With school entrance exams and GCSE and A Level mocks just around the corner, you may be wondering how to help your child with exam revision over the Christmas break. No student wants to be glued to their books during yuletide activities, so here are a few suggestions to make holiday schoolwork a little less Grinch-like.

Little and often is key

For children taking the 11+ or the 13+ in January, it is sensible to set aside a little time every day, or every other day, for revision. With younger children, it is important to keep things ticking over as tricky mathematical methods and difficult spellings are easily forgotten over the Christmas break. Short, regular revision sessions are likely to be more effective —and more fun —thanlong stints sitting at a desk.

Plan some treats

Whether it is a trip to the ice rink or a visit to some Christmas markets, make sure to intersperse revision with some festive outings. A few rewards will provide more motivation to study and —more importantly —give children the chance to enjoy their well earned school holiday.  

Get the whole family involved

Nothing is worse than hearing everyone having fun together in the kitchen as you sit staring at a page of trigonometry. Revision doesn’t have to a solitary affair, however: take the time to quiz your child on arithmetic and spelling, and encourage other members of the family —older siblings, aunts, grandparents —to do the same. A maths problem shared is a maths problem halved.

Try to inject some yuletide cheer

Although an 11+ past paper may be the least festive thing known to man, do your best to make it fun. Hunt down some Christmas maths quizzes, or find a Noel themed English comprehension passage. Schoolwork will never be as enjoyable as eating mince pies, but it doesn’t have to be chore.

Schedule in some private tuition

If you have decided to hire a tutor, it is a good idea to timetable in a couple of lessons during the Christmas break. Whether your child is struggling with a particular topic, or is experiencing pre-exam nerves, a tutor will boost their confidence and help clear up their confusion before school starts again in January.  

Play games

For young students, sometimes a game of Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit is just as worthwhile as agonising over a non-verbal reasoning test. Anything that keeps children’s brains active over the holiday is sure to be a good thing —plus Christmas is a time for families to spend quality time together.

Draw up a timetable

If your child has GCSE or A Level mocks in January, encourage them to make a timetable. It is hard for teenagers to know how much progress they are making over the holidays, and a timetable will make them feel like they are making real headway. It is important to be realistic — don’t let them schedule in 14 hours of Chemistry revision on Christmas Eve. But scheduling in a few hours in every day — and marking in some work-free days — is a great way for teenagers to make the most of the Christmas break.  

Set some goals

Whether your child is about to sit the 11+ or an A Level exam, think about some key objectives they should aim to achieve over the holiday. These don’t have to be detailed, but it will help to avoid panic later in the day, and fill your child with a real sense of achievement once Christmas comes to an end.

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You need only to glance at the shelves of a bookshop, or to skim the surface of Google, to be inundated with exam resources. As you battle your way through AQA textbooks, KS2 worksheets and ISEB syllabi, you would be forgiven for thinking that it’s not just your child who is being tested. Figuring out the acronyms is an exam in itself.

Educational material is abundant and widely available to parents. This raises the question of whether private tuition is really necessary any more. Is it worth expense? Is it worth the time and effort involved in finding someone who can enthuse your child and help them to succeed?

Private tutors have a wealth of knowledge and experience. They can tell their OCRs from their Edexels. They know 11+ examinations back-to-front, and can navigate through the maze of admissions criteria. Not all schools ask for the same thing. Entrance exams for state selective and grammar schools are often different to the tests designed by the independent sector. What is more, you can not even be sure that Westminster, London will ask the same sort of questions as St Paul’s Girls’ School, London.

Many state schools — and even some private schools — fail to adequately prepare students for what to expect. A private tutor in English, maths or other curriculum subject can give children the guidance they need and save parents the arduous and difficult task of resource-hunting.

Tutors also know where pupils commonly slip up. Take an 11+ Maths exam, for example.  ‘If April 4th was a Thursday, on what day was March 17th?’  ‘What two numbers sum to 30 and have a difference of 6?’ ‘Given that 24 76 x 165 = 408540 find 408540 ÷ 16.5’. These types of question are notorious among tutors, who have seen many a student — and the odd parent — flummoxed by date and number problems.

Private tuition in maths, English, or reasoning for example, is not purely goal-orientated, however. Children should not be turned into exam-taking machines, churning out non-verbal reasoning tests with robotic efficiency. There is only so many shape sequences you can stare at before losing the will to live, let alone to learn.

Instead, tutors can transform a student’s approach to studying. They can restore confidence when anxiety sets in. They can compensate for poor teaching at school. Perhaps most importantly, they can mentor and inspire their pupils, instilling a love of their subject in those that they tutor.

Given the valuable impact of private tuition, you may be wondering when is the best time to hire a tutor. A lot depends on the stage that your child is at.  The 11+ English, Maths and Reasoning examination requires students to have learnt all of the skills included in Key Stage 2. This is important as the exams are scheduled either during the autumn term or in the January of Year 6. As a result, pupils will only have officially completed half of the Year 6 curriculum before they sit the tests.

If you leave 11+ preparation until the start of Year 6 you do not give yourself a lot of time. Panic and stress — on your part or that of your child — is not conducive to thinking. At Hampstead and Frognal Tutors, we recommend that students start to prepare in either Year 4 or Year 5 focusing on English tuition and maths tuition to build solid foundations in number, comprehension and story writing. This does not mean that they should be grappling with verbal reasoning over breakfast or with Venn diagrams before bed from the age of eight. However, regular study sessions can make a huge difference to a child’s ability and confidence.

