Category Archives: English

SPAG: Online Quizzes in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

As the government rolls out its new Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPAG) test this week in schools, grammar has become a topic of discussion for many.  Better Tuition‘s team of qualified grammar gurus (i.e. teachers) has explored the internet to … Continue reading

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The Oxford Comma: an Infographic

Children in Year 6 classes all over England and Wales will today sit the Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test for the first time, sparking discussion about the importance of grammar.  This handy infographic, from onlineschools.com, focuses on the Oxford comma, … Continue reading

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Year 6 SATs: Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (Level 6) Checklist

This test is being introduced in May for all Year 6 students.  Read our previous post on changes to Year 6 SATs.  You can use Better Tuition’s checklist to help you ensure your child has covered everything s/he needs for … Continue reading

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How to use apostrophes

News that Mid Devon County Council plans to discuss a proposal to ban the use of the apostrophe in their street signs has caused controversy over the weekend.  This is no surprise: this small yet powerful piece of punctuation is … Continue reading

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What to Expect in Year One: Literacy

What to Expect in Year 1 Parents often ask us what to expect in Year 1. It’s very important to be well informed, so that you can support your child with school work. This is the first in our series … Continue reading

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10 Ways to Help Your Year 1 Child Succeed in Reading and Writing

This week we are blogging about Year 1: what to expect; how to help and how assessment will be carried out.  This is the first in our series of Year 1 posts, which follows on from our Nursery and Reception … Continue reading

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World Book Day 2013 in Urmston, Stretford, Manchester and beyond

World Book Day 2013 is on Thursday, and schools all over Urmston, Stretford and the universe in general are celebrating with dressing up days (come as your favourite character), read-with-parents events and author visits.  Eight books have been specially issued at … Continue reading

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Changes to Year 6 SATs: a brief explanation

The May 2013 SATs exams have changed: read on for a summary and dates of this year’s Year 6 SATs exams. Changes to English SATs May 2013 1.  There is no writing paper: writing will be assessed by your child’s … Continue reading

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Advent Calendar: December 13th – Time for Maths

Welcome to Day 13 of Better Tuition’s Winter Advent Activity Calendar.  Today we have a set of Christmas maths problems for you. Return to our advent calendar. Today is Friday, 13th December 2019.  The current time is 10:03.  The start of December 2019 was … Continue reading

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Advent Calendar: 12th December – Santa’s Proof Reading Challenge

Instructions: Santa has a lot of letters to read at this time of year!  Here’s one with twelve spelling mistakes and eighteen incidents of missed or mistaken punctuation.  Can you a) identify and b) correct each one? You can print off … Continue reading

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