Choice of 9-11am, 12-2pm or 3-5pm
Saturday 12th September
Saturday 19th September
Saturday 26th September
Saturday 3rd October
Saturday 10th October
Transfer Teams Explained
Now in its fourth year, Transfer Teams is extending beyond its traditional summer school timeslot and into five Saturdays this autumn. With a maximum of eight children being able to attend per session, they will work together as one to complete a SEAG practice paper, at the end of which they get a team score.
The team will have six ten-minute slots to complete the paper. They will be allowed to discuss their ideas and make as many changes to their answers as they like. At the end of each ten-minute time period, I will provide an update on their score. Clues will be provided about their progress by letting them know how many mistakes remain within each section of the test (though I will not be telling them exactly which answers are wrong: it will be up to them to figure it out).
When the team get their final score, we will go through each incorrect answer and make suggestions for how to tackle these questions in future. They will also get to take home a blank version of the test. Parents will be informed by email of the answers that the team gave.
At the end of the five weeks, each member of the team that achieve the highest test score throughout the series will receive a prize: a voucher for Little Wing Pizzeria.
You may be wondering, since the Transfer Tests are an assessment of each child’s individual capabilities, and are to a large degree a competition between individuals, why a teamwork approach helps. Here are five reasons:
1. Increased confidence in personal strengths
Those who prefer English to Maths, or Maths to English, are likely to go to those questions first, knowing that this can be of greater value to their team. As a result, the other members of the team begin to show confidence in them, increasing the child’s sense of expertise in certain areas of the tests.
2. Learning from others’ strengths
As kids move to other parts of the test, they come across questions that they don’t feel confident about. They can confer with other team members and learn from their methods. While it’s a teacher’s, tutor’s and parent’s job to lead and guide kids through these important months, the fact remains that kids often learn best from other kids.
3. Identifying weaknesses
Even in their areas of expertise, kids make silly mistakes. They rush through questions that they assume to be easy. In a team set-up, these kids will soon discover that other children who they assumed to be less strong in English or Maths have spotted their silly mistakes. This, in turn, becomes a signal to the child to improve their technique.
4. A chance to switch off from the tension but still learn
Many children feel increased pressure as the official exams approach. A break from the tension is needed, even though more learning may be required. By working as a team through practice tests, the responsibility for mistakes is shared and becomes less of a burden. The scores in Transfer Teams are therefore not a reflection of individual ability but feel more like a team game. At the same time, the kids are still being exposed to the exam questions that they’ll have to tackle in November, their brains are still ticking over, but they’re able to discuss these challenges with other kids, and see it more as a fun competition than as a life-defining test (which it should never be seen as!).
5. Recognition that they’re not alone
All too often, a child’s progress through practice tests at school becomes defined by how their score compares to everyone else in the classroom. This makes things feel quite lonely and daunting for kids. What they fail to recognise is that many other children are feeling the same way. These other pupils should be their friends, not their competition. There are more important life lessons in this process than recognising the proper use of a possessive apostrophe, or how many vertices a triangular prism has. Kids need to learn that, in the middle of a huge personal challenge, they can learn from others, and find things in common with them.
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The Transfer Teams autumn series will run for five consecutive Saturdays, starting 12th September and finishing 10th October. Each Saturday they will see a new practice test from The Catapult Papers series. You may choose from one of three timeslots each Saturday: 9-11am, 12-2pm or 3-5pm. Please do not book your child in for two or more sessions on the same day!
One Saturday session can be purchased for £40. There is no need to commit your child to coming every Saturday, although a five-session package is available at £180.
Individual sessions can be booked using this link.
The five-session package can be booked using this link.
Should you choose to purchase a five-session package, you’ll receive a confirmation email after your purchase. Use the ‘schedule’ link in the email to reserve your sessions.
Please don’t hesitate to email me with any further questions (info@catapult-tuition.com).