Knowledge Hub

1. Live and 1-on-1? Ask whether the class is a live tutor with only your child, or a group / recorded course.
2. Subject depth. A tutor for Grade 11 chemistry should hold a degree in chemistry, not 'science'.
3. Your curriculum. Ask which exam boards they have taught — IGCSE and CBSE chemistry are not the same syllabus.
4. Take the free demo and watch: does the tutor ask questions or lecture?
5. Tools. Whiteboard, slides, diagrams; recordings and notes after class.
6. Language. Can they explain in the language your child thinks in?
7. Feedback loop. How will you hear what was covered and what to practise?
8. Consistency. Same tutor every week beats a rotating pool.
9. Time zone fit. Check the planner on our Contact page.
10. Chemistry with your child. The best sign: your child asks when the next class is.

• Retrieval practice: close the book and write what you remember, then check. Testing yourself beats re-reading five to one.
• Spaced repetition: revisit a topic after 1 day, 3 days, a week, a month. Cramming fills short-term memory that empties by Monday.
• Interleaving: mix problem types in one practice set so the brain has to choose the method, like in the real exam.
• Explain it to someone: if your child can teach the water cycle to a younger sibling, they own it.
• Worked examples first, then fade: copy one solved problem, do the next with hints, then solo.
• Short focused blocks: 25 minutes on, 5 off (the Pomodoro rhythm) keeps attention fresh.
• Sleep is revision: memories consolidate overnight — an all-nighter before a test deletes the study session.

1. Day 7–6: list every topic; mark green / amber / red. Only amber and red get study time.
2. Day 5–4: one past paper per subject under timed conditions; mark with the mark scheme, note the error types.
3. Day 3: red topics only — teach-back on the whiteboard, then five questions each.
4. Day 2: formula sheet, key definitions and diagrams from memory; light exercise; early night.
5. Day 1: a 30-minute skim of summaries only. Pack the pencil case, calculator, water. No new topics.
6. Exam morning: breakfast, arrive early, read every question before writing; easy marks first.

Tip: book a mock with your tutor on day 5 so the marking is done for you and the review is live.

• Name it: 'This is a stress response, not a prediction.' Naming the feeling shrinks it.
• Box breathing: in 4, hold 4, out 4, hold 4 — three rounds before the paper is handed out.
• Rehearse the format: nerves come from the unknown; timed mock papers make the exam feel familiar.
• Chunk the paper: first two questions only; then the next two. The whole paper is never the task.
• Reframe blanks: a blank question is a skip, not a failure — mark it, move on, come back.
• Parents: ask 'what did you find interesting?' instead of 'how did it go?' after the exam.
• Sleep, water, movement: the three cheapest anxiety treatments there are.

The same 10-year-old is in Grade 5 in the US and Canada, Year 6 in England, Year 5 in Australia, Class 5 in India and groep 7 in the Netherlands — and in the PYP at an IB school. The naming shifts by one because England counts Reception as year zero and Australia starts with Foundation.

• Key Stages (England): KS1 = Years 1–2, KS2 = Years 3–6, KS3 = Years 7–9, KS4 = GCSE years 10–11, KS5 = sixth form.
• IB: PYP (3–12), MYP (11–16), Diploma (16–19).
• India: board exams at Class 10 and 12; CBSE follows NCERT books.
• Netherlands: after groep 8 children stream into vmbo, havo or vwo — the doorstroomtoets in February matters.

Use the interactive grade decoder on the Curriculum page to see all systems side by side.

• A screen big enough for a whiteboard: laptop or tablet, never a phone.
• Headphones with a mic — cuts echo and tells the brain 'class mode'.
• Camera at eye level, light in front of the face, not behind.
• Same spot, same time every week; routine does half the motivation work.
• Textbook, notebook, calculator within arm's reach before the link is clicked.
• Notifications off on the device for the hour.
• A parent within earshot for younger children — nearby, not on-screen.