More than three-quarters of parents have promised their child a reward if they do well in their exams this year, according to a new poll.
With Sats, GCSEs and A levels season underway, the YouGov survey of parents with children sitting exams this year reveals they are gearing up to spend an average of £205 on gifts. The rewards will range from cash and new technology - such as laptops, tablets, mobile phones and games consoles - to a holiday or day out.
The poll of nearly 1,200 parents found that 78 per cent have told their children that they’ll reward them if they do well in their exams. Sixty-three per cent will vary what they offer depending on grades, and 51 per cent say their children expect to be rewarded for getting good grades.
More than a third of the parents questioned (37 per cent) are happy to reward their children irrespective of their results.
‘Cash for grades won’t have a huge impact on results’
The most generous parents in the UK are from Wales, who are set to spend a whopping £626.26 on financial rewards - nearly three times more than the national average, according to the research carried out for VoucherCodes.co.uk.
But the poll also found that one in ten parents say they will borrow to treat their children this year, with 6 per cent planning to use a credit card specifically to pay for their children’s exam rewards.
Kevan Collins, chief executive of Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), told Tes: “While promising cash for grades can seem like an easy way to motivate teenagers, our research suggests that it won’t have a huge impact on results.”
The EEF ran a study where more than 10,000 Year 11 pupils were given either event tickets or money, which was deducted from if targets were missed. There was no significant overall impact on GCSE English, maths or science results.
Extra encouragement
Mr Collins added: “There are certainly more cost-effective ways to boost results for GCSE students than cash incentives. Investing in high-quality one-to-one tutoring or improving feedback will likely have significantly more impact, even if they are more intensive and time consuming to administer.”
Anita Naik, of VoucherCodes.co.uk, said: “Exams undoubtedly place an enormous amount of pressure on children, so it’s interesting to see how many parents feel they need to offer extra encouragement to help their children achieve the grades they need.”
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