Keystone Tutors Blog
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Guide to UK Summer Schools
Attending a summer school or summer course can be an unforgettable experience for students and is a fantastic opportunity to learn and gain new skills whilst meeting new friends. There are a huge range of summer school options available which can sometimes be quite overwhelming. We thought it would be helpful to answer some frequently asked questions and list some of our recommendations for summer schools in this article.
Webinar: Study Skills
Keystone's Managing Director, Ed Richardson, was joined by Poppy Dundas, Keystone's Head of Elective & Homeschooling and, Michael Roderick, one of Keystone's long-standing Professional Tutors, to discuss recommended study skills and techniques. This webinar covers how best to aid students in their revision, note-taking, timetabling and general organisation ahead of the summer exams period. It will be a useful resource for students approaching Common Entrance, GCSE and A Levels.
What to look for when choosing a school if your child has SEN
What does the term SEND mean? The term "special educational needs and disabilities" constitutes a legal classification that encompasses children who encounter learning difficulties or disabilities that pose greater obstacles to their learning compared to the majority of children their age.
How to Choose a British Independent School for Your Child
Over the years Keystone has successfully helped many families in their search for suitable independent schools for their children through our Schools Advisory Service. We have outlined the key points that you should consider when looking for a school for your child and where to find the information in this article.
10 Common Questions on Homeschooling
Homeschooling has gained immense popularity in recent years, offering families an alternative approach to education that caters to their unique needs and aspirations. This rise has come as a result of many factors, one of which is of course the pandemic, as shown in this 2022 article by the BBC. In an article published in May 2023, The Guardian cited this rise and commented on the risk of those missing out on education through a lack of homeschooling structure.
Webinar: Assessing and Supporting Children
Keystone's Head of Elective & Homeschooling, Poppy Dundas, was joined by Sarah Warley, Founder at The Key Clinic. Together they discussed the work that Sarah and her team do at The Key Clinic, getting to the root cause of a child's difficulties in order to unlock their full potential. They discussed this in relation to homeschooling and tutoring, and the common issues seen within children.To find out more about how Keystone can support with homeschooling, do follow this link.
A Guide to Postgraduate Options
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to the courses and qualifications beyond undergraduate level. This can include further degrees, certificates, diplomas or professional qualifications. Postgraduate study doesn’t need to be directly connected to the course you graduated in at undergraduate level, though it is often the case, and a strong performance in your undergraduate degree can certainly help strengthen your application.
Law Super Curricular Activities
What are ‘Super curriculars’? Super curricular activities are essentially extracurricular learning activities that are specifically related to your chosen course of study at university. They can include many different things, including experiences and academic research. Incorporating these in your personal statement, and using these experiences in your interviews, can really help improve your chances of being accepted onto your chosen law course.
Tips for Dealing with Exam Season Anxiety
Keystone's Head of Elective and Homeschooling, Poppy Dundas, was joined by our guest expert Clare de Lotbiniere, a BACP Accredited Psychotherapist and Professional Tutors Jon Gale and Lara Isaac. Lara is also a trained nutritionist and together they discuss how best to get your child prepared for the upcoming exams, including dealing with exam anxiety and calming nerves, keeping motivation strong, the best foods to eat and general revision tips and tricks.
How to Set Up a Home School
In light of the Covid-19 school closures we thought it would be helpful to list some of our key recommendations when it comes to making home-schooling a success.
Online Learning - Ground Rules for Students
To assist teachers and students in making online lessons as productive as possible we have put together this infographic on the ground rules that students should follow for online learning.
Does Alma Still Matter? A Report by Keystone Tutors on The Schools Educating The Nation's Elite
Keystone has today published a report that analyses the education backgrounds of individuals who feature in Who's Who and Who Was Who. Analysing 66,000 datapoints from the Who's Who database we have been able to see some fascinating the trends as to which schools are educating the "nation's elite".
Overview of the UK Independent Education System
The UK education system can be confusing, especially for international families whose children are being educated elsewhere. This blog aims to give an overview of the system and to define the key terms you might see when conducting research. Before reading the rest of the blog do take a look at our Educational Roadmap linked here, which will allow you to determine which UK school year your child is in. The age cut-off date is September 1st in the UK – e.g.
Occasional Places (Senior Schools)
UK independent schools tend to have defined entry points and clear processes from registration to assessment and interview.
GAP Years - How to Plan a GAP Year in a Socially Distanced World
Keystone Director of Education, Ed Richardson is joined by Andrew Mackenzie, Managing Director of Africa and Asia Venture – experts in GAP year travel for over 25 years and Dr Jonathan Burbidge, housemaster and teacher at St Edward's School. Here they will be discussing the possibilities of a gap year and how this might be different from the normal in the context of Coronavirus.