February/ March PPEs
PPE 3 is upon us! the last round of mock assessments will start on Wednesday 7th Febraury and run until Wednesday 4th March. Students have been issued individual timetables which factor in any subject clashes and also provide room and seat information. To support parents and students during the assessments a daily text will be sent out as a reminder of the assessments the following day. The full timetable of assessments is below:
Expectations and information
During the PPEs we expect students to be in full uniform, on time and fully equipped. This is the last opportunity to practice before the real GCSEs start in May. Our invigilators have been trained to apply JCQ rules. Any student failing to adhere will be removed from the exam room in accordance with JCQ guidence and parents contacted. In the real GCSE this would result in the paper or entire qualification being disqualified. Running PPEs as full ‘dress rehearsals’ helps us to prepare students as fully as possible and knowing what to expect helps to reduce worry in the run up to the real thing.
In order to realise their full potential all students need to revise. Subjects have been preparing classes with paper materials and links to online platforms. In tutor time students have been provided with revision planner templates to support and encourage a planned approach. As parents you dont need to be subject or revision experts; ensuring that your child has a space to work in and is committing to and completing revision every day without distractions such as their phone will provide them with the best chance of success.
All students have been given a printed revision checklist that you may want to look through with them. February Mocks Revision Checklist 2024.pdf
For those of you wanting to know more about the revision strategy students are advised to follow here is some further information about the three methods we have shown students to use; retrieval, interleaving and spaced practice:
Attendance during the PPEs is crucial. We are not running catchup sessions because we want to protect curriculum time. If your child is feeling under the weather on an assessment day we will make adjustments to allow them to come on site for the exam itself and then support them to leave again. Because attendance during this time is so important we will be in touch with all absentees daily; if absences are unauthorised and we are unable to speak to a parent or carer we may conduct a home visit to offer support in coming into the academy.
PPE readiness checklist
Students
- Fully equipped each day including a calculator every day, clear water bottles can also be brought into exam rooms.
- On time and in full uniform.
- Revising in the run up to assessments
- Giving every assessment their best go
Parents
- Contact the academy before 8am if your child is unwell to arrange support in completing assessments. [email protected] can also be emailed.
- Ensure that your child is revising during the half term free of mobile phone distractions
- Check that your child has the equipment they need the night before
