Where did summer go – we seem to look forward to it for months and then the children are heading back into the classroom. It is all change for us as Chloe will be starting A Levels (if she can decide which subjects to study), Dylan is Year 8 and Erin Year 2. Last academic year was all about Chloe getting ready for GCSE’s (she bossed them if you haven’t caught up yet) and I have just realised that we now have exams ahead of us every year for the next few too! Erin will be doing her KS1 SAT’s at the end of the coming year, then the following year Chloe will be doing the A Levels and then Dyl will be starting his GCSE’s and Chloe continuing into University!
We will be exam pro parents by the end of it all! However as a parent it can be really hard to know just how to help and support your children. I am not one for putting academic, result driven pressure on my children but I will pay for tutors if they want that help, I will buy them all the resources they need and I do keep a close eye on the schools performance and what their results and Ofsted reports say.
As a parent I want to be able to give them everything they need to be successful learners and as an ex teacher I pretty much know how to do that. I am not ashamed to say that after looking at Chloe’s results I was straight on the exam websites looking at grade boundaries and where exactly her grades fell with the range. As a result of having that knowledge I was able to ask for remarks for two exam papers. We won’t know the results for a few weeks but again it is something I feel that as her parents we should do as we are in the position to do so.
What would be great for parents is if all this information is in one place. One dedicated website that can tell you the public examination reports for your chosen school, the catchment areas, the tutors available in your location and maybe even a buy and sell for your school and a forum too – ohh wait! I have just described the recently relaunched School Reviewer site that does all of that and more.
The idea is simple and will be such a great resource for parents and tutors alike. I have tutored in the past for both English and Sociology and will add my details just in case I fancy picking some up again this year. I had a look at my older two’s secondary school and the data it held was all correct and up to date. There was nothing for them in the buy and sell area yet but what a great place to sell lightly used PE Kit or a hockey stick (we seem to have a growing collection of those). The site can advise of catchment areas and Ofsted reports. The site also has exam advice with a walk through on how to score 100% at Maths GCSE, of course this cannot guaranteed, but it does give some insider tips and helps your child be successful. Chloe didn’t quite manage 100% in any exam but did get over 90% which puts her in the top centile for English Lit and RS.
Do check out School Reviewer to help you be prepared for the academic year ahead.
