Bouncebackability: Why Resilience Matters and How to HelpThis week I have spoken with two sets of worried parents who have teenage children with very different difficulties. On the face of it their situations bore no resemblance to each other, except for one important aspect: the parents were all engaged, well-meaning and desperate to help give their children...
Maximise Your GCSE or A Level Exam Success with Easter Revision Courses at BTCAs GCSE and A-Level exams draw closer, the pressure to perform well can feel overwhelming. Students often find themselves struggling to consolidate months of learning, identify gaps in their knowledge, and develop effective exam techniques. If this sounds familiar, then an Easter Revision Course at Bristol Tutorial College (BTC) is...
Alternative Pathways for Post-16 Students in the UK: Exploring Options Beyond A LevelsFor many students in the UK, the traditional A Level route is the most common post-16 pathway. Many parents, and their teenage children, assume that the A Level option is ‘best’. But what happens if your son or daughter isn’t engaged with their A Levels, finds the subject choices too...
Exploring How Teenage Students Find Effective Ways to LearnExploring How Today’s Teenagers Find Effective Ways to Learn How to Help, Not Hinder 20th January 2025 Introduction Teenagers today are navigating a rapidly changing educational landscape influenced by technology, social expectations, and evolving teaching and learning approaches. In this blog I will explore how our Gen Z children discover...
Teenage Anxiety and Its Impact on School Attendance, Reluctance, and Refusal3rd January 2025 Teenage Wellbeing is a Hot Topic There have been a number of reports and articles about teenage wellbeing recently published which could, understandably, raise concerns in parents. Does my child show signs of anxiety? How will I know? Is it my fault? What can I do about...
Revision Top Tip #4 How to Revise Effectively and Remember it the Next Day!12th December 2024 There’s nothing more demotivating than spending hours learning something, feeling really accomplished, and then discovering that you have forgotten every bit of content by the next day, and knowing you must start all over again. By thinking about your learning style, you can revise effectively and remember...
Revision Top Tip #3 Motivation, Accountability and Rewards7th December 2024 How do you motivate your teenager to stick to their revision schedule? Once the initial burst of enthusiasm has worn off, do you turn to pleading, bribery, punishments or switching off yourself? Getting your child’s buy-in on any strategies is the key to implementing a successful revision...
What is Executive Functioning and Why Does it Matter?Why is it that sometimes we understand and learn well, and other times our brains don’t seem to work properly? It could be that poor executive functioning is to blame. So what is executive functioning? What affects it? And how can I ensure I function efficiently when needed? Last week,...
Revision Top Tips #2 – Learning Styles and Effective Revision Strategies1st December 2024 How can understanding your learning style help with revision? I used to roll my eyes when my children came home from school with spellings homework, and non-negotiable instructions to learn them with the ‘look, say, cover, write, check’ method. Now maybe that method works for some children,...
Revision Top Tips #1 – Setting a Realistic Schedule26th November 2024 This is the first of a series of blogs about how to revise most effectively for exams. Specifically, I am thinking about mock exams, but they are equally as applicable for the main summer exams, and for instilling good revision habits in children of all ages. #1...
