If you have got your GCSE exams coming up, you will have heard about study leave. This is where you are able to go home during a period of time around your exams to study from home but come in when you have exams. However, if you are in Year 11, you may be wondering whether you receive study leave.
Students are not entitled to study leave, so your school can deny you from having it. A lot of schools will allow students to get study leave around exam periods, assuming they believe that you will study from home. Sometimes, your school may also run study interventions in school which you may be required to attend.
In the rest of the article, we will be talking more about study leave, how it works and when it starts for Year 11 students.
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Do you get study leave in Year 11?
As stated before, study leave is not an entitlement, but an option for schools to give to students. There is usually a criterion offered by schools. They may look at your past grades and if they believe that they are not as high as they would like it to be, they may deny you study leave.
Your behaviour may also be looked at, along with attendance. This will help the school find an assumption as to whether you are likely to actually study at home.
Finally, a lot of schools will run interventions and tutoring around this time. If you are allocated to this, you will need to attend, therefore reducing your study leave.
How does study leave work for GCSEs?
When you have study leave, you are not expected to come into school for normal lessons. You are expected to study from home for your upcoming exams. This is allowed because you have usually learnt all your content around January/February.
Apart from that, you will have to come into school for your exams. You are still expected to wear school uniform and arrive on time. You can also come in to attend revision sessions. Study leave does not affect your attendance, and it’s important to remember that study leave is not guaranteed.
Finally, most schools will allow you to stay in school, even if you have study leave. Going home may not be an option for you for several reasons, so they will not force you to go home. To find out more, you can click on this link to University Compare, talking about study leave.
When is study leave for GCSEs?
This differs for many different schools. Some schools allow students to start their study leave 2 weeks before. Some schools allow study leave from the first day of exams. Some may even allow study leave a week or two into exams, or not at all. It ultimately depends on your school.
If you would like to know beforehand, you should get in touch with the logistics, or exams admin for your school. Usually, your school will let you know beforehand, and whether you are allowed to go on study leave.
After study leave, which is when your GCSEs are finished, is when you have technically completed Year 11, and are now in your extended summer holidays, unless your school says otherwise. To find out more about this, you can click on this link to a Think Student article.
When is study leave for GCSE 2023?
When study leave starts depends on your school and exam board. For all boards, GCSEs will commence on the 15th of May 2023, excluding optional choices (e.g. languages). To find your exam board, you can click on the links below.
As they all start on the 15th of May, the earliest you would be able to commence your study leave would be the 1st of May 2023. Ultimately, it will depend on your school as to when you receive your study leave. A lot of schools commence their study leave on the first day of exams so this again would be the 15th of May. Remember that these dates might change in other years, so make sure to check on the official exam board websites listed above.
What should you do during your study leave?
During study leave you are obviously expected to revise for your upcoming exam at home. Or, if you think that you will not be able to revise effectively at home, you can request to get a revision/tutoring session. This won’t always be guaranteed but would benefit you a lot. If you do stay in school, you can also ask your teachers for help.
Otherwise, you can click on this link to a Think Student article on effectively revising for exams.
Do you get study leave for mock exams?
Most schools do not offer study leave for mock exams in Year 10 or Year 11. Usually, you have not finished the whole curriculum so will need to continue lessons in the immediate run up to the mocks.
During the mocks, you will be off your normal timetable, but cannot go home for study leave. Usually, you will be in moderated revision sessions when not in an exam. To find out more about mock examinations, you can click on this link to when you do them, and this link to what they are, both by Think Student.
In this article we have discussed study leaves in GCSEs and mock examinations, and when they will begin. If you are feeling stressed about exams, or need some help, you can click on the links below to Think Student guides.