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Who are we?
Nevil Chiles:
Nevil Chiles was born in Birmingham in 1970. He attended Haybridge High School in Hagley in the West Midlands, successfully completing 11 'O' Levels and 4 'A' Levels before leaving school in 1988.
After a year in Australia Nevil attended King's College, London where he read History, graduating in 1992. In the mid 1990s Nevil worked and travelled extensively throughout South East Asia and Australia before becoming involved in education. Nevil worked as a private GCSE tutor to an influential family in Manila in the Philippines before returning to London to take up a full time post in the GCSE Department at Collingham School, Kensington in 1997.
At Collingham Nevil taught History and English at both GCSE and A Level. In 2002 Nevil left Collingham to set up Kensington & Chelsea Tutors Limited.
Dr. Anna Clark:
Anna Clark was born in Stourbridge in 1972. After leaving Mander Portman Woodward (MPW) in Birmingham in 1991 with 4 'A' Levels she went on to the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine to study Medicine. She qualified as a doctor in 1999 and became a member of the Royal College of General Practitioners in 2001. Despite her involvement in Kensington & Chelsea Tutors she continues to work as a GP.
K&C's Kit is the answer to 11 plus concerns!
August 2013
K&C's Kit is the answer to 11 plus concerns!
As millions of teenagers digest the implications of their A Level and GCSE results the next generation of secondary school intake are preparing for some vital examinations of their own in the form of the 11 plus school entrance exams.
The importance of these one off exams is reflected in the rapidly growing number of parents opting for private tuition to prepare their offspring for the next phase of their education.
Around 20% of tuition booked with Kensington & Chelsea Tutors for instance is specific to 11+ preparation with the September to January period proving to be the busiest.
One of the private tutors involved in tutoring 11 plus exam prep is Kit Tempest Walters of online education platform Webtutornet and the associated Kensington & Chelsea Tutors who provide hundreds of tutors for students across London and the South East.
Kit, who benefited from private tuition himself, is keen to stress ten golden points to remember for students taking their 11+ exams over the next school year.
IN THE EXAM:
1. Answer the question: A lot of the time (this applies particularly to arts subjects), pupils will write interesting and detailed answers which do not directly tackle the question. This usually happens for two reasons. Either, the pupil is not confident as to what the question is asking in which case they choose to answer a related question which is not on the exam paper. Or, the pupil rushes and sees some words or a phrase which reminds them of a question which they have prepared in advance. They then write a competent essay, only to discover at the end that the question is not asking what they think it is. I would advise pupils to avoid this problem by reading the question they plan to answer at least twice, making sure to underline key words the second time. This means that pupils will have a far higher chance of fulfilling their potential in exams. This applies particularly to arts subjects, but rushing causes similar problems in maths and sciences as well.
2. Time yourself: The worst way to lose marks besides not answering the question is to run out of time. Going through practice papers is a great way to gauge how much time is given for each question, so that in the exam, the pace of the paper does not come as a surprise. It is advisable at the beginning of each exam, to look at the number of marks available (usually found on the front), and to divide that number by the number of minutes you have to answer them. It usually equates to about a mark a minute- but it is always a good idea to leave five minutes at the end for checking.
LEADING UP TO THE EXAM:
3. Get up early: Starting work early in the mornings is key to a good day's work. Getting up late often leads to procrastination and other activities, such as playing sports, or seeing friends take over in the afternoon. Getting up early is also good preparation for the exams themselves, which often take place in the morning.
4. Stay Hydrated: Drinking lots of water will improve concentration, especially in the summer months.
5. Eat healthily: A healthier body leads to greater focus and energy.
6. Think quality, not quantity: the law of diminishing returns applies here: it is better to do 3 hours of quality than 6 hours of work watching television and chatting with friends.
7. Take breaks: Don't try to work 4 hours without a break. At every 50 minute interval, take 10 minutes off. This will lead to greater quality revision.
8. Take days off: After every 4-5 days of revision, take a day completely off. This will help to refresh the mind and reduce the risk of burn-out.
9. Be consistent: Plan a routine of work hours, work days and breaks, and then stick to it. There is no use having a plan without acting on it.
10. Test yourself, and others: It is vital to test yourself on the material you have revised, so that you can identify areas you can improve before the day of the exam. Testing yourself can also increase confidence, as material is mastered. However, it is also good to test friends because information is retained during the testing process itself.
As with thousands of private tutors, Kit's advice and knowledge is brought to bear during his tuition sessions and there's a proven success rate for those students and their parents opting to top up their classroom education.
Education expert Nevil Chiles, founder of Webtutornet in 2012 and Kensington & Chelsea Tutors in 2002, commented: "Kit is spot on with his advice. With the right discipline and planning anyone can succeed with or without private tuition. Tutors just provide that extra bit of guidance for what can be a make or break landmark in a child's education.
"The nature of the 11 plus exam varies from school to school with each institution setting its own paper and tutors are able to interpret any guidance notes to assist pupils," added Nevil.
For more details visit www.kctutors.co.uk