Faye Mylward about her daughter, Tasha:
SATS result May 09: 4c End of Y7 result May 10: 6c
We have all been delighted with Tasha's maths this year. It was such slog in Y5 and 6, she struggled to make any significant progress. Mercifully she gained a reasonable grade at SATS. But this year, what a difference! She didn't start particularly well; in fact it was much the same as in Y6: lacking in self confidence, taking ages to gain understanding of the new concepts introduced in class, avoiding answering questions in class.
Then suddenly it all seemed to click, and we noticed a change in her attitude to maths. She no longer thinks she'll always be in a fog; she attacks it all as if it's only a matter of time before she gets it. And sure enough it's working. She's been put up to set 2 from set 3 in maths at school, and she is still worried that by the time she gets her "eureka moment" the class will have moved on to the next thing! However I think she'll be pleasantly surprised. She still takes time to "get it" (just look at the bus stop division as an example!) but it's less and less time, as her self-confidence grows.
I'd say a huge proportion of credit for her improvement goes to Bettermaths. If you want a number (and I know you probably do!!) I'd say 75%. What Tasha has needed all along is a repetitive methodical approach which she can practise at her own speed for as long a time as is needed, on the bread and butter of maths. She had absolutely no understanding of this before Y5 and has learned it all slowly but surely. This has meant that she has been able to use the bread and butter to form a grounding for all the other concepts that are taught to her in class, and without that all the new stuff would have just slipped out of her head.
Zoë’s results her SATs for end of yr 6 (3b) and results for end of yr 7 ( 4c).
The Bettermaths programme has definitely helped with Zoë's confidence in math's, her times tables at the end of yr 6 were best in her class, she attained the quickest time on table grids which were a regular weekly event. When I ask Zoë if she thinks Bettermaths is helping her, the reply is "without a doubt"!
Teresa Lewis about her son Lloyd:
Bettermaths is designed to help, along with school work, whether by making things easier for you or (as in Lloyd’s case) pushing you streets ahead, and helping you to realise your true potential. When Lloyd started Bettermaths we would never had believed the benefits he would gain I have nothing but good words to say about the help he has received and the achievements he has made.
…. and as Lloyd himself puts it …..
I started Bettermaths in when I was in year 4. At the time my maths skills were very poor, however by the end of year 6 I had achieved a level 6 in my maths and English SATs and a level 5 in my science. I have recently taken a GCSE in statistics a year early and achieved an A. I am about to take my Maths GCSE and have been predicted an A. My skills with maths have improved so much with the help of Bettermaths that I will be taking A-level maths at college and hopefully at university. Bettermaths has also done lots for my self-confidence. Since succeeding in maths I am now more confident in other subjects and as an individual. Bettermaths is only 10 minutes a day and it will make a difference no matter how competent you are in maths.”
Lloyd did get his A grade maths GCSE! His achievement is all the more remarkable because he has a late-August birthday!
Trevor Rutter about his son Toby:
Toby is now in Year 9 in secondary school. He has been doing Bettermaths since primary school and the benefits have been immense. So much so that I have committed him to another year. When he started he was way behind his contemporaries at school and had to be taken back to basics. His progress has since been remarkable and it is I believe entirely due to the work he has done with Bettermaths that he has made up lost ground at school. I can still see improvement on a progressive basis and Bettermaths continues to challenge him by stepping up the complexity of his work all the time.
Hayley started Bettermaths when she was in year 4 because she hated maths with a passion because she couldn’t understand it an would regularly come home in tears because of maths. “Within 6 months Hayley was back on track at school and when I suggested she gave up Bettermaths she didn’t want to as she liked the Bettermaths style of teaching and liked the fact she was soon ahead of her peers at school.
Hayley got 98% in her year 6 maths SATs. She was in the top 2% of Hampshire. In two years she went from not being able to do maths, or believing she couldn’t do it, to being able to tackle any maths given to her.
When Hayley started secondary school we again questioned whether we had time to do maths sheets and she was on top of maths: now did she need to do it? Within a week we knew the answer was “yes!” Doing daily maths sheets had been part of our lives for two years so homework that came with secondary school was just completed daily the same way.
Hayley was put in the top set for maths and her teacher contacted us to find out how she knew things so well at a young age! When we told him she attended Bettermaths he replied “Brilliant, we wont have any problems with her then!” She often informs her maths teacher how she was taught things a far better way and he wants to see how.
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A SMALL SELECTION OF OTHER PARENTS’ COMMENTS:
“I am pleased to say though Bettermaths has done him the world of good, going back to foundation level was what he needed.”
“they have benefited enormously from it over the last couple of years and their mental arithmetic has significantly improved”
“She has increased in confidence with numbers, which was the main purpose of our joining Bettermaths, and she is doing well at school now.”
“Just wanted you to know that just before Hannah broke up for the holidays, she was put UP a maths group. I am so thankful of you and Better Maths, and proud of Hannah, in such a relative short space of time her maths has come in leaps, and bounds and she is so much more confident than this time last year. She definitely does not 'dislike' maths like she used to, which is fantastic and I hope this is the turning point she needed to drive her on and improve even more.”
“Thank you to you all for all your hard work and support you have given to Lily over these past few years! Its easy to see the huge impact this has had on her understanding of maths!”
“He has benefited enormously in confidence and ability.”
“I want to thank you for your efforts and genuine compassion and care you have shown over the years to Ellie and Anna at Bettermaths, this has undoubtedly helped their development and confidence. Their maths skills have clearly been enhanced through Bettermaths.”
“They have benefited hugely from BetterMaths - as we had hoped - with regard to getting their confidence up, and for this we thank you and your colleagues sincerely."!