Hatch end tuition

[Busybee25]

Hi all,

I would be grateful for any feedback or views people have of Hatch End Tuition. I will be trying my daughter for both grammar and independent schools. Please send me a PM with views.

Thanks BB

[K1w1mum]

Can't be bothered PMing but we are using Hatch End tuition this time around. They seem very thorough compared to others we've used for older siblings.
We know a few people who have used them in the past and gained places in the Watford Grammars, but who knows what's going to happen with the new VR?

[coolmum123]

As with everything it all depends on your child. I know of parents who put their children there and then pulled them out as they weren't happy with the progress their kids were making. Others kept them in.

I may be wrong but tuition can't guarentee places. All they can do is equip the children with the tools necessary to be able to answer the questions.

[Daogroupie]

I would wait and see what results they get this year with the new CEM.

Talk to a parent who used them this year and find out exactly when they were told about the new format and exactly what preparation they used. DG

[minalpat78]

Hi
My DS went to Hatch End but we only started him 9 months before he sat the exams this September.

Actually it was me who informed this website and Hatch end re the change of format and as soon I emailed them the lesson format for that Saturday had been changed, however they did say that as they also taught for Slough consortium they had experience with Cem

I have nothing but praise. DS had become angry and annoyed about taking the exam however we emailed Chris (female) owner of the centre who asked her son to have a "chat" with DS ........ Whatever was discussed it did the trick and he became more enthusiastic about learning and going to tuition on a Saturday afternoon.... He also went to a lot of classes over the summer which he actually throughly enjoyed .....

We shall see the results in a couple of weeks.... And wil update .... Fingers crossed

[Stressing123]

I used them for both DS and DD and they both achieved scores high enough to secure a place at the Grammars as well as independents.

I would recommend them, but you have to realise it is a partnership - depending on your child it may be unrealistic to expect them to succeed using tutors alone. For example, I would mark the tutor homework and identify areas where they would need improvement, and then provide tutoring for these specific areas.

The Hatch End mock exams are helpful, in terms of getting them used to exams, but I found doing too many counter-productive, as Chris would vary the difficulty deliberately so that they did not become too complacent - but the effect of this was to dent DS and DD confidence if it was a hard exam.

[mof3]

I have to second what the post above says. Chris is very experienced in the old style SWHerts exam. For all the other exams (QE, Bucks, new style SWHerts, etc), not so much. Also, what DC1 didn't know, I had to teach him, because in a class of 10-12 children, there was no way he got any individual attention. The homework is marked my parents, so it is easy to figure out where your child is struggling, and then naturally you sort out that issue yourself. What was very useful for a 11+ newbie, which I was at the time (he sat in 2014), was the routine of a bit of work every day, and the material (ie, all the practice books and papers). I literally had no idea where to start. However, having been through it once, I realised that it comes down to about 50% tutor / 50% parent, at a push. Maybe even 25% tutor... And that was first time round. Second time around (DC2 sits in 2016) I will not be spending money on outside tuition. Everything that Chris uses (and much much more!) can be bought on Amazon (love Prime for next day delivery). The mocks were useful, but mostly they just served to ratchet up my stress levels. What a rollercoaster they were!!! I think it's a good idea to do a couple just to get the kids used to the environment, but there was no obvious correlation between mock scores and the final scores. And I don't mean just for my DC1, but for loads of people I know!! It's truly bizarre. I assume it's because ultimately these papers have been created by Chris, rather than an examining board. PM if you want to ask specific Qs.

[Daogroupie]

I think it is very likely that SW Herts will go 100% CEM this year if they are happy with the results of the English CEM.

DAO did the same paper as them and from the information I have I think it was a fair paper and will identify the candidates who are or have recently become very strong English candidates.

It makes total sense for SW Herts to abandon their Maths paper which is far too easy and to go for one CEM paper that tests English and Numerical Reasoning.

They can use the same format at HBS which is currently selecting 300 top candidates out of 2300 for them.

So all the expertise and success rate built up by tutors in the SW Herts exam would then need to be refocused.

I repeat I would not sign up with any SW Herts tutor until the results of this years paper comes out next week. I would say the same for DAO tutors. DG