Choosing a tutor

Advice on 11 Plus VR papers and problems

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Petal8
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2012 4:51 pm

Choosing a tutor

Post by Petal8 »

Hi Guys,

My son who is in year 4 had to do a written assessment test to join the Queensbury School of Education (11+ Tuition). Has anyone else tried the place. Any advise would be gratefully received.

Thank you,
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Choosing a tutor

Post by Daogroupie »

Petal8, Where do you live and what schools are you aiming for?

Please make very sure that Queensbury has expertise in the schools you are interested in. It is very interesting that they have not yet posted their results this year. Could it be that they were not doing their homework and had no idea that SW Herts consortium had gone CEM for VR. This would make a big dent in their results.

Also the mark to get into QE took a hike this year so they may well have not done well.

These are the questions you should be asking them before you shell out. How many students did they get into the school you want your ds to go this THIS YEAR?

I am constantly astounded by parents who will pay hundreds of pounds to a tutor or centre that has not got a single student into the school they want their dc to go to.

I would also be concerned about the amount of grammatical mistakes on their website and the fact that their details of courses section simply says "coming soon" and has done for some time. DG
ToadMum
Posts: 11945
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Choosing a tutor

Post by ToadMum »

Langley Grammer School (Mixed)

Seriously???

Sorry, but I can't imagine why anyone would want to pay the people responsible for this anything at all to 'educate' their children.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
PurpleDuck
Posts: 1586
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:45 pm

Re: Choosing a tutor

Post by PurpleDuck »

ToadMum wrote:Langley Grammer School (Mixed)

Seriously???

Sorry, but I can't imagine why anyone would want to pay the people responsible for this anything at all to 'educate' their children.
Maybe their initial assessment involves a task of spotting a 'deliberate mistake' on their website? :wink: Seriously though, I've seen 'grammer' so often on various threads I think I'm heading towards developing an allergic reaction to it. But if a tuition centre thinks it's ok...
It felt like I hit rock bottom; suddenly, there was knocking from beneath... (anon.)
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Choosing a tutor

Post by Daogroupie »

This is just one of many many mistakes on their website. But the fact is that despite this students continue to flock to their doors despite no details of their courses and no information about where students managed to secure a place this year.

I frequently deal with parents who are driving 20 plus miles to this centre twice a week but when I ask them why and if the centre had actually got any students into the schools they are aiming for they have never asked this question or even asked to speak to an existing parent.

I know of parents making round trip of 80 miles weekly who are preparing for DAO and QE and they are attending VR lessons at Queensbury when VR is no longer part of the exam format for either of these schools. QE stopped VR four years ago. DG
Petal8
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2012 4:51 pm

Re: Choosing a tutor

Post by Petal8 »

guys thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Im still very nervous about the whole thing. Really surprising that QSE didnt know about the changes in VR. i will definitely ask the question. i did see that he has pasted his walls with the same children several times who have attained scholarships in Different schools. i live in Bushey. i am aiming for QE, Watford boys
PurpleDuck
Posts: 1586
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:45 pm

Re: Choosing a tutor

Post by PurpleDuck »

I don't know the area so not sure whether there are other tuition centres where you live, but maybe it would be worth trying to find out who else offers tuition and what exactly is included.

DG is right - a tuition centre that isn't even up to date with the current exams requirements, does not instill confidence. Personally, I would look elsewhere for something relevant to your preferred schools' requirements.
It felt like I hit rock bottom; suddenly, there was knocking from beneath... (anon.)
Y
Posts: 463
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2007 12:49 pm

Re: Choosing a tutor

Post by Y »

The website is clearly written by someone whose first language is not English.

Wouldn't this place have to be ofsted inspected? I can't see a reference anywhere.
ToadMum
Posts: 11945
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Choosing a tutor

Post by ToadMum »

PurpleDuck wrote:
ToadMum wrote:Langley Grammer School (Mixed)

Seriously???

Sorry, but I can't imagine why anyone would want to pay the people responsible for this anything at all to 'educate' their children.
Maybe their initial assessment involves a task of spotting a 'deliberate mistake' on their website? :wink: Seriously though, I've seen 'grammer' so often on various threads I think I'm heading towards developing an allergic reaction to it. But if a tuition centre thinks it's ok...
Perhaps Programmer could set up an automatic 'find and correct' function for the wretched misspelling, to save members' blushes :lol:
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Choosing a tutor

Post by Daogroupie »

I first looked at this site over a year ago when a parent asked me for an opinion on them. The mistakes screamed at me then and they are still there now. It would not be so bad if they only offered Maths but the fact that they do VR and English at well should be a huge concern. Would you really pay money for a Maths tutor if the website contained simple mathematical errors? DG
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