Raheem Mu Khepera MBE The English Language Tutor

We are a matter of days away from completing the first full set of English G.C.S.E exams in the last couple of years.

The work has been done...

The strategy has been finalised...

The questions have been answered...

The rows of chairs are set...

The pencils are sharpened...

The ink pens are ready...

Have faith in your preparation...

You've got this

It can be an absolute mine field navigating all your child’s
commitments and activities...

It seems like there isn’t time to keep up with all the things
that need to do let alone your child...

Have you ever felt that you wish you could be in two places
at once??

I know the feeling you can’t possibly squeeze
another thing into the diary...

This is why we love online tutoring as you can learn anytime
and anywhere...

It cuts down travel time waiting time and the stress of it all…

Online is now the way of the world.

Let’s maximise these opportunities!

It’s amazing to see how much the world has changed.

Learning used to be confined to the classroom or lecture hall.

Now it can take place anywhere an internet connection exists.

The pandemic showed us the flexibility that online learning
offered and how quickly that change can be adopted.

Students growing up in this new world have options that their
parents couldn’t have dreamt of.

Imagine 20 years ago talking about working from home.

A new generation with the expectation of hybrid and online working
is here.

Online learning is the future because it allows students to access
education without borders.

They can access the type of learning and support that is truly right
for them as opposed to be one size fits all approach.

Students are no longer bound by the expertise nearest to where they
live.

Students can access subject matter experts anywhere.

At the click of a button.

The future is now.

The future is online learning.

We love it when our former students let us know what they are up to and when parents contact us to tell us how their children are now getting on.

So proud of all of you!

Once a student knows what their strengths are and where the gaps in their learning are they are in a strong position to continually self asses and focus efforts.

Add to this being able to fully interrogate the questions they are answering so they have absolute and complete dominion over the task at hand. This builds a supreme confidence and rock solid belief in their ability and the fact they can trust in their themselves.

We bring up the rear with the necessary tool kit and its game time. The top performing students are all armed with the above skills. This is the stuff that grade 9 achievement is made of.

Here is the next step that I take my students through.

It seems so obvious and for this reason it often gets
overlooked.

You wouldn’t expect a plumber to show up to fix
a drain with a feather duster….

Or a Dr to show up with to the operating theatre
with a bow and arrow…

Yet time after time I see students who show without
the right tools.

Time and time again I see students use the right tools
but not in a way that is strategic and repeatable...

What do I mean by the above? The students have the
tools but lacks the depth of understanding to identify
that they have a tool kit and to assess what is required of
them in using the right tools in different scenarios.

They may get full marks today and guess their way to
There way through but they cannot repeat the outcome
consistently…

Especially under test conditions.

Knowing what tools are right for the job is key.

Being able to apply the right tools at the right time….

In the right order….

And in the correct context…

Priceless.

Lets talk brass tacks and strategy...

The June GCSE paper has an essay question that is worth 50% of the overall paper grade.

How many students can self identify what aspects of their essay
writing that needs to be improve...

How many students are able to look at an essay and grade their
own paper based on the exam criteria...

How many students know what the exam criteria is and how
the marks are weighted...

The first step to reaching any destination is to plan your journey....

The first step to planning your journey is knowing your starting point.

If you have a child sitting their GCSE exams this summer and would like some support in ensuring they get those top grades...

Getting into their first choice of sixth form or college...

Comment "Journey" below so we can get you some help.

Wow and just like that we are back to exams after two years.

We want to acknowledge all of our students for the work you
have put in to becoming a top performer.

We want to remind you that you are powerful and knowing...

Your grades are a by-product of who you are becoming...

I once heard someone say that professionals don't need telling what to do they just need reminding!

To our parents and the village that continues to raise these incredible young people we salute you...

To our team we appreciate you...

And lastly, its GAME TIME!!!

If you know..

You know.

The next thing that I do with my students is show them how to interrogate
the subject matter material.

Knowing is not enough….

Students need to demonstrate what they know clearly….

Far too many students…

Lack the ability to clearly articulate the depth of their understanding…

Many students lose marks simply because they failed to….

Go deeply enough into their answers…

The worst thing about this is that students feel they have studied
sufficiently and answered correctly leaving them feeling frustrated
by lower-than-expected grades.

For the students giving their answers I teach them that exams
are a bit like explaining to blind-folded trying to escape
a maze exactly how to get out…

Crucially they learn a step-by-step process of exactly to how
to explain to the blind-folded person (the examiner) exactly
how to get out of the maze…

Once students understand and can implement this process
it’s an absolute game changer.

Before you can go on any journey you have to know your destination.

Therefore when I work with students the first thing that we do is find out where they are so that they can self-identify exactly what they need to do to get to their intended destination.

All top performers know the power of self-assessment.

The ability to be able to measure your own performance is key…

Unfortunately this isn’t something that is practiced enough by
students because in most instances they are not taught to self
assess or not given the environment to consistently practice
self – assessment…

Like any muscle this is a skill that needs to be consistently rehearsed for maximum effect…

What students are generally practicing is waiting on teacher-based assessments such as…

Homework...

In class assessment…

End of unit tests…

Mock exams….

End of year exams etc

Whilst the above is valuable…

Students relying on teacher-based assessment…

Causes their self-assessment muscles to atrophy…

This negatively impacts their grades as they are studying hard
without a clear focus.

The M.I.T.A* method (pronounced the mighty a method)
was born out from years of testing different strategies with our students to see what worked best.

I ran the numbers who knew we had our first student
some 12 + years ago!

What was clear was that conventional methods such
as learning by rote and cramming just simply didn’t work…

Just working hard didn’t work…

Many students had little to no comprehensive way of assessing their progress
outside of exams, tests or other teacher-based feedback.
This meant they would sometimes go weeks and even
months without having a clear focus wasting valuable time…

There was a disconnect with many students as to why they were studying
English - over and above the obvious which was they
had to and they needed English to gain entry to their
chosen course of further study...

There was a fundamental lack of understanding around
what the real-world benefits of mastering English really are for them…

Students for whom their home or first language was not
English seemed to be challenged in the area of communicating
the knowledge they clearly had to the examiner which would
cost them valuable marks. This was something I set about fixing…

The assessment of English isn’t just about English.
The assessments are testing your cultural, social and
linguist norms as it relates to the subject matter.

We hit on one of the core reasons why capable students
who are ESL speakers, come from so called working class
or so called minoritised communities were not hitting the
top grades at times even when putting in the work and
using tried and tested traditional methods of study…

Why isn’t this something our students are taught about?

We’d found the secret sauce…

It was like striking gold….

The M.I.TA* method was born….!

We are really proud of one of our former students Cleo.

Cleo came to us not sure if she was capable of getting the top grades.

We worked with her in lots of areas but particularly...

Understanding her strengths.....

Knowing exactly what material she needed to cover...

How to study more in less time…

Developing a gold medal winning mindset...

How to ace exams like a pro whatever questions come up..

Cleo went on to get a place at her dream university...

We salute you!