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Parents of a former state primary school student. Moseley (now at King Edward's Camp Hill School:
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How do you know whether your child is suited to grammar school education? Your child's potential
I advise parents who are considering 11+ tuition for their children to think very carefully about whether their child is equipped to flourish in selective education. Tuition with me is only for state school students who show promise in a careful and thorough initial assessment. Never be afraid to ask your child's teacher or head teacher for guidance.
The assessment
The assessment is in two stages, and is designed to identify a potential for learning in selective education, rather than what a child has been taught. For this reason, the assessment identifies bright children who might not be fortunate enough to enjoy a stimulating school environment that is suited to their underlying ability. The assessment comprises:
1. A straightforward reading and comprehension assessment which is conducted over the telephone and online There is no charge for this simple assessment, which will take no more than ten minutes.
2. Depending on the outcome of the reading assessment, I may offer your family a 1.5 hour group assessment (or individual assessment if a group assessment is not possible). If I do not offer your child a full assessment after the initial reading assessment, I will explain the reasons to you personally and confidentially. All assessment results are confidential. I usually charge a fee of £40 for this service, which includes a minimum of three A4 pages of feedback. The assessment has evolved over many years of teaching and thorough research. It is based upon measurable indicators and professional judgement, which does not commit families to unnecessary or unproductive tuition. The assessment identifies specific potential for learning in the areas of vocabulary, comprehension, mathematics, verbal and non-verbal reasoning. From me, parents will gain a confidential objective and professional view of a child's likelihood of success in the individual grammar school tests, with or without further tuition.
State school students
11+ tuition with me is for students from state (but not independent) primary schools, who are likely to benefit from education in a grammar school. The reasons why I offer grammar school preparatory tuition to state school students only are explained on the <FAQ> page. Parents tell me often that their child is bright but isn't at a primary school that gives him or her the 'push' (or 'stretch') that they need for success in the grammar school entrance tests. My tuition is aimed precisely at helping children from such families achieve their full potential.
In recent years, all of my 11+ students have attended and presently attend state schools in Birmingham, the Black Country,Shropshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. This means that I am happy to discuss prospects for 11+ tuition with me for students from a wide range of state schools, including (and particularly) those schools whose students rarely enter selective grammar school education.
Dr Karen's 11+ course: the facts
I offer five terms' tuition in preparation for examinations set by the University of Durham's CEM Centre (currently all selective grammar schools in the West Midlands region).
Tuition with me begins in Year Four, and not before. My 11+ students follow a planned scheme of work, and begin and end tuition at the same time. There is no wasteful repetition of the syllabus for some, at the expense of others. Out of consideration to my students, I do not fill places in the (thankfully very rare) event of students dropping out of tuition after the first term.
A planned programme of work will prepare children for all selective grammar schools in the Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Shropshire, Walsall and Warwickshire regions. The group's focus will be on the no-fee grammar schools, but I also offer individuals within that group individual tuition which prepares for specific premier-league selective independent schools which offer generous scholarships and bursaries.
11+ course content
The first term will emphasise the importance of wide reading in building strong vocabulary awareness, and will be supported by teaching and homework in proof-reading, grammar, punctuation and syntax, vocabulary expansion and comprehension. Tuition will develop and widen the children's understanding of mathematical and verbal and non-verbal reasoning.
Students work with similarly bright children in a convivial and supportive fast-track environment. We work hard but enjoy what we do here. Throughout the 11+ course, I will encourage students to learn to appreciate the rich rewards of developing a love of learning for its own sake in the long term, and not simply rehearsing techniques to pass a test. Along with a balanced curriculum, children will enjoy reading a rich and rewarding range of books through the course. Your child's motivation and understanding will develop rapidly through the committed and enthusiastic teaching of a qualified and experienced specialist teacher, within firm but fair, well-structured learning conditions.
What is my record of success?
Between 1997 and 2019, all but one of my students who attended a three-term or more preparatory course with me gained a place at a foundation grammar school.
