How much 'homework' should A Level students be doing?

SanPedro

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2001
Messages
4,578
Reaction score
585
Points
1,041
My son has just recently started his A Levels at an excellent 6th form college in Huddersfield.

He says he's getting all his homework done at college in his free periods. The college says he needs to be doing at least 16 hours of 'homework' a week - which he's clearly not doing at the moment.

Is it likely that the work will pile on substantially this month or should he be doing way more study around the subjects, outside of school, off his own bat.

He doesn't see the need to be doing any additional study, despite the fact that he has actual AS level exams just after Xmas in chemistry, and claims nobody else is doing anything more than the bare minimum.

Any suggestions from either students or teachers on getting him to realise that the work really needs doing if he wants to stand any chance of getting good grades. He's at an age where I don't think 'no Xbox/TV/computer if you don't do your homework' will work. I don't want an atmosphere of resentment and would rather treat him as an adult, but am at a loss as to how to get him motivated.

My own A level experience was mixed... I did well in one subject and bolloxed the other 3. Which was down to combination of poor teaching and a lack of 'get up and go' on my part. So I'm hoping he won't go down the same route I did.

Or am I worrying too much?

BTW... He got a mixed bag in his GCSEs, with some excellent results in subjects he was interested in and worked at, and then some really dismal results in subjects he lost interest in. Is history going to repeat itself?
 
I don't think you are worrying, all parents I'm sure have similar concerns with their children at that stage. How about sitting down with him one to one to find out exactly what the homework he is doing and what he needs to do, perhaps do it with him, make the time to interact with his study and make it more fun for him. Perhaps devise a study guide with him and set learning goals.
 
I found when I was doing my A levels I got a big majority of homework done in free periods but to do it all properly I never had enough free periods to get it done.

I used to do a couple of hours every other night at home, usually had a big homework grind on Sunday nights if I had much left to do for that week.

Depends how well he's doing on his homework, if he's getting it all done to acceptable standards according to his teacher(s) then you don't have much to worry about, but having been an A Level student not too long ago I know you don't work all free periods :D
Even if you tell your parents you do :smashin:

Just remember at that age the last thing he'll want is you hassling and nagging him to do something he's already doing to an acceptable standard, maybe you could contact his teacher to see how he's doing if you have concern?

With any exams and study pressure from parents does get to you even though they mean nothing but well its one of them things you just feel "UGH EVERYONES NAGGING ME WHY WONT THEY LEAVE ME ALONE" and it can make things worse.


If he says everyone else is doing the bare minimum the its in his best interest to study more than them and top the class, get himself a good result and come away with more than them.

If I could go back to my AS / A Levels i'd certainly put more effort in, i'm 23 now and sure i've got myself settled in a well paying job that doesn't rely so heavily on results, but it wouldn't have hurt to put the effort in back then and had more to show for the time. You do look back and regret not trying harder for sure.

As long as he gives it his best, and he's happy with the results he gets then fair enough.

As first exams are real eye openers, you can retake if you don't do so good, and you don't necessarily have to drop back a year to do so.
But it's more exams and stress if you do.

You realise if you don't do so great on an exam first time round that you need to put more effort in. But if that's the case it's always best to put the effort in first time round.

You're not worrying too much, I don't know what it's like to be a parent but I can imagine how my parents were etc.

Regarding interest in subjects. AS / A Levels are subjects you pick yourself, so i'm assuming he's picked subjects he wants to do well in or enjoys. I wouldn't expect him to be uninterested in them.


I think it might be a good idea to say if he needs help with studying, even if its just to go over a question and answer session with him, sure you don't know all the answers and the curriculum but if he has all the study material from teacher and such then sometimes a going through it with someone is a good way to do things, but don't make it seem like a pressure thing, just an offer cause you'd like to help where you can.