If the 11+ is looming, however, don’t panic! We recommend that a child who is due to start Year 6 this September should have, on average, three hours of focussed tuition per week. This should compensate for the short time span and equip your child with the skills that they need to achieve their potential.

Preparing for GCSEs and A Levels is slightly different. It is essential for teenagers to build up a rapport with their tutor and to feel supported over the course of their studies. It is often beneficial, therefore, for teenagers to be tutored regularly throughout Year 11, 12 or 13.

Regardless of what year your child is in, however, now is the perfect time to get started. The summer holidays bring free time and long days, along with the inevitable cry of ‘I’m bored!’. The lengthy break can also lead to the phenomena known as the ‘summer slide’. Various studies have concluded that literacy declines over the summer, as children replace books with beaches, computer games and iPhones.

Tuition is not the sole way to beat the summer slump. Reading is also a great way to keep things ticking over. For younger children, initiatives like the Summer Reading Challenge (https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk) showcase the joy of books and are ideal for improving literacy. For teenagers, summer is a good time to read around different subjects in preparation for the coming academic year. A good tutor would be able to draw up reading lists designed to point students in new, exciting directions.

The next time you are grappling with the differences between KS2 and KS3, whilst decoding the meanings of STEP and IB, pause for a moment. As you scan the bookshelves and plunge into the depths of Google, consider whether your energy could be better spent elsewhere. The time may have come to hire a tutor.

The post Can I Tutor My Own Child? When is the Right Time to Hire a Tutor? appeared first on Hampstead and Frognal Tutors.

Exam season is upon us, and parents everywhere are seeing their children struggle with revision.

Revision is really hard to do. It has the pressure of a looming deadline, the requirement to try and remember what seems like an insurmountable stack of information, and the fear having to write it all out in an exam in precisely timed chunks. For younger children it is especially difficult – avoiding distraction, and even understanding why this torture has to be undergone produces the possibility for a constant battleground with parents.

How to revise is a very individual process, based on learning style and various other factors. Some children work well with flash cards, others with reciting the text, and others by putting up paper on every available wall. Although these techniques can be perfected (especially with the help of a tutor), trying to write an all encompassing ‘guide’ in a blog would be at best, useless, and at worst misleading.

However, there are some broad elements of revision that can be adjusted to optimise your child’s revision and learning capacity. I’m confident that parents are already doing many of the points below. However, if the quality of these points can be improved then it could make all the difference.

5 revision tips to help your child succeed in exam season.

1. Revision Space

A child needs a set space, which is free from distractions in which to revise. The continuity will help concentration. If possible, it should be somewhere that is calm, and doesn’t have any distractions nearby (such as computers, or siblings!) Kitchen tables and open spaces are fine as long as there is calm in the room whilst the child is working.

2. Revision Timetable

Put together a revision timetable in advance with your child. Again, continuity is the key – copying the timings of school day is a not a bad approach. Make sure that there is a copy of the timetable somewhere public (kitchen etc) that can be ticked off – giving a sense of achievement. This is very important to stop the overwhelming feeling! The timetable must be rigidly stuck to – no last minute excuses from children (or parents!) This is why drawing it up together is important.

3. Sleep

This is possibly the most important aspect of good revision. Research from Harvard has found that consolidated sleep for a whole night is optimal for memory. In addition, lack of sleep hugely affects attention and concentration. A slightly sleepy 13 year old has been shown to have cognitive function of a child two years younger. One of the key things to avoid is the use of backlit electronic devices before bed. Research has recently shown that using devices an hour before bed suppresses melatonin by 22%. Melatonin controls the body clock – so affecting it can really hurt sleep patterns. Avoiding it may just help improve your child’s sleep.

4. Food

Food is fuel. Ensuring your child is taking on the right type of food is very important. Sugar has been shown to hugely affect memory and concentration, so try to avoid non-natural sugars. A classic example is on cereal in the morning. A good mixed diet will help your child. But remember – something fun once in a while, such as chips can be a good reward.

5. Take breaks & Exercise!

Taking formal time out from revision is crucial. Regular breaks help relieve monotony by having a scenic and mental change, which allows your child to return to the revision task with renewed vigour. They also allow the brain time to process the information. Try doing some ‘brain gym’ exercises in between revision topics. Getting out of the house and doing some exercise during the day can be really beneficial. The activity can range from the easy to the energetic – from taking a walk, to playing tennis, or going for a swim. It’ll allow you to have some time with your child that isn’t as ‘revision schedule enforcer’, and give them some space to take their mind off the revision and exams each day. It’s also a great stress reliever (for both of you!)

Ensuring that these points are being adhered to can really help your child’s revision. However, how to apply them is down to you!

How to apply this information now:

1. Share and comment on this post. By sharing you can gain other insights by parents on how they improve their child’s revision session Hearing other people’s experience can really help your confidence and give you tried and tested techniques.
2. Contact Hampstead & Frognal Tutors. We are happy to talk through any information about your child’s academic development, without any pressure. We believe in helping children grow, and want to help you achieve that with your child.

By Jonathan Coates @coates_jonathan

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