ace tution centre !! what a joke and con!!

[rube]

Hi i recently had a very abrupt sales rep from the Ace tution. Just wanted to know if anyone 1 else had a visit from their rap a Chubby brown haired/ beared man call MATT.
He refused to answer questions like why they advertise on their websites that they charge £8.70 an hour and its 3 hour session. So i assumed that works out at £27? WRONG!!The actual cost is £41 for the session. How? well they charge you 3 hours teaching which he said is free and you pay 1 hour for the teacher to mark the work and £13 for books!! CONFUSED SO WAS I . He couldent give me an break down in fact all his figures were wrong!!! and to add insult to injury he said he had never seen the companys website?? The rep MATT avoided answering simple questions that was on the information some which he didnt know and some he avoided answering!! yet he represents a fast fast expanding tution centre all over the uk!! Personally they are just a business that is overcharging for everything they sell compulsory booklets for £4 each and very session must have 4 and they are just cheap colour copied work books so i was shocked that Mr Matt from Ace tution couldent answer mmost of my questions and did a quick simple asessment on my child didnt bother to mark the assessment. He gave no POSTIVE FEEDBACK ABOUT MY CHILDS STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS THEN ASKED ME FOR £700 FOR 4 MONTHS to secure a place . I THOUGH HE WAS HAVING A LAUGH AND COULDENT BELIEVE THAT THIS MAN GAVE NOTHING YET WANTED EVERYTHING!!
OU CHhE WENT ON TO SAY THAT MY CHILD WONT SUCCED UNLESS THEY GO WITH ACE TUTION, AS THE OTHERS LIKE KUMON ARE RUBBISH AS YOU MARK YOUR OWN WORK WITH THEM.

pLEASE parentS question these tutors and TUTION centre you will send children as most tend to just overcharge and ripping people off as they know that parents want children to succeed so they give it all the talk and give you the illusion that your child cant succeed unless they go to these overprice money making centres AND THAT PARENTS CANT TEACH KIDS!! WRONG MOST OF THE MOST INTELLIGENTT CHILDREN HAVE BEEN HOME TUTORED!!

I am dispointed as the moment the man came i his was rude and brash and gave little info and then wanted £700 upfront to secure a place otherwise my children will FAIL inlife and not go to oxford or cambridge!!! I told the man off and said that all children are gifted in differnt ways!! not all want to go uni their are other trades that dont require uni but this man has got to the worst rep ever for a tution centre that claims to be the best AND CHARGES £ ALMOST £200 A MONTH FOR 4 LESSONS!! would welcome feEback on anyone with similar expereince please

[mrz]

I've no experience but from a teacher's point of view would say most -all- these companies play on parental fear and guilt and really aren't necessary for most children and the ones who do need help need someone who knows how to plan for the individual child not someone who is delivering a "package" lesson

[rube]

Thanks i agree these companies play on your fear that your failing your child if you dont give private tution. I know parents that have remorged their homes jsut to pay for the extra tution as they are told by the centres such as Ace tution that "we are failing our children " if we dont give private lessons.

[Carolinemaths]

That Ace Tuition sounds like a nightmare! I'm a former Kumon instructor so I guess I was part of the problem! I now blog about how parents can help support their children's maths learning.

I always suggest parents have a go at tutoring their child themselves. You'll save money and time. You're in the best position to know your child's strengths and weaknesses and you'll be the most motivated tutor of all.

You may feel that you don't have the skills, time or resources but thousands of non specialists homeschoolers do it.

Regarding skills; learning alongside your child can be a great example to your child and although they'll test your patience, this too will improve over time.
Regarding time;I'm a big fan of 10 minute daily slots of time. Little and often is usually better.

Regarding resources: Just choose a reasonable book from your local bookstore or search individual topics on the internet as you come across them or use the resources suggested here on the mumsnet forums.

To start, give your child a test on all the topics from a year or 2 years below grade level, then base your plan on the questions they got wrong.

Hope this helps you avoid the tuition sharks!