As online schooling popularises across the UK, Cambridge Home School has become one of the top considerations for parents. With over 19 years of experience, we’re committed to providing a quality online education to motivated English-speaking students in the UK, Europe (including Western Russia), Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
Over the years, we’ve received a lot of questions about our teachers. Some parents have inquired about the specific teaching strategies we use, while others have shown interest in exploring our teaching resources. We maintain the utmost transparency by providing detailed insights on our website and in our blogs. Today, we’ll cover more ground by probing deeper into the teaching strategies employed at Cambridge Home School.
We strongly believe that the switch from conventional schooling to online schooling shouldn’t be made in a matter of days. We urge parents to take at least a week to do their research, prepare their children, speak with other parents and academics, and make an informed decision. This process is imperative.
While there are many online schools available today (especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic), not all of them are equally reputable, esteemed, and reliable. Some don’t offer a high quality of education. Others have a high student-teacher ratio. In fact, some also have a team of inexperienced, unqualified, and inadequately trained teachers on board.
This decision and transition shouldn’t be taken lightly. In order to make the process easier for you, we’re committed to providing detailed insights. Continue reading for a closer look at our teaching strategies that have helped Cambridge Home School’s students actualise impressive academic, personal, and social growth over the years.
1. One-on-One Interaction with Students
At Cambridge Home School, we have a team of MA/PhD qualified subject specialist teachers on board. This decision has been very intentional at our end. We value each student’s education and want to ensure that they’re taught by a team of professional, qualified, experienced, empathetic, and highly skilled teachers.
Our thorough recruitment process helps us identify teachers that are the right fit for our students. This initial step goes a long way in allowing us to maintain a high standard of education across our four schools: Primary Prep/Key Stage 2 (ages 8 to 10), Lower School/Key Stage 3 (ages 11 to 13), Upper School/IGCSEs (ages 14 to 16), and Sixth Form/AS & A Levels (ages 17 to 19).
Individualisation is one of the most important strategies employed at Cambridge Home School. For students to perform well, they must receive one-on-one attention from their teachers. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case in a lot of conventional schools across the UK.
Many institutions have a high student-teacher ratio (20:1, 25:1, 30:1, etc.). As one teacher delivers lessons to 20+ students in a single classroom, they struggle to engage with each student and provide the one-on-one attention they require to perform exceptionally well.
Teachers are also unable to identify each student’s weaknesses and strengths. For instance, English teachers need to be cognisant of the irregular learning patterns in their classes. All students don’t learn at the same pace. Some may be stronger in comprehension, some may struggle with grammar, and some may have a difficult time learning the rules of punctuation. It’s the teacher’s responsibility to pick up on these nuances and individualise their teaching strategy for each child accordingly.
At Cambridge Home School, we keep our classroom size small (8 to 10 students per group). This helps our teachers have one-on-one interactions with students. They’re able to identify each student’s weaknesses and address them accordingly. They’re also able to help students hone in on their strengths for excellent academic progression.
This teaching strategy goes a long way in helping students understand the course materials better, retain knowledge, and perform well on their exams. If an A Levels Math student is struggling with coordinate geometry, they will be provided individualised assistance during the class. Similarly, if an IGCSE Chemistry student is having a hard time understanding metallic bonding, their weaknesses will be promptly addressed.
This approach has another important benefit. Instead of having fuzzy concepts that need to be addressed later during the “revision” stage, our students can clarify their concerns on time. When complex concepts are addressed closer to the exam date instead of early on, students are less likely to understand and/or retain them.
By providing one-on-one academic support to each child, we enable students to sit their exams with confidence.
Recommended Read: 6 Common Online Schooling Mistakes You Should Avoid as a Parent
2. Meticulously Tracking Each Student’s Progress
At Cambridge Home School, we strongly believe that each student’s progress should be closely monitored by their teachers. This is important for students of all ages. We’ll explain why.
While students should always be encouraged to track their own progress, this shouldn’t be the only course of action taken by an institution. In many cases, students end up overestimating their preparedness for a specific topic or subtopic. They may think that they’re on track. However, it’s possible that they need to study and revise more to get a clearer and stronger grasp on some concepts that may be muddled.
Our experienced teachers are able to closely track each student’s progress and identify any weakness that needs to be addressed. Since our student-teacher ratio is low, our teachers can keep up with every student’s unique academic pace and progression. This allows them to intervene when needed to help students get back on track.
Our teachers identify deviations and structure the lessons accordingly. For instance, it’s possible that a student is performing poorly on one section of their Physics exam. At Cambridge Home School, such deviations are never left unnoticed and unaddressed. Since each student’s academic growth is meticulously monitored, our teachers pick up on even the slightest weaknesses and work towards improving them.
We understand that slight lapses in performance can ultimately change a student’s grade from an A* to an A, an A to a B, and a B to a C. By assiduously tracking and promptly correcting these lapses, we ensure that each student secures top grades.
In June 2021, 86% of our students secured A*s and As in their target subjects. 83% of A Levels students secured two As and a B or higher, as required by top universities. 100% of students received offers from the leading universities across the globe. Our track record is indicative of the efficacy of our online teaching strategies.
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3. Offering Non-Academic Support and Guidance
While we have a razor-sharp focus on helping students grow academically, we’re also committed to working on their personal development and social progression. Instead of solely focusing on academics, we also prioritise other facets of each student’s life.
