Parents paying kids up to £5,000 for passing their GCSEs

The long-awaited day has arrived as thousands of teenagers across the country nervously pick up their GCSE results.

But for some students, mixed in with their anxiety, is an added element of excitement.

That’s because their parents have offered them a bit of money to do well in their exams.

For some lucky teenagers, it’s more than a bit, as they could be expecting £500 for each Grade 9 – the equivalent of a very high A*.

That could amount to a grand total of £5,000 if they get a Grade 9 in ten GCSEs.

It’s all according to a new study, which found nearly eight in ten (77 per cent) parents reward their children for good grades.

While some parents do it with video games, driving lessons or a new laptop, many are putting some cold hard cash on the line.

For the parents opting to pay per grade instead of a lump sum, the average offer is £100 for a Grade 9 and £80 for a Grade 8.

This drops down to £50 for a Grade 6, which is the equivalent to the old B.

According to the study of 2,000 mums and dads, by financial services provider, OneFamily, the lowest a parent said they would offer their child was a lump sum of £20 to pass everything, while a few parents said they will pay £500 per Grade 9.

Tania Bailey, a mother of twins picking up their results today, has promised her kids £100 per Grade 9 and £50 for a Grade 8.

The 55-year-old from Milton Keynes admitted being a bit ‘embarrassed’ by the idea of incentivising her children with money, but said it made a ‘huge difference’ to her son.

She told Metro.co.uk: ‘He really knuckled down once we put this system in place.

‘But I guess we’ll see if it worked when the results come out.’

She said she does not give them ‘pocket money for doing nothing every week’ and told her children to treat their revision like a job and the money as the reward.

She said: ‘Sometimes I feel as though our kids think everything will be handed to them on a plate nowadays.

‘But it doesn’t. I do think if they can consider it as a job then they can understand that if they work really hard, they can get the reward.’

Amanda Bastow, a mum-of-four from Ashtead, Surrey, said children are being incentivised from day one.

She said: ‘Even if it’s only to earn praise from their parents for doing the basics – eating, walking and talking.

‘This progresses to rewards of toys, star charts and eventually cash.

‘It is everywhere in childhood. Even the library has a reading scheme with a “winner” at the end.

‘Schools themselves too reinforce it with merits, stars and prizes with vouchers.

‘Sports and creative interests also encourage winners with cups and awards.

‘So yes, I think it is ok to reward their hard work. A lot of pressure is put on GCSE & A level students.’

Teacher Merinda Daprano said it really saddens her that rewards are overused they’ve become more like a transaction.

She said: ‘If a child can do their best, which is what we hope and expect, we can praise and offer a small reward.

‘But the nature of conditional awards is such that we are implying that it is possible to do better than their best in order to gain something, or that they needn’t bother if they don’t want the award.

‘It loses all the intrinsic worth of the education. I’d be far more in favour of giving the award after the hard work as a thank you, before and regardless of the results.’

Anna-Marie Purcell said she also doesn’t agree with it, describing the financial rewards as a ‘bribe’ which favours the parents instead of the children.

She said: ‘It’s not an incentive, just a way of putting more pressure on achieving. The schools do enough of that!

‘I think supporting my child is the best way to help them achieve the best they can. I had a history teacher who used to say, “Aim to pass everything, what you get after that is a bonus.”

‘Not all children are academic, nor do all of them want to go to university. Bribing them to do better is for parents’ benefit not the children.’

According to the study, parents are paying their kids to teach them about the relationship between hard work and money.

Three in ten parents (29 per cent) believe that promising a reward is a good way to provide a more ‘real world’ goal for youngsters, the study found.

While 24 per cent of parents say it’s an opportunity to develop money management skills.

However, nine out of ten parents said they would rather see their children take their studies seriously rather than simply get good results.