How good is your child at maths?
Do you have a secondary school in mind for your child? Have you thought about the tests they will need to take to get in? Does it seem like a long way off and you plan to hire a tutor closer to the time? When is ‘closer to the time’? What if there are gaps in your child’s knowledge now that could hinder them later down the line?
Whether you are aiming for the 7+, 8+, 9+, 10+ or 11+, gaining entry into highly competitive schools is hard and the pressure on children these days is immense. Plus, the probability is that many of the schools you are aiming for are looking for more in a child. They don’t simply want children who know how to pass exams, they want children who can think for themselves.
By understanding how your child processes maths and identifying any problems early on, you can make their learning journey easier and improve their chances of doing well in the exams.
Assess your child’s mathematical ability
The first step to helping anyone is fully understanding their position. From there you can work out if support or stretching is needed to unlock a child’s full potential. At Mathnasium, we offer free assessments to evaluate your child’s mathematical ability. We don’t assess them based on what year they are at school, but on how they perform mathematically. We learn how their brain works and how they process numbers in order to detect any problems early on and work through them with your child.
In this way, we can enhance a child’s performance in maths and ease the pressure when it comes to exam time. We are not traditional tutors and our purpose is not to train kids through exams, although it is a very successful by-product of what we do.
We are a maths learning centre and our purpose is to help children with their mathematical dexterity. We help them understand the logic behind the numbers and strengthen their computational and critical thinking skills so that whether it’s simple sums or complex problems, the same problem-solving skills can be applied. This prepares children not only for the entrance exams, but for life in general.
Help them to tackle difficult exam questions
If you are aiming for the top schools the harder questions in exams are what separate a child from the rest of their cohort. Breaking down those advanced problems and methodically working through them will help a child stand out, both in interviews and entrance exams.
Even though the exams usually fall mid-way through the academic year, your child can be tested on the full syllabus of the year and at the most competitive schools, there will be questions that go well beyond the average national level expected.
Students require strong mathematical problem-solving skills, where they need to understand and apply mathematical concepts. This means that the basic principles need to be firmly in place before a student can even begin thinking about using them for problem solving. The most difficult maths problems include story-based questions which can be very confusing if your child does not know how to problem solve effectively.
Familiarise them with previous exam papers
At Mathnasium, we know the popular secondary schools that children in Nappy Valley are applying to whether they are the top London independent and grammar schools or boarding schools further afield and we know what level of maths they expect. We have their past papers so work with your child to familiarise them with the particular style of each school’s questions, but we will only do this once they are ready.
It’s simple, there is no point in putting an exam paper in front of a child, if they still haven’t grasped the maths to understand it. So, our trained instructors will prepare a bespoke programme for your child and provide one-to-one guidance to develop their numerical fluency and understanding in order to get to this stage.
Don’t leave it too late
Don’t wait until exam time to focus on your child’s maths learning. Our advice is to come to us for a free assessment as early as you can – we take students from Year 1 upwards. Depending on your child’s mathematical ability, we might send you away and recommend you come back to us closer to the time, or we might spot some issues which we can help with.
If we can tackle any stumbling blocks early on, we can help your child through them and ensure that they understand the numbers behind the maths, preparing them not just for the entrance exams but for their future education and employment.
Entrance exams are tough so why put undue pressure on your children if you can help them understand maths early on…
To book in a free maths assessment, contact the Centre Manager, Fiona MacKenzie on 0207 0787 000 or email: clapham@mathnasium.co.uk
Alternatively, pop into the Centre on 122 Northcote Road, London SW11 6QU
The assessment is free and there is no obligation to sign up.
For more information about our teaching methods and results, visit: https://www.mathnasium.co.uk/clapham/results
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