Preparing your child for their GCSEs – Part 2

September 1st, 2010 by Louise

Following on from Preparing your child for their GCSEs – Part 1, here are three more ways to ensure your child is going into their GCSE years with confidence:

1. Choose a good mix of subjects. For the first time in their academic career, your child actually has a say in which subjects they want to study. However, they will still need your guiding hand to make sure they select subjects that support both their individual strengths and their future university applications. Languages are always a good idea, if your child has an aptitude for them.



2. Identify weaknesses as soon as possible. Every child is stronger in some subjects than others, and it takes a great deal of discipline to focus study time on the more difficult subjects, particularly if they are mandatory and your child does not enjoy them. Using the services of a private tutor for the more challenging subjects can be a good way to boost your child’s confidence, as well as improve their exam scores.

3. Practise makes perfect. Most kids are terrified of exams – even if they won’t admit it to their parents! The more preparation you can give them, therefore, the better. Obtain practise papers and revision guides for each of their GCSE subjects so that your child can get used to the format of each of their exams. For subjects like English, which require essays to be written during the exam, you or your child’s home tutor should set “fake exams” to help them learn to write essays within a restricted timeframe.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment
Bookmark and Share

Prepare your child for A-levels

August 27th, 2010 by Louise

With competition for university places getting steeper, the pressure on A-level students is more intense than ever before. So how can you prepare your child for sixth form without stressing them out? Here are a few of our top tips:

1. Your child may have mixed feelings about their A-levels before they’ve even started them. Assure your child that with the right discipline, they have as much chance as anybody else of attending a good university.

2. Unfortunately sixth form coincides with a very busy social time for teenagers. Explain to your child that if they do well in their A-levels they can socialise all they want at university. It’s worth keeping social activities to a sensible minimum for two years to secure a bright future.

3. Check that your child is happy with their choice of A-level subjects and that their choices are accepted by their target universities. The top institutions are very fussy about what they accept. If they’re not happy, they must tackle this and change subjects as early on as possible. Better to change and do some catching-up than to suffer later on.

4. Make sure that your child feels organised, happy and on top of things generally. Check in with them on a regular basis and reassure them that they can discuss any problems or issues with you – you’re there to help.

5. Encourage your child to supplement their studies with some well-chosen activities. Not only will these help to refresh and recharge their brains, but they’ll also look good on their UCAS forms. It’s often these activities which help candidates to stand out. Visiting old people’s homes, learning an instrument and taking the Duke of Edinburgh awards are good examples.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment
Bookmark and Share

GCSE pupils achieve record results

August 24th, 2010 by Louise

First Tutors would like to wish all of our tutees the very best of luck as they collect their exam results today. Good luck as well to our tutors, who are probably just as nervous!

If national data is anything to go by, today’s exam results should be the cause of celebration for many of our tutees and tutors: 2010 has proved to be another record-breaking year for GCSE results.

Almost seven out of ten GCSE entries this year have been awarded a C grade or above and the pass rate overall has risen for the 23rd year in a row. This year, 98.7% of entries achieved a pass grade.

The results also mirror the A-level trend for an increase in entries for the Sciences and a decrease in that for the traditional modern languages.

In individual Science GCSEs, Biology entries have increased by 28.3%, chemistry by 32.2% and physics by 32.1%.

By contrast, entries in French and German have gone down by 5.9% and 4.5% respectively. However, there were big rises in those for Portuguese, Chinese and Polish.

This year also shows an increased trend in pupils sitting GCSE English and GCSE Maths a year early. This year, more than 10% of pupils sat Maths early whilst just under this figure took English early – a 50% increase on last year’s entries.

The figures have attracted criticism by some educators, with many saying that the exams are becoming “too easy” and “too predictable”. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers stated that the exam system was in “disarray” and that even those who achieved “a string of A*s” were not well served by GCSEs. However, First Tutors would like to offer sincere congratulations to all the students who are today celebrating the results of their hard work.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment
Bookmark and Share

A-level results show record numbers of top grades

August 19th, 2010 by Louise

This year’s A-level results have been described as “record-breaking” as around one in 12 exams were awarded the new A* grade which was brought in to help top universities select the very best candidates. First Tutors would like to offer warm congratulations to our A-level tutees and tutors – well done!

