You can almost hear the collective sigh of relief from those of us who’ve now come the end of the exam period road. Now all we have to do is wait for the results. But amongst us there are year 10 parents, the next cohort of GCSE studying families, considering the trek ahead as they leave the relative comfort of year 10 to the adventure that is exam year. So just what is the best foot forward on this journey? To end season 3 of The Study Sessions Podcast we're thinking about the next cohort...

The end of exams brings with it an almost palpable lifting of a weight. The hard work has been done – or not – and now all you have to do is wait. And I say “all” like it’s easy in itself. For some this waiting period can be a little fraught too. So what are the best ways to approach this hinterland between exams, results and our little darling’s next steps? This week I’m delighted to be joined by Andy Scott-Evans. And is the Head Teacher of Becket Keys Church of England School in Essex...

If there’s one thing more stressful than revision for students – and us parents – then it’s the actual exam period. Many of us will feel like life is on a knife edge not knowing what to do for the best. Just how can we move past the fluctuating moods and bouts of anxiety, to try and make this a productive period?  The exam season has started in earnest – or should that be in anger?!  It’s an important and tricky time to navigate. All three seasons of our podcast have been hopefully building...

There’s a broad presumption that after school there’s A levels and then onto university for a degree. A lot of young people just seem to get swept along on this fast-flowing river of higher education. But with increasing options and alternatives, are we doing enough to make sure that our teens know what else is out there for them? This week Nathan, founder of The Study Buddy, is chatting with Faith. Faith has taken the decision not to go off to university and instead has taken up an...

It’s not long now until the exams. It’s a time when nerves can get frayed, and tensions run high. This is the stage of revision that is most marked by the rhetorical questions like my personal favourite: Shouldn’t you be revising? Wouldn’t it be great if there were answers out there for the issues that plague us… In this week's episode, The Study Buddy founder, Nathan McGurl, is answering some of the most common questions we get asked about revision and the run-up to exams. He is joined by...

“I’ve been revising for ages” is often something that battle weary parents will have heard when asking how it’s going. As if lapsed time, spent near an open book or with a YouTube video playing a good use of time. But to be fair, it’s not just the procrastinators and the avoiders that struggle with the actual how of revising, even conscientious students can get lured into spending hours prettifying notes or highlighting textbooks, without knowing what value it does or doesn’t add. So, just...

Keeping up with the Jones’ was always used as an expression about consumerism, upgrading the washing machine, getting a fancier car, holidaying to the Costa Del Sol – if my Essex childhood was ever in any doubt, this is proof positive! At some point it seemed that parenting fell into this way of thinking, peering over the fence to compare grades or revision effort. But that’s not what it’s about – is it? In this episode hear from mum of two Zoe talk about how things are going. Her eldest is...

The run-up to exams is an anxious time for all teens – and their parents. A certain amount of stress is not only normal, it can also be a good thing. It shows that the outcome is important. However, some young people feel that pressure to perform much more than others. Sometimes to a worrying extent. But just what can parents do if their child finds themselves struggling under the weight of it all? This week sees the return of Dr Dominique Thompson to the show. Dom is a former University GP,...

There’s a widely recognised link between how well teens do in their exams – and in school generally – and the kind of interest and support they get at home over around their education. At least that’s how I justify any fleeting moments of overbearing nagging to my children – and to be honest, to myself. But not all support is created equal, so just how can we be more deliberate a focused in our attempts to help our young people prepare for their exams? This week Nathan is chatting with Helen...

If you ask any exam facing student whether they want to fail, they will tell you they don’t. Of course. And invariably they’ll know that to not fail (but especially to do well) they have to revise a bit. But strangely this acceptance doesn’t always translate into action. So just what is it that causes the “does not compute” error that’s preventing our teens from getting on with revision? This week Nathan - founder of The Study Buddy - is taking you step by step through the process of...

“I’ve got loads of time”, “It won’t take me long” or “I’ll do it later” come up time and time again as the top procrastination tactics with our teens. The fact that these things are rarely true does not mean it’s easy to convince them otherwise.  So what is behind our teens' often dysfunctional relationship with time? This week our parent-guest is dad to two teens, Matt. His children are Lily, who took her A Levels last year and Joe, who is preparing for GCSE in the summer.  If you have a...

Having children is exhausting. I’m not daft I guess I would have realised that would be the case when they were babies, toddlers and even growing up. But no one warned me that this was a perpetual thing right up until they fly the nest – and in some cases beyond. A child can be a handful, two or more - an Olympic event. Wouldn’t it be great if we could leave them to do more for themselves... This week's episode is with mum of SIX, Julia.  Julie shares thoughts from four children who've been...

