Keystone Tutors Blog
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Romance, Bloodbaths and Poetic Immortality: A Guide to a GCSE Set Text
This is a striking piece of poetry. Nine books and a good 6,000 lines of poetry into his epic, Virgil breaks from the narrative to address the audience directly and tells us that his work will be read for as long as the Roman Empire lasts.
Book, Line and Sinker: Fostering a Love of Reading
With the summer holidays in full swing, parents will be wanting to keep their children’s minds active, so as to stop the dreaded ‘summer slide’ in academic ability. However, they may encounter problems. It can be hard to know where to start when choosing a book; some children are reluctant readers; and others do read, but stay away from ‘the classics’. With a little bit of effort from parents and tutors, however, these difficulties can be overcome.
University Applications
The summer ahead presents an excellent opportunity for those who have just finished their AS/A-Levels to think about the next step. UCAS requires applications to be completed by mid-January* and sixth formers will find their first term of the academic year saturated by careers advice and personal statements. University can be a fantastic experience and, in addition to a degree, will likely provide you with lifelong friends and the best environment in which to mature.
The Solution to Hannah's Sweet Question
The internet has once again been abuzz with a tricky Maths question (following the extremely challenging problem set in a Singaporean exam a few weeks ago). Today's question came from the Edexcel GCSE exam paper. The question and solution are below.
Why Children Should Read
Scanning the education news last week, I was struck by a headline in the Guardian on reading: "Lost for words? How reading can teach children empathy".
Online Revision Resources
At this time of year, I am often asked where to find decent revision materials. My response is always the same: your child’s rucksack. Parents look at me confused: do I really think that their child has matured enough in the run-up to exams to have finally started making colourful, concise and comprehensive notes? Of course I don’t. Most of them have lost their folders or thrown them into bogs.
The Solution to Albert, Bernard and Cheryl's Birthday Maths Problem
The internet has been abuzz with a Maths problem that has everyone stumped. It was set by the Singapore and Asian School Math Olympiads. The question (and solution) are below.
Easter Holiday Revision Tips
Easter is at a sharp approach and following this weekend students and parents may be feeling daunted by the exams ahead. An organised approach to revision is fundamental to success and I hope the following suggestions will help you in the run up to the summer exams.
Online Tutoring – How Far Can It Go?
Keystone was fortunate enough to be invited to hear the outgoing Headmaster of Eton, Tony Little, speak last week. To a packed house at the Royal Geographic Society, he delivered an excellent paper for the Old Etonian Association titled… “The New Etonian.” You can view a video of the lecture on the Eton website.
Compulsory Post-16 Maths?
I recently came across an article in which Elizabeth Truss, MP for South West Norfolk, claimed ‘Britain is still in denial about its Maths problem.’ Truss is amongst a wealth of other significant figures in government, education and public life, most notably Carol Vorderman, who have, in recent years, paid reference to the fact that UK students are falling behind their international peers when it comes to mathematical competence.
National Tutoring Conference Speech on Trends in Private Tutoring in London
I was delighted to speak at The National Tutoring Conference today. I had been asked to comment on where the demand in UK for private tutoring had come from in the past 10 years, and started by pointing out that the market is now so broad and fragmented that my own observations were bound to be limited and were not necessarily representative of the UK tutoring market as a whole.
Keystone Sponsors Event with Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan
Keystone was delighted to sponsor Politeia's Winter Address by Secretary of State for Education, Nicky Morgan. Keystone has been a long standing supporter of Politeia's education programme which has been provoking expert discussion and generating wide ranging opinion on curriculum reform.
Why We Support Kung-Fu Maths
It is a fact of living in a diverse city like London that it is home to both families of privilege and those of more modest means. As a company, we were keen to make sure that we do not ignore those children for whom tutoring was not so easily affordable but who would nonetheless derive much benefit from it.
Press Release: Keystone Calls for January Exams to be Pushed Back to Avoid Christmas Cramming
Holding crucial entrance exams in early January is causing parents and students unnecessary anxiety over the Christmas period.
Press Release: Tutoring in the Younger Years
Children as young as three are being put under strain because the private schools market is so competitive that parents feel they have no option but to hire tutors, experts have warned. Keystone has warned that parents should approach tutoring for younger children with caution.
Press Release: The Risks of Using Placement Agencies
The global reputations of leading independent schools are being tarnished by unscrupulous education advisors who are charging overseas parents tens of thousands of pounds for poor advice that fails to secure places for their children, a leading tutoring firm has warned.
Summer Reading Recommendations
Whether poem, essay, novel or tome, literature should accompany you wherever you go this summer. We thought we would recommend some summer-themed literature for you, all of which are suitable for pupils older than 14.
Note-Taking when Learning Online
At Keystone we believe that, in the hands of a good teacher, online learning can be a match for learning in-person. However, if there is one concern that our tutors most often voice about their online classes, it is that they find it hard to check on their pupils’ note-taking. Lessons themselves are obviously crucial; without revision from one’s notes, however, their effect is drastically diminished.
Tools to Enhance Online Learning
One of the secrets of Keystone’s online tutoring success is that it relies on the age-old relationship between a teacher and pupil. Facing their pupils head on, Keystone’s teachers use our online platform to convey their knowledge and instructions directly. By placing all our trust in the quality of our teachers, we feel that the geographical distance between the teacher and pupil is more than compensated for by the chance of a genuine intellectual relationship.
The Case for Learning Latin in the 21st Century
It is the lot of every Latin teacher to answer, each and every year, the same tedious question from the class wise guy: “What’s the point of learning a dead language like Latin?”.
Online Tutoring – Important Questions to Ask
“We will soon be nothing but transparent heaps of jelly to each other.” So wrote the furious New York Times in 1877 at the introduction by Alexander Graham Bell of his new invention: the telephone. New technology is often met by such scepticism – and rightly so. Online education is just such a technology, and it is not surprising to see some parents and teachers respond to it with uncertainty.
