Exam prep
Preparing for the papers that count
In an exam year, the limiting factor is rarely how much a student knows. It is whether they can produce it in the form the marker credits, at the pace the paper demands.
Where marks are usually lost
By the exam year most students have met the syllabus at least once. What separates one script from another is rarely a missing topic. It is more often one of three things, and each is teachable.
Answering a question the paper did not ask
A student reads "explain" and writes a description, or answers the question they expected instead of the one printed. Marks are awarded against a scheme, and a correct fact in the wrong form earns nothing. Recognising what a command word is asking for is a skill, and it responds to practice.
Method not recognised in time
In Mathematics and Science, most questions belong to a family. A student who has met the family knows which approach to reach for before starting to write. One who has only met topics starts every unfamiliar question from nothing. This is why our P6 Math class groups problems by method rather than by chapter.
Running out of paper time
A student who can do every question but only finishes three-quarters of the paper loses marks that have nothing to do with understanding. Timed practice under real conditions, with the checking routine built in, is the only thing that fixes it.
How we work in an exam year
Classes are capped at six students, which is what makes it possible to read a child's actual script rather than mark it from the back of the room. Lessons are live over Zoom, so a student who is stuck can ask at the moment they are stuck.
For the PSLE we run P6 English, P6 Math and P6 Chinese. For the O-Levels we run Secondary English, S4 History and S4 Social Studies. Fees for all of them are on the schedule and fees page.
We do not guarantee a grade, and we would be sceptical of a centre that did. What we will do is tell you honestly whether there is enough time left to make the difference you are hoping for. Sometimes the answer is no, and it is better to hear it in September than in April.
Ask about exam preparation
Tell us which paper your child is sitting and where they are losing marks. We will tell you what we would work on and whether there is time to do it.
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