It’s been a whole two episodes since we mentioned the impact of COVID on our teen’s education.  That was never going to last! In recognition of the fact that those sitting exams this year – being year 11 and year 13 students – have had two years of interrupted teaching and learning, the exam boards have now released what is called Advance Information for the exams. In brief, this is a list of the topics that will be the focus of the big mark questions. On the face of it, that sounds great....

There’s something about sugary, or creamy, or fried that screams 'treat'. Well, it does to my mind. There are those for whom a crunchy carrot baton and organic hummus are a reward. For most of us, though, I suspect we’d walk blinkered past a quinoa and courgette tray bake in favour of a doughnut any day of the week. But are we missing a trick by being slaves to our tastebuds rather than paying attention to what our bodies might actually need? This week we welcome Nutritional Therapist Louise...

They say that around 80% of new years resolutions will fail by mid-Feb. That’s an awful lot of promises to revise harder for students and “I’ll stay stress-free” for parents that will have fallen by the wayside. But these things are important to see through. So just how is it that we gear ourselves up for success and try to make new better habits stick? This week our returning guest is behavioural change expert Shahroo Izadi - author of The Kindness Method. Shahroo explains why resolutions...

For most of us, a successful week of revision comes from us not having to nag or coerce our children – well not too much at least. The idea that there could be some symbiotic relationship, where parent and child actually grow and thrive throughout all of this might feel like a fiction too far. But is this holy grail of parenting really as far from our reach as we might think? In a Study Sessions first, this week Nathan is chatting with Mother and son duo, Claire and Tom. Tom took his GCSEs...

There’s not a parent amongst us who doesn’t want their child to do well. Them doing well gives them more options. It will raise their self-esteem and confidence. And often, from our point of view, it’s what we know they are truly capable of…. But is there a danger at some point do we become more invested in them reaching these arbitrary exam-driven goals on their behalf and lose sight of who they are actually for? Is there a risk that we begin to feel responsible for their achievements? This...

As we ring in the new year, we’re often symbolically determined to make a fresh start. For thousands of students, there’s renewed vigour – if not enthusiasm – to revise. And a correlated number of parents who are promising to make sure that they do. But you can’t expect a change by doing the same things, so what is it that’ll make this year’s study resolutions stick? This week's guest is Lee Elliot Major. Lee is the Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter. He's also the...

The end of term reports are in. In many households, this can hold more sway over Christmas harmony than Santa’s naughty and nice lists. But are we right to put so much store in them? By which I mean the predicted grades not Santa's lists, obviously. This week's guest is David Didau. David is Senior Lead Practitioner for English at Ormiston Academies Trust. As well as running his blog – The Learning Spy – which is widely recognised as one of the most influential education blogs in the UK, he...

This week's guest is teen, Emily. She's taking her GCSE exams in 2022. She talks openly about motivation (or lack of)  even though she knows the exams are important. She also explains why she wouldn't mind if exams were cancelled. It's great to have a teen perspective. Often, as adults, we have a more jaded view of the world. In listening to Emily you appreciate that teens don't necessarily consider things in the same way. It's a refreshing and honest look at studying and revising. And Emily...

We’ve all done that thing of saying or doing something to our children we promised our younger selves we would never say or do. It’s the gradual but undeniable transformation into our own parents. But is that such a bad thing? After all, doesn’t it come from a place of good intention and concern and brought to life with the benefit of our own experiences? This week our special guest is TV's Sanjeev Bhaskar.  As well as being instantly recognisable for his many roles on TV (Unforgotten,...

It’s been quite a while since many of us have taken an exam, so it’s understandable that we might have forgotten some of the best practices. To be honest I suspect a significant number of us may not have been especially au fait with those best practices at the time either! That can make it tricky when we’re trying to nudge our own teens along. Especially if along the way we start to focus more on the results than the habits and behaviours they need along the way – and beyond! This week's...

Parenting can be a thankless task at times. Sure there are great bits to it, and on balance we wouldn’t be without them. Well, not all of us, and not all of the time. But there are aspects of the role that can be unwelcomed. The disciplinarian or enforcer role. The “have you done your homework” moments and the “put your phone away” times. So how would it feel to 'delegate' those aspects to someone else? This week's guest is Katie. She's mum to two teens who are at boarding school. Her...

Our guest this week is Darren. He's dad to two teens - a girl who is in the first year of A Levels and a boy sitting GCSEs in 2022. Darren talks about his experiences of supporting teens when they live half the time with him, half the time with his ex-wife share. We cover the difficulties of ensuring the children are on track and of being conscious not to be the "naggy house". Darren talks about the additional pressure on the teens to take even more control of their studies. We also cover...