LEH - Are girls tutored

[Calmmumnot]

I have been told a significant amount of girls are tutored at LEH to get the results they do. Can anyone clarify this? Thanks

[charmund]

Hi Calm - do you mean once they are there? If so not as far as I know - my DD is in the LVI and wasn't tutored for her GCSEs nor were any of her friends as far as I know. The school provides extra help for those who need it - my DD had it for maths.
I haven't heard of tutoring for A levels either - its by no means a perfect school but the teaching is excellent
I have heard of tutoring for the entrance exam but I don't know how wide spread it is - does that help?

[Calmmumnot]

Hi Charmund. Thanks for responding. Yes I am asking are they tutored once there. Ok that's good to hear.

[geordiedench]

Not the ones I know. But it does attract high achieving, perfectionist personality types. There's a culture of it being cool to do very well - at least among the daughters of friends that I know.
But tutored to get into the school? Yes, lots are.

[Calmmumnot]

I know many tutor to get into the school but my concern is does it continue once they are there...

[charmund]

Genuinely don't think so - geordie is right to say that its cool to work really hard there and I've never heard of anyone being tutored. I asked if DD would need a maths tutor at parents' evening once and the teacher looked appalled!

[geordiedench]

It's possible that some girls are tutored in one or two of their weaker subjects. But that's true of any school. I tutor highly academic, high-achieving pupils from independent schools in an area that many of them struggle with. They can be great all-rounders but less capable at this subject. No harm in having some extra one-to-one revision in your weakest subject prior to GCSEs. It's highly unlikely that they'll be hothouse tutored in many subjects.

[HappyDads]

With a daughter there I have to say generally no - although I agree with geordie some may get a bit of help in weaker subjects pre GCSE.

Truly I think no matter where they came from in primary, 90% of LEH parents relax a lot once their kids are in the secondary school as they trust the school and view the experience as more than the great academics. I am pretty sure our DD could get better grades if it was more pressured (or as parents we were), but what I truly appreciate that she is doing and wants to do, outside the classroom, is amazing and to do this she is learning to prioritise her work-life balance better in teens than her Dad generally manages at 40+ ...

[pamplemoussed]

My dd has relayed a story to me about 2 of her friends who get Maths tutoring. They are both in set 1, this in a school where even the set 5 students all get A / A*. Set 5 students are in a smaller class with more one to one support but they all excel at exam time. It appears that their parents want them to maintain their place in set 1 so they are tutored in order to maintain their position in the year. Madness. The school does not support tutoring - either in the juniors or seniors and will provide extra learning support to any child who is deemed to be weak at a key subject. It;s just not necessary. At some point you have to step back and let the school do the job.

[BigGreenOlives]

I know of girls who had tutoring for their A2s & who went to MPW for revision courses in the Easter holidays. It definitely happens.

[amidawsh]

their parents want them to maintain their place in set 1 so they are tutored in order to maintain their position in the year. Madness

THIS! when schools do these "laddering" sets (1,2,3,4,5 etc rather than split in two with an additional small support group) there's lots of tutoring going on, regardless of whether it is LEH or not.

[nightswimming1]

My school did this years ago and I can guarantee nobody was tutored. Sets have always been numbered/lettered like that. What you are describing is a newer thing and is irrelevant to whether children are tutored or not.

[amidawsh]

really?
in dd's school there is a small bottom group (extra support group) and the rest are split in two - top and middle.

surely that gives less parental angst than a ladder system with tends to have frequent movement - top, 2, 3, 4, 5, bottom etc where you're always trying to maintain your place in the set or get moved up?

[Dancergirl]

I never knew about this top set tutoring to stay in the top set. It is indeed madness.

There is nothing wrong with being in a lower set, even more so at a selective school. My oldest dd goes to a selective girls' school and was placed in the bottom set in Year 7. Turned out to be the best thing for her. Small group and fantastic teaching, she made massive progress. At schools such as these they pretty much all get A/A* at GCSE, what does it matter which set you are in?