SATs HELP FOR BUSY PARENTS

SATs Help:  How can busy parents help their children facing Year 6 SATs?

When and How?
Age 11 early May of Year 6: SATs in English and maths, marked externally, results published nationally. Teacher assessment in science.

Year 6 SATs

These are held early May, the Key Stage 2 tests are a bit more formal: done over a set week, with certain papers on particular days, and marked externally. Papers are typically delivered to the school on the Monday of SATs week. Your child should expect to complete the following papers:

Day 1: Grammar and Punctuation
Spelling Test

Day 2: English Reading Test

Day 3: Maths Arithmetics (Paper 1)

Day 4: Maths Reasoning (Paper 2)
Maths Reasoning (Paper 3)

Obviously, the children will be aware that there is something going on and that they are going to be tested.  During Year 6, your child will undoubtedly get plenty of exam practice and specific work on how to answer particular questions in exams, particularly in regards to the reading comprehension exam.  Some schools will put on more pressure or expect more revision than others, with many offering extra tutoring either before or after school. It may be a motivator for some kids to try and bit harder, however, many find it stressful.

Our Advice:

You can also help your child at home in the following ways:

Chat to the teacher about where your child is at and if there are areas for improvement.

Keep to routine by making sure they are well rested and get plenty of exercise.  Avoid late nights or sleepovers during this time.

Talk to them about why tests are important but also not to worry.  Keep up the communication so that they can tell you how they feel.

Talk about stories, books and characters.  Read them stories and hear them read.  Play story CDs in the car.  It helps children to hear stories before they write them.  Much children’s TV is chopped up into short or fast moving chunks that don’t hold any narrative, so minimise this.

Practice and re-enforce basic maths skills such as timed tables.  It’s an essential skill that will  improve accuracy but also fluency (getting it right but also completing more questions).

Suggested Links:

Here is a link to Past Papers:

KS 2 Year 6 Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling Past Paper

KS 2 Year 6 Reading Assessment Booklet

KS 2 Year 6 Reading Assessment Questions

KS 2 Year 6 Maths Paper 1 (Arithmetic)

KS 2 Year 6 Maths Paper 2 (Reasoning)

KS 2 Year 6 Maths Pape 3 (Reasoning)

We recommend Andrew Brodie books especially for maths.

Also CPG SATs revision books are great for maths and English.

In the end it is better that issues are flagged up now if they need extra support.  SATs should be information for you and the school about your child’s progress rather than their performance.  If you would like to book a free assessment with us to get professional advice then click here…

Summer Writing Competition Prize Giving!

Fantastic Story Writing

Thank you to everyone for coming to our Summer Writing Competition Prize Giving event!

Well done to Alice and Shumaiya for winning our competition.  Local author Justin Strain handed out wonderful prizes to all the children who entered.

Alice also won £100 in book tokens for her school (St Jude’s Primary) and I was able to read out part of her story to the assembly at the school.  They loved it!!

11+ Common Entrance Assessment Dates January 2019

11+ Entrance Assessments for January 2019

Indepedent Schools in Portsmouth and Fareham

We love helping children prepare for 11+ common entrance assessments. I thought it might be a good idea to make sure everyone has the dates they need.

The entrance exams always cover maths and English to a high level. Children are also usually tested on their verbal and non verbal reasoning. These tests are designed to be more difficult to prepare for as they are not a school subject. Verbal reasoning is concerned with language and words problems while non-verbal reasoning looks are logic, shape and number patterns.

Here is a testimonial we received earlier.

“We are so pleased that Mahera has got a FULL BURSARY for the local girl’s high school in Portsmouth. She has been to your centre before for tuition but we came back in November so she could get ready for the exams. She has worked so hard and Linda has really encouraged her in her writing! Thanks so much!”

Click here to find out more about tutoring for Entrance Exams …

Are you considering entering your child for an independent school?  Tell us and we can help prepare them.

Click here to read more about our success…..

Portsmouth High School

11+, 12+, 13+ or 14+

Saturday 19^th January 2019

Portsmouth Grammar School

11+ and 13+ Entrance Assessment

Saturday 26^th January 2019

Mayville High School

All Candidates Sit Exam

Saturday 19^th January 2019

St John’s College

11+ Entrance Assessment

Thursday 20^th November

Tuesday 22^nd January 2018

The Gregg School

11+ Entrance Assessment

Saturday 2^nd February 2019

Summer Writing Competition

Summer Writing Competition!

