Michelle MapstoneAug 31, 20204 minHow to survive and succeed for year 11s and 13sA year ago, year 11s and 13s thought they knew basically how their year would pan out: school, mocks, prom, exams, long summer and then...
Michelle MapstoneJan 5, 20203 minOne year as a full time tutor18 months ago I set up Word Academy and a year ago today I was getting ready for my first week as a full time tutor. I had given up my...
Michelle MapstoneSep 16, 20195 min"I'm not learning from my teacher!"At some point in your child's schooling you are bound to come across this statement. When I was younger, it was my maths teacher: she was ol
Michelle MapstoneJun 8, 20193 minWord Academy NewsletterWelcome to my little newsletter. I thought I'd write this as a sum up of all of the bits and pieces that are going on at Word Academy and...
Michelle MapstoneApr 30, 20194 minExam technique: a moral dilemmaI bloody hate these exams. GCSEs and SATs have ripped the soul out of the education system over the past few years. Many of the things...
Michelle MapstoneApr 11, 20196 minAn extremely subjective top 10 list of compelling kids booksWhen people do these lists they tend to spend lots of time trying to look clever because that makes them sound like an expert and that's...
Michelle MapstoneApr 1, 20192 minFive Favourite Moments7 months since I opened, 10 months since I had the first thought of becoming an entrepreneur (Is that what I am??), here are my top 5...
Michelle MapstoneMar 20, 20191 minComic Relief 2019This Comic Relief, one of my primary classes put together a persuasive video about their choice of topic, homelessness. They've learned...
Michelle MapstoneMar 18, 20194 minTime: a teacher's giftIt’s probably worth mentioning that time is something I have very little patience for. My natural approach to life is to jump into any...
Michelle MapstoneMar 5, 20195 minWhat to do (and what not to do) to get your revision to STICK!I've been listening to a few podcasts recently and found Professor John Dunlosky's information that he recently shared with TES magazine...
Michelle MapstoneFeb 18, 20195 minA very practical guide to what your child should be revising for EnglishIt's February half term and let's admit it, the GCSEs are swimming nauseatingly near. For parents as well as teenagers, it's a...
Michelle MapstoneJan 27, 20196 minA parent-teacher's guide to inspiring your child to LOVE readingFirstly, I will get my wavers in: I am not a perfect parent. My children are wild; they fight incessantly with each other; I let them get...
Michelle MapstoneJan 25, 20195 minA week in the life of a full-time tutorA few weeks into full-time and I'm settling in to my new speed of life. Days whizz by, evenings whizz by. I feel like I never stop...
Michelle MapstoneNov 22, 20183 min3 simple ways to boost your vocabularyWhether you are 8 or 88, we could all do with more vocabulary. Where would we be without the beauty of the words chatoyant (like a cat's...
Michelle MapstoneNov 6, 20183 minWord Academy Month of RemembranceThis November in recognition of the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War One, Word Academy English Key Stage 4 classes are on the...
Michelle MapstoneOct 30, 20184 minHow to write a gothic short story in 20 minutes. Last year, I was teaching my year 10 class and had asked them to write a gothic story in 200 words and in 20 minutes... The look on their...
Michelle MapstoneOct 14, 20181 minFate in Romeo and JulietIf you need some GCSE tuition and live in the Bradford/ Keighley , have a look around my site. We would love to see you in one of our...