Atom Learning??

[Sally9870]

Since school closure my son (year 5) is now behind on school work which I'm more worried about and I was recommended by a friend to sign up to Atom Learning, because he is also sitting 11+ exams in Autumn.

Has anyone had any experience? Thank you!

[nylon14]

We liked it. Pricey so we only bought the 6 month membership. The English comprehension is the weakest, they kept reusing the same text, but perhaps this has changed. Very good for preparing for the pretests.

[thekeep]

Yes

My son has had it for about 2 months. He does not always have time for it at the moment but it is truly brilliant.

Coming from a state school with zero or only a tiny bit of homeschooling provision it has been great.

Advantages:

You don't need to print out 11 plus work.

You can chose an option to ensure you have access to mock tests. So you can get your child to sit mock tests.

It gives standardised scores.

Don't start the mock tests until your child has don't at least 3 or 4 topics well.

They also have free online learning at the moment via zoom classes. So you can try their maths and English classes.

The only issue I have is that is is more screen time and it is always hard to get my son motivated.

However I honestly would have given up without Atom. I still think 11 plus is an uphill battle but it really has been brilliant so far.

Ask any more questions. And No I am not paid by atom. I was just a frustrated parent very frustrated with the state school provision for my son.

[KrakowDawn]

I don't really rate it. DS had it through school, but it didn't seem to stretch him at all. You'd be better off with the CGP books (make sure you get the correct version for your test), they have workbooks, assessment books, and ten minute tests (which were great for exam technique).

[thekeep]

krakowdawn out of interest was it a private school your child went to?

My child is in the state sector and there is zero way his school has covered stuff or even taught to true level of the zoom sessions they offer.

I think if you are state school educated it is really worth it but if you have had the benefit of a private education you are probably so far ahead compared to the teaching and limited resources of the state school system that having atom is more of a nice to have.

[KrakowDawn]

Yes, thekeep, it was an independent school. I agree that his school do teach ahead of the state school curriculum by a year or so.

[thekeep]

Thanks and Yes, I think the 11 plus process is such a shock to me because I didn't realise the gap between state and private was so wide.

So for me Atom has been a bit of a life saver.

[KrakowDawn]

I suppose it depends where you are. The grammar my children attend (well, DS from September) takes around 95% from state primaries, so lots of children from state schools pass. The selective independent schools have a far higher proportion from independent primaries, but there still take large numbers from the state sector too. All areas are different though.

[Beachcomber74]

It’s now nearly £60 per month far better to get a tutor IMO but that’s just because my DS hated doing it & shoving him in front of a screen didn’t help.

[Zoenet]

My DS is at a prep school. The school was recommending Atom as a way to stop parents booking so much private tuition (I don't think they know the half of it!). With just the teachers setting work on Atom it was of limited help but I have to say, when we signed up to Atom Nucleus it turned into a game changer! We are applying for grammar (standard 11+) and independent (iseb pre tests) - in fact, my DS has his pre tests this week! There are online tutorials on Atom now and you don't have to pay extra for them - try and get on jonno's verbal reasoning classes which are really good (we had a private reasoning tutor before which was costing a fortune and nothing like as helpful). Overall, I think it's a great resource - also hard to argue with DS's increased confidence despite imminent exams and recent mock test results. Fingers crossed!