Here are the English questions that get specific, useful answers.
What questions are worth asking at a parents’ evening about English?
Ask specific questions that only someone who knows your child’s work can answer. “How’s she doing?” usually gets “fine, she’s a pleasure to teach”, which is kind but not useful. The questions below lead to answers you can act on at home.
What is the single most important thing to improve?
Start with this question. It shows you want honesty, and it lets the teacher be specific. A good answer might be “she needs to explain effects, not just name techniques” or “he runs out of time at the end”.
If the answer stays general, ask: “If you had to name one habit, what would it be?” Write the answer down. Our guide to what examiners look for can help you understand it.
Is my child answering the actual question?
Drifting away from the question is a common reason capable students lose marks. A student can write beautifully and still answer something slightly different from what was asked. The teacher will know at once whether this is your child’s pattern.
If the answer is yes, ask what it looks like. Do they misread the task, or write everything they know regardless of the question? The answer tells you how to help.
How does classwork compare to timed work?
Many students do better in relaxed classwork than in timed tests. If the timed work is weaker, the cause is often timing, nerves or a habit that breaks under pressure. That is a very different problem from not understanding, and usually an easier one to fix.
Our note on reading the school’s English report explains how this gap shows up in written feedback.
If this is where marks are going missing, a trial hour with an experienced teacher can work on it one-to-one.
What one thing at home would help most?
“What should we do at home?” usually gets “encourage reading”. Asking for one thing gets a sharper answer. A teacher might say “get him reading anything he will actually finish” or “she needs to talk about what she reads”.
Follow the teacher’s advice rather than your own plan. Our guides for parents explain how to put it into practice.
What range is my child working in now?
No honest teacher will promise a grade, so do not ask for one. Ask instead what range your child is working in now and what would move it up. The second half of that answer is the useful part.
Grade boundaries vary by board and year, so keep this about direction. The qualification pages cover the details.
How do you make the most of a short slot?
- Pick the two or three things you most need to know and ask those first.
- Write the answers down straight away, before they blur.
- If something needs more time, ask for a short call later.
- Share what you learn with your child, because advice only helps once it reaches them.
How can school and a tutor work together?
If your child has a tutor, tell the teacher and ask what they would like reinforced. Students gain most when school, home and tuition aim at the same target.
Our teachers work this way in one-to-one IGCSE English tuition. They read the student’s own writing closely and focus on the habits the school has flagged, as well as any they find. You can read more about how we teach.
If parents’ evening gave you a clear target, bring it to a paid one-hour trial lesson. Our teacher will start work on exactly what the school said matters most.