Latest news with #examseason
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Votes for 16-year-olds will ‘disrupt exam season'
Sir Keir Starmer's plan to lower the voting age to 16 will disrupt exam season, a Tory shadow minister has claimed. Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, said young people do not need the 'added pressure' of deciding whether to focus on their exams or 'stay up to watch' political debates. Downing Street this week confirmed a proposal that will mean 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote at the next general election and potentially in local elections before then. The GCSE and A-Level exam season usually spans May and the first half of June – traditionally the time of year at which prime ministers have been most likely to call elections. Ms Coutinho, who has recently returned from maternity leave, told Times Radio: 'The thing that I worry about, and I might be speaking as a new mum, is that it's exam season. 'Elections are often in May, June, July and I don't really think 16 and 17-year-olds need this added pressure of being dragged into politics.' She added: 'Can you imagine saying, 'OK, I've got this right, it's a new right, I've got exam season coming up but maybe I should stay up to watch this political debate, maybe I should be out there campaigning.' 'Personally, I think 18 is the right age. I have no problem with politicians wanting to compete for younger votes [...] I don't think you have a massive difference between 18 and 16.' Ms Coutinho went on to say that because most 16 to 17-year-olds would be sitting GCSEs or AS-Level exams, 'I just don't think it is the right thing for them'. Sir Keir's son was taking his GCSEs when the last general election was called. The now-Prime Minister then borrowed an £18 million penthouse flat from Lord Alli, saying this allowed his son to study for his exams without walking past journalists or protesters. He said at the time: 'We had a situation where the election was called. Not what we expected. 'My son happened to be in the middle of his GCSEs. That means there are a lot of journalists outside the front door and in the street. I'm not complaining about that. 'But if you're 13, as my girl is, if you're 16, as my boy is, that's quite hard to navigate when you're concentrating on GCSEs.' Sir Keir's plans to drop the voting age to 16 comes after a surge in the popularity of Reform. Labour, like other Left-wing parties, has traditionally been more attractive to younger people. Downing Street is expected to press ahead with the reform despite it not having been planned for Labour's first parliamentary session, suggesting an element of panic over the next national poll. A Telegraph analysis suggested that giving 16-year-olds the vote will hand nine Commons seats to Labour that would otherwise have gone to Reform. Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, said the plans amounted to 'an attempt to rig the political system' but vowed to give Labour 'a nasty surprise' amid his rising social media popularity.
Daily Mail
15-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
I'm Vanessa Feltz's daughter and a trained child therapist. Here's what my mum taught me - and 11 other ways to help an anxious child in today's scary world
It's exam season, and stress levels among children and their parents have risen to a rolling boil. And once they're over? Our kids will feel brief relief, until results day looms and they're back to fretting about their future. Whether it's school or social media-related pressures, there's always something for young people to worry about.
The Sun
02-06-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Seven in 10 Brit parents have taken time off work to revise for their kids' GCSEs, survey reveals
Seven in 10 parents have taken time off work - to revise for their kid's GCSEs. A study of 500 parents with children taking exams this year found they actively started getting their own heads GCSE-ready three months ago. 3 To prepare, 45 per cent of parents drafted a revision plan, 16 per cent have read study notes on An Inspector Calls, and 12 per cent have attempted to memorised MacBeth. While 33 per cent have sat with their kids during revision sessions, 16 per cent have listened to audiobooks, and 12 per cent have stayed up 'all night' reading. The research was commissioned by online learning platform, MyEdSpace, which is running a series of free GCSE 'Exam Cram Courses featuring live interactive three-hour lessons, which would normally be £300, ahead of this year's core subject exams – maths, English, and all three sciences Co-founder of MyEdSpace, Sean Hirons, said: 'Understandably, parents just want to help their kids when it comes to exam season – especially those intense few days just before a big test. 'But that doesn't have to mean pulling all-nighters themselves or learning Macbeth off by heart.' 'Right now, the best thing parents can do for their kids is keep calm, give them some space and make sure they're not forgetting to do the basic things like eating regularly or getting a good night's sleep while they prep.' 'We don't want any students, or parents, to be feeling overwhelmed or unsupported during this extremely stressful time of year.' Despite their efforts to familiarise themselves with the current GCSE syllabus, half of all parents polled have struggled to get their heads round what their children are learning. While 69 per cent admitted their kids are stressed about the weeks ahead. 'Math-fluencer' Neil Trivedi, who is part of the MyEdSpace team and has streamed revision classes reaching more than 43,000 students, said: 'Bedding in knowledge evenly across the year is obviously the best way to learn. 'There are ways to optimise the revision process. "One way to try and solidify your knowledge is to try and explain your work to a peer, those who study together, succeed together. "And finally, take breaks, eat healthily, take your omega 3s and drink lots of water!' Parents' efforts to help manage their kids through this daunting period are welcome for the most part as 65 per cent 'actively' want their mums and dads to help them with revision. Although the research, carried out through OnePoll, found 19 per cent would prefer it if they didn't. Reasons why include wanting to be independent (46 per cent), thinking they can revise better on their own (36 per cent), and 28 per cent wanting to prove themselves (28 per cent). Kharis Yanakidis, co-founder for MyEdSpace, which aims to make exams less stressful and improve exam performance said: 'GCSE season can be overwhelming for students and families, so making revision fun and enjoyable can make all the difference. 'That's why our team is made up of expert teachers - many of them previous examiners - who last year helped MyEdSpace students achieve grades 7-9 at more than double the national average.' 3 NEIL TRIVEDI'S TOP FIVE HACKS FOR ACING EXAMS WITH MINIMAL STRESS "Understanding that 'practice makes perfect' on its own is not enough to get results - practicing with shaky foundations leads to terrible outcomes "Use these top five tips and start by focusing on the topics you are weakest at, going back and covering those topics from their foundations in your textbooks and gradually build up to very difficult, problem-solving style questions from past papers." Don't spend hours remembering formulas - I've never used a formula booklet in my life, I was able to learn all the relevant formulas from practicing questions, you too will naturally remember them with practice. Even better, you learn to recognise which problem they should be used for. Teach to remember - Teach a friend, sibling, or even a stuffed animal a concept you're struggling with - it forces you to consolidate your knowledge. Reverse engineer exam papers - Start with the answer, then work backward to understand how to solve the problem. Focus on past exam paper questions - Textbooks are fine to practice specific mathematics skills - however, during exam season it is most important to gain exam specific exposure. For written subjects, study mark schemes to see exactly what your exam board is looking for. Address every misconception - Do not accept incorrect answers without explanation - if you get a question wrong, make sure you fully understand where you made mistakes and what to address. Do the question again to prove to yourself you have understood your mistake.
Times
13-05-2025
- Health
- Times
Revision food for students — what to feed your teens
The high-stress revision period is unlikely to have your teenager reaching for the chia seeds but eating well can have a marked improvement on focus, mood and, ultimately, results. Rob Hobson, a nutritionist and the author of Unprocess Your Family Life, explains how parents can help to fuel their children through exam season. A study published in Frontiers in Public Health in 2019 showed that GCSE pupils who missed breakfast scored lower grades than those who regularly ate a morning meal. 'A nice slow-release carbohydrate works best,' says Hobson, 47. 'Overnight oats with seeds, or porridge, or some scrambled egg on wholegrain toast. It could also be a smoothie with berries, nut butter and oats — quite simple things to put together.' • Read
