At Kip McGrath Derby South, Dave and Sue help children of all ages, 5 to 18, to do better in school in their English and Maths. It doesn’t matter whether they start at Kip whilst presenting as behind at school, keeping up with their peers, or ahead of their targets. We work individually with every student helping them to progress towards their goals. Our specialty is in boosting confidence and self-esteem, alongside bettering their academic achievements. We’ve done this successfully for the past 10 years, so we believe we know what’s needed and how to help each student handle and overcome their own challenges.
In the build-up to Easter, all of our current students are working really hard towards their end-of-term targets. For our Primary students, this could be end-of-year attainment tests, or, for Years 2 and 6, UK SATS, which are formalized tests aimed at capturing their current levels. In the case of Year 6 SATS, the results can be used to determine each child’s banding for their move to Secondary school.
For Secondary students, the end goal is always GCSEs, as these plot the way forward as part of their academic journey. In school, they’ll refer to how your child is performing against their target (GCSE) grades (1 to 9). At Kip we embrace this thinking, helping students to build on their progress in order to achieve or better their target grade. We do this through academic teaching, together with working through past GCSE papers and helping with Exam technique; in order to maximize those all-important GCSE marks/ grades. Students who go on to achieve better GCSE grades have a greater choice over what they do next. The same principles apply to students studying A-Levels at Kip, the outcome possibly being entry to University or onto an apprenticeship in their chosen area of specialty.
Every single day in the Centre we see significant student improvements or breakthroughs in areas that have previously proved difficult or a real struggle. We make learning fun; our wonderful teachers come alongside all students and push them forward towards their goals. We know that Kip works, ably demonstrated since 2011 at Derby South where hundreds of Derby students have done better in school, achieved higher GCSE grades and gone on to choose their next steps for themselves. To have played a small part in building a brighter future for Derby students is something Dave and Sue are very proud of. This continues to really motivate us into the future.
Dave & Sue Priestley