I can provide evidence of my academic and teaching qualifications, along with verifiable evidence of my students' success rates in the 11+ tests.
An important note about the aim of my 11+ Assessment
The aim of my particular assessment is to identify students performing at a level above the national average, and whose cognitive ability and social maturity are suited to selective education. The assessment is not designed to measure what a child has learned, practised or memorised; rather, its intention is to establish and measure an individual's potential for learning.
If you would like further information regarding the assessment process, please contact me by email first, and do not call me at this stage. If you send me an message via the <Contact Me> page of this website, at the time requested, I will reply, usually within 24 hours, with full details. Please note, however, that priority for assessments will go first to brothers and sisters of current or recent students from supportive and engaged families.
Practical Matters
Fees and terms & conditions for payment for individual and group tuition are fixed and are non-negotiable. Fees for 11+ group tuition are £17.50 per hour per child in a group of five students or fewer.
Please be aware that in providing a service of high-quality, mainly individual and small group tuition, I organise the teaching I undertake under clearly-defined terms and conditions and contracts with parents, which are reviewed and, subject to performance, can be renewed each term.
Therefore, the tuition that I provide is best suited to motivated, well-organised families for whom a balanced education and wider interests and the welfare of a child takes priority over parents' work commitments and wider family and social functions.
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Parent of a former state primary school student. Harborne. Birmingham (now at King Edward's Five Ways School):
"Thank you for everything. [Our son] is really happy he has a place at Five Ways. We are too. I can't express our thanks for being a godsend to our family, and for not giving up on [our son] when we were ready to."
Parent of a former state primary school student. Harborne. Birmingham (now at King Edward's Handsworth School):
"I want to tell you that before [my daughter] began tuition with you, I had bought all the test papers I could from W.H. Smith, but I still didn't know how to start. When she did the papers and made mistakes, I really had no idea how to explain the corrections. We were going round and round in circles. It was the same with maths and non verbal reasoning as well. But you changed all that. I now know that understanding grammar and developing a wide vocabulary is the key to getting many verbal reasoning questions right."
Parent of a child formerly at a state school in Oldbury (now at King Edward's Five Ways School):
"The hardest thing that I had to grasp as a parent was that although my [my daughter] was in tops sets at school, and flew through her homework, what the school offered her was not nearly enough for the CEM tests ... I am grateful that you guided our family right through to the end .. . You told us that the scope of the tests was 'broad and deep'. Just seeing her face as she came towards us after the tests showed us that this was the hardest thing she had done in her ten short years on the planet. It wasn't easy but it was worth every minute."
Parent of a child at Queen Mary's Grammar School:
"The service you offer families isn't a business, and is much, much more than a profession. I don't know any other teacher who works as hard as you do."
Parent of a child formerly at a state school in Coventry, now attending Lawrence Sherrif School in Rugby:
"You were worth every penny & every second of that journey on that bloody motorway for 3 terms. I shan't miss the wait at MacDonalds at Perry Barr - but [my son] and I will miss you. Please stay in touch!"
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Parent of a former state primary school student. Shirley (now at King Edward's Camp Hill School):
"The whole 11+ business was a nightmare before we found you. Yes, it made our lives [as parents] harder for a short time because you insisted on us pulling our weight at home, testing and revising, and so on. But we soon got into the flow of it all..."
Parents of a child at a state school in Moseley (now at King Edward's Camp Hill [boys']School):
'"You educate our children so well because you are an educated person yourself. What we like about the way you teach is that you spot the child's weaknesses and have solutions at hand. We couldn't do this as parents. Your handouts and support material are second to none, Karen, because you put your whole heart into what you do. [Our son] won't forget you when he starts his secondary school at Camp Hill in September ..."
Parent of a child in Y6 (To start at a King Edward's Grammar School in 2015):
"From the assessment to the results, you stood by us, even when we wanted to give up. You are so organized and passionate about your work. [Our child] will thank you for this opportunity in the future. Everything you have done with him he will use there."