The piece states that children who are tutored in the months leading up to the 11-plus exams can improve their results by a pretty amazing 40%.
While both Education authorities and grammar schools discourage private tutoring it is increasingly becoming the norm rather than an exception and for many parents represents a cheaper option than paying for private schools.
Here on Beanbag Learning we have a number of 11-plus tutors and our own small amount of research and anecdotal evidence backs up this rise in tutoring for children coming up to Secondary school, something that was initially something of a surprise to us here but it s obviously a fast growing area.
Stephen Fowler 19 December
By Sarah Harris
10th October 2008
Research published by the Good Schools Guide shows that applications at almost one in five private schools have tumbled by 10 per cent in four years.
The main winners appear to be academically selective schools such as Wallington County Grammar, which dominate league tables without demanding fees.
Tina Marden, admissions secretary at the 880-pupil school, said: 'We had 1,496 applications for 126 places this year and we are still expecting some "lates". Last year, we only had 20 withdrawals to the independent sector, when usually we would have a lot more, maybe about 40.'
Stephen Fowler 19 December
Coaching discouraged
Two hundred and fifty-seven had hired private tutors and spent an average £700 in fees. Many of the parents who responded also earned substantially more than average income.
---end of quote---
What the article does not say is how many of the parents earned less than the average income, but made sacrifices to help their children.
And if paying £700 can increase marks by 40% (see the article) is this not good value for money? Compare this with the money it costs the state to educate children which can be £6000 per annum - and what do you get for that?
Is increasing the maths and English levels of Year 5 children not worthwhile? Does it not give the teachers more time to concentrate on chidren who are behind?