Choosing a tutoring company to help your child is a big decision. The decision becomes even more complex (and crucial) when your child is preparing for a high-pressure entrance exam.
Maureen Vincent initially reached out to us to get some information about how we might be able to help her son, Will, prepare for a Select Entry Accelerated Learning program (SEALP) exam. Having already identified her son’s passion for education she wanted to provide him with the best opportunity to be challenged and enriched at a great school.
However, there was a problem. As she noted, “We were out of zone for the top secondary schools and had no desire to send our child to a private school.” Beyond this, she wanted to provide her son with some form of preparation for the SEALP exam he planned to sit, and to also provide him with further motivation. Also, while he was academically strong at his primary school, she wasn’t sure how he’d perform on a test against students from other schools.
“He has always been a very good student academically but I was concerned how he would perform in a larger cohort with students from other schools.”
“The competitiveness of entry into a SEAL program motivated me to seek tuition classes to prepare him for the upcoming exams and to be with like-minded students.”
After weighing up her options, she decided to enrol Will in classes at Spectrum Tuition. Will excelled. He took on advice from his tutors and completed all set class and homework. He worked tirelessly to achieve his goal.
However like most students his age, Will was having difficulty structuring and writing high quality persuasive and narrative essays within the 20 minute timeframe. As Maureen explains, she decided that some further private tutoring might be helpful.
“As the exam date neared, we also decided to get Thuy to provide some private tuition in English (as his maths has always been good) and this was invaluable.”
Thuy, co-founder of Spectrum Tuition, worked tirelessly with Will to help ensure he was ready for exam day.
“My son finally “got it” – and knew how to structure a narrative and write a persuasive argument within a 15-20 minute time frame. Thuy had made it easy to understand and positively encouraged his progress over a number of sessions. His confidence was starting to shine through. We were thrilled.”
When the exam day finally arrived, Will felt confident and ready. Maureen notes;
“After my son sat each exam for entry into an accelerated program, there was a reserved confidence that he had done “okay”. Directly after each exam, he would comment that the exam questions, although different in content, were the same as he had practiced at Spectrum. He just had to go through the strategies he had practiced in class. Being familiar with the style of questions meant he settled quickly into the exam and was able to work methodically through each question.”
With all the hard work that Will, Maureen and the team at Spectrum Tuition had put in, the fact that Will sat the exams and felt confident was a huge relief – for everyone.
“I was relieved when my son exited the exams without tears, unlike several other children”.
Once exam day passed, it was just a matter fo waiting for Maureen and Will – which often times can be the most stressful. However, when the results arrived, the outcome was well beyond their expectations.
“We were deliriously ecstatic when our son was accepted into all three accelerated programs!”
The combined efforts of Spectrum Tuition, Will and Maureen resulted in him being accepted into all the schools he sat exams for. This was a great result and aligned well with what we knew Will could achieve.
“Even today my son credits this to the tuition (Scholarship program) he received at Spectrum and the additional help he received from Thuy.”
Although that was the end of Will’s SEALP journey, the skills he learnt will stay with him for the rest of his schooling. So too, his undeniable enthusiasm and thirst for learning:
“After he finished the Scholarship program, we were very surprised when he asked whether he could continue general tuition classes at Spectrum because he enjoys the classes and the challenge they provide. I would have never dreamed that my son would give up his Saturdays to attend English and Maths classes but I think he has realised the benefits of quality education and resultant gains. Even his primary school teachers have made comment on his academic progress in the classroom.”
Maureen has been so impressed with our program, that she has even brought along her other son to complete the SEALP preparation course.
“Our experience with Spectrum has been so positive, that my second son is currently in the Scholarship program and we are confident he is getting every opportunity to achieve pleasing results when he sits the exams for entry into a SEAL program”
Want to know how we can help your child prepare for a scholarship, SEALP or selective schools exam? Call us on 1800 668 177 or click the link below to book a FREE assessment at one of our centres.
