Cardis Tuition

10/08/2025

August is here, and while back-to-school may feel a long way off, if your child is going into Year 10 or 11, they probably have some summer homework waiting quietly on their to-do list.

We all want to foster independence, so if you've noticed that they're struggling to get started, getting defensive when you bring it up, or maybe just feeling stuck, the following steps might help:

- break down the work together into manageable tasks
- agree set times for quiet study with clear objectives and outcomes (e.g. to finish four pages of the booklet)
- help set up a quiet and tidy work space, even if you're away from home
- check in with encouragement (and a snack) 20/30 minutes in to keep up the momentum

If you'd like to give them an extra boost as they move towards their GCSE exams, I offer study coaching and English tuition. Feel free to get in touch to discuss how I might be able to support your family this academic year.

11/02/2025

February half term is just around the corner -- get ahead with your cosy reading plans by finding these wonderful classic titles in the library before the weekend comes around.

22/08/2024

Sending all my best wishes to GCSE and iGCSE students getting their results today!

And if your child is a year or two away from their results day, today is a great opportunity to talk to them about their goals and to visualise that moment of getting the results to unlock the next steps.

18/05/2024

Does your child know how to use ChatGPT for revision? Using the right prompts can unlock a lot of power from this exciting and dynamic new tech. Here is an example -- you can adapt this to any subject with some careful wording.

Here's what one prompt can generate for "An Inspector Calls" as an example...

https://chatgpt.com/share/b61c2cda-40ac-466e-8f9b-a49acf0fae59

Students can then use this well-organised information to produce mind-maps, flash cards -- you can even ask ChatGPT to write a series of short questions (with or without answers) to quiz knowledge. If more detail is required, just as the chat to "tell me more about...".

Feedback from this year's GCSEs has been positive so far -- wishing all of them the very best for next week before the half term break!

-- Verity at Cardis Tuition

A conversational AI system that listens, learns, and challenges

02/04/2024

Is your child gearing up for GCSEs this summer?
Do they need a little more support with their revision and exam prep?

Verity has some last-minute online spaces available during the Easter break, and can offer...

📚 a collaborative approach to revision planning for all subjects, putting your child in the driver's seat and supporting them to take the wheel!

📚 bespoke tutoring focusing on English (Lit or Lang; all exam boards covered)

📚 feedback and coaching on completed English mock exams or exam practice Qs

📚 resources to support English exam preparation and content revision

Contact Verity today to secure a one-off session or to book a group of sessions in the lead up to the exams -- and best wishes to all the young people preparing for exams, and the families supporting them!

10/12/2023

If your child is gearing up for mock exams in January or February, you may well be wondering how to support them to get meaningful revision done over the upcoming school break. Having a set date and time committed in the calendar for a study session led by a subject specialist and examiner can help ensure purposeful study time -- and each of our sessions is designed to equip learners with the tools and mindset they need to continue their revision and exam preparation independently. Get in touch to get booked in -- refer a friend and save £5 each on the session...!

18/10/2023

Half term is approaching, and for many Year 11s that means MOCK REVISION!

Does your child know how to revise for English? Do they want some extra reassurance? Join Verity online during half term for a boost in English at a fraction of the standard rate for private tuition.

Email to book a place -- £20 per person per session -- save 10% when you book two sessions -- save 15% when you book all three

05/08/2023

GET THEM READING

Whether lounging under a tree or curled up on the sofa (it seems to be raining again today!), getting lost in a good book is one of the greatest pleasures of long summer days.

Reading offers myriad benefits, from language acquisition to imagination, knowledge and cultural capital to improved mental health. There is also a notable lift in both academic success and economic life chances for children who choose to read in their free time.

Unfortunately, reading is not something everyone is born loving, and many parents lament their child's lack of enthusiasm for this slow, analogue pastime -- like green vegetables or going to bed on time, the more you insist, the more they resist.

Maybe they find it difficult. Maybe they don't see themselves as a "reader". Maybe there's someone at school they're comparing themselves to. It's not uncommon for reluctant readers to have negative associations with reading rather than positive, be it pressure, anxiety, frustration, or feelings of inadequacy.

Then there's screen-based entertainment -- whatever the merits of creativity and story-telling, it's undeniable that time disappears more quickly when consuming this content. If we have a free evening, it is easier to spend it with a screen than a book, particularly if reading is not a pleasant experience.

So, what can be done to encourage reluctant readers, or those whose enjoyment is on the wane? One solution is to create new, more positive associations with reading.

Firstly, try to uncover the underlying issue. Why doesn't your child see themselves as a "reader"? What does a "reader" look like to them, and is this a realistic expectation? Here are some questions and activities that can help you child to become more comfortable with their own reading identity:

- What is your earliest memory of reading?
- What book/story do you think has most influenced the types of stories/genres you're most interested in now?
- How important are recommendations or reviews to you when choosing what to read/watch/play?
- If you wanted to spend half an hour by yourself, away from distractions, where would you go?
- If you have books in your home, ask them to fetch the books they would save from a fire, and talk about the reasons for their choices.

You may have guessed that there are no wrong answers here: the purpose of the exercise is to build your child's understanding of their own reading identity, to encourage them to self-identify as a reader. Reading is not an exclusive club, and there's more than one way to be a reader. Sharing your own reading identity is also crucial -- consider what you are modelling, and how you make time to read yourself (and if you don't, then you are both on the journey together).

