Posts

Top top for success at Common Entrance: Become a teacher!

Here is a brilliant tip for anyone who is about to sit Common Entrance (or any other exam for that matter!) Reading and making notes will help your remember your information but teaching and explaining your topics will help you even more. In stages... 1: Revise one of your topics (e.g. life processes) and make your notes, 2: Try to teach the topic back to a member of your family. Plan your lesson around providing the information needed to answer typical Common Entrance questions. Refer to the marking scheme when you are thinking of how much information to include. Your aim is to teach the materials and for your student (victim?) to be able to reply to your questions. 3: As you are teaching, remember to repeat key points or share mnemonics (MRS GREN?!) Through teaching your student, you are ensuring that the topic will stick in your mind. 3: At the end of your lesson, if you have explained everything clearly, your students should be able to give you complete answers. You are

13+ Common Entrance or Winchester College Revision Planning

Common Entrance and Scholarship exams are almost upon us... Easter is a brilliant time to consolidate all your hard work and make a final push before the Common Entrance or scholarship exams. Try these steps. Get a copy of the Common Entrance syllabus from iseb.co.uk. Print out each subject. Choose three coloured pens. Go through the syllabus and use a different colour to mark each topic depending on your knowledge level (e.g. red - 'I am confident with this topic', green - 'I need to revise', yellow- 'I have no idea!') Plan your revision based on your findings. If you have identified big topics which are confusing (e.g. tectonic plates) start with those. In the next update, I will give you some ideas for planning each study session. In the meantime, and importantly, don't panic! I have had students whose grades have gone from Ds to As after Easter revision sessions. There is still time, you just need to use it wisely.

Terrific video directed by Emilie, our of our favourite students!

Image

How can I help my child to prepare for the Speech Festival?

The HKSMSA festival dates have just been announced. Students will have had their poems for a few weeks now. A common question from parents is 'how can we help?' Brandon has a few suggestions: 1: Come to one of our Speech Festival Prep classes (of course!) 2: Read the poem through with your child and get them to retell the story to you. Do they understand all the language? If not, look up the words together. 3: Mark up the poem with the relevant emotions. Play with the voices and add in facial expressions. 4: Practice whenever you can in front of family members. Most importantly.... The Speech Festival is a brilliant way to build confidence, encourage your child irrespective of their final result!

What is the difference between Common Entrance and Schools' own papers?

If I had a pound for every time parents had asked me to explain the difference between Common Entrance (11+/13+) and schools' own papers, I would have a nice little pot of savings! So here we go: 1: Common Entrance is an examination created by the ISEB (Independent Schools' Examination Board). The exam is available for a board range of subjects and different levels are available (maths has three for example). Individual schools decide: which papers candidates should sit and, the level required. You need to check requirements with the school (ask for subjects/levels). Registration is done through the ISEB website. Schools are provided with a suggested marking scheme but some adapt to suit their needs (e.g. rewards for correct spelling/forgiveness of incorrect spelling) Depending on the selectivity of the school, Common Entrance could be used to confirm an offer or just for setting purposes. Common Entrance can be sent to ONE school. The only way that it can be used fo

Coping with homesickness - preparing for life in a boarding school.

Leaving home at any age is a shock to the system but leaving home as a young child can be traumatic. Post 13+ or 11+, students tend to be euphoric as they realise that their hard work has paid off and their thoughts turn to summer rather than the new term. Missing home is inevitable and, as parents, there are a few ways you might want to consider to help your child cope: 1: Prepare for the new school, visit at least once (amazingly, the first exposure some students get to their new home for five years is when they arrive on the first day) 2: Talk about similarities and differences before your child goes - be attentive to cultural differences. 3: Identify ways of smoothing the transition - does your child have a favourite snack you can send? 4: Speak to the new housemistress/master and matron and work out when your child can call home, how you can contact him/her and what support can be provided. 5: Listen to your child. Don't dismiss their fears or worries, small probl

What is a dress code?

I did an interview with Singtao newspaper today in which we discussed dress codes and why they are important. I know that some people think that dress codes are out of fashion but to me they are a way of saying to your host "I appreciate you inviting me to this event. I recognise that you have invested time and money in planning and care about me enough to share your generosity with me. I am making an effort!' We are living in a society in which the silent ways of showing we care for each other are being eroded. I do not think that respect is an old fashioned value, rather it is a standard by which we can live our lives. Not turning up in jeans to a formal wedding is little to ask of us! Watch some of the interview on Singtao online

Finding happiness through the eyes of children

Image
I had a miserable day yesterday which changed dramatically when I found this fabulous picture on my desk. The picture (and flattery, take it where you can!) reminded me that sometimes we need to stop taking life so seriously and live more in the moment. Children have a real gift for spontaneity and we should cherish it. Learning and educating goes both ways! My instant cheer up present from Akuri!

My Holiday Memory Journal - a summer activity for students

Remember your childhood holidays? Apparently the sun shone every day, happiness abounded and every day was an adventure. What was the reality? A quick wander through the records for 1980s Ireland reveals that our corner of Kerry had a 24 hour rainfall of 106mm and extensive flooding during an August I remember as being particularly sunny. Summer project: A memory book for holidays. Cheap, easy and a way of helping your son or daughter to build confidence (and fill those rainy days!) Step one: Get a plan A4 exercise book. The first project is to cover the book in plain paper and decorate the covers. Use colours, felt-tips, pictures... be creative! Step two: decide on what to include. Each day can have a different focus such as: food (stick in menus, pictures, restaurant reviews); friends - get new friends to sign the book (this is a terrific confidence booster!); short stories or poems based on what you see out of your window; pictures of the view from your room/hotel/tent; desc

Thank you all. PhD Ceremony at Durham University

Image
Common wisdom has it that it takes a village to raise a child. With a slight adaptation; it takes a world to create a PhD Candidate! My studies would never have been possible without the support of my family, friends and the blessings of God. I have learned so much and will continue to see that I have much to strive for, In the meantime... thank you, thank you, thank you. 

13+/Common Entrance English - Choosing your essay

As our Brandon students count down to the 13+ exam (most of our girls sat the exam in Spring but we have a very determined group of Harrow candidates who will certainly do well!) I would like to offer some advice on the English paper. The first English paper ('Literary prose') offers a prose comprehension followed by a structured writing task. Candidates have the option of writing a directed piece (speeches/magazine articles/diaries) or reflecting on literature. The majority of our students choose the first option and this advice is directed towards them: 1: Read the question carefully, underline the key words. 2: Be aware of the structure of the piece you are being asked to write. Make sure that you have the correct format in mind (e.g. if you are writing an article, have you included an introduction and conclusion?) 3: Think about the level of language you need to maintain: a diary entry can be informal language whereas a letter to a Head needs to be formal. Speeches