More than 69,000 exam entries (just over eight per cent of the total) were awarded the A* according to the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).

To earn an A* a student has to score an A overall, plus at least 90% in each of their papers in the second year of their course.

More than one in four entries (just over 20 per cent) were awarded an A, a slight increase from last year.

The success comes in the first year of the revamped A-levels, in which students sit four modules instead of the previous six and answered new “stretch and challenge” questions designed to help them demonstrate their knowledge.

The most popular subjects this year were English, Maths, Biology, Psychology and History, with Modern Languages decreasing in popularity while the Sciences experienced a resurgence.

There was also good news for the overall pass rate, with 97.6 per cent of entries awarded an E or above. This was an improvement in the 97.5% pass rate in 2009 and marked the 28th year in a row in which A-level pass rates have increased.

Around 300,000 students received their results this year, but with more than 660,000 applications to undergraduate university courses, it has been predicted that up to 200,000 learners could miss out on their desired place.

David Willetts, the universities minister, said: “The most competitive universities really are very competitive indeed, so it does mean that there are people who can get three As at A-level and not find that they have got a place at those intensely competitive universities.”

He advised students to have an insurance offer for a less competitive university and to “think about doing the things that would make their CV even more distinctive and stand out for universities next year.”

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment
Bookmark and Share

Choose your A-levels wisely

August 17th, 2010 by Louise

As A-level results day looms near, news this week reveals that some students might not be offered a place at university – not because of their A-level results, but because of the A-levels themselves that they studied.

David Willetts, the minister for universities and science, stated this week that many pupils were studying A-levels that were unsuitable for their intended degree. He said: “There are people who do stay on for A-levels but they are doing PE, religious studies and geography, and they say they want to be an engineer.”

Mr Willetts has called for better careers advice to pupils in Years 10 and 11 and more carefully considered input from teachers in order to help them select the A-level subjects that university admissions tutors would actively seek out.

Worryingly, he also said that “perhaps a quarter” of all A-levels studied by young people were “not valued” by most universities.

Although representatives from teaching unions have denied the claims, these are striking  comments and that younger pupils should take on board. The lesson here? It’s so important to research university admissions requirements properly when choosing which A-levels to study. If your child doesn’t know what degree subject to study when they choose their A-levels, then they should find out which subjects are generally well-regarded by the institutions that they might apply to.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment
Bookmark and Share

Preparing your child for their GCSEs – Part 1

August 12th, 2010 by Louise

GCSEs are the first set of exams which have an influence on a pupil’s career. Successful results enable pupils to take their pick of A-level subjects, and the top universities like to see a stream of A*s and As when it comes to GCSEs on UCAS forms.

With that in mind, it’s so important to prepare your child well for their GCSE studies. Here are three ways in which you can do this.

1. Stress to your child how important their GCSEs are. This is a chance for them to shine and get their lives off to a great start. Tell them that it’s time to knuckle down – and that you’ll give them all the love and support they need for success.

2. Organisation is key and comes in two main forms: time management and information organisation. In terms of time, make sure that your child is spending equal amounts of time on each subject when it comes to their homework and coursework.

As for storing their work, make sure they have folders for each subject and that they know how to organise each folder. There are a lot of handouts and notes to collate, and organising them from the start makes the inevitable exam revision much easier to handle.

3. A challenge you will face as a parent is the fact that GCSEs happen at the same time that your child’s interest in their social life will start to rise. They’ll want to go out all the time – or spend all their time on Facebook. Set boundaries for their social lives. Friends are important, but their schoolwork has to take priority.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Academic | 1 Comment | Add a Comment
Bookmark and Share

Increase in bursaries gives hope to new students

August 10th, 2010 by Louise

In the run-up to the start of the university year, many students – especially freshers – will be worrying about the debt that they will accrue during their degree. Indeed, tuition fees and their effect on students’ financial well-being have been at the top of the educational news agenda for some time.

This week saw some positive news, however, for some students. The Office of Fair Access (Offa), which protects access to university for less well-off students, stated this week that universities in England have slightly raised the proportion of their income they give as bursaries. Sir Martin Harris, director of Offa, says the continued expenditure showed universities and colleges “strong ongoing commitment to widening access”.

