Making the Right Decision Now is Key to Gaining a Place at your chosen Grammar School

Since the breakout of the coronavirus COVID-19, life is not as it used to be. While the virus has struck millions at the physiological level bringing an end to thousands of precious lives, it has tremendously struck billions, the whole of humanity, at a psychological level.

The uncertainty caused by this pandemic has changed the mindsets as well as the daily routines of people around the globe. The majority are working from home as offices are closed due to the lockdown. Similarly, schools are also closed to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus and ensure the safety of our children.

For parents, responsibilities have increased more so than ever. From the daily household chores to buying groceries and telecommuting to taking care of children, it is quite hard to manage everything with equal care.  Meanwhile, it gets even more frustrating for those parents whose children have to seek admission into Grammar Schools.

Since there are no tutors available for physical coaching, the children might not be able to score well in the entrance exams. Fortunately, it does not have to be that way.

Anu Verma is here to help you chop your to-do list down by encouraging your child to engage in fun learning activities which includes an 11 plus preparation course which will assist your child during their preparation for the grammar school entrance exams whilst ensuring their safety and maximum productivity.

Anu Verma is the one-woman army behind 11Plus Success, a startup that is determined to help your child earn a place at a Grammar School.  No matter whether it is for the GL Assessment or the CEM examining Boards that you are aiming for, she has got you covered for all of the 163 Grammar schools in the United Kingdom. But don’t take my word for this, let the passion speak for itself!

Anu Verma: Your Go-To Tutor for Grammar Schools Examinations

It was back in 2004 when Anu started tutoring Science and Maths upon the completion of her MSc Degree.  Soon she recognised her enthusiasm for English language and became a Cambridge English Language Teacher.

She started her career by teaching in schools, although her major passion for teaching was always on a 1-2-1 basis. Therefore, she let her passion drive her journey.

Her first ever 1-2-1 lesson was for a child preparing for the Manchester Grammar School, a tough school to get into. On the other hand, it was not so difficult to prepare the child as he needed to learn the basics before progressing on to the actual exam questions. She embraced it as a challenge and went the extra mile to ensure that the child gained a place at the school.

Since then, she has coached children to successfully qualify for Withington Grammar, Altrincham Grammar and Sale Grammar.  All of them are highly competitive schools with an average of 2000 students going for just 180 seats. Her dedication enabled her students from Manchester to succeed.

After acing Manchester, she moved on to Coventry which is her hometown and started preparing children to win a place at Rugby High School, St Lawrence Sheriff as well as Stratford Grammar School.  The next depot was Bournemouth where she helped children to secure admissions in to Bournemouth Grammar and Poole Grammar Schools. And the list goes on!

Her core principle when it comes to supporting a child during their 11+ journey, is identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the child. She enjoys building confidence in a child’s abilities and having their powers at the forefront of their capabilities. Once the child gains a positive self-image and succeeds in knowing his/her abilities, she then works on improvement in other areas.

According to Anu Verma, confidence is the key factor in a child’s performance. The confidence can be boosted by positive reinforcements and fostering a healthy self-image. Without installing the desire and willingness to succeed in a child’s heart, it is challenging to motivate any child.

With this faith, she worked as a 1-2-1 and group tutor enabling her students to progress. The ultimate goal was to secure an admission in their preferred Grammar School. According to her, she does not title her job as “work” rather she addresses it as a mission of empowering her students to thrive and win.

Teaching English, Maths, and Science at Key Stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 levels for 14 years, she found that her vast level of expertise is just perfect to grow into an 11+ specialist because it is the combination of all subject levels that is required for 11+ preparation.

For example; in Maths, students need to understand the concepts of mental math, place value, simple addition and subtraction as well as to understand percentages, ratio & proportion, and algebra so the levels range from what is learnt earlier at key stages 1 and 2 all the way up to Key stages 3 and 4 / GCSE level.

Coaching children on these subjects regularly could be a tiresome task but for Anu, it is the reason for her smile. She is driven by motivating her students to get through their exams and to gain a place at their desired Grammar School. Whenever her student gains admission into a school, it is a WOW moment, realising that her efforts are enhancing a child’s future.

11 Plus Success Course

Anu kept getting these adrenaline rushes by assisting parents and children to win for 14 years. In 2018, she was blessed with a baby boy and so she had to find a way of mothering whilst also continuing to do what she was meant to do, which is to help students secure admissions into Grammar Schools.

She planned to create a children-centered course that is convenient to use and where the child could jump online whenever they wanted to, so a course that is accessible 24/7 and which tracks progress.

This is the reason she has collated so many learning materials along her 15-year tuition journey and decided to combine all of her knowledge and expertise into creating an online course to help students utilize these materials nationwide, to assist them during their Grammar School exam preparation.

Challenges and Exertions During the Creation

The greatest challenge she faces is when new questions appear in the exams every year of which there has been no material available beforehand to prepare for.

This happened when the Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Aptitude test was introduced at William Hulme’s Grammar School in Manchester and at Ashlawn School in Rugby. Parents just did not know how to prepare for this.

Some parents find spatial and abstract reasoning confusing and ask for help. To clarify the matter, this is another terminology used for Non-Verbal Reasoning.  These both contain a series of pictorial figures rather than words or numbers. However, the spatial ability does not involve analysis and reasoning: it is purely a test of mental manipulation.

Similarly, some parents want their children to be trained in 6 weeks during the summer holidays. This becomes a challenge because of the time constraints and pressures the child is under.  The worse situation is when the child has not been preparing earlier. At this point, it is realistic to consider whether the exams are really a good choice for their child.

Final Word

It has been stated, “An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in their subject, and how to avoid them”

After 15 years of preparing students for the UK Grammar School Examinations, Anu has experienced some of the most challenging situations and has learnt how to overcome each and every one of them, which makes her the 11+ expert that we see today.

We understand that the future of your child is important so you are right to be concerned.  Training and tutoring can be an overwhelming task in the modern day that we live in.  Fortuitously, it does not have to be that way.  Anu is here to help your child during their 11+ journey.   Get in contact now to discuss your child’s situation to see how she can help.