I'm not sure the post above is a good idea to set a study plan and goals, he's doing AS Levels and is going to be wanting to be his own man and all that, just be there for support where you can and try not to impose too much, he's at the age where he wants to start doing things more on his own and it's a good way to pick up a bit of life experience regarding deadlines and putting effort in, but sure be there for help when he needs.
But yeah interaction and such if he wants will be good.
(Just my views having been through AS/A Levels a few years ago)


You could even get him to try explain things to you, that way you can see he has an understanding and its him going over it without looking at his notes etc.
But it depends if he can be bothered to do that etc haha
But that would give you a bit of reassurance that he knows what he's talking about
either that or he'll make a good cars salesman with his blagging skills!
 
Last edited:
Thanks Iccz

Some useful stuff there. I'm sure most teenagers don't take blind bit of notice of what their parents say when it comes to study and school. It's the old 'stop nagging me' which I know I hated when i was his age.

I'm thinking that if we could find somebody who could be a role model/mentor of a similar age (or slightly older) they'd be more likely to take notice of him/her.

i wish i could help on the subject matter but the chemistry and biology is way over my head these days :D

Or maybe just the advice from people saying 'wish I'd done a bit more when I was that age' will be enough.

Cheers

Chris
 
I never did any homework at home...Always was able to do it in school...Except for one year where I did do it at the pub in Holland and never showed up for classes for a year, except when exam work was due...And I still passed everything which really annoyed the teachers...

The problem is that each child is different and has different needs...It is your job to find out what they are and support them in it...There is no golden rule as otherwise everyone would pass and the bar is not high enough...
 
To be completely honest I did only a couple of hours a week (at a peak) for my A Levels and my grades suffered :(
 
I did about 3 hours a night but mainly because of so many ruddy essays. The subjects I did were very essay rich though.
 
I hardly ever did work at home when I was doing my A Levels. Used to do it during the free periods to stop myself getting bored.
 
So he's at greenhead then?

From what i hear they get a fair bit of homework, when i did my alevels i did all my homework in free's (usually the free before the lesson it was for). In the first year i got good grades, but the second year is a lot harder and requires more work, needless to say my grades suffered that year.
 
My A Level-student daughter is currently visiting her boyfriend, who has just started studies at Teeside Uni. She rang earlier and was saying she spent all day yesterday while he was at uni and will be spending all day today while he's at work, catching up on her homework. SO her school must be giving her enough to keep her going.
 
16 hours of 'homework' a week - which he's clearly not doing at the moment.

Is it likely that the work will pile on substantially this month or should he be doing way more study around the subjects, outside of school, off his own bat.
and claims nobody else is doing anything more than the bare minimum.

Answer to the first bit 2 hours a week is very steep at A level i would expect that much when doing degrees.

And also at A level the do what other people do wont cut the mustard at sixth form its time to do more than what needed not what others are doing.

With regards to no xbox etc. at 16/17 he sould be limiting himself its hard as xbox's are the biggest distraction but its up to him to limit himself IMO dont metion banning it ,at sixth form age youve got to make your own desicions remember at 16 kids are out there getting full time jobs getting ready to leave their family .
 
He says he's getting all his homework done at college in his free periods. The college says he needs to be doing at least 16 hours of 'homework' a week - which he's clearly not doing at the moment.
IMHO there is very little you could or should do to make him do a prescribed amount of homework other than continue to emphasis the importance of doing well at college. Does he want to University? If so perhaps casually mention the expected entry grades! The actual motivation for him to do the work will come from his peers (as they all start working hard for the exams) and from the college environment as he starts to see how important it is for his future.

I would also say that the amount of homework he does will not necessarily reflect in his grades. Much to my parents dismay I took a very casual approach to 'homework' in my A-Levels, but I knew what was important and got the grades. I strongly suspect many students are similar.
 
Last edited:
I took an extremely casual approach to homework during A levels - I did practically nothing outside of lessons and got 5 A's and a B. When I went to uni, I found it hard work, and nearly failed, as I thought I could take the same approach - I was wrong! It's then that you need to start worrying (about everything that he's doing!!)
 
