Testimonials

Each year we experience the rewarding satisfaction of seeing children inspired to learn – even on a Saturday morning!  We regularly take time to ask for feedback from children, parents, tutors and mentors.
However, the most rewarding feedback of all comes those involved in the schemes:

From children who attend:

• I always look forward to coming to Saturday school. I couldn’t write poems but I can now. (Y3)
• I can do reading better than before and I’m braver at answering questions. (Y3)
• I really enjoyed more advanced maths, especially probability and triangle numbers. (Y5)
•  I liked doing experiments, using microscopes to find out about onion cells and looking at maggots! (Y6)
  

From the Year 10 student mentors who volunteer each week:

• I’ve really enjoyed helping young people to learn. It’s rewarding to watch them get more confident every week.
• I joined because I thought it would be a really good experience and my favourite part has been getting to know the kids and seeing them learn.

From teachers:

• I enjoy giving my time to young people. I get a kick out of seeing them learn.
• There’s one kid here whose mathematical insight is already at degree level.
• It’s as fulfilling teaching these children as it is teaching A level students.

From parents:

“When my daughter started attending she was very tentative and unsure of herself. I have seen her improve over the months, and her confidence has grown in leaps and bounds. She looks forward to coming every week and is so happy and excited to tell me what she has done when she comes out at the end. Thank you so much for instilling such confidence in my little girl.”

“I would like to thank everyone involved on the Saturday Literacy Scheme that my daughter attended two years ago. It completely transformed her reading skills in a way that has surprised and delighted us all. From being in the group needing most support with reading, she is now in the top group in her class, something I would never have believed to be achievable in such a short space of time. It’s really wonderful to hear her say, “What shall I do, Mum? I know, I’ll go and do some reading…”

Finally, a snippet of conversation between a father and son overheard as they left the Y5 maths scheme: Father: “How was it this morning?” Son: “Illuminating”.