Any views of these N.London tutorial centres please?

[Mamaof2cuties]

Hi

I'm considering 3 tutorial centres for my DDs for 11+ prep for North London/Hertfordshire independents and HB.

1. Bright Young Things (formerly Swot Shop) in Kenton. I understand it used to be run by someone else when it was Swot shop. There's a lot of newspaper articles about BYT but not really about the quality of their service.
   
   
2. Advance Tutorial Centre, Mill Hill. I can't find anything about them online.
   
   
3. Queensbury School of Education, Queensbury. Nothing about them either.
   
   Or if you know any "good" ones around these parts of town please.
   
   Can anyone with experience of any of them please let me know their thoughts.
   
   Thanks.

[Mamaof2cuties]

Anyone please?

[Rafaella]

I used the St Albans Bright Young Things for last minute GCSE science help. They were useless, only interested in getting my money, after that no follow up or feedback whatsoever, different tutor each week repeating same lesson, would def not recommend (obvs a different branch might be better)

[Mamaof2cuties]

Thanks Rafaella, that was my fear with them - quality may not be priority or consistent as they have a few centres.

I was hoping there would be more parents on here whose kids may have been to these places for 11+ prep in the past.

If anyone else knows anything about any of them, pretty please .

[NWgirls]

Mama: no knowledge of these, but I think most people who want tutoring support rely less on brands and premises/centres, and more on finding a great, experienced, often ex-teacher tutor with a personal reputation in the local area, a tutor who is relying on word of mouth for marketing. Then either individual or (ideally tiny) group lessons, often in your or the tutor's home.

Parents of kids who already tried for the same schools in earlier years may give tutor recommendations - think of who you know (ideally well) who fits this bill. Some tutors may already be fully booked, and/or may "screen" the kids before committing (to avoid no-hopers and protect their reputation). It is a two-way street. Chemistry and trust matter.

Just my 2 cents, I am not an expert. Good luck!

[sofiabyt]

Dear Rafaella,

I am the marketing manager at Bright Young Things, St Albans. I have just found your comment about Bright Young Things in St Albans and was very surprised and dismayed to read about your experience with us. We take feedback such as this very seriously and would like to look at how we can improve our service to avoid such an experience happening again. I would be very happy to find out more about when you came so I can understand more fully the situation.

We have had the same teacher at GCSE level science for over two years and all our parents have been very happy with the teaching he has provided. He always provides feedback for parents at the end of every lesson if required. It may be that your child attended a session which was covered by another teacher when our usual teacher was on annual leave, however, it would still not be acceptable to us for parents to receive no feedback.

Please do get in touch with us to see if we can help in any way, or to enable us to prevent such a situation occurring again.

Kind regards

Laoise Rosswick
Marketing Manager

[Moominmammacat]

One of my DS applied to the schools you are after ... I just did lots of past papers with her and she got everywhere she applied but if you would like outside help, get a tutor who can give you a realistic view of her chances. Most children don't get it and it's not worth putting them through the hoop if they don't have a hope. An experienced tutor (I know none) will be able to tell you if it's worth it. And if she doesn't get it, it's not the end of the world ... some children who went to the non-selectives have ended up in a better position than those who went to Habs and the like. Good luck!