I am a 7+ tutor - AMA

[mugglebump]

I am a semi-retired 7+ tutor who works with children in Reception and Year 1 for entry into top London schools.

I've had almost 100 students go through this process and have learnt a thing or two about tutoring, parents, children, and of course, the schools themselves - hoping this might be useful to parents going through the process!

This is not a self-promotional post as I now work in a completely different area :-)

Do you believe that, for the most part, people have a maths brain or an English brain? I’ve had this conversation a lot with friends and it does seem to be the case...

And I ask as I have 2 DC that love English & struggle with maths & 1 DC that is the opposite. Well I say opposite but she is primary so no hatred of English yet but there is time lol

@Passthewinebottle
I think everyone has left brain or right brain capabilities that manifest in the way they process Maths and English. I don't think there's a Maths brain or English brain - I think you learn in different ways.

For example, I had a student who was quite strongly right-brained and was extremely creative (which reflected well in English scores), but was said to be really struggling in Maths. All she needed was a different way of learning Maths and using visual cues rather than algebraic methods. She would not be able to learn timestables in the traditional way, but would be able to see patterns and remember numbers that way.

We, as parents and tutors, just need to figure out what method works best for each child!

Hi
I was wondering how you would go about helping a child with creative writing? And comprehension?
He performs at high level but writing is particularly challenging. He it taking the exam in 2 months. Thanks you

What's the ratio of applicants Vs spaces for entry in Year 3 in the top 10 London schools?

I don’t know about all the schools but I know at westminister for example it is like one in 15 to one in 20

What are the "hidden" costs of private school?

creative (which reflected well in English scores), but was said to be really struggling in Maths. All she needed was a different way of learning Maths and using visual cues rather than algebraic methods.
Learning styles are a myth and there is no evidence that people learn better with this approach.

Do you have a teaching qualification?

@RedFlyingBeeBee there’s a difference between learning styles and use of visual representations in maths.