How your child can get ahead over the Summer

Now that exam season is coming to a close, school children across the country are setting their sights on the summer holidays. For children, six weeks without formal education presents limitless opportunities for fun and games, but parents should be aware of the educational consequences of a sustained period without education. Something that commonly occurs is called the ‘summer slide’. Genie Tutors provides a year-round tutoring service that helps to beat the summer slide.

What is the summer slide?

The summer slide (sometimes called the ‘summer slump’) is a well-documented phenomenon whereby school children regress, educationally, over the summer holidays and return to school behind where they were. School pupils are sometimes tested by taking the same exam twice; once in the July before the summer holiday and again in September. Pupils consistently score lower in the September test, even though they are older. Many studies estimate that children lose about one month of grade level equivalency but this can be much higher in mathematics. However, it is well known that having access to summer learning opportunities helps mitigate the severity of the summer slide. Many parents are taking action to try stop the summer slide, according to this BBC report.

This summer slide becomes particularly important for school children who are entering years of examination. Those wishing to take the 11+ will often take the exam early in the academic year, meaning a summer without education could very damaging to their hopes of securing the school they desire. Also, GCSE and A-level students have to retain knowledge from the previous year for final examinations.

How can Genie Tutors help?

Genie Tutors run private tutoring sessions all year round. Studies suggest that even small amounts of regular education across the summer can drastically reduce the effects of the summer slide. By helping children engage in interesting learning activities, we ease regression over the summer holidays. This allows children to transition smoothly into regular education again in September and be ahead of the curve for the new school year. Many of our centres also offer specialised 11+ tuition for the many year 6 pupils who will want to take exams in late 2016.

Furthermore, regular tuition helps give children a sense of routine over the summer break, which may otherwise be missing. The summer holiday sometimes leaves children with very little to do, so having an organised, regular activity provides an opportunity to focus and enjoy a change of environment. Academic ability isn’t the only thing that can be negatively impacted over the summer holiday with reports suggesting that children find it harder to focus without regular stimulation and that children are most prone to gaining weight over the summer. However, with a busy calendar and regular activities, almost all of this can be avoided.

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