New feature in Atom Learning

[SwanHK]

Have been using Atom learning for a year, there is a new feature which I find it interesting. With regular use of atom learning in preparation of 11+, atom will rate your child's level by subjects against the average same year students and against those applicants of your target school. You can even change your target school in the system to judge how likely your child can enter that particular school.

For those using atom, how do you find this new feature?

They have very recently changed the format of the Parent page and the "target school" has replaced "average atom user preparing for an exam" without the graph position changing at all. I have yet to experiment by changing the name of our target school but I think it's just a way of the interface appearing to be more personalised without it actually changing its personalisation.

I like that feature, which gives a sense of which subject/topics to work on. It could be used as an indicator for reality check (for parents) and milestone motivation (for kids)

It seems good but unless people tell Atom whether they get into their chosen school - I am not sure how helpful it really is. Also 'average' this might not be that helpful - as many people sitting the 11+ are having one to one tutors and might not use Atom.

I do like it though and it will be interesting to see how it plays out etc.

I really loved Atom, much better than a tutor. My daughter passed and got into grammar school. I did email atom to tell them , they obviously asked me for a review but also I got a separate email asking me which school she managed to get into so this information could go towards their target school data.

yes, it would be much more useful if it included people who were accepted! I have played with changing the target school and the numbers do change.

We told Atom the schools dd got into after as I felt it was helpful knowing the targets to aim for when doing the mocks, so wanted to pass that info back to Atom. I found it helpful to get an idea of the schools we were applying to, if we were reaching for the stars or had a chance to get in. Dd ended up getting into all the schools she applied to.

I saw this awhile ago but when I change schools the average marker doesn't seem to change?

I do love Atom though. They asked me for a reference call 2 months ago and I gave them some feedback on viewing my child's learning journey progress against government curriculum and now they have implemented it - amazing!

@roses2 that's impressive! So sounds like they are very open to feedback!

@SamPoodle123 that is great that you did - would be interesting to know how many do.

read carefully , the marks is just " average score of XX school applicants" , is NOT "average score of successful applicants"

I think Atom is great but I do think it feeds the madness a bit. Such a huge industry has built up around 10 year olds taking exams and it makes me feel rather uneasy (whilst having to partake)

A bit off the topic but relevant.

During half term I met a Mum who is running a tutoring business, from which she fund her daughters tuition fee for the prestigious private school.

She comments that the emergence of Atom learning (and hopefully some other platform to come), is really a game changer to the 11+ industry. A lot of mid-tier prep school now have to find themself in a tough competitive environment, it is more difficult for the school to justify their value to the parents. Many have to adjust and adopt to the new situation. And she expect a lot of consolidation in this space soon. I'm not exactly sure what does it mean but it is interesting to find out how a single platform can shape the preparation school industry.

I agree, Atom is a real game changer and it's like they came out of nowhere after covid! I wish they had been around during lockdown and I really hope they create something for secondary age also.

It's far more affordable than an 11+ tutor and the analysis of my child's performance, strong and weak areas and being able to select practise based on this is phenomenal.

Both my DS Year 5 and DS Year 2 use it. I'm looking at both private and state secondary for my DS next year and happy to pay for this even if he ends up state - I'm using it for general knowledge enhancement rather than specifically 11+ practise.

I agree too! Anything that makes grammar schools more accessible to a wider variety of children (as long as you can get a high enough score on the test obviously) is a good thing. It is much more affordable than a tutor - I am sure many parents are put off trying because of all the money they think they need to spend on tutoring regardless what the schools say during open events etc.

Our target school isn’t there so they aspect isn’t helping us but my toggling this feature on my son did suddenly get Good and Strong across the subjects instead of Needs Practice. For this alone I like it a lot 🤣

For anyone that hasn’t got it yet, both of my kids are using it in anticipation for their 11+. I’ve got a £30 off discount code: S4rBthyy. I used someone else’s off this website to get £30 off my first month - every little helps!

So far quite impressed with it. Have previously used doodlemaths