Are you preparing your child for the 11+ exams or their entire potential grammar school experience?
Over our 35 years of preparing children for grammar schools, we have observed that parents tend to concentrate almost entirely on their child passing the 11+ exam. While it is a crucial first step it is also important to focus on what happens once this has been achieved. Parents also need to consider how they will equip their child to thrive throughout their grammar school years in a highly academic environment. What tools will your child need to acquire to begin their grammar school education on the right foot? It is important for all parents to ensure their child reaches their full potential. It is a balancing act; to make sure we challenge the child enough, so they push themselves, but not so much that they start to withdraw and it affects their mental health.
How is this to be achieved?
A Three-way Partnership
AE Tuition inculcates in its methodology an important principle. For all education to succeed in the lower and intermediate years, a three-way partnership is essential. This partnership is between the child, the parent and the educational provider. The child must work hard and do their homework; this needs to be supported and monitored by the parent; and the educational provider must do their part in teaching and delivering a high-quality learning experience. These parties must work together and have regular contact with each other. At AE Tuition this partnership is essential for success, and it should continue into the child’s years in the grammar school. This is particularly important in the lower secondary (years 7-9).
Independent Learning
The aim of AE Tuition is to develop a child’s independent learning skills. The first step to independent learning is doing homework. A child is taught a particular skill or technique and this needs to be confirmed by practising the skill independently – that means on their own at home. If there are problems, then parents might be able to assist but, if not, there should be opportunities for the child to revisit the technique or methodology with the education provider. This happens constantly at AE Tuition. Children are taught a particular skill; they then practise it at home, and if there are difficulties it is referred to the teacher and individual support is arranged to deal with the problem. This back-and-forth process should continue into the grammar school years so that ‘no stone is left unturned’. If this process is followed, the child will eventually be a fully independent learner. By year 10 this should have been achieved, and the child should be able to carry out research and deal with almost all problems on their own. Support then comes more in a tutorial form, where work is reviewed and improved by dialogue and feedback rather teaching from first principles.
Organisational Skills
At AE Tuition we run a highly organised teaching programme and homework is set daily and is highly structured. This assists children in managing and organising their time. This helps instil in the child a disciplined and structured approach to time management that will help them throughout their lives. When children are in the secondary school environment they will have to manage homework from up to 12 subject teachers, which will require a great deal of organisation and planning. Learning these principles at AE Tuition gives children a real head-start for their future education.
Mental Resilience
At AE Tuition we aim to help children reach their full potential. Just as an athlete needs to develop their physique to perform competitively, those who want to succeed academically must develop their problem-solving and critical thinking skills. To build up mental resilience the brain needs constant exercise and challenging tasks to fulfil. AE Tuition sets this process in motion as it focuses on helping children acquire these skills from the outset. Numerous parents have reported dramatic improvements in their child’s behaviour, motivation and overall attitude towards learning when they have attended lessons at AE Tuition. This is because AE Tuition is committed to providing an environment where children learn to think.
Parental Support
AE Tuition believes that ‘information is power’. If we do not know what is available, then we will not avail ourselves of it. In a sense, we even instruct our parents that to achieve the very best for their child they must be informed of the opportunities that are open to them. This of course applies to all of life. We support parents by not only educating their child but also giving advice and recommendations on grammar school entry procedures and guidance right through the application and selection process, and even to appeals if necessary. Advice is constantly available via our teachers at the end of lessons, parental information meetings and contact with our senior management team. This approach should be continued by parents right through their child’s educational journey. It is crucial that university applications are eventually made with full knowledge of course content, the quality of the education the university provides, and the suitability of the course for their child.
Years 3-9
AE Tuition has always believed that the most crucial years in a child’s development are in the primary years (3-6) and lower secondary years (3-9). This is because most of the foundational developmental changes that set people up for life occur during these years. This is why AE Tuition not only prepares children for a potential grammar school placement in years 3-6 but also provides tuition in English, maths and science when children move into their secondary school years. These three subjects are the core subjects for secondary school, and success in these three areas usually means they will perform very well across the rest of the curriculum. AE Tuition can help support children once they are in the grammar school, and also if they are in comprehensive education.
To sum up, AE Tuition is there for your child over a six-year period and helps secure their future success in their education.