Our students play competitive sports (tennis, horse riding, fencing, polo, sailing, etc.), explore their hobbies and passions, develop new interests, get exposed to new cultures, languages, and traditions by going on family trips, socialise with their friends, and work on their personal growth.
We understand that exclusively focusing on academic performance can affect a student’s mental health. In order to thrive academically, students must thrive in other avenues of their life. Our teachers work hard to create this balance. Students are encouraged to develop a healthy school-life balance that helps them focus on their academics, make time for homework and revision, and engage in non-academic activities.
We provide one-on-one success coaching and pastoral support to each student. If a student is struggling with their mental health, their concerns are empathetically acknowledged and addressed by our teachers. Students are offered a closer look at the benefits of maintaining a healthy school-life balance, which goes a long way in helping them leverage the flexibility offered by online schooling for self-enrichment.
As a result, our students become well-rounded individuals who achieve impressive academic and professional success in the future.
4. Leveraging Cutting-Edge Teaching Technology and Software Solutions
As an international school online, we understand that technology has a big impact on the quality of education provided. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and software solutions, we ensure that each lesson is engaging, enriching, interactive, and retentive. Our MA/PhD qualified subject specialist teachers use audio-visual elements to make the classes more stimulating.
This approach is imperative for younger students who have shorter attention spans and can easily lose focus. We structure the classes in a way that children feel compelled to remain engrossed in the lessons through and through. Their attention is expertly engaged and maintained during the entirety of the class.
Our teachers also use state-of-the-art software solutions to break down difficult concepts for students of all ages. In addition, we offer a vast online library of educational resources, including supplementary videos, past papers, study guides, exam notes, exam tips, and so much more. Students can access these resources to brush up on their skills, gain more insights, and increase preparedness for their upcoming exams.
Recommended Read: 6 Ways Online Schooling Helps Students Improve Their Grades
5. Prompting Healthy Classroom Discussions
We employ a wide range of online teaching strategies at Cambridge Home School. Our ability to prompt healthy classroom discussions is one of the most prominent and effective strategies.
Our teachers strongly believe that students learn better when they have value-added, productive, challenging, and stimulating discussions with their teachers and peers. We work assiduously to ensure that each online class is interactive. Students are encouraged to share their opinions and offer their comments when their peers bring something new to the table. The outcome is a healthy, fruitful, and engaging conversation.
These discussions expose students to new viewpoints presented by their teachers and peers. They also help them understand the course materials better, ask questions that they would otherwise feel hesitant to ask, and gain an academic edge.
6. Affirming and Encouraging Students to Grow Academically
Over the years, we’ve continued to uplift, empower, and motivate our students. We strongly believe that students shouldn’t simply be provided the tools, resources, expertise, and guidance they need to succeed. Instead, they should also be encouraged and affirmed for correctly using these elements to their advantage.
We applaud and celebrate our students for their achievements. Students who perform well on their tests, share insightful opinions during classes, excel at competitive sports, start a new internship, or accomplish any other academic or non-academic feat are appreciated for their success. They’re also encouraged to set and accomplish new goals.
Our culture of continuity motivates our students to keep going and make consistent improvements in everything that they do. This teaching strategy is one of the primary reasons why our students perform exceptionally well in different academic and non-academic facets of their life.
From achieving top grades to securing athletic scholarships to getting accepted to their dream university, our students continually make us proud. When their hard work is combined with the commitment and dedication of our teachers, the outcome is nothing short of spectacular.
Recommended Read: 5 Signs It’s Time to Make the Switch from Conventional School to Online School
If you’re considering enrolling your child in an esteemed school studies online UK, Cambridge Home School should be one of your top considerations. Our homeschooling programs are designed to help students actualise impressive academic and non-academic growth.
We maintain the utmost transparency by providing parents 24/7 access to their children’s coursework. In addition, we hold three parent-teacher meetings per year (one in each year) to ensure that parents have a good grasp on their children’s performance. Explore our admissions process and term dates to get started.
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FAQ
How experienced is Cambridge Home School in online education?
Cambridge Home School has been in the field of online education for over 19 years. It serves English-speaking students across the UK, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, offering a high-quality online educational experience.
What sets the teachers at Cambridge Home School apart?
Cambridge Home School employs a team of MA/PhD qualified subject specialist teachers who go through a rigorous recruitment process. The school aims to maintain a high standard of education across its four different schooling levels: Primary Prep/Key Stage 2, Lower School/Key Stage 3, Upper School/IGCSEs, and Sixth Form/AS & A Levels.
What should parents consider before making the transition to online schooling?
Before making the transition from traditional schooling to online education, Cambridge Home School recommends that parents spend at least a week researching, preparing their children, and consulting other parents and academics to make an informed decision.
How does Cambridge Home School track a student’s academic progress?
The school places a strong emphasis on tracking each student’s academic progress. Teachers closely monitor students’ strengths and weaknesses, and they intervene as necessary to provide additional support. The school’s low student-teacher ratio allows for individualised attention.
What non-academic support does Cambridge Home School offer?
Apart from academic growth, Cambridge Home School also focuses on students’ personal and social development. The school offers one-on-one success coaching and pastoral support, and encourages students to participate in non-academic activities like sports and cultural exchanges to become well-rounded individuals.