Posts Tagged ‘entrance exams’

January Exams!

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

During the month of January many academic exams are taken by students all over the UK. If you have prepared and revised well in advance you should have no worries sitting your exams. However, some students no matter how well they have prepared for exams they still suffer high stress levels a few days before exam dates are due. Below are a few tips to help you prepare for your exams.

  • Don’t panic! Exams are a challenge, think positively – you will succeed!
  • Use relaxation techniques to help settle your nerves, these can be used during the exam. Take a bottle of water with you (if permitted) – anxiety can make you thirsty.
  • Find out how much time you have for the exam so that you can split your time between questions and assure that all questions will be answered. Know what kind of questions you will be asked.
  • Read the whole paper first, answer the questions you know well, this increases your confidence and helps you stay relaxed. Mark the questions you are unsure of and tackle them last.

  • You will receive better marks for answering all questions than answering only some very well so make sure all questions receive an answer.
  • Take time with your handwriting, it must be legible so that the examiner can read it without difficulty. Check your spelling too!
  • If the exam involves long answers, leave some space at the end of the answer for additional comments or arguments that might spring to mind towards the end of the exam.
  • When the exam is over try to forget about it. There is nothing else you can do so it’s pointless going through the answers you put and discovering they differ to your friend!

If you are disappointed when you receive your exam results, consider finding a private tutor who can help with future exams or resits.

Best of luck!

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment

UK examination boards under investigation.

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Fortunately, we don’t often hear about scams within the education sector in the UK although this week an inquiry has been launched in England and Wales due to claims that some examiners gave teachers “tips” on GCSE and A-level questions. Coincidentally in the USA, educators and students are still talking about the Long Island SAT scandal which was first revealed at the end of September 2011, although in this case, students were paying other students to sit SAT exams! Read more on the Long island SAT scandal here.

Back in the UK, The Daily Telegraph claims to have filmed an examiner telling teachers at a seminar which questions to expect. This has prompted the Education Secretary Michael Gove to order an official inquiry into the exam system.

The investigation found that teachers are paying up to £230 a day to attend seminars with chief examiners during which they are advised on exam questions and the exact wording that pupils should use to obtain higher marks. Two examiners have been suspended by the exam board WJEC although it insists the claims were due to a “misunderstanding” of its advice.

The Education Secretary said “Our exams system needs fundamental reform. The revelations confirm that the current system is discredited”.

The findings could add to growing fears over the apparent fall in standards in British schools which has led to grade inflation in exams over the past decade.

At First Tutors we monitor all student requests and if we find that a student is asking a teacher to “do the assignment” for them or “write their essay” we immediately take action and warn the student and the teacher that we do not approve or support such unethical tactics. Appropriately, most teachers are aware of these practises and clearly state that they can help, give advice, revise and correct work but under no circumstances will they provide bespoke essay writing or “ready to present” assignments for a student. If we do detect that a teacher agrees to these practises we suspend the request and delete the tutor’s account. We believe education to be a serious matter.

It seems that the current inquiry has a lot to do with exam boards as “businesses” and the need to maintain exam standards. Many experts believe there should be one regulated system. We welcome your comments.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment

Common entrance exams: Maths – Test yourself!

Monday, August 1st, 2011

Entrance exams, 11 +, 13 exams…now is the time to start warming your children to practise tests for their next step into BIG school!

In preparation for common entrance exams and by courtesy of Galore Park Mathematics revision guides for the ISEB board, we will be regularly posting tests for your children to practise. We invite you to post your comments with your answers!

Remember that you should be familiar with all of the material in the National Curriculum.

You should also now be able to do the following:

  • Understand fully the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and the associated language.
  • Use a range of mental methods of computation with the four operations when solving number problems (including mental recall of multiplication facts up to 10 x 10 and quick derivation of corresponding division facts)
  • Check the reasonableness by your results by reference to your knowledge of the context or to the size of the numbers.
  • Interpret calculator displays.
  • Use efficient written methods of addition and subtraction and of short multiplication and division (including division and subtraction of decimals to two places, and ordering decimals to three places)
  • Use all four with decimals to two places (where multiplication and division are always by a integer less than 10, and rounding to the nearest integer.
  • Use and understand an appropriate non-calculator method for multiplying and three-digit number by any two-digit number.

Test yourself!

Before moving on to the next chapter, make sure you can answer the following questions:

Brian has multiplied 197 x 15 and has written the answer incorrectly as 1182 (courtesy of Galore Park for the ISEB board)

  1. Suggest at least two reasons why Brian should realise straight away that his answer is incorrect.
  2. What should the answer be?
  3. Suggest what error Brian made.

Calculate the square of 19 (courtesy of Galore Park for the ISEB board)

Which number between 240 and 250 divides exactly by 7? (Courtesy of Galore Park for the ISEB board)

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Academic | 1 Comment | Add a Comment

Debate of the week: The science of selection

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Specialist schools are one of the most interesting developments in education of recent years. Designed to raise engagement and academic achievements amongst pupils, they also give youngsters the chance to specialise and excel in a particular field – whether that’s sports, science, drama or modern languages.

