11+ tution

[Pani6161]

Hi Everyone.My son will be starting year 5 in September and I am looking for very good tuition to help him in English and also prepare him for 11+ exam.
I would appreciate if you can help me in this matter and share your views with me.

[Ladymuck]

Well, you need to find someone local to you. I would talk to some of the year 6 parents at your school who have got children going to the grammar and ask them for details of who they used. That way you may also find a tutor who is used to what is taught at the current primary school, and where the gaps are (eg our tutor is aware that our school doesn't teach geometry to the level required, so will usually make sure that that is covered off, even by those parents who mainly wanted English tuition say).

[Pani6161]

Thanks Ladymuck. unfortunately in school parents in school are trying to hide their tutors and they are not willing to share with anyone.I absolutely understand the competition is very hot and they have right to do that. that's why i decided to seek for help here.

[antimatter]

it' hard to advise without knowledge where you are based :)
I also used an online tutor (60 min a week on SKYPE) and that worked well for my kids, but he is in great demand so you may find sometime that best tutors have been booked far in advance

I remember one parent promised passing my name to some outstanding tutor and I wasted few weeks waiting on her to call (no idea if that parent passed on my name anyway )

[Ladymuck]

As antimatter noted, no one can help you without knowing where you are, and which school(s) you are aiming for. But if you are looking for one to one personal tuition then really you should be looking at a good local recommendation. Of course your classmates won't give you details as you are in direct competition, which is why you need to approach the parents of year 6 children, or even parents of children already at the secondary school that you are looking at.

That said, I think most of us would be very wary at giving out a tutor's personal details to a complete stranger on the internet. I'd certainly be unhappy to be contacted in such a way unless I had deliberately placed an ad (and of course good tutors don't tend to have to advertise). Equally if you were to be approached by someone on the internet offering to help please, please make sure that you take all checks to ensure that they are who they say they are, and do not leave your son with them until you have done so.

Good luck.

[Pani6161]

Thank you Ladymuck and antimatter. I am based in richmond and my son's first aim is Tiffin school and some independent schools like st' pauls.
Ladymuck you are absolutely right we can't trust the people in the internet and leave our child with them. if I can get some recommendation fro sure i will check everything.

[Pani6161]

I've been told there is a really good tutor preparing children to Tiffin 11+ exam, her name is Mrs.Babara welsh...I would be grateful if anybody who knows how to contact her can share it with me,i am new in london and don't really know anyone here.
.Many Thanks

[Ladymuck]

I thought that the Walshs had stopped tutoring. However I believe that she did write a set of books covering VR for the Tiffins exams, and it is worth keeping a look out for these as well as the GL NVR papers. You can get them from Amazon here.

[antimatter]

My kids tutors used her books as it covers some topics which are examined very well, but he used them towards the end, near exams

I know my nephew went to Walsh's groups but those were big groups and it lacked personal touch.

11+ forum will give you basic info what you need to know but which tutor to go for - you have to look for that locally. Theres an amazing lady near where we live but unlikely you want to travel that far! Her lessons are booked up in advance as well.

[Pani6161]

Thank you both, Ladymuck mrs walsh the mother has stopped teaching but her daughter Barbara is continuing her way.
antimatter can I ask you which area do you live?

[Fram]

Perhaps MNLocal might be a good idea- none of the tutors I could recommend would be of any use to you!

[Pani6161]

Yea I have posted to MNLocal as well but no one get back to me:(((

[antimatter]

I am in Sutton borough, tutor is in Wallington and most of her groups meet on weekdays after school

[Pani6161]

Thank you antimare

[Elibean]

Sorry, OP, not really the point (and I'm not in a position to help) but....I can't for the life of me understand why parents 'hide' tutors

What difference can it make if X's child has tuition too?! It wouldn't bump my own child off that tutor's list, so...?

Baffling.

[BucksKid]

Elinean - because tiffin take the top X kids. So you are in direct competition for a place with all your class.

[antimatter]

Elibean - it's tough out there - I am glad I found my tutors myself and didn't need to ask anyone for favours

[Elibean]

But, even if you are in competition for places, surely it's more about a kid's ability/hard work than the tutor involved? Never mind, I'm clearly far too idealistic and very relieved we're not involved in fights for tutors

[BucksKid]

Elibean - if people didn't believe it was about the tutors, they wouldn't use them would they.

They would just buy some bond books and give them to the child.......

[MarriedDadOneSonOneDaughter]

Don't get caught up in the hyperbole. It's not all about tutors, but I wouldn't say don't use one at all either.

My son did the Colet Court/St Paul's and City of London entrance in January and was offered a place at both. We gave him 10 hours with a tutor (1 hour a week leading up to January). He had a standard national curriculum from the local state school.

I think a tutor can be best used to give candidates "exam technique" - in other words, how to get what's already in their head onto the page and to get maximum marks. If you are thinking of tutoring your child for months on end or all year then you might be over doing it. Either your child is bright enough and doesn't really need all that extra pressure or they need it too much and won't get a place, or won't cope at those schools (Tiffin included).

I would recommend that in year 5 you focus on

• lots of varied reading to support creative and imaginative thinking
  
• lots of extra curricular activities, including sports, music, drama and going to events and the theatre to give your child a rounded character (if that is even possible in a year!)
  
• making sure they get all their school homework done to the highest possible standard
  
• making sure they have "downtime" and play time to ensure they aren't stressed and over worked
  
• make sure you have a number of options for your child - from the most to least academic and make sure they know it too
  

Finally, the one thing I saw at the exams and interviews at both schools was the "highly" stressed parent that had spent a year or more prepping their son for this one day on which their "entire future life" depended. Please avoid that as I am sure it transfers to the child and I suspect their are over 120 boys now wondering if they are "failures" for not getting in. Not a great way to start towards adolescence.

Good luck with year 5 and gentle encouragement.

[Elibean]

Bucks Kid not sure I agree, because tutors can help a kid access the Bond books etc - and support, and teach exam technique. I can't get my head around thinking my kid's tutor (as opposed to someone else's tutor) might make all the difference to my kid getting a place somewhere.

Perhaps I'm very lucky.

[Elibean]

And I think MarriedDadetc gives sound advice. I wouldn't say don't use a tutor, but I wouldn't get my knickers in a twist over one either. Totally agree with stress getting passed down to the kids.

[Pani6161]

MarriedDadOneSonOneDaughter thanks for your advices.It would be very helpful.
The competition is really hot in Tiffin school,I am trying my best to work with him,but at the end of the day ,I have studied 20 years ago and these days they are using different methods.to teach them the techniques , I think I need a tutor who is more up to date and can teach them the techniques.thanks everyone

[Ladymuck]

Tiffin still use GL Assessment VR and NVR tests for their entrance exams. In one sense it is one of the simpler exams to work for, though has very little to do with anything they cover at school. GL Assessment actually produce "How to do" books which cover all the tips and techniques for these types of questions, and then the only thing you have to do is to ensure that his vocabulary is as wide as possible, and the Walsh test books cover this. Any "tutor" using these materials will help your son, or you could do it yourself. But if the problem is that he isn't motivated to work, then that isn't something that a tutor will help that much with.

If on the other hand you are looking at private schools, then that is a whole different ballgame and he needs to be able to write and do maths. That requires a different type of preparation.

No tutor will wave a magic wand, and I think that regardless of whether you use a tutor, or indeed which tutor you use, it will ultimately be down to you and your son to ensure that this is working out for you. You may need to try a few local tutors to see which one can help your son the most, but in order to do that you will need to be clear as to which schools you are looking at.

[Pani6161]

Thanks everyone.