As the academic year comes to an end, some parents are setting aside hundreds of pounds to reward their children for achieving specific grades. While this practice has been met with criticism from some parents, others have reported seeing an increase in their child’s focus and motivation after offering cash incentives.
Among those who have seen success with this approach is Sarah Cook, a 45-year-old mother from Dorset. She shared that offering £250 for top grades and smaller amounts for lower grades had greatly improved her eldest daughter’s concentration during her GCSE exams. She plans to offer the same incentive to her youngest daughter, Merryn, promising her £100 for a 9, 8, or 7 (equivalent to an A* or A in the old grading system), £50 for a 6 or 5 (B), and £20 for a 4 (C).
“We were definitely all for it and happy to pay up based on achievement. I think it reflects real life as well – if you do well in your job, you tend to get paid more,” Ms. Cook explained. Merryn, 13, added, “I think it is better for motivation and for that extra encouragement to strive for the highest possible grades and push yourself more.”
Robert Gidney, a father from Norfolk, shared a similar experience with his 14-year-old son. He revealed that his son’s grades had improved by a whole grade since the family introduced a reward system of £250 for a grade 9, reduced by £50 for each lower grade, with no reward for grades below 5. “He seems to be concentrating a lot more on it. He has been studying a lot more and putting a lot more effort in,” Mr. Gidney said.
However, not all parents are in favor of this practice. Sarah Paterson, a 57-year-old mother of two from Cheshire, strongly disagrees with offering cash incentives for academic achievement. “Never in a million years,” she said, recalling how her children, now aged 26 and 37, would protest that their friends were being offered cash rewards. “It’s absolute potatoes. What are you setting your kids up for there? If they are going to be academic, they are going to be academic. Life is about self-motivation.”
Experts in psychology also have differing views on the effectiveness and potential harm of offering cash incentives for grades. According to Dr. Cath Lowther, the general secretary of the Association of Educational Psychologists, while external motivators like money can help children focus in the short term, they can ultimately harm their intrinsic motivation to learn and achieve their own goals.
Dr. Emma Citron, a consultant clinical psychologist and chartered member of the British Psychological Society, expressed concerns that this practice adds more pressure to an already stressful time for students. She also emphasized the importance of unconditional approval and validation from parents rather than conditional rewards for academic success.
The debate surrounding cash incentives for grades also extends to teachers. Charlotte, a biology teacher at a private school, shared that approximately 20% of her students are offered cash incentives by their parents. She believes that this can be a positive motivator for those who struggle academically or lack motivation to study. However, she also shared that her own children, who have dyslexia and dyspraxia, were not offered cash incentives and were instead encouraged to do their best.
A 26-year-old teacher from a state school in Reading shared similar thoughts, stating that while cash incentives may be effective in some cases, they can also add unnecessary pressure on students and potentially lead to disappointment if they do not achieve the desired grades.
Dr. Lowther believes that the use of external motivators like cash incentives highlights a larger issue within the British schooling system. She suggests that schools should focus on fostering intrinsic motivators such as autonomy and connection to others rather than relying on extrinsic incentives like gold stars and narrow curriculum choices.
“It would be great if there could be some real thinking about the curriculum and getting science behind how it’s developed and how it’s implemented,” Dr. Lowther said.
