.

We understand how important it is for parents and supporters to be well-equipped to support their young person’s journey to higher education.

Our dedicated Discover University webpages and social media feeds will provide the key information needed at each stage of the journey. 

We also run regular webinars, specifically aimed at parents and supporters, covering a range of topics such as: 

• Student Finance
• Accommodation 
• Support Services for Students
• Support for Results Day 
• Preparation for University 

Sign up for the University of Exeter’s free webinars aimed at parents/supporters today:

WHY CHOOSE AN APPRENTICESHIP?

Apprenticeships have become increasingly more popular over the past five years, even more so now. There is a wide range of different and diverse roles you can pursue through an apprenticeship, be that in engineering, health and social care, business or even science.

BENEFITS OF AN APPRENTICESHIP

• Earn while you learn
• High quality training
• You can still get a degree
• Gain hands on experience in your chosen career and much more!

APPRENTICESHIP MYTHS

"Apprenticeships are for those who do not perform academically."

FALSE -  they are a fantastic opportunity for all kinds of people looking to expand their knowledge and upgrade their skill sets, by getting stuck right into a job.

"Apprenticeships are only for manual trade jobs."

FALSE - This is not entirely true, although there may be a wide range of apprenticeships in construction, engineering, IT services, which are very hands-on, there are also a vast choice of vocational trades such as law, fashion, media.

"Apprentices have no scope for progression."

FALSE - Approximately 65% of apprentices are hired on a permanent basis by their current employer after their programme has finished and a third who remain in the same company receive a promotion in their first year.

"Apprenticeships are only for entry level or low level workers."

FALSE - Whilst there are apprenticeships at lower levels, there are also a wide range of higher level and degree level apprenticeships. There is something for everyone.

"University graduates earn more than apprentices."

FALSE - There is a common misconception among young people (and parents) that university will set them up to earn more in the future. By the time a graduate has just qualified, an apprentice will have completed their End Point Assessment and will already have a year or two experience in the industry putting them ahead of fellow university graduates.

HEAR FROM OUR APPRENTICES

"I chose to do an apprenticeship as you gain qualifications and get paid while you're doing it as well as gaining relevant job experience." Adam started his career at NOCN as an IT apprentice three years ago. He has now progressed to Technical Analyst.

For further information, please visit www.nocn.org.uk