By Helen Maresca, Headmistress of Norfolk House School
A the Chief Master of King Edward’s School, made the claim that ‘coaching for 11-plus entrance examinations limits and narrows the lives of boys and girls at the age of eight, nine, ten and eleven.’
He also made the point that parents who use private tutors are paying extortionate costs for the privilege. The term ‘coaching’ is very general and all-embracing, but different styles and types exist.
But I would like to put forward a case for offering a kind of tuition that is not only beneficial to a child’s all round education, but is also affordable.
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Parents aspire to send their children to the grammar schools and successful independent secondary schools in Birmingham because of the very high standard of education offered there.
The requirement to pass an entrance examination in order to gain entry at their school of choice inevitably leads to feelings of anxiety on their part and the seemingly logical solution to this conundrum of too few places for too many children is to send children to coaching.
As Mr Claughton points out, the city abounds with private tutors only too willing to provide assistance – at a cost.
I take a totally different view on coaching, or as I would prefer to call it, extra tuition.
Providing extra support has a three-fold purpose.
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First, I agree, it can help a child to be fully prepared for the expectations of an entrance examination. Not many children at the age of 10 or 11 have experience of sitting formal, timed tests, in an alien environment with such subject specific content.
Tuition can assist children with examination practice and techniques.
Secondly, tuition can help, and appropriately support, children who are experiencing difficulties at school in a particular area, for example Mathematics or English.
Lesson content will be designed to supplement work done in the classroom, providing support for literacy and numeracy skills.
This in turn will boost confidence and self-esteem enabling the child and empowering them to achieve their educational potential.
Thirdly, at Norfolk House School, we believe that tuition can also help gifted children who need to work at a faster pace than their peers.
Extension work will develop their thinking and reasoning skills allowing a greater depth of understanding and knowledge.
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Norfolk House School offers extra tuition classes on Saturdays all through the year and also on Mondays and Tuesdays during the summer holidays.
Parents with a child attending every session offered throughout a school year would be expected to pay £1,305 – which is a far cry from the costs quoted by John Claughton in his article. These costs are far from prohibitive for the vast majority of families.
Each session lasts one hour 45 minutes with children being taught in groups of no more than six pupils by experienced staff. Open to children from schools across the city, each child is taught at their own level with differentiated exercises.
We believe that what we are doing is right. The pupils in Year 6 at Norfolk House School achieve excellent exam results year after year, a fact that is borne out by our ranking of 45th out of the top 100 Independent Preparatory Schools in the Sunday Times Parent Power League Table in November 2013.
The Sutton Trust report is not advocating the abolition of the selective examinations.
In areas where they exist they recommend every pupil should have on equal opportunity to prepare for and pass the exams and a limited number of free coaching sessions be provided for all Year 6 children.
Mr Claughton also proposes the 11-plus exam is made ‘less mechanistic’ to allow greater access to children from all walks of life.
The current exam tests children in their mastery of key skills – vital foundation stones for later success, and well planned, focussed coaching or tuition can help children to achieve such mastery.
Independent thinking and originality only become fully developed at a later stage of education.
Developing the whole child does not have to end just because extra tuition has been introduced into their lives.
There has to be a balance: endless homework and practice of examination papers is not the way forward, but a degree of extra support can have a positive, life-long effect on a child’s life.
- Helen Maresca is Headmistress at Norfolk House School, Edgbaston