Winner of NEW COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2010

S6 Tutoring Academy Ltd was established in February 2009. The initiative was based on the success of all of my students passing and obtaining a place at their first choice of grammar schools, which originated after I initially gave some private lessons in piano and then by recommendation became an 11+ tutor in 2007.

Since 2004, I have achieved a 100% pass rate. In terms of the commercial success and profitability, I have bookings until 2015 and currently have 84 members of the academy by way of the On-line platform, 1:2:1 tuition, Group tuition and 11+ Clubs.  Membership is increasing by an average of 2 new clients per day and since results were published for 11+  exams in March 2010, demand has significantly increased in that I have invited 3 additional tutors to join the organisation in order to provide a seamless and professional service.

I am in the process of taking advice on establishing the S6 Tutoring Academy as a franchise, in order to provide tutors with the business model offered by S6 to be marketed throughout the country.

I  am  also currently in negotiations to provide  tutoring by a subscribed  television channel, which will enable parents to  pay a smaller fee for an hour’s tuition – thus making private tuition more accessible to parents on lower incomes as well as launching a book titled “A teacher/parent guide to passing the 11+.”


The biggest risk from a personal and financial perspective was making the decision to move away from a secure full time post at a state secondary school to work independently as an entrepreneur.   For the past two years, my motivation and work ethic, working 15 hour days, 7 days a week,  has been rewarded by  immense job satisfaction, being  involved and seeing families and children realise their  dreams and ambitions.

 Information and costings

When tutoring students for the eleven plus examination, many tutors will ONLY teach the technique of answering exam questions, whereas my style of teaching focuses on ensuring that each and every one of my students are taught the comprehension of the question.

I differentiate the work to the basic level then build on their knowledge and understanding step by step, which simultaneously builds their confidence.  This becomes noticeable when sitting the mock examinations, which I monitor and asses throughout the course on a regular basis.  I begin this process by using a set book list which I have compiled.  I have selected the best resources which I believe is the key to my success.

I set homework on a weekly basis which I will discuss and record.  This is marked every lesson and a tracking system is used to monitor progress.

I have Qualified Teaching Status, with CRB check and General Teaching Council Membership, details of which are always readily available.  

Our Online Platform

This facility demonstrates the more creative side to S6 Tutoring.

The idea of using the platform is to monitor and track students progress online, whether it be whilst they are on holiday or having to stay with a friend or relative. This diagnostic tool allows us to home in on the areas of strengths and weakness before following these areas up in the lesson. The platform also allows us to rank students and to produce reports for parents instantaneously.

The database contains over 10,000 multiple choice questions covering mathematics, verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and vocabulary building. Each question is automatically timed and instantly marked. Parents can review the tests once your child has completed the test. Each test can be repeated as many times as necessary.

Parents can subscribe for access to the database for £350 per child. The online platform automatically reports your child’s score to the course administrators enabling them to further tailor the preparation. The database will also form part of the homework exercises and intensive practice in the build-up to the exams.

1-2-1 Tuition

1-2-1 tuition ensures that all of our students are taught a thorough grounding in literacy and numeracy as opposed to teaching exam questions just to pass the exam.
I feel that my success is due to using differentiated work sheets in order to break down the more complicated topics into segments. The eleven plus exam is not based on knowledge alone. It is based on the comprehension of the question followed by the knowledge and methods in order to answer the questions in the best possible way.

More importantly, I tutor all of my children not only to pass the exam but to retain concepts so that they maintain a high standard at grammar school. This is normally achieved through our “Prepare for Secondary School” course. The course allows students in year 6 to learn the year 7 Syllabus in English, Maths and Science from April to August before they start secondary school in September.

To go ahead with 1-2-1 tuition I have to carry out an assessment in order to pitch the resources at the correct level. The assessment lasts for 3 hours and costs £150, after which I feedback and decide at which level the resource pack should be pitched.

Assessment Structure:

English Test – 45 minutes
Maths Test – 45 minutes
VR Test – 45 minutes
Review of grammar school choices and past exam papers
Clarification of Individual work plan
Costs
Book in lessons

The resource pack is a mandatory requirement and is designed to reinforce the foundations of the various topics learnt at school before developing further learning to a more in depth level required for the eleven plus exam. The book list consists of 30 books as well as an extensive bank of past papers and interactive revision clips.
The total cost of the resource pack £349.99 and payment is required at the end of the assessment.

The 11+ lesson is taught in a 2 hour block once a week and it is structured as follows:
•    5 mins introduction and briefing from the previous lesson
     30 minutes Maths work
•    30 minutes Verbal Reasoning work
•    30 minutes English work
•    5 minutes feedback on homework
•    10 minutes setting homework and answering any questions
•    10 minutes parent review sheet

A two hour lesson costs £100 and I take two months block bookings at a time in order to efficiently prepare individual work plans.
At the end of every lesson, every student receives a review which outlines:
•    The structure of the lesson
•    Students strengths identified
•    Focus areas
•    Homework  

11+ Club

I also recommended that a child attends the eleven plus club which is held every Monday for 11 weeks from the first week in September to the week before the 11+ exam which is normally held on the last Saturday in November.

We provide our students with the opportunity to sit the exam in a controlled environment as it will be on the day of the exam. We replicate the exact format of how the exam will be structured on the day.

Our aim is to prepare students for the Eleven Plus and Common Entrance exams.

Results of exams sat at the club will be available online within 48 hours.
We also provide a detailed synopsis of the key areas a child needs to develop.
Cost   11 Weeks @ £350
Individual Bookings at £50 per session
Summary
After studying at Anglia Polytechnic and obtaining BA Hons Degree in Business Studies Marketing Management, I decided to embark on a teaching career and obtained a GTP place at Shenfield High School in 2004. I then obtained Qualified Teacher Status in 2005 at Beauchamps School working full time as Business Studies, Music and Maths teacher.
In order to earn extra money, once I became qualified I taught piano for £5 per half hour and was then recommended to teach 11+ tuition.  I originally had two students, which gave me £20 per week extra.
Since the inception of the company, accounts show that over a 51 week period my S6 Tutoring is one of the fastest growing businesses in the locality.                 
I have built up this company in a very short time, offering professionalism, dedication, friendship and high calibre tuition.  As a 27 year old, I have an excellent rapport with both parents and children and can only envisage the S6 Tutoring Academy achieving continued and sustainable growth in the future.

“First of all, congratulations to all of businesses featured in this category.
Without the support of my fantastic friends and colleagues: Melanie Hall, Helen Green, Jenny Brown, Penny Frampton, James Goldsmith, John Chapple, Cathy Frampton andSarah Clark none of this would have been possible. Their help and motivation from the moment I set out on my own, has truly been appreciated.
Above and beyond the advice that the girls have given me along the way, it is my family (Joan Williams, David Williams, Gina Harwood and Bob Harwood) that I owe the success of S6 to, having given me the best of everything and helped me in every way that they possibly could.
Finally, I would like to dedicate this award to my true inspiration and confidante and that is Ilesh Kotecha.  You know I will be eternally grateful.
Thank you.”


Stephanie Williams BA Hons, MIfL
Director
S6 Tutoring Academy Limited