I Love to Learn tutors have teamed up with local children’s author Justin Strain, to encourage children to get writing this summer.  the competition is open to ‘I Love To Learn’ students as well as children in local schools.

The theme is ‘Mystery and Adventure’ and there will be three age categories;

• 7 to 8
• 9 to 11,
• 12 to 16

Portsmouth author, Justin Strain, has agreed to judge the stories and present a signed copy of his book to each winner On Saturday 29th September.

Summer writing competition will be a signed book, I Love to Learn goodies and £100 in book tokens for the overall winner’s school!

Click here for Justin’s ‘Profile’ page in The Times Chicken House Award

Click here for Justin’s ‘Good Reads’ page.

Justin writes books for young people (9-14) based in our home city of Portsmouth!  His first book is called ‘The Secret of the Scarlet Ribbon’ and has been short listed for The Times Chicken House Children’s Fiction Award.

The deadline for all entries is Sat 8th September, to be handed in or posted to I Love To Learn Education Centres. Alternatively, email tutors@ilovetolearn.co.uk

Competition Judging Criteria:

• Originality of idea
• Use of language
• Imagination
• Development of characters/plot

Justin’s Top Tips for Writing

• Try and imagine a scene as your character would experience it. Showing the reader what the character sees/hears/tastes/smells/feels can be really powerful.
• Think about how things would be different for your character in their situation/historical period. What would they wear or eat?  Would they go to school?  How would they get about?
• Describing an everyday event from a different perspective can be really effective. A walk across a darkened room after the lamp has gone out can be an adventure in itself!
• If you have a hero and a villain, make sure the villain comes alive – villains can often be the most deliciously interesting characters to the reader.

Summer School 20th -24st August 2018

Maths and English Fun at Summer School

Summer will soon be here and Summer School 2018 is here by popular demand!   Each student receives 10 hours of professional tuition in a week.  Some children stay in the afternoon for sport activities.

Summer School 20th -24th AUG

Tuition: Maths & English 9-11am or 12-2pm Cost £200 6-16yrs
A full ten hours of professional tuition in reading, writing, spelling and maths to boost your child this summer.  Individual plans and all abilities catered for.  Classes in our Portsmouth and Fareham Centres.

Tuition and Sport*: Maths & English Tuition + Trampolining/Gymnastics 9am-3pm

Sport*: Trampolining, Gymnastics and other activities with fully qualified coaches from PSTGC
Learn some new moves and gain a badge and certificate at the end of the week!

*Transport is available to take students from the Fareham Centre and back to Priory Tennis for the sport activities.

-Save £30 by booking both Sport and Tuition-

Cost was £275 only £245 (if booked before w/e June 30^th) 6-12yrs

Many Children Fall Behind

‘Research shows as many as one in three children can fall behind as a result of a seven-week break from the classroom.’

For most children, summer is a time to leave classes and homework behind. While summer is a holiday from school, it does not have to be a holiday from learning. The summer holiday is great for recharging your children’s batteries, but if they are not using the skills and knowledge that was learned in the classroom, they will find themselves struggling when school starts up again.

Skills and knowledge gained throughout the school year fade during the summer months. Research shows that loss of content retention begins within 24 to 48 hours of learning unless the new information is reinforced or applied immediately. That is why, during summer holidays, even the best students forget lessons they have learned during the school year. After a month without reinforcement, approximately 80 percent of what a student has recently learned can be lost.

Gain Confidence

For children who have struggled in school, summer is an invaluable opportunity to catch-up on key skills and feel more confident when they return to class. For students who do well, it is an opportunity to keep their enthusiasm for learning high.

If your child needs help with reading, writing, spelling or maths call Howard or Linda for a free assessment on 023 93 96 86 26 now.

Free 11+ Assessment Days

Looking For Expert Help for 11+ and Common Entrance?

Friday the 23rd June (Portsmouth) Wednesday 21st June (Fareham)

Find out if your child is suitable for the challenge of 11+ entrance exams!  Are you thinking about entering your child for entrance assessment for local independent school such as:

• Boundary Oak School
• Mayville High School
• Meoncross School
• Portsmouth High School GDST
• Stroud School
• The Gregg School
• The Portsmouth Grammar School
• Twyford School

The standard of literacy and numeracy for these assessments can be high.  If your child is strong in one or both areas you may want to find out which areas need attention.

