Madness

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Chelmsford mum
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Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:16 pm

Madness

Post by Chelmsford mum »

I have always read the articles about people getting up at 5 to take children to oversubscribed tutors and paying hundreds of pounds and thought....hmmmm surely not many people do that.

Well...had a very anxious call from someone I know who rang me because she knows I have two daughters at the local super selective.The mums at her primary school had told her she was "far too late" to start preparing(next November).She was "far too late" to find a good tutor too.One of them offered to plead with their tutor.Here, to my mind, is the shocking part... She said
"She is apparently really good.She has a 90% pass rate.She charges £30 per hour for group sessions and she begins with a full assessment, including learning styles, which would cost £180.She starts from the end of year 4. She warned me she is very strict ,is known to shout at the children from time to time if she thinks they need it but she gets results."

She is completely booked up. :shock:
I know its a topic that comes around often on this site but usually in the absract/hypothetical.I do not believe this is necessary and do not believe that the prices being charged are anything short of extortion.I think this is madness.
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

:shock:
I have to agree with you.
tiredmum
Posts: 1161
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 2:51 am

Post by tiredmum »

yeah absolutly crazy but from what i have read/seen that situation is happening all over different 11 plus areas :!:
T.i.p.s.y

Post by T.i.p.s.y »

There is no need for a tutor ever to shout at a pupil. I mean they only have them for 1 hour and are being paid a ridiculous sum. I wouldn't pay anyone £30 p/h to shout at my kid! :shock:
Chelmsford mum
Posts: 2113
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:16 pm

Post by Chelmsford mum »

T.i.p.s.y wrote:There is no need for a tutor ever to shout at a pupil. I mean they only have them for 1 hour and are being paid a ridiculous sum. I wouldn't pay anyone £30 p/h to shout at my kid! :shock:
Not when we can do it for free :oops:
Looking for help
Posts: 3767
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:12 am
Location: Berkshire

Post by Looking for help »

The tutoring or the shouting. :lol:

The only thing I have to say on the matter is that if everyone else is doing it to give your child a chance you may have no option.
These sessions push up the average score of the kids sitting the test, the standardisation is then skewed and there may be a very small difference between the top mark and the bottom mark, so I know what I would do if I had the chance again.
In my view the schools should become more transparent in letting the would be parents know that some children are being intesively tutored for their exams so that everyone is in the know so to speak.
Then it'll come back down to what we all know it is about. Money
Milla
Posts: 2556
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 2:25 pm

Post by Milla »

get your friend onto this site and get her to DIY. She could slide £30 a week into an account and go on holiday come the end of it all!
Tracy
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Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:28 am
Location: Bexley

Post by Tracy »

Looking for help, having been through the system twice, I completely agree.
It's not about selecting the bright local kid and giving him/her a more academic schooling, it's about the grammar places being sold to the highest bidder.
Looking for help
Posts: 3767
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 11:12 am
Location: Berkshire

Post by Looking for help »

Funny old world...but the thing is I would have done it if I'd know about it ( I am shameless) and that is what makes me mad. It was just that important to me , but hey ho. I know now, and wish absolutely that I had never been involved in such a flawed systemn but more than that wish that my son had never been put through it, becuase he was the victim (sorry to use emotive words, but that is how I see it).
I am also reading elsewhere that some of these tutors may be gaining access to tests so that their children will already have seen the papers before the test. It may not be deliberate cheating, but it is very worrying that some people have access to question papers that the rest of us do not. And when you think about it if you come up against unusual words etc in say VR, you are going to remember them so even if it's a while before the actual test date, the advantage would be incredible.
First-timer
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Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:47 pm
Location: Essex

Post by First-timer »

Wow Cm!

I'm guessing that with a 90% pass rate she didn't take on all those children she assessed initially. Wonder how their parents felt after being charged £180 only to be told she wouldn't take them.

Crazy money for me. I suppose if you are aware of your DC's classmates going down this route and you have the means, you might be tempted to follow suit. You may even feel you have to just to "keep up".

If she gets the results and the children are happy attending then that's fine. Weighed up against the cost of private education it could even be considered a bargain! But - I can't imagine that there would be any need to shout in a tutoring situation. My DS would simply zone her out and learn nothing.

How mean that some parents will stoop to trying to put off the competition by telling them they are too late to begin. Shame on them!
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