Holiday Tuition
Holiday Courses
During the Easter and summer holidays, we will be running a range of English, Maths, and Eleven Plus courses and workshops. Throughout July and August, we will also be holding 11+ mock test days for children due to sit the 11+ tests next October. If you would like to book a course, please email or call us.
Eleven Plus Courses
These courses are designed for children sitting the Buckinghamshire 11+ tests. However, if your child is sitting the 11+ in another area or is taking entrance exams for independent schools we can tailor courses to suit your needs – please call us to discuss.
Verbal Reasoning Level 1 (V.R. 1)
This course is for children who have little or no experience of verbal reasoning. Suitable for pupils in Years Four or Five, it offers an introduction to the question types they will encounter in the Bucks 11+ tests, teaching them the necessary techniques to solve them. The course runs for 2.5 hours per day, over one week. Please see the Timetables page for course dates.
Fee: £210 + VAT
Verbal Reasoning Level 2 (V.R. 2)
This is a revision and exam practice course for children who have already learnt all the verbal reasoning techniques – perhaps during one of our term-time or VR1 courses. It is suitable for pupils in Year Five and is designed to improve speed and fine-tune techniques in all areas. There will be revision of all the different question types, together with vocabulary-building exercises, exam tips and practice of timed question papers. The course runs for 2.5 hours per day, over one week. Please see the Timetables page for course dates.
Fee: £210 + VAT
Mock 11+ Test Days
Mock Test Days will be held in July and August, giving children the opportunity to sit a full 50-minute practice paper in exam conditions. Many children find this experience very helpful in preparing them for the big day and in alleviating exam nerves. Each session lasts for 1 hour 15 minutes to allow time for settling in and discussion of exam tips.
Students are welcome to sit as many mock tests as they wish, although we recommend they sit them on different days. It is a good idea to sit one or two tests early on and then another one or two a few weeks later to monitor progress over the summer. For children attending more than one mock day, a different test will be given each time.
The test papers are supplied by an external 11+ resources publishing company and are new for 2012, meaning that your child will not have seen them before. Following the mocks, the tests will be marked, age-standardised and scores given to parents confidentially together with feedback on any areas your child may need to work on. Please see the Timetables page for mock test dates.
Fee per mock test: £22 + VAT
Mathematics Courses
Junior Workshops
These workshops are designed to provide a boost in this important core subject, reinforcing the key skills taught during the current school year and laying the foundations for the year ahead. The emphasis is on fun and enjoyment and a variety of activities and resources are used to engage the children and demystify maths.
Firm Foundations Workshop
Firm foundations are vital for creating confident, competent mathematicians and this two-day workshop gets back to basics to secure a greater understanding of our number system in an enjoyable, interactive way. Using a mixture of practical activities and games, children will get to grips with place value and will learn to manipulate numbers more easily. The workshop runs from 10am-3pm over two days and is suitable for children aged seven to fourteen. (Children will be grouped by age and activities differentiated according to ability).
Fee: £130 + VAT
Number Cruncher Workshop
The four operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are key to so many aspects of maths and this course is designed to have your child calculating with confidence. This fun-packed two days will cover formal calculation methods as well as strategies for problem-solving and mental arithmetic, along with plenty of tips and resources to take home once the course has finished. The workshop runs from 10am-3pm over two days and is suitable for children aged seven to fourteen. (Children will be grouped by age and work differentiated accordingly).
Fee: £130 + VAT
Fun Fractions Workshop
Help your child to get to grips with fractions, decimals and percentages and more in this enjoyable two-day workshop. Using a mixture of games and practical activities, the fundamentals of fractions, decimals and percentages are explained in a clear, concrete form that enables children to grasp what for many are often confusing concepts. The course runs from 10am-3pm over two days and is suitable for children aged seven to fourteen. (Children will be grouped by age and activities differentiated according to ability).
Fee: £130 + VAT
GCSE Maths Course
This revision course is suitable for pupils in Year 10 or Year 11. Revision of the core curriculum topics will boost your child’s confidence and any areas of confusion will be ironed out in this comprehensive course. There will also be plenty of practice of test papers, along with revision tips and exam techniques in order to equip each pupil fully for the exams. The course runs for 3.5 hours per day, over three days. Choose from Foundation or Higher, depending on which paper your child is sitting.
Fee: £130 + VAT
English Courses
Junior Workshops
Our Junior English workshops aim to support and enhance those all-important literacy skills. We have a variety to choose from, covering key topics such as reading and comprehension, creative writing, handwriting and spelling. As with all our courses, the emphasis is on fun and a mixture of games and activities will be incorporated to inspire the children to enjoy literacy.
Spelling Made Easy
If spelling is not your child’s strong point then this is the course for him / her. Often children can remember words for a weekly spelling test but forget all about them when it comes to doing a piece of writing. This action-packed one-day workshop will teach your child how to use visual skills effectively in order to remember spellings consistently. This is a one-day course, running from 10am-3pm, and is suitable for children aged seven to twelve. (Children will be grouped by age and activities differentiated accordingly).
Fee: £65 + VAT
Understanding Reading
If your child is struggling with reading then this course offers a simple and effective solution to get him/her on track. This enjoyable, interactive course will teach your child how to use visual skills effectively in order to improve his/her reading and will assist your child in overcoming any negative feelings associated with reading. In addition, through a variety of games and interesting activities, your child will develop a greater understanding when reading and will learn strategies for dealing with written comprehension exercises. The course runs for 2.5 hours per day, over one week and is suitable for children aged seven to twelve. (Children will be grouped by age and activities differentiated according to ability).
Fee: £210 + VAT
Creative Writing
What makes a keen writer? Often children have great ideas but have difficulty getting them down onto paper. Sometimes, they have trouble knowing where to start. This fun-filled course is full of tips and hints that will help remove the stress from writing and help your child to organise his/her ideas onto the page. With plenty of games and inspiring ideas to motivate and boost confidence, this course is designed to bring out the budding author in your child. If handwriting is an issue, we will investigate the cause of the problem and will support your child with some simple handwriting exercises and strategies for improving their style and speed. The course runs for 2.5 hours per day, over one week and is suitable for children aged seven to twelve. (Children will be grouped by age and activities differentiated according to ability).
Fee: £210 + VAT