A Very British Education: How To Pick The Best Private School For Your Expat Child

Choosing the perfect school for a child is a difficult thing. It’s even more complex when your child comes from an expat background and has therefore lived and schooled in several countries and cities throughout their life.

What’s the best way to choose your child’s school and how do you know that a certain school is the best for your child?

Here are some pointers to steer you in the right direction.

#1. Know your child well.

Picking a school just because it has a great reputation or is the most prestigious might be seem like a logical idea but in actuality it can lead to your child feeling unhappy and academically under-performing. When choosing the best school for your child consider your child’s interests, academic ability and needs. For instance, some renowned public and private schools are great for children that are musical whilst others are superb for children that are solely academically inclined.

                        Harrow School, London.

#2. Learn as much about the schools you’re considering as possible.

What’s their academic track record? Do they use a one-size fits all approach to learning or do they tailor lessons to meet the needs of each child? Do they encourage their students to pursue careers in the arts or in STEM fields? Do they care about their students personal and psychological wellbeing or do they only focus on academic performance? These are just a few of the questions that you should be asking yourself when viewing or contacting private and public schools.

#3.  Research boarding options.

Do the schools you’re considering offer boarding facilities? For example, if you live in Dubai but want to send your child to school in the UK but are unable to move here, it’s worth considering schools that allow your child to board. A school with boarding facilities would therefore be a better option than one without in such a case.​

#4. Prepare your child for the entrance exams.

Most private and public schools require applicants to sit an entrance test such as the 7+ or 11+. When considering which private school to send your child to, be mindful of whether your child will need to sit the Common Entrance exam. In order for your child to stand the best chances of winning a place at their desired school, it’s vital to prepare them for any school entrance test that they might sit.

When Is The Best Time To Prepare Your Child For The 11+ Exam?

The 11+ exams are just a few short months away and it's no surprise that parents from all walks of life are extremely nervous.

One of the most common questions we get from parents is:

Did we leave it too late to prepare my child for the 11+?

When should you prepare your child for the 11+ exam? Is there a perfect age?

This question is not only a common one but also perfectly normal to ask.

Is there really an optimal time to prepare your child for eleven plus success?

In today's blog post I'll give you the advice that I give to my tutoring clients. 

The truth is that there is no generic time frame for 11+ preparation. As a rule of thumb however, you should give your child at least one full year to prepare. That's 12 months at a minimum.

Nonetheless, the students that tend to do best in the exams are the ones who have prepared for at least two and a half years. 

What should that preparation involve?

• Reading a variety of great books and literature
• Mastering writing and comprehension skills
• Honing interview questions and exam technique
• Practicing answering questions to time
• Improving skills in all areas of mathematics
• Learning all Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning question types
• Going beyond 11+ questions and attempting higher level work

Obviously, not all students have the time to spend two or more years preparing for the exams but the more time your child has, the better.

If however, your child has 12 months or less, don't fret. There are a number of things you can do to help them catch up and make significant progress.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Encourage them to read for 20 minutes a day or longer
• Ask them questions about the texts they've read, stories they've written, new words they've learnt and how they've arrived at certain mathematical calculations.
• Use the school holidays wisely; this is the time to double up on revision and exam practice
• Encourage your child to work for 1 hour each week day and at least 3 hours on the weekend
• Be positive and don't make them nervous by bringing up how little time they have.

You should also consider the fact that every child is different; children respond differently under pressure. Some do better because of added pressure whilst others do far worse. It's therefore vital that you adapt your child's revision schedule to their own personal needs.

Finally, if your child has a very small amount of time before their 11+, consider enrolling them in an intensive 11+ course or hiring a private tutor.

How do you encourage your child to prepare for the SATs exams? (Part 1)

The SATs exams are around the corner and many children struggle with preparing for these incredibly vital exams.

As a parent, it can be difficult to motivate your child to study, read books, complete practice papers or take small steps towards being prepared for the exams.

It might feel like mission impossible to get them to do some form of work.

However, there are 3 things you can do to help them to take action and get ready for the exams.

These steps will not only help your child with the SATs but they can be used to motivate them whenever they're feeling unmotivated.

In this 3-part series, I'll be discussing the essential steps that you can take towards helping your child with the SATs exams.

Step 1.

The first step towards encouraging your child to prepare for the SATs exams is to allocate time in your schedule to talk to them.

Often, parents are used to yelling and shouting at their children in the hope that it will get them to be more obedient. However, it often has the opposite effect and causes children to be more closed and less responsive to instructions.

Rather than yelling, shouting or scolding them, schedule 1 hour in the week to sit down with your child and have a firm but gentle conversation with them.

During this conversation, talk to them in a calm and caring manner. Remind them of how much you love them and how important it is for you to see them succeed. Let them know that you care about them deeply and remind them of how important exam success is in helping them to fulfil their future goals, dreams and desires.

The purpose of this is to establish or rekindle a bond with your child and to help them to see that studying isn't for your own personal benefit but for theirs. Sometimes children feel as though their parents are drilling their own personal desires onto their child but by speaking to them, you'll enable them to see that their success is for their own good.

Your homework this week is to complete step 1. If you had success with this step, leave a comment below to share your success story with other parents. 

Till next time,

Victoria.

Founder, The Clever Comprehension Academy & TheTutoress.com

Should My Child Study During The Summer Holidays?

As a parent it can be difficult to know whether to allow your child to simply enjoy the summer holiday break or encourage them to keep a regular academic routine.

It's natural for most children to want to play, have fun and sit in front of the TV all day. However, doing these things can also negatively affect their academic progress.

So how do you as a parent strike the balance between allowing your child to have fun whilst also encouraging them to study?

Here are a few quick tips to help.

#1. Treat the summer as a time for progress and rejuvenation. 

The summer is a time for you and your child to recharge and unwind and it's therefore essential that you give your child at least some time to have a break. Do your best to have a positive mindset about the summer months and think of it as being a time for progress and rejuvenation. 

#2. Schedule fun time and work time.

One of my favourite quotes is, "if it's not scheduled, it's not real." This simply means that if you don't schedule things then they're never going to happen. To maximise your child's progress during the summer months it's pivotal that you carve out specific times for work and for play. You could for instance have study time from 11am-2pm and then fun time from 2pm-7pm. This will help your child to follow a routine and it will ensure that they study without feeling over worked. It'll also ensure that they wake up at a decent time each morning as many children have the habit of waking up in the late afternoon when they're not at school.

#3. Create a curriculum.

Which subjects or topics is your child struggling with? Is it 11-plus verbal reasoning, trigonometry or writing compositions? Make a note of the areas that they need to work on and create a curriculum that will cover all of the key areas that they need to study in more depth. Use the summer as a period where they can make progress in areas that they were previously struggling with.

If your child is struggling with English you can enrol them in an online course such as The Clever Comprehension Academy so that they can go through subjects like reading, inference and vocabulary in a way that is convenient. Furthermore, the course can be accessed 24/7 so your child can study in their own time. Click here to learn more about it.