Supporting students: a parent’s perspective

By Andrew Taylor
Published 09 March 2022

Andrew reflects on his own GCSEs and A-levels and explores how parents can support their children through exams and revision.

Knowing it all at 18 (or not)

Fast forward some years – I won’t say how many – and my son, Will, has recently had his own wake-up call having just taken his GCSE mocks, but where Will and I have both had this experience, the circumstances are very different.

More than just revision

Something I think about when comparing my experience to Will’s is the reason my wake-up call was needed: I was more interested in passing my driving test and going out with friends than studying, but Will’s been impacted by something entirely out of his control.

Where my realisation meant I needed to go back and revise areas I struggled with, Will may well have to go back and learn areas he didn’t even realise he’d missed because of the circumstances of the pandemic.

Making it manageable

Now that Will has realised the areas he needs to improve on, he needs to make sure he’s using his time wisely because there is still time. I won’t be writing Will’s revision timetable for him, but I have encouraged him to create one for himself; I get him to put timetables up around his room as a reminder of what he needs to do, and when, so he can break the revision (or learning) into manageable chunks.

It can seem overwhelming but now’s the time to focus and I remind Will of that, always with that end goal in mind: “Just an hour more today and imagine the 9 weeks of freedom in the summer – actual freedom where you can socialise knowing that you have done all you could in your exams!”

What’s normal?

I think we’re all looking forward to that kind of normality this year. The past two years have been extraordinary. For students in particular, since the start of the pandemic, they’ve dealt with intermittent home-schooling, online learning and the cancellation of two exam series. I can relate to Will’s recent wake-up call, but I can’t relate to how overwhelming it must be to be back at school after two years of disruption, particularly in year 11.

Knowing what we know (and what we don’t!)

I might not know what it’s like to be a teenager, during a pandemic, taking exams for the first time, but I do know how to make a good brew. I do know where there’s a nice, quiet spot in my house for Will to work without disruption. I do know how to encourage Will to take regular breaks. And, most importantly, I do know my role as a parent: to be there for Will whenever he needs me, whatever the problem.

All we can focus on as parents is what we do know – we don’t know if any of it will help, but that’s ok, we’re all just doing our best.

The blame game

We’re not the only ones doing our best. I have one teenage son to encourage as he takes exams after a pandemic. Teachers have thirty. Per class.

I look back at a couple of my teachers, Mr Hirani for maths and Mr Greaves for chemistry. They cared about me doing well, even when I didn’t care enough myself. That’s why I respected them and probably why I remember them too.

A shift in attitude

I can tell that Will has more appreciation of how useful school actually is, how hard his teachers work and how good they really are. As parents, we need to mirror this positivity as best we can and trust that academically teachers really do know what they’re doing. If you’re worried this isn’t the case, talk to them.

People’s confidence in schools might’ve been knocked as they adjusted to the conditions of the pandemic and switched to online learning, but now isn’t the time for the blame game. We’ve all had to adjust in the past couple of years and schools have responded remarkably to the challenges they have faced whilst many of us were still struggling to unmute before speaking. Though some in the media might try to tell us otherwise, we all really do want what’s best for our children as parents, teachers and exam board employees.