I know that asking for tutors is a tricky one on the forum, but DD2 has developed a mental block with Maths. She's really strong at Art, Music etc, says she understands it, and can explain it, but can't bring herself to do it, and when she has work she misreads questions. TBH she was like this working for her 11+ to, but when absolutely forced to do it she did well. Help!

She needs to explore the help available free in school first.

Generally I would agree but sometimes if there is a 'mental block' issue then it can help to take it away from the school setting which is associated in the child's mind with the problem.

Sorry KB, I totally disagree. There's always someone on the team that can help remove a 'block' - it might be a teacher or peer support or a sixth form mentor.

Disagreement is fine

In my experience the school environment can sometimes be contributing to stress so having a private tutor in a more relaxed environment ( often only in short term) can restore confidence.

However I absolutely agree that in most cases where a pupil has just got in a bit of a tisy then it's quite possible to deal with it in school.
Sadly though not all school are as accommodating in helping to find the best person to help an individual get over a block.

Whichever route is chosen I hope it is soon sorted out.

Has anyone had success in getting their bolshy, yet shy and embarrassed teen to insist on having more help from school? I’m about to try yet again. Wondering if there are any magic words or phrases that have worked for other parents that don’t just result in another scathing put down. Contacting school myself is verboten, and I always get rumbled these days if I do.

Have you had Parents evening yet? Has the school advertised help sessions or lunchtime 'drop-ins'?

They need to be deciding that it is a good idea themselves ..

No it’s only year 10 so they are low on the priority list for parents evenings-but we have had the report card-which was ok -the student body is very hard working and it is making dd2 worried. They don’t set for maths anymore which I think would help her. I expect she feels stupid asking for help when everyone around her seems to just “get” it right away. She is asking for a tutor but I feel she spends every waking hour at school and at home doing schoolwork. I want her to be more demanding! But you can lead a horse to water but can’t make her drink.

There are probably plenty of students getting help but they are not advertising it.

Help could be being given on email.

Learning can take all forms and it is not shameful to learn some topics in different ways to your peers.

I am always very impressed when a student asks what a word or concept means in front of the whole class.

Many may not know but the one who actually asks is the one who will end up having gain the most out of the class instead of pretending to know when they do not.

Don't they have sixth form mentors who come and work with the class? DG

Have she tried looking at some of the on-line resources for maths? e.g. www.mathsgenie.co.uk has videos for each topic with practice questions. If she is reluctant to ask for help at school she might be willing to work through some of these. There are others too - so if one style of video doesn't click she could try another one.