Thanks fr all the replies folks.

Jenic... yes he is at Greenhead, which has some of the best A level results in the UK, and I was so chuffed when he got a place there (as we're not in the catchment area).

He's coping ok with the work, at the moment, but I feel that he's just not 'getting it'. Maybe I'll get him to read this thread ;)

SeanT... 5 As and a B and you struggled at uni :eek:

BTW what subjects did you do?

I shall endeavour to emphasise the benefits of studying hard eg. better prospects for the future etc.

I'm tempted to suggest that if he wants to go to uni he'll be paying for it himself if he doesn't work hard. I don't see why I should sub a £20K overdraft for him to get a job he could have got within a year of leaving 6th form.
 
My son has just recently started his A Levels at an excellent 6th form college in Huddersfield.

He says he's getting all his homework done at college in his free periods. The college says he needs to be doing at least 16 hours of 'homework' a week - which he's clearly not doing at the moment.

Is it likely that the work will pile on substantially this month or should he be doing way more study around the subjects, outside of school, off his own bat.

He doesn't see the need to be doing any additional study, despite the fact that he has actual AS level exams just after Xmas in chemistry, and claims nobody else is doing anything more than the bare minimum.

Any suggestions from either students or teachers on getting him to realise that the work really needs doing if he wants to stand any chance of getting good grades. He's at an age where I don't think 'no Xbox/TV/computer if you don't do your homework' will work. I don't want an atmosphere of resentment and would rather treat him as an adult, but am at a loss as to how to get him motivated.

My own A level experience was mixed... I did well in one subject and bolloxed the other 3. Which was down to combination of poor teaching and a lack of 'get up and go' on my part. So I'm hoping he won't go down the same route I did.

Or am I worrying too much?

BTW... He got a mixed bag in his GCSEs, with some excellent results in subjects he was interested in and worked at, and then some really dismal results in subjects he lost interest in. Is history going to repeat itself?

I'll PM you.

BTW, if he did well and worked hard in the subjects he enjoyed, and poorly where he wasn't interested, I presume he's opted for the 'A' Levels he was likely to enjoy.

With his first exams coming up I'm guessing they're modular. If that's the case, and he doesn't work and scores badly he'll be able to do re-sits. He may well learn from his own mistakes - I often find this happens. At GCSE I taught a lad who got an E at the end of Year 10. He re-sat this exam in the same week as the Year 11 exam and got a C in both.

If your son doesn't learn, and as you say he's a bit old to take his Xbox off him, then he'll only have himself to blame. You can't live his life for him forever. Continue to encourage and support without nagging.

Steve W
 
Last edited:
Think it depends on the subjects he's doing tbh.

Maths & Physics and Chemistry say, almost certainly take less time, if (big IF), you are really good at them, than say Drama or English Lit - where even if you know the answer, actually putting it down will take a lot of time (never mind the background reading).

In other words, working through a set of math problems can take as little as 5 minutes (but may take an hour if your average), but no matter how good you are, doing a business studies sample business plan well, has got to take at least half an hour.
 
Think it depends on the subjects he's doing tbh.

Maths & Physics and Chemistry say, almost certainly take less time, if (big IF), you are really good at them, than say Drama or English Lit - where even if you know the answer, actually putting it down will take a lot of time (never mind the background reading).

In other words, working through a set of math problems can take as little as 5 minutes (but may take an hour if your average), but no matter how good you are, doing a business studies sample business plan well, has got to take at least half an hour.

he's doing chemistry, biology, Spanish and psychology. So a mix of short and long answer stuff. But, as you say, only quick if you know the answers:D
 
he's doing chemistry, biology, Spanish and psychology. So a mix of short and long answer stuff. But, as you say, only quick if you know the answers:D

Spanish...

Que?


