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A-level results day: How to stay calm and decide on your next steps
For many families, A-Level Results Day is one of the most anticipated yet nerve-wracking dates in the academic calendar. I remember when I opened my A-Level results, that strange mix of anxiety, hope, and the sense that my whole future might hinge on what was written inside that envelope. It’s a moment that feels both daunting and full of opportunity. While your child is the one opening that all-important envelope or checking their phone, you’re likely feeling your own mix […]
Bright days, smarter revision: A summer study strategy
Summer: a season of longer days, ice cream breaks, and much-needed rest from the pressures of the classroom. But for many parents, it also raises a familiar question: how do we make sure our child doesn’t fall behind during the holidays, especially if they have upcoming assessments next term? The answer lies in a smarter summer study strategy, one that uses the quieter months to gently close knowledge gaps, reinforce core skills, and build academic confidence without burning out. This […]
How taking breaks boosts creativity & focus at school
As summer break rolls around, many parents find themselves torn between letting their kids unwind and wanting them to stay academically sharp. In a world where productivity is often glorified, it’s easy to think that filling the summer with tutoring, camps, and enrichment programs is the best way to help students get ahead. But what if the real secret to their growth lies in taking a true break? Research and real-world classroom observations increasingly show that downtime, especially over summer, […]
Is Digital Learning Damaging Your Teenager’s Education?
I remember a lot of things about being in primary school but one of my fondest memories from the time is the smell of fresh books. I remember the excitement I would get when we’d have to change textbooks once we moved to a higher level and the sheer joy I’d feel when I saw and touched the books. This continued for years and it was one of the most exciting things about advancing from class to class, but maybe […]
5 Essential Keys to your Teenagers Happiness in 2024
5 Essential Keys to Your Child’s Happiness in 2024 As is traditional at the start of each new year, we generally seek to make changes that we believe will improve our lives and help us make the most of a fresh set of 365/366 days. As we should, because no matter how well we feel we’re doing, there’s always room for improvement. This is as true for academics as it is for any other area of life. That’s the idea […]
Hard working student or smart working students GCSE and A-level
Having two teenagers who are both in the final year of GCSE and A-level respectively, means the notion of “hard work vs smart work” is a constant topic of conversation in my household… If you ask anyone which is better: smart work or hard work, the answer is a no-brainer, as the Americans say! My son and I have completely different points of view about the importance of hard work. When he got the result of his GCSEs last year, […]
Parents of a certain Tribe… matters that we take more seriously…
I’m using the word “tribe” here as I struggle to come up with a better word, despite the risk of this word being open to all sorts of interpretations. In my three or so decades as a teacher in the English secondary education system, for half of which my role also includes being a parent, I’ve never met a single parent who does not care about their child. Every parent cares about their child, it just we do things in […]
Optimism in autumn term ; Nature or nurture; Fingers are not equal…
Following up from my last blogpost…. The notion of fingers not being equal should not be interpreted as some people being inherently better than others as human beings, as that is not only dangerous but untrue. Yes, some of us can do certain things much better than others; each individual has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. The eagle is happier soaring high in the sky whilst looking for its prey. If you want to sit in your lovely […]
Optimism in the air in the new academic year; nature or nurture….
Many parents actually enjoy the relative peace and tranquillity now that the children are back at school, particularly when they are working at home. It’s not only those who work in a school or college who will understand what I mean by optimism in the air at the beginning of a new academic year, parents do too. As a parent, I usually make the point of going with my son and daughter to school on the first day of the […]
Green and pleasant land; quality time; teenagers at home in the summer and all that…
I don’t know if the summer holiday in your household is any similar to mine? I’m beginning to get that familiar feeling, that “the anticipation of the summer is sometimes better than the reality of the actual summer”. This is not about the weather in the UK at present, so I’ll do my best not to dwell too much on that. Considering June was all very sunny, we should know better not to expect our good fortune to carry onto […]
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