How i got my daughter into 4 top schools from a state school Locked

[Scottov]

I read this with interest as I also used Richard- he came v highly recommended and I have been soooooo impressed with him- I wasn't aware till recently so many other COL and St. Paul's and Jags girls had used him!
My daughter was in a state primary and a v bright girl - sadly she coasted the whole time she was there- and I resent the fact that she could've achieved so much more!
she was never pushed - despite being obviously bright- which I thought at the time was fine- till just prior to 11+ I saw the capabilities and opportunities of those from the private sector- vast difference!
She also spent time with Richard and flourished- I hadn't realised how bored she was at school- I still recall her excitement and enthusiasm after her first session with Richard and felt like crying! He was fantastic with her and allowed her to flourish and achieve and her maths just excelled- she gained entry into all 8 private schools she applied for and academic scholarships at 6 of them ( yes they're not much nowadays- varied from 1/3 of the fees at 1 school to 10% at the other 5 - but believe me it helps!plus you don't re apply- the scholarships follow you through the school!) and we are eternally grateful to Richard- plus he's just a lovely guy! My son saw him the year after and also did fantastically at 11+ - but more strikingly - if I ever tried to explain anything to him in his homework he'd say " please mum- don't bother- you don't explain it properly- just leave it for Richard"! He gave them solid techniques, genuine enthusiasm and a love for the subject from "a real person" - who happens to be super bright himself.
I understand people's suspicions - I'm like that on forums- but- Richard and his clients speak for themselves- you just have to take your child to meet him and have a session with him- or speak to any of his pupils to know that he is very special- my son had the " usual sought after tutor" that all at his state school used and he was awful- disinterested, jaded and not encouraging or pushing him at all- Richard was a god send because I can confidently say - "my son wouldn't be where he is without Richard" the school didn't prepare him for 11+ at all and he was more than capable -as we discovered thanks to Richard!!!! and the scholarships are a huge help plus a confidence boost for kids from state schools - I don't care what anyone says there is a vast difference in the opportunity and ability to excel in private vs state schools in our area- speaking as a product of a state school myself ( and i did v well) - I did the work myself and have NOTHING to thank the school for other than good friends- national level sport and academic excellence were ache iced by my out of school activities and " in spite of" big because of the school and it's sad that things haven't changed!
Thank god for people like Richard- I can well believe Richards posts will sound suspicious because he is bloody brilliant- he can't help that- but of in doubt- see for yourself! Simple ! I wouldn't normally post coz I want to keep him- he's an absolute gem! but as we need him less for a bit- it's only fair we support him when needed!

your story might be genuine, and you might have the best of intentions but this sort of shilling is probably doing more harm than good.

It is not helpful, and if your story is real then you are doing Richard a disservice.

[SWTutor]

Hi, I like your point and agree with it to an extent at least. I don't have time to reply fully but I'd like to.

Briefly, it is more to do with helping the children realise that they have the ability rather than work miracles. It is to do with nurturing an ability they didn't realise they have. Then building strong foundations and imparting thinking ability once they realise they have the potential.

Further I ensure they are taught to do much more than just pass the test. Teach them how to think for themselves. Like your point though.

May not have said that all quite right but I think you catch my drift.

Got to go. Got work to do.

[SWTutor]

Sorry not sure about your second point didn't see it. But the first one about absence in ability is what I agreed with in part. Couldn't see it all on my screen.

Regarding the parent they are just trying to tell their experience. I am grateful to them for that.

[Nadboy]

Hi There,
Who cares if it is advertisement or not!

At the end of the day, it is about communicating. If it is of interest to anyone to get in touch with a tutor, so be it.
It is like yellow page only with personal recommendations and stories.
Hypothetically: When our friends and family are telling us how to run our ménage we don't just go and do as told (I presume no!) We will think about it and do as We Feel is right for Ourself and NOTHING ELSE.
So thank you Cristinaa for sharing this experience!
Let’s not fool ourselves We parents are so competitive that Tutoring is a Well Know alternative to keep up with our children care as much as we do with Nannies, helpers...

I might be in your shoes in few years’ time.

Best,

N

[atbattersea]

You can do this without tutors, but you need to put in the time and effort. Go to any decent book shops and you will find lots of resources for testing your child and producing curriculum-based work for them to do. I use Waterstones just off Gower Street - always lots of Letts, Bond and "A lesson for every day" books in stock.

(Watch out, nearly all of these books have the odd mistake in them that will throw both you and your child)

I totally reject this notion that you shouldn't teach VR and NVR too. Children don't have some innate ability to solve these problems, they need some sort of framework with which to objectively review what is in front of them. My son did very well with the Letts and Bond test books that were rated at his age level. But he quickly progressed to doing the tests that were 3-4 years above his age group - he couldn't have done that without the grounding that came with the lower levels.

