Does my daughter need a tutor?
Q. My Daughter is in Year 5 at our local primary school and is doing really well. I would like to put her in for entrance tests for some private senior schools next year as I think she would really benefit from the opportunities and facilities on offer there. However everyone I speak to tells me she won’t stand a chance unless she is tutored for the tests from now onwards as she hasn’t covered the curriculum. I always promised myself I wouldn’t get sucked into this kind of competitive parenting and playground gossip, but I don’t want my daughter to miss out because I didn’t give her the right chances. Is a tutor necessary in this situation?
A1. In the run up to entrance tests for schools parents can – very understandably – become anxious, and some indeed opt for tutoring because everyone else seems to be doing it and they want to give their daughter the same preparation and so the same chance. Most 11+ entrance tests do not require special knowledge or unusual skills, however – ask the schools for details or past papers to check – and as your daughter is doing really well tutoring would seem, on the face of it, unnecessary. It may be that if you bought some practice test booklets that trying out stories and maths problems to time under your supervision would be all the practice she needs. However, if you feel she has gaps in her understanding, or lacks confidence, you might consider a little extra tutoring as a ‘booster’. If you really feel that without substantial tutoring she won’t get in then perhaps you should consider whether she would manage with the pace once there, or there is a danger that her confidence will be damaged and she will not thrive.
Gillian Low, Headmistress, The Lady Eleanor Holles School
A2. Parents are keen to see their child do well in forthcoming examinations so are sometimes persuaded that she needs the top-up that a private tutor can provide. Resorting to tutoring does not always imply dissatisfaction with the teaching at school; some one-on-one sessions can demystify those parts of the syllabus that are proving problematic. The individual attention and tailored practice a tutor will give can do wonders for a child’s confidence and help improve examination technique. But before you put ‘private tutor’ into Google, here are three points worth considering:
- Go for word-of-mouth recommendations and check out if the tutor has been vetted by the Criminal Records Bureau.
- If possible, tell the school that you feel extra help is needed: your child may not be giving you the full story of her shortcomings and the school may be laying on clinics and help-lines already.
- While tutoring can provide a boost that justifies the investment there is little point in preparing your daughter successfully for an exam to enter a selective school if she flounders once she is there. A good tutor, like a good school, should foster independence not dependence.
Vicky Tuck, Principal, The Cheltenham Ladies’ College
Your comments
My daughter is bright and is the in the top 1 or 2 at her state primary. She sat an exam paper for a top private girls’ school in yr 5 so that we could see how she was doing. We were surprised at the results. The school told us she wasn’t up to the grade.
For the last 9 months she’s seen a tutor to cover the areas her primary school didn’t (once a week 1hr and not during holidays). In March this year she sat the entrance exam at this school and a couple of others, as we didn’t expect her to get in… She did.
If you have a bright child not all state primaries drive them; nor do they offer much help to achieve if you mention the private route, and they can miss out as a result.
My daughter is in a private shool which i fund on my own. I wanted her to go to a grammar school in year 7 as i believed the education to be exceptional (given the results) and also would help financially. She had recently sat my step daughters mock gcse paper and got 97% so thought she was in with a shot. She was also continually getting high 90’s in verbal reasoning so i thought she had a good chance. Just to make sure she also had a tutor. In the end she missed out by 9 places. Being inquisitive i purchased the papers as soon as they were released and was quite astonished at the level the papers were set. I appreciate they have to make them tough as not everyone van get in but i do not believe a child without tutoring is likely to gain a place. This is particularly true in the case of state schools in our area where they do not stuffy Verbal reasoning at all and this equates to 50% of the marks.
My daughter is now sat an entrance exam for the highest achieving private school in the area which is still a tremendous result.
Good luck to all who sit entrance exams. If nothing else its a valuable experience for parents and children alike.
I agree. My daughter does very well at a state grammar school. She had never seen questions like the ones in the entrance test while at her state primary school, and there were maths topics which weren’t taught as part of the national curriculum by year 5/6. Her primary school had a policy of not assisting children in their applications for selective and independent schools. I would say a tutor is essential for most children, if only for exam practice, and teaching of extra maths.
Are the private senior schools oversubscribed?
If so, then somebody has to miss out, and if all parents push their children with extra tuition then all those children will have been stressed and somebody will still have to miss out. It’s like mortgages: if there is a housing shortage, then house prices will go up and up, but there will still be a shortage.
I feel that if your child has a natural ability and is keen to learn she will do well within the atmosphere and expectation of private schooling. My 10 yearold child sailed through entrance exams gaining scholarships for 2 schools without any tutoring and direct from mainstream education. However after 4 years at Royal Grammar School and remarkable exam results of 98%, opted out of education. But then at least he had the opportunity and I feel that boys are very different from girls when it comes to studying. He took up degree education at a later date.
Good luck with child rearing!
I don’t believe it is possible to get a child through selective entrance exams by tutoring alone if they are not at that level anyway, but it is quite possible for a talented child to miss out if they haven’t had practice at the kind of papers they will face in an entrance exam.
Ask the school what papers they use and either do some practice ones with your child or consider a tutor to help build their confidence.
Your aim is to get your child as relaxed as possible so that they do their best in the exam.
Good luck!
Our daughter is currently in Year 9 at one of the highest performing independent girls’ schools. She is doing very well and is particularly gifted at Maths.
However the entrance exams for independent schools were very different to what our daughter had learned at her state primary. Despite the fact that she is more than holding her own, I believe that she would not have gained a place without private coaching for the exam.
My daughter is appearing in the exams this year, for the entry into year 7. Some of the days are good and she produces good results but some days are really poor, silly mistakes in maths and doesn`t retain much and same goes for english. Any advice would be much appreciated.