GCSE exam hopes in the Cardiff school for second chances
- Published
"We start early in Year 10 and then we can build up our confidence... and in Year 11 we can just smash them out," says Mason
Students at Bryn y Deryn Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) in Cardiff are among thousands of young people getting their exam results in the next two weeks.
At the PRU, they try to make sure young people who were disengaged from education leave with qualifications, and are ready for more study or a job.
Unlike other schools, exams are held not in a hall but small groups in class, and students get extra help.
Pupils will receive their GCSE results on 24 August.
Before that, results for A-levels and vocational qualifications will be published.
We visited Bryn y Deryn on the day of a maths GCSE exam in June, when most pupils in the PRU for 14 to 16-year-olds were sitting the paper.
Mason, 15, who sat the exam a year early to get some practice before next summer, said: "I'm happy with myself I tried my best, that's all I can do.
"We start early in Year 10 and then we can build up our confidence in exams and in Year 11 we can just smash them out then and get them done - it's just so much easier."
Since joining the unit, Megan's predicted grades have gone up from Fs to Bs and Cs
He has been at Bryn y Deryn since the start of the year after what he describes as "constant silly behaviour" in his previous school. But things have improved here.
"I feel like I can act myself - I can ask for help when I need it and if I'm ever struggling or need anything I know I'm more than welcome to ask the teachers and they're always there to help.
"I want to get my grades - I just want to be happy, stay in school and get on with what I'm doing now."
The unit supports students who have left mainstream schools because they were excluded or at risk of it.
The other half of the 90-pupil site supports young people who have not been going to school because of anxiety or other emotional and mental health reasons.
Exam days require a huge amount of team effort from staff, says exams coordinator and deputy head Hannah Smith
Megan, 16, is at the end of her two years at Bryn y Deryn which she said had been "better for my anxiety and coping in general in school".
"It's helped me progress my education a lot because in my old school, I was predicted Fs and stuff - now I'm predicted Cs and Bs."
The verdict after sitting the maths papers was that it "went all right - it was a bit difficult, but I managed to do it".
"Hopefully I'm going to get that better grade than my last one," she added.
Nearly all of the unit's learners need extra support for exams, which means running the timetable is a major operation. Some get more time to do the exam, while others get the help of a reader to explain anything they do not understand.
Lishamarie said in her old school she "got everything wrong, but here I get some of it right and some of it wrong"
"It's a big exam today," said exams coordinator and deputy head Hannah Smith. "Every single room in the school will be used and every single adult will be involved in the exam in some way."
"Everybody's involved - it's a huge amount of teamwork on the part of the staff and it's important that we support the learners to get the best results they can get," she said.
Even getting some learners to come to school for their exams can be a minor victory. For the maths exam, staff are at the gates to welcome pupils into the behaviour section of the school and some need encouragement to enter the building.
Head teacher Fiona Simpson says students are entered for exams more than once during the two years to help build exam skills
Before the exam started, one pupil used the trampoline in the playground to calm his emotions before starting the paper.
Year 10 pupil Lishamarie, 15, was "nervous but excited", adding: "I love maths - I absolutely love it."
She can ask for support from staff members if she struggles to read anything in the paper.
"I'm getting more support here than I did in my old school", she said. "I'm way happier. In my old school I got everything wrong but here I get some of it right and some of it wrong," she added with a smile.
All pupils study GCSE art as it has a calming effect, one teacher says
There's a year to go before she finishes her GCSEs and this summer's results will not be her final try. She hopes for Cs and higher but "if I get anything above an E then I'll be fine".
All learners do GCSE art, explained art and design teacher Kath Miles, with its "therapeutic" and "calming" effect working well. "It's not necessarily about the qualification and whether they can paint or draw."
Art is "not necessarily about the qualification and whether they can paint or draw," says art and design teacher Kath Miles
Developing confidence and social skills are important along with getting "the maximum amount of qualifications," said headteacher Fiona Simpson.
Learners are entered for exams more than once during the two years.
"Because sitting your most important exams on the same day, in the same week, all across the country isn't going to work for everyone."
THE PARTY PLAYLIST WITH H: H from Steps shares his ultimate party playlist
POBL BACHYN: What do hangovers have in common with Welsh folklore?
Related topics
- Published19 July 2023
- Published17 July 2023