He recently gained a place at one of the borough's prep schools, where they assessed him as having a reading age of 11 - he was only six at the time. With a substantial bursary.

As to thanks to the state school he was at previously. He was very lucky to be in an outstanding state primary, where several of the children in his class are achieving above their age levels (but not as high as him). But in general they have not helped him at all, apart from practising the basics of things he already knows. I was even told off by some of the teachers (hey, it's been awhile since I got admonished by a teacher!) for teaching him maths beyond his class level. He was reading James and the Giant Peach at the end of reception year, but his school were giving him quite basic Biff and Chip books to read.

In year one he was in an advanced reading group, but I'm not sure he got that much out of it given that they were reading another Roald Dahl book that he had read a year before. In year two I know that he has more or less been completely ignored on the reading front - no one (apart from me) has written anything in his reading record book except to state the Roald Dahl book he was given at the beginning of the year (he finished the book at the beginning of October, it's still sitting in his book bag, no one's even noticed).

I actually offered the school my time to help other parents steer their children through the maze of applying for preps (to start in year three) and private secondaries (at 11+), but was completely ignored by the head teacher (I don't really know whether this was some kind of ideological opposition, jealousy or fear of losing their best children - at year three).

As to the cynics, I think it is perfectly acceptable to get extra help for your children to get them into better schools - if you don't do it you are just disadvantaging your child because you can bet others will be. What I learnt from tutoring by own son was that it is relatively easy to boost a young child a year or more ahead of national curriculum expectation levels, because the attainment levels are so low. Once a child has that advantage it is something that they can take with them through their entire schooling.

One thing you have to be very careful about is not just coaching them to answer the question put in front of them, but to make them think about the question and how to answer it. My son shows me that I have managed to do this, in the questions he asks about problems, and the observations he makes. A few days ago I was showing him how to do a long division problem, he quickly recognised that the task we were completing would keep repeating - so I ended up explaining to him what "recurring" meant (which wasn't the intention, it just ended up that way).

[SWTutor]

I enjoyed reading your post atbattersea. The Waterstones on Gower Street does indeed have the best education department and I always recommend parents go there.

Often when parents request tuition when children are 9 or younger I give them a recommended set of books and certainly encourage them to work with their children and come to me later. It is of paramount importance for parents to continue working with their children even when having tuition. For example mental maths and times tables need daily practice and although I'm happy to help with that as a tutor I don't want people to be paying me to do what they could well do with their own children. Further, I can't see a student every day so some things do need to be left with parents - provided I guide them. I am always happy to suggest activities and daily exercises to help there.

There are some instances though when parents just don't have the time simply due to pressures of their jobs and so I may well do more of that work in those cases. Some books need to be purchased on Amazon too, not just picked up from Gower Street as they can take a while to be ordered in. Bond books are good practice and students should work through them but they are not good enough on their own. Especially the non-verbal reasoning. Although good practice, they are not entirely representative of real NVR papers. Try Athey Educational for Reasoning.


What I do when teaching children for the entrance exams is first ensure they have a good grasp of the basics after an assessment. However we quickly progress further - not just turning the handle questions (that is what homework for consolidation is all about)... we quickly move on to applying that knowledge to problems and I enjoy helping them think for themselves. Eventually they have the confidence that they can think through any problem they face (maths ones at least ).


Keep up the good work parents!

[atbattersea]

For example mental maths and times tables need daily practice and although I'm happy to help with that as a tutor I don't want people to be paying me to do what they could well do with their own children.

I think this is what many people don't really understand. I'm not really sure whether my son is particularly bright or not, but his advantage so far is us putting in the effort to get him to practise, expand and challenge his understanding of things.

When we walk to school we talk about things, or even if we're standing in a queue (I don't know if other people think I'm weird or something, but it's better than talking about "how long will we be standing in this queue!?"). So, that's how he learnt his times tables, and how to count to 100 in three languages (French, German and Spanish). I just turn it into a game to pass the time.

[yetimum]

I just wanted to let people know that I received an email from a mother at my daughter's school (JAGS) whom I have had no contact with in the two years that my daughter has been there. The email painted a slightly different scenario, it was her sister that had used them and was worded a little differently to the posting on here but was basically SELLING the same person/ thing. This was sent to me the VERY week that the post went up on here. The mother had used the group email addresses' that were used for a 'mums night out' email for the class.
When I received the email it struck me as strange that I had been sent this especially as it was worded as if the sender was my best friend and she was helping me out. On top of that, parents' contact details which are confidential are not supposed to be used for any other purpose than for School communication.
I am not sure I would be comfortable with hiring a tutor who has been asking mothers' to email parents and to place a glowing review on the NV website, more worryingly all in the same week !