Book a place on our excellent Summer School or Booster Lessons for 11+ preparation.

Each booking is 45mins long, and we will look at numeracy, literacy, verbal and non-verbal reasoning.  We will give you free advice about your child’s readiness and learning needs.

Click here to find out more about our recent common entrance exam success…

Call us on 01329 738 100 or email tutors@ilovetolearn.co.uk Why not book now by filling in the form below to avoid disappointment?

Click here to find out more about how we help common entrance students…

8 +11 + 13+ Exam Success

Once again we are celebrating 11+ exam success !

We have heard that everyone has passed exams and been offered places to at lea

st one of their chosen schools. This is such fantastic news and well deserved, you did it!

A big thank you to all our tutors who worked so hard with the entrance exam students.  We are able to design programmes that focus on areas such as verbal and non- verbal reasoning.  We also work with students to improve any areas of maths or English that need attention.

Special Mentions go to;

• Conrad, Christ’s Hospital scholarship and  Grammar School
• Zeeshan, Salisbury Cathedral School, scholarship and other school offers
• Lissiana, Grammar School, scholarship and English prize
• Alex and Jamie, St John’s scholarships
• Ivan, Grammar School
• Christian, Grammar School

Click here to find out more……

We wish you all a great transition to your new schools and every success while there!  There are more results to follow!

INVITATION TO PLAYZONE

Our entrance exam students are all invited on

Friday 23^rd March between 4pm and 6pm

PLAY ZONE, Unit A4, Oak Park Industrial Estate, North Harbour Rd, PORTSMOUTH  PO6 3TJ

Hotdog and drink on us! See you there!

New Fareham Tuition Centre Open Party!

New Tuition Centre Opening Party Sat 10th Feb

Come and celebrate the opening of our new tuition centre.  We are giving away cake, I Love to Learn T-shirts and balloons.   Have a look around, play some educational games and chat to the tutors!

Please feel free to drop in and find out more, even if you are not thinking about getting help at the moment.  It is a free event so all are welcome.  Whether it is for now or the future, for reading, writing, spelling or maths; we are happy to talk.  Your child might be getting closer to SATs, GCSEs, or you may be considering 11 plus/common entrance exams.  We are here to help all children from 6-16 and all abilities.

Time: 12.30-1.30pm

Date: Sat 10th February 2018

Place:  4 Delta Business Park, Salterns Lane, Fareham, PO16 0QS.

The latest addition to after-school education in Fareham is now open with the I Love to Learn Professional Tuition Centre now officially in operation.  We have already got lots of students studying with us and are open on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

We will be offering a free assessment to every child who attends the event.  This is a chance for you to get a detailed snap shot of your child’s educational progress.  Please talk to us about how to arrange this.

Parking is free in the business park and we are the very first unit on the right!  We have got lots of signs up now so you can’t miss us!

Click here to find out more…

Meet the Fareham Centre Director

Meet the Centre Director: Howard Jones

Howard is the Centre Director. He is a secondary teacher with over 13 years experience and has now tutored 6 to 16 year olds for 13 years. He loves to teach all topics but especially secondary Maths. He is passionate about education and love seeing children reach their full potential. He enjoys politics, running and reading but not at the same time! He is married to Linda and they have two fantastic children.

Click here to find out more about tuition in Fareham…

Loving to Learn: Activities and tasks that your child Can Do!

After the assessment we use their results to create an individual plan for your child.  It will focus on any areas of weakness and allow us to set work at the right level.  We will give your child work that they can do so their confidence and feeling of success returns. We will ensure that in each lesson they will discover success and also find a challenge. Homework is set to practice and repeat their learning- this helps them to retain it!

“A Real Confidence Boost”

“She Loves It!”

Katelyn really struggled at school with confidence and wasn’t making the progress expected of her. Her mum, Caroline, already used a home tutor but had seen little improvement.  When she heard about us she wondered if we could help boost her.

Since beginning tuition with us she has gone from strength to strength.  Now Katelyn’s attitude has completely changed.  Caroline says,

“ She has grown loads in her spelling and I have seen a massive improvement.  She loves it and her confidence has really grown.  It has helped her with her numbers and reading too!  She is much happier at school now and really starting to learn.”

We are so delighted to hear this and excited to hear Katelyn loves to learn!

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