Blog category
Parents' corner
Decisions, monitoring, motivation and the practical side of IGCSE English.
Guide
Should you worry about a sudden drop in your child's English grade?
One low English mark rarely means real trouble. Learn the usual causes of a sudden drop, how to check calmly, and when a pattern needs action.
Guide
Should you compare your child's English to a sibling's or a friend's?
Comparing your child's English to a sibling or classmate usually backfires. Learn why, and the one comparison that really helps: their own earlier work.
Guide
Is it a confidence problem or a skill problem in English?
A struggling English student may lack skill, confidence or both, and each needs a different response. Learn the signs that tell them apart and what helps.
Guide
What should English look like over the long holidays?
Keep IGCSE English skills warm over the school holidays with light reading, a little writing and real rest, avoiding both neglect and a holiday boot camp.
Guide
How do you handle IGCSE English results day, whatever it says?
A calm plan for IGCSE English results day: how to prepare, how to react to a good or disappointing grade, and what sensible next steps look like.
Guide
How do you keep your own anxiety out of your child's English?
A parent's worry about English can quietly become the child's burden. Learn how to notice your own anxiety and stop it from landing on your child.
Guide
Which kind of praise helps your child's English, and which backfires?
Praising effort and specific choices helps your child's English. Praising fixed talent can make them avoid hard writing. Here is how to praise well.
Guide
What questions are worth asking at a parents' evening about English?
Specific English questions to ask at a parents' evening so the teacher gives you clear, honest answers you can act on at home with your child.
Guide
How do you read alongside a teenager who resists it?
A gentle way to bring reading back when your teenager pushes it away: read alongside them, keep the talk light, and avoid turning books into a test.
Guide
What can the margin notes on your child's essay tell you?
How to read a teacher's margin comments on a marked English essay: what common notes like 'develop' really mean and how to use them at home.
Guide
Should you fix the mistakes in your child's English homework?
Correcting your child's English homework feels helpful, but it can take away the learning. Why to hold back the pen, and what to do instead at home.
Guide
How should you talk to your child about a disappointing mock?
What to say, and what to avoid, when your child brings home a disappointing IGCSE English mock, so the result becomes a useful plan, not a blow.
Guide
What does the IGCSE English year look like, term by term?
A term-by-term guide to the IGCSE English year for parents: what is normal in each stage, and when your support at home makes the biggest difference.
Guide
Is it a myth that some children just aren't 'English people'?
The idea that some children simply aren't wired for English is mostly a myth. What the belief usually hides, and how parents can help a child move past it.
Guide
What should the week before the first English exam feel like?
The final week before an IGCSE English exam should feel calm, not frantic. What really helps, what to stop doing, and how parents can protect their child.
Guide
How should you think about the cost of English tuition?
A clear way to weigh the cost of one-to-one IGCSE English tuition: what you are paying for, when it is worth it, and how to avoid paying for more than you need.
Guide
What does a year of one-to-one English lessons actually feel like?
A realistic picture of a year of one-to-one IGCSE English tuition from a parent's side: the trial lesson, the quiet middle and the changes to watch for.
Guide
What does progress in IGCSE English actually look like at home?
The small, real signs at home that your child's IGCSE English is improving, often months before a grade confirms it, and what to do if you see none.
Guide
What if your child's school and tutor disagree about English?
When a school teacher and a tutor give conflicting English advice, your child gets confused. How to check the clash, weigh it, and keep everyone aligned.
Guide
What do you do when your child says they hate English?
'I hate English' usually means something more specific, like failing, boredom or confusion. How to find the real cause and respond in a way that helps.