It’s GCSE results day on Thursday, and as pupils open their envelopes and find out what their results are, parents will be waiting with bated breath. The results are not just an indicator of how hard their children have worked throughout secondary school, but also an indicator of how much the day will cost them financially.
It’s become common practice for parents to offer incentives to their children when it comes to GCSE grades - £200 for every A*/grade 9, £100 for A/grade 8/7; a new phone, games console or computer on the delivery of good results; theatre tickets, plane tickets, clothes, jewellery to name just a few.
According to a YouGov poll, more than three-quarters of parents promised their child a reward if they do well in their exams, with £205 being the average amount spent. Out of the 1,200 parents surveyed, 63 per cent said what they offer will vary depending on grades, and 51 per cent said their children expected to be rewarded for getting good grades.
But how much impact do these incentives actually have on exam results? If any?
Research by the Education Endowment Foundation found that, actually, the use of financial and event incentives has little positive impact on GCSE attainment.
For the study, 10,000 Year 11 pupils were given either money or event tickets, which were then deducted if they didn’t meet the threshold in four measures of effort: attendance, behaviour, classwork and homework. Overall, the study found no evidence of a significant positive impact from financial or event incentives on GCSE attainment in English, maths or science.
And yet, these findings haven’t stopped parents from splashing out on incentives and rewards - one child, according to a Mumsent thread - can expect to receive a two-seater sports car.
GCSE gifts: ‘We’re all into bribery in this house’
“Friend A is going to get a two-seater sports car, fully insured if he gets good results (he’s been failing in the last six months, so I can kind of see the point in bribing him as a last-ditch attempt to avoid resists),” wrote one Mumsnet user. “Friend B is getting £200 for every A*, £100 for every A, £75 for Bs, and is losing £74 for anything below a B. As he’s taking 12 GCSEs and is a good worker, his parents could easily be paying out £2,400 in August.”
And while some users on the thread were astonished by the amount of money being spent - one user wrote: “What happened to a good education and exam passes being their own reward? If kids think that they deserve huge gifts for every success, they’re in for a big shock in the real world!” - others believe that these “bribes” ensure success.
One user wrote: “We are all into bribery in this house, whatever it takes for them not to flush their futures down the toilet is good with me.” Another said: “Our children got rewards for working hard at their GCSEs and A levels. Not money though. One got a guitar and some lessons as that was what she wanted, and the other got a trip to London to see a musical.”
“Revision presents” are also common, with several parents saying they had rewarded their children for hours spent revising prior to the exams.