However, according to one expert, specialist schools are not the centres of excellence they purport to be because they do not select pupils by ability.

Professor Alan Smithers, of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, has told BBC Online that numerous specialist science schools “aren’t necessarily good at science” because they don’t select pupils on ability.

This is a problematic theory and one that could have severe consequences for many pupils if it ever came to fruition. Entrance exams in, say, English and Maths are one thing, but as the BBC article points out, it is difficult to test pupils in the sciences at a young age because “in practice it is difficult to differentiate between aptitude and ability for the subject”.

This means that it would be very difficult to select – or indeed identify – pupils meeting Prof Smithers’ dream criteria. As a result, lots of children who might otherwise find their feet and then excel at a science school might be turned away at the first hurdle.

When it comes to science, all we have to judge a child on is a set of arbitrary tools. What’s more we would only apply those tools to one very specific area of the child’s ability. Surely this would be very unfair and something that would deny a lot of children some great opportunities.

Here at First Tutors, we believe that all pupils have the right to excel. Let’s not deny them that opportunity.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment

5 online resources for the 11+ entrance exams

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Possibly the biggest event in the independent schools’ calendar, the 11+ is the most common entrance exam around. Most children take around four entrance exams, with successful candidates invited for an interview before (hopefully) being offered a place. Here’s First Tutors’ pick of the best resources available.

1. The Royal Russell School, in Croydon, has published a very detailed explanation of what is involved in each paper of its 11+ along with some sample questions. This is an excellent resource – hard to believe it’s free!

2. The Independent Schools Examinations Board does what it says on the tin and its website is a gateway for a plethora of resources such as syllabi and past papers.

3. A Private Education is another no-nonsense, helpful site for parents wishing to educate their children privately. This is a good guide for parents unfamiliar with the system and exam processes.

4. The Independent has an old but very good article on the stresses that parents of 11 year olds go through during exam time – you’ll find this reassuring.

5. First Tutors recommends practising for the entrance exams by completing past papers for 11+ candidates, In fact, we’d go so far as to say these are essential preparation for your child. Our revision guides section has past papers for Maths, English, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment

5 entrance exam resources for 7+

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

With entrance exam season looming, we kick off our look at the resources available to help you and your child by focusing on the 7+.

1, Private schools generally expect very high standards of spelling (higher than in state schools). With an English paper to sit, it’s imperative that your child gets their correct spelling rate up – fast. Here are some ideas on how you can help your child to achieve spelling success.

http://www.learningideas.me.uk/spelling/index.html

2. Haberdashers’ Monmouth is one of the country’s leading independent schools. On their 7+ entrance page, they give some excellent guidelines as to what they will expect from your child. These are fairly standard so use them to prepare your little one for the big day.

http://www.habs-monmouth.org/en/7Entry

3. Chris Woodhead, former Chief Inspector of Schools, wrote a snappy yet informative article for The Times on how to choose the right prep school for your child. If your child gets into more than one school, you’ll have to make a choice, and this could help you decide.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article3255941.ece

4. You might be wondering what the advantage is of putting your seven year old through an entrance exam (or three). In this interesting article, mum of four and teacher Carrie Symes gives an honest and reassuring account to help you understand the pros and cons. Scroll down to the paragraph entitled “Moving at 7/8”.

http://www.angelsandurchins.co.uk/news/item/14/Getting-through-the-prep-school-maze

5. Invest in a good quality reasoning textbook when preparing your child for their entrance exam; teachers place great store in prospective pupils’ ability in this area. We suggest the popular MW Educational packs for 6-7 year olds, available through our very own First Tutors Resources section.

http://www.firsttutors.com/uk/learning-resources.php

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment

Entrance exam preparation

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Those who have gone back to school for their final year will already be thinking about what comes next, with some pupils facing the rigours of entrance exams or coursework submission for secondary school and university places.

When submitting coursework as part of an application, the student and tutor should work together to choose the best examples of work from the previous year. Nothing should be written solely for the application as universities want to see natural potential. However, it is acceptable to ‘tidy up’ the document, removing minor typos, grammatical errors etc. which may have been missed the first time around.

For entrance exams it is important that students remember the same rule applies – schools look for potential, not present ability. If pupils were already perfect, there would be very little point in continuing with education. Devise an entrance exam revision plan, in that same way that you would for any other exam. Most importantly, make sure you stick to it – this also helps identify and improve on any weak points.

The school’s selection criteria should be identified. This is especially relevant if the student is applying for a scholarship. This knowledge will help to create a strongly targeted and concise study plan, increasing the chances of success.

Do enlist the help of a private tutor to help with exam preparation and revision. Home tutors are usually more than happy to advise and assist those students who are bright enough to consider sitting these non-compulsory exams.

As well as mental preparation, it is important to prepare physically as well. A good night’s sleep, healthy diet and exercise will all come together to ensure any student is as prepared as it’s possible to be.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Academic | No Comments | Add a Comment