The Russell Group of universities says that it is at the forefront of the bursary increases, saying that it had “greatly exceeded Offa’s requirements yet again”. Nearly a third of students at its universities received a bursary or scholarship, including 31,000 of the very poorest students who received nearly five times the minimum bursary.

Of course, the news has attracted some criticism, with both the National Union of Students (NUS) and the University and College Union (UCU) saying that not enough is being done to distribute enough funds in a fair manner.

True, the rise is very small – 0.8 per cent – but it is a rise nonetheless and a step in the right direction. It means that in 2008-09, the total amount universities spent on bursaries had risen to £344m, up from £219m the previous year. Each qualifying student now has to be awarded a mandatory £310.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments | Add a Comment
Bookmark and Share

10 ways to prepare your child for primary school

August 5th, 2010 by Louise

The first day at primary school is a landmark in every child’s life. Here are some ways you can help your child make the transition from home/ nursery school to primary school:

1. If any of your friends have children starting at the same school, see if you can arrange a few ‘playdates’ before school starts – that way, your child will already have friends.

2. Encourage your child’s independence by teaching them to dress themselves and look after their own possessions.

3. Lead by example: be enthusiastic and positive when you talk to your child about school.

4. If your child has older siblings or cousins, encourage them to tell your child positive things about starting school.

5. Teach your child about school etiquette, such as sharing, taking turns, and raising their hand to ask a question.

6. Get to know the school, and its staff, as well as you can. Attend parent-teacher meetings, inductions, social events and anything else that helps you build relationships with the people who will be taking charge of your child’s early education.

7. Find storybooks about starting school and read them to your child.

8. Make sure you inform the school if your child has any allergies, special needs or medical issues.

9. Take your child with you when you go shopping for their uniform. Let them try it on and explain to them that this is what big boys and girls wear when they go to school.

10. Don’t voice any concerns about the school in front of your child. Talk to a partner or friend about anything that’s bothering you in private.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment
Bookmark and Share

Cuts to university places expected next year

August 3rd, 2010 by Louise

With A-level results right around the corner, many students’ minds are turning to university. More than 660,000 people applied for a university place this year, up almost 12% on last year (which was itself a record-breaker, at 592,312 applications for 373,793 places).

The surge in university applications is largely explained by people opting for education rather than trying to find a job in a tough economic climate. There has also been a significant increase in university applications from prospective mature students and from people who missed out on places last year.

However, anyone thinking of taking a gap year and applying next year when the economy may be stronger should think again. All the signs point to competition for university places increasing yet further in 2011 because the new Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has ordered a radical shake-up of higher education. It’s very likely this will result in fewer university places being made available.

Tony Blair set the famous target of getting 50% of young people through university, but Cable has made clear his concerns that the increase in available university places has devalued degrees. Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students, disagrees with Cable’s view and has warned that reducing university places would “jeopardise the fragile economic recovery and place us at risk of returning to a higher education system accessible only to a liberal elite”.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Academic | 1 Comment | Add a Comment
Bookmark and Share

Educational day out: Exploris, Northern Ireland

July 28th, 2010 by Louise

Did you know that you could go and see rescued seals close-up in Northern Ireland?

Exploris (formerly the Northern Ireland Aquarium) plays home to lots of injured and abandoned seals and forms a base for them in which to be treated and recuperate. Part heart-rending, part inspiring, this little seal sanctuary is just one of the highlights of the aquarium, which is located in the conservation village of Portaferry.

Portaferry sits on the shores of the Marine Nature reserve of Strangford Lough, which contains more than 70 per cent of all of the marine species in Northern Irish waters – making it the ideal place to see and learn about an amazing array of sea life. Take a tour of the discovery pools to observe rays, starfish and sea urchins close up – experienced guides will be able to tell you all about the creatures.

The open sea tank holds an impressive 250 tonnes of sea water and is where you’ll find lots of deep water creatures, from household favourites such as cod, turbot and halibut to more scary examples like sharks and conger eels. You can even watch as Exploris divers swim around the tanks feeding the sharks and congers!

Depending on the time of year, you can also go on an accompanied shore walk where you’ll get to see animals in their natural habitat along the coast.

To find out more visit www.exploris.org.uk

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment
Bookmark and Share

« Older Entries