The discussion also naturally leads itself into ways in which you can facilitate more positive reading associations for your child: exploring new authors in a genre they are interested in; thinking about where their chosen quiet places are and how to bring books into that space.

My favourite suggestion is to embark on some shared reading, like a mini book-group of two (or more!). This could be listening to an audiobook together, perhaps on a long car journey, or getting multiple copies of one book and discussing it frequently while you both read. And be authentic in that shared reading -- yes you're trying to motivate them to keep reading, but be open about what you don't enjoy in the story to normalise negativity too. Texts don't exist on pedestals: it's good to have an opinion!

The school holidays can be both marvellous and intense, especially with teenagers. They're also a great window of unscheduled time to bring the enjoyment of reading back to life. Take a trip to your local library or book shop together to browse the shelves or seek recommendations. Freedom to choose the book -- even if you think it's too young or too old or not quite what you had in mind -- is the crucial first step.

So, in summary:

1. Talk about it, and really listen
2. Explore ways forward
3. Do it together
4. Let them lead

If you're struggling to motivate your child, help from outside the family can also be beneficial to take away the pressure on your own relationship. A tutor can offer coaching and support for rebuilding a love of reading, facilitating discussions, and making recommendations for places to start.

The time between school years can disappear in a blink, starting with grand lists of ambitions that may remain un-tackled two weeks in... and so I will close with one of my favourite quotations about reading, and a reminder to myself to make more time for my book alongside endless laundry and vacuuming (and TV)...

"Time to read is always time stolen... from the tyranny of living." -- Daniel Pennac

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Contact Verity at Cardis Tuition to discuss reading in your family, either as a one-off consultation, as a coaching package, or alongside regular tuition.

27/06/2023

PLANNING AHEAD FOR THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

As the end of June approaches, it's easy to feel as though we are slipping gradually into the summer holidays. Exams are over, staff are more relaxed, and there's finally time for a bit of fun in the curriculum.

For those who are entering an examination year in September however, or facing a transition from Year 6 into Year 7, it's important not to drop the ball during the summer months; the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve illustrates the positive impact of regularly reviewing content and skills (1). While rest, family time, and the freedom of a few weeks away from the rigid structures of school and study are all massively beneficial to a young person's mental health and personal development, research also suggests that continuing academic activity, at school or at home, has a positive impact on progress and learning come September (2).

So, how to find the balance? Here are a few ideas.

1. Speak to the school
Use the time now to find out what is coming up in the next academic year, and the areas in which your child could most benefit from some regular practice and revision during the summer break. Teachers will be happy to recommend resources for both specific topics and general key skills to help ensure you don't waste your money on subpar workbooks, study apps, or revision guides. (Incidentally, having a copy of the curriculum map will also help you to engage your child in conversations about school when term is back in session: rather than opening with a hopeful "how was school?", you can ask more specific questions and maybe even read around the topics yourself.)

2. Make it fun
Find a way to engage your child in keeping their academic skills fresh in creative ways.

- READING: register for a summer reading challenge with the local library or bookshop. This will be even more beneficial if you can join in and read the books together and discuss them, like a mini family book group. Talking about their reading experiences and preferences, vocalising what they did or did not enjoy about a book, stands them in excellent stead for a strong start in English in September. Penguin have some good ideas for establishing parent-child book groups: link in the comments.

- WRITING: start their own summer newsletter, reporting on family events and updates to share with relatives. You could also integrate this with digital literacy skills to help them produce the newsletter, and maybe encourage them to try out different styles of writing or tones for the different sections, such as an interview, an opinion piece, reviews, and of course reportage. Siblings and cousins could collaborate for a bigger project.

- MATHS: Put them in charge of tracking a budget, whether that is their own pocket money, earnings from odd-jobs, the family ice cream fund, or the kitty while on holiday. This could be done on paper or with a spreadsheet. For hungry kids who enjoy a regular fridge-forage, challenge them to help out with planning the family meals, with the objective of calculating the cost per meal or even per portion. At the end of the week, reflect on what was the thriftiest dinner and encourage them to share this with the rest of the family around the table.

3. Structure
Unstructured weeks in the holidays can often end up racing by: before we know it, the August Bank Holiday is upon us and they've only just settled into being on a break. Taking time now to create a calendar and a routine (to whatever degree of detail and rigidity best suits your family!) can help everyone feel like each week is special and meaningful. Set aside time regularly for a family movie night, batch cooking together, walks -- whatever suits your household -- and also some daily quiet time (ideally in the morning) for reading, writing, or working with revision guides and workbooks.

Working with a tutor through any of these ideas will ensure that the plans you put in place as a family are implemented for maximum impact on your child's learning and progress. Regular check-ins with a tutor throughout the weeks of summer doesn't need to mean drilling your child on repetitive exercises or complex grammatical structures: it can be a way to sustain engagement and a love of learning alongside the freedom of time away from school.

So when the August Bank Holiday passes, and new pencils are tucked neatly into new pencil cases, your child is eager to get back to school and meet the challenges of the coming academic year head-on.

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Contact Verity at Cardis Tuition to find out more about summer tuition options, or for a one-off consultation to help you plan to support your child/ren's learning this summer.

18/06/2023

Welcome to Cardis Tuition, founded by Verity Carter.

Verity is a Secondary English specialist holding PGCE & MA Education, plus ten years' experience in the classroom. She has been an examiner for a top exam board, marking both GCSE English Literature and English Language in the past five years.

Contact Verity now to enquire about availability for English tutoring for 2026 examinations.