Do cash rewards or gifts boost exam grades?

Hundreds of thousands of GCSE students are nervously waiting for their results this week – and for some, a shiny, often expensive reward might be at stake.

Ahead of results day on Thursday, BBC News has spoken to students and parents about whether the promise of jewellery, gifts or cash for grades can actually motivate teens to do better in their exams.

Imogen Farmer, from Essex, was taken with her twin sister to London by their parents after they got their A-level results last year and given some money to spend as a reward.

“I bought Vivienne Westwood jewellery and then they took us to quite a fancy restaurant that we’d always wanted to go to,” Imogen says.

“But I think I knew in the back of my head if I did well or even if I didn’t do well, I’m sure our parents would have taken us out anyway for working hard.”

Imogen doesn’t think the reward would have made a difference to the amount she studied as she was always “quite ambitious” – and her parents didn’t mention it until after her exams were over.

Jess Cooper, from Birmingham, jokes that her reward was “not getting kicked out of the house”.

“Good grades were a reflection of how hard you tried at school,” she says.

“My parents are very proud of me and tell me all the time. I’m very working class, we have the grit and we try our hardest.”

Both Imogen and Jess both say some students in their classes were offered money for each top grade they achieved – while others were even promised “first cars” if they got the results they needed.

Some parents believe the offer of a reward or financial incentive can help with motivation.

Leon Smith, from Surrey, has given his children a £50 reward for passing their exams, saying it helps them get into the right mindset beforehand.

“It means that, when they revise, they have the motivation and they will spend an extra hour looking at their books rather than playing video games”, the father-of-six explains.

He says his son Isiah, who has just finished Year 6 and took his Sats earlier this year, was particularly motivated to do well after watching his older sister Reah receive the £50 prize the year before.

“It gives them some form of incentive and the ability to work towards something,” Leon says.

He now plans to offer rewards for his children at GCSE and A-levels too.

Mum-of-two Elaine Dean, from Manchester, says the promise she made of cash-for-grades ended up costing her “more than anticipated”.

The former primary school teacher decided to give her son Zach between £5 and £15 based on each grade for his GCSE exams two years ago, but she says she was really rewarding his effort.

“You don’t want to build up too much pressure on them, praise and parental involvement throughout their school years is far more important,” she says.

Zach received his A-level exam results on Thursday.

“I think his reward is going to be a city break with his brother but he hasn’t decided yet.”

Experts say the effectiveness of rewards very much depends on the student and their relationship with learning.

Rewarding effort rather than grades can be a far more long-term and sustainable strategy for parents, according to psychologist Natasha Tiwari.

“Cash or big-ticket treats can work in the short term,” she says, but they also risk making students think of achievements as “transactional”.

She believes a special day out, or being allowed to redecorate their bedroom or host some family or friends can be a far more powerful reward than “cash in an envelope”.

Different rewards – or none at all – can create tension within friendship groups too, she says.

“There is a distinction to be made between a reward for good grades and a treat to acknowledge their effort,” says Manny Botwe, president of the Association of School and College Leaders.

Secondary school head Manny says he is sceptical of the long-term benefits of trying to reward performance.

“I worry about the youngsters who don’t get good results, it’s ‘deal or no deal’,” he says.

“My advice for parents would be not to make their children feel their value is directly related to the grades they get. From very early on, I like to emphasis the intrinsic value of education.

“That will yield the best outcomes.”

Additional reporting by Emily Doughty