Please see our Term Dates in the link below:
Yes, we usually have lessons during half-terms. Our lessons are scheduled to run every week, with the exception of certain dates around the Christmas and Easter period.
Each class has a maximum of sixteen students, with a teacher and a minimum of two teaching assistants. Tutors have been trained in the eleven plus syllabus and will have a degree in the subject being taught.
Teachers will determine the child’s suitability for Year 5 based on their performance throughout the year, including their class participation, behaviour, end of term test results, class performance and commitment to homework. The vast majority of children who complete our Year 4 course are accepted into Year 5.
We do not normally allow the option to swap lessons because of the additional work involved due to the setting up of the in-class digital voting pads and the way we collect plenary test data for each group. If there are exceptional circumstances then please contact our office by Thursday to request permission to change slot.
Our Year 5 students start their mock exams from the end of May and sit them through to mid-August. The last 3 mocks are usually sat with external students so that our students receive exposure to real exam conditions.
We hold a series of mocks between April and September that are open to the public and are usually advertised from February on our website.
Our tutors have been trained in house on the 11 plus syllabus and deliver lessons prepared by us. We used either qualified teachers or tutors with a degree in the subject being taught. We never use qualified teachers or tutors in maths or English unless they have a degree in the subject. All staff are DBS checked.
You should not need to purchase any extra materials in Year 4 or Year 5 as what we provide is sufficient. We also provide plenty of books and test papers in the final term of the Year 5 course.
The most valuable practice materials are provided online with our structured topic based tests.
The total payable fees are listed in the link below:
Please see our Term Dates in the link below:
Our Year 5 course provides specialist training to fully prepare your child for one exam board or school to target your first choice. However, the course is comprehensive and will provide good preparation to target most other local schools, therefore the majority of parents will not incur extra tuition fees except for Independent Schools. However, all parents may, if they wish, book additional mock exams in the final term to cater for a second school or exam board.
Our Year 5 course provides specialist training to fully prepare your child for one exam board or school to target your first choice. However, the course is comprehensive and will provide good preparation to target most other local schools, therefore the majority of parents will not incur extra tuition fees except for Independent Schools. However, all parents may, if they wish, book additional mock exams in the final term to cater for a second school or exam board.
We are always happy to help you with any specific queries you may have, but are not able to offer tailored assistance to all parents on their school options. This is something that you must research for yourself, depending on your postcode, and decide if you are prepared to move address in qualify under any catchment policy. You should make the necessary enquiries directly with the LEA or school.
School admissions policies which contain catchment information are usually on the individual school’s websites. Policies vary from school to school, and are usually updated on the school’s websites by February or March of each year.
It is the parent’s responsibility to check that they qualify under any catchment policy as this is not something we can take responsibility for.
Yes, these lessons are offered to Year 5 children but are charged for separately. We offer creative writing classes for those applying for grammar schools which test this in September/October. These lessons will be scheduled in the 2nd term and may be arranged on a weekday.
For those children sitting creative writing in January for the independent schools, we offer classes from October to December (usually on a Sunday) after the main course has finished.
On average Year 4 students are set 3-4 hours of online homework per week including reading and vocabulary work.
Year 5 students are set on average, 4-5 hours of online homework per week including reading and vocabulary work, although this may increase in the final term where there may be extra paper based homework.
There will be some weeks where more or less homework may be set. The above times are estimated as children will take differing amounts of time depending on their ability.
A top-up is a one-to-one session by a teacher or teaching assistant to help a child with specific weaknesses identified from assessing the weekly homework. Weekly homework is reviewed by our teaching staff ahead of the next lesson, so that top-ups can be arranged for any child that is struggling.
Due to the vast amount of topic-based tests on our online platform, we are able to set homework tailored to what has been taught in the lesson. The topic videos are extension of the lesson and can be watched at home to help the child consolidate their learning. As a result, the vast majority of the children are able to do their homework to a high standard each week. However, there will be occasions when a child still needs individual support on a specific topic.
Top-ups do not disrupt the lesson, as they held outside the lesson time, usually before or after the lesson in slots of 15 or 30 minutes depending on the topic needing attention.
Top-ups offer peace of mind to parents they are assured that if their child is not keeping up with the class, that he or she will receive the attention they need to progress.
Typically, top-ups that take place on the day of the lesson, and are held either before or after lesson, will usually be 30 minutes or less in duration as they will be limited to a specific question type or topic in the current week’s homework.
Top-ups that are arranged during school holidays, however, tend to be longer and will usually be 1 hour.
Where there are a group of children needing help on the same topics, a group top-up can be arranged during school holidays, which may be longer than one hour.
Most children only need a top-up on the odd occasion from time to time. If a child has weaknesses arising on a weekly or fortnightly basis it usually indicates the child needs more individual support, and learning in a group environment is not suited to the child’s learning needs. It may be necessary for the parent and teacher to discuss whether the child is getting the maximum benefit from the course, especially if they are not responding favourably to the lessons and the additional help they are receiving. Our teachers will repeat many topics and so the need for top-ups should only arise from time to time for most children.
You will receive an end of first term report which will analyse all of the data presented from homework, class activities and in the end-of-term tests. These reports give an overall ranking within the cohort and individual ranking by subject. The reports also identify strengths and weaknesses across all topics.
We monitor and continuously assess your child to ensure their performance is on target, therefore you can assume that your child is progressing well, unless we have specifically brought concerns to your attention.
Throughout the course, we offer top-ups to children based on their performance in class and at home. If your child is regularly being offered top-ups, you can infer that they are weak in multiple areas and need more help than other children. If your child has not been offered top-ups then it is usually a good sign that your child is performing in line with the cohort.
Later on in Year 5, when your child sits mock exams, you will also receive a report for each exam sat, which will provide a rank, and high, low and average scores of the cohort.