Psychology is often seen as the "easy A" subject for AS/A levels.
Is that why he took it? :D
 
Sometimes the hardest thing to do as a parent is trust you kids, especially teenagers, but it can pay dividends :smashin:

Offer support if he needs it, if you spot signs of struggle deal with it then, otherwise crack on .. well, I'm a parent too, sometimes it's just hard to know what's best ;)
 
Spanish...

Que?


Psychology is often seen as the "easy A" subject for AS/A levels.
Is that why he took it? :D

He's pretty good at Spanish esp as his mum speaks it, and used to teach it :D

The psychology cos he wanted to do physics... and the college insisted on maths if he wanted to do physics (and he hates maths).

But I doubt it's any easier (for him) than his chemistry, as that's his best subject. Although I think he likes the fact that psychology is a 'measureable' subject - he likes the analytical side of it... if you do 'A' then 'B' happens. Kinda like physics with people ;)
 
I love physics too, but yeah the maths side of it is what steered me away from it all, it's really not a good idea to take physics without doing maths.

I did psychology for A level and it was great fun, plus it was near enough a class full of girls :smashin:
 
I did psychology for A level and it was great fun, plus it was near enough a class full of girls :smashin:

:rotfl: An added distraction

My daughter is doing computer science at the same college - and it's the opposite. Only girl in a group of lads. Although she says they're a bunch of geeks ;)
 
SeanT... 5 As and a B and you struggled at uni :eek:

BTW what subjects did you do?

Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry, Physics, General Studies (As); Biology (the B!)

Which I thought would make a Maths and Physics degree doable, but I wasn't good enough at the Math!
 
I'm tempted to suggest that if he wants to go to uni he'll be paying for it himself if he doesn't work hard. I don't see why I should sub a £20K overdraft for him to get a job he could have got within a year of leaving 6th form.
Would your son not be eligible for a student loan? I note the distinction from a tuition fee loan which he can at the very least take out

With regards to the xbox, I don't think there is any need to confiscate it. Not saying that because I am just about still a student, I am saying that because there comes a time when you mature and need to see the bigger picture and take some responsibility
There are enough hours in the day to mix business with pleasure - if he cannot find enough time to revise and complete coursework in the 16 hours or so he would be awake for each day then he has only himself to blame. Nobody but himself can pass the exams and coursework

He will have 2 months off next summer. At uni he gets 3 months off each summer where he can wake up at 2pm in the afternoon if he wants. He really only needs to work for the 4-6 weeks before January and June exams (I have always found coursework to be easy). How much does he want it?

Finally for those parents reading with year 11's running around, if they are lazy tell them to take up an English ;) :devil: Not only does it require minimal work but you get the grades like that as it requires only a basic ability to ********
 
Would your son not be eligible for a student loan? I note the distinction from a tuition fee loan which he can at the very least take out

With regards to the xbox, I don't think there is any need to confiscate it. Not saying that because I am just about still a student, I am saying that because there comes a time when you mature and need to see the bigger picture and take some responsibility
There are enough hours in the day to mix business with pleasure - if he cannot find enough time to revise and complete coursework in the 16 hours or so he would be awake for each day then he has only himself to blame. Nobody but himself can pass the exams and coursework

He will have 2 months off next summer. At uni he gets 3 months off each summer where he can wake up at 2pm in the afternoon if he wants. He really only needs to work for the 4-6 weeks before January and June exams (I have always found coursework to be easy). How much does he want it?

Finally for those parents reading with year 11's running around, if they are lazy tell them to take up an English ;) :devil: Not only does it require minimal work but you get the grades like that as it requires only a basic ability to ********

Thanks... I'll make sure he reads this :)

Like you say... he's too old to be coerced into study. I think it's more a question of helping them to 'get it'... that turning point when the light switches on and he realises he can't be messing about if he wants to get a decent job/life etc. Not necessarily to be rich... just to be able to have the opportunity to do what HE wants when he finally leaves education.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom