Articles

Exam Pressure: what can we do as parents to help?
Exam Pressure: what can we do as parents to help?
Children need challenge. They need to experience finding something difficult, getting something wrong, being stuck and discovering that they can work through it. But there is a huge difference between... Read more...
From Year 10 to Year 11: The September Reset for GCSE Maths Success
From Year 10 to Year 11: The September Reset for GCSE Maths Success
A strong GCSE result is built quietly through steady, predictable habits started early in the autumn. Encourage your child to focus on short, targeted weekly check-ins and build a bank... Read more...
How Parents Can Help with Maths (Without Knowing the Maths)
How Parents Can Help with Maths (Without Knowing the Maths)
You do not need to be a human calculator, nor do you need to re-teach the national curriculum. Your role at home is simply to act as a sounding board,... Read more...
The 11+ Exam Week Survival Guide: What to Do (and Avoid) in the Final 7 Days
The 11+ Exam Week Survival Guide: What to Do (and Avoid) in the Final 7 Days
If your child is sitting multiple tests across different exam boards (for example, GL Assessment grammar tests in September followed by school-specific independent papers later in the autumn), managing the... Read more...
Understanding GCSE Remarks and Resits: How to Support Your Child After Results Day
Understanding GCSE Remarks and Resits: How to Support Your Child After Results Day
Results Day in August is always an emotional rollercoaster. While many families celebrate reaching their target grades, for thousands of Year 11 students, opening that envelope brings a sharp sting... Read more...
Time Management for the 11+: What to do when practice papers take too long
Time Management for the 11+: What to do when practice papers take too long
​When practice papers are taking too long, I try to diagnose the root cause of the delay. Here are the four main reasons why the clock wins, and exactly how... Read more...
How the Exam Mastery Series Gives Me a True Summer Break (And Keeps My Tutoring Business Growing)
How the Exam Mastery Series Gives Me a True Summer Break (And Keeps My Tutoring Business Growing)
Behind the scenes, many of us spend our final teaching weeks frantically curating resource packs, formatting bespoke worksheets, and hunting down rare practice questions to keep parents happy over August.This... Read more...
The Story Behind the Primary Series: The Worded Maths Books I Just Couldn't Find
The Story Behind the Primary Series: The Worded Maths Books I Just Couldn't Find
I wanted children to see that mathematics is not something that exists only inside classrooms and exam papers. Maths is everywhere. My goal was to create inclusive primary maths books... Read more...
Why Your Child's Maths Struggle Might Actually Be a Reading Problem (And How to Fix It for the 11+)
Why Your Child's Maths Struggle Might Actually Be a Reading Problem (And How to Fix It for the 11+)
Because 2026 is officially the Year of Reading, schools and national campaigns are heavily focused on getting children to pick up books for pleasure. But as a tutor, I see... Read more...
GCSE Maths Paper 2: What to Revise for the Calculator Exam
GCSE Maths Paper 2: What to Revise for the Calculator Exam
I always tell my own students this week: nobody can predict exactly what a specific exam board will do. However, by looking at what already appeared on Paper 1 and... Read more...
GCSE Maths: What to Revise When Time is Short
GCSE Maths: What to Revise When Time is Short
After 17+ years in the classroom, I want to share a secret: success now is about strategy, not stress! Read more...
The Night Before GCSE Maths: A 7 PM – 9 PM Success Routine
The Night Before GCSE Maths: A 7 PM – 9 PM Success Routine
Here’s my advice on what to do the night before the maths GCSE exam, to ensure things go as smoothly as possible on the day! Read more...
What Students Wish They Knew Before Their Exams: Wisdom from the Class of 2026
What Students Wish They Knew Before Their Exams: Wisdom from the Class of 2026
Every April, I ask my GCSE and A-Level students a simple question: "What advice would you give to someone just starting your course?"They are brutally honest about what helps and... Read more...
GCSE Maths: How to Master the Non-Calculator and Calculator Papers
GCSE Maths: How to Master the Non-Calculator and Calculator Papers
It is a mistake to think the calculator paper is "easier." While the calculator handles the arithmetic, the questions are often much more complex to interpret. Read more...
Parent FAQ: How Much Should Children Study Over Easter?
Parent FAQ: How Much Should Children Study Over Easter?
If your child has mocks or final exams looming, the Easter break can feel like a lot of pressure. The most common question I get from parents and students alike... Read more...
Foundation or Higher? The Ultimate GCSE Maths Dilemma
Foundation or Higher? The Ultimate GCSE Maths Dilemma
One of the most common questions I get from parents and students is: “Should we choose Foundation or Higher for GCSE Maths?”This decision usually lands in Year 10 or at... Read more...
The 4-Mark Secret: How to Study Smarter for GCSE Maths
The 4-Mark Secret: How to Study Smarter for GCSE Maths
How can you use statistics to plan effectively? What type of questions does your child need to excel at to achieve their target grade? Read more...
GCSE Maths Mock Results: How to Respond
GCSE Maths Mock Results: How to Respond
Is it realistic to move up one, two, or even three grades in around 15 weeks? The short answer is yes. With the May exams roughly 15 weeks away, there... Read more...
Why We Need to Let Students Struggle (A Weekend with the Experts)
Why We Need to Let Students Struggle (A Weekend with the Experts)
I was reminded how important it is to push myself and to feel genuinely stuck, both mathematically and pedagogically. As educators (and parents), we often teach what feels safe and... Read more...
Three Things You Can Do That Will Set You Up for Exam Success – Without Doing Any Studying!!
Three Things You Can Do That Will Set You Up for Exam Success – Without Doing Any Studying!!
Here are three simple things you can do that don’t involve learning new content, but will make exam preparation in 2026 feel calmer, more structured, and far more achievable. Read more...
Why students lose marks even when they “know the maths”
Why students lose marks even when they “know the maths”
Based on my teaching experience, here are ten common reasons students lose marks, and what can be done to stop it happening. Read more...
Preparing for the 11+ (and Other Exams)
Preparing for the 11+ (and Other Exams)
Revision should always balance challenge, practice and consolidation. A clear structure incorporating all three makes learning more manageable and effective. Read more...