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The KS3 English course is one of the most important foundations for your child’s future education and opportunities. KS3 English tuition is a great way to encourage their growth and provide one-on-one learning in an engaging environment. Let’s look at how to find the best private KS3 English tutor and how your child needs to prepare for their KS3 English exams.
Why is KS3 English important?
KS3 English is hugely important because it impacts just about every aspect of your child’s life. Mastering English makes it easier to study other subjects and get better grades. This has a knock-on effect throughout life.
Having a good understanding of the KS3 English course content also allows kids to read a wider variety of challenging books and written material. This enables kids to learn and discover while improving their KS3 English level at the same time.
KS3 English lessons also focus on the spoken language and aim to strengthen students’ ability and confidence in discussing, presenting, and debating. Good oral communication skills are very important for many careers so this is another essential component of KS3 English.
Writing is also a major component of KS3 English lessons. Being able to write well, whether succinctly or in beautiful prose with the audience and context in mind is useful in all facets of life, from writing a formal letter to the bank to drafting work emails.
KS3 English builds on grammar and vocabulary your child will have previously learned. This aspect of KS3 English lessons also touches upon all of the other areas of English and has a big impact in future years, no matter what your kid goes on to do.
What is covered in KS3 English?
Let’s look at an overview of what is covered in KS3 English across the three countries that follow this framework: England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
KS3 English course: England
The Department for Education publishes the KS3 English curriculum and breaks it into four high-level components: reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary, and spoken English. Here are some of the objectives or activities your kid can expect to learn or participate in.
Objectives
Reading
Read high-quality works from a wide range of books, poems, short stories and plays including Shakespeare (two plays), English literature pre-1914 and contemporary, and seminal world literature
Understand increasingly challenging texts by learning new vocabulary, making inferences, and knowing the purpose and context
Be able to read critically through a number of aspects including recognising a range of poetic conventions and making critical comparisons across texts
Writing
Write accurately and fluently for a wide range of purposes and audiences including narrative essays, polished scripts for presentations, and personal and formal letters
Be able to plan, draft, edit, and proof-read while considering the audience and purpose of the written piece
Grammar and vocabulary
Extend and apply the grammatical knowledge outlined in English Appendix 2 to the KS1 and KS2 study programmes
Use Standard English confidently in writing and speech
Know and understand the differences between written and spoken language including formal and informal registers and between Standard English and other varieties
Spoken English
Be able to speak confidently and effectively using Standard English in a range of informal and formal contexts
Give short speeches and presentations
Participate in formal debates and discussions
Improvise, rehearse, and perform play scripts and poetry
KS3 English course: Wales
The Department for Education and Skills in the Welsh Government publishes the KS3 English curriculum for Wales. The three high-level components as part of the Welsh KS3 English lessons are oracy, reading, and writing.
Here are some of the objectives or activities your kid can expect to learn or participate in.
Component
Objectives
Oracy
Respond orally to continuous and non-continuous texts
Respond orally to various stimuli e.g. film, paintings
Be able to present ideas using a range of methods e.g. debate, discussion
Become more confident in using language by drawing on knowledge of English, Welsh, and other languages
Reading
Read a wide range of continuous and non-continuous texts
Read individually and collaboratively e.g. shared reading
Read for different purposes e.g. pleasure, analytical, interpreting
Writing
Write for a variety of purposes including to instruct, recount, or persuade
Write for a range of audiences including family, peers, or teachers
Produce poetic writing
KS3 English course: Northern Ireland
The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) publishes the statutory requirements for KS3 English with Media Education in Northern Ireland.
Here are some of the main objects of the KS3 English lessons in Northern Ireland:
Writing and presenting for different audiences and purposes
Talking in a range of situations including debates, interviews, and group discussions
Listening actively and reporting back
Reading for key ideas, enjoyment, empathy, and engagement
Participating in drama activities
Understanding different forms, genres, and methods of communication
Analysing texts critically
Is the KS3 English exam hard?
The KS3 English exam gets harder over the KS3 course years. The first year of secondary school will be the easiest and as your kid is expected to build up knowledge over the following two years those exams will encompass more content.
However, we find that with practice and good KS3 English revision strategies, even students who find it challenging are able to get good grades. Best KS3 English revision methods
For some kids, KS3 English is a dream subject. That’s usually because they are avid readers so most of the KS3 English revision is fun and interesting to them. There may be other elements they don’t enjoy as much such as the written or spoken exercises.
Other kids find KS3 English difficult from the start. Building up a solid vocabulary and grasp of the English language takes a lot of years, books, articles, etc. It’s not a subject that can be crammed (although terms will need to be memorised to answer some questions correctly).
Coming up with a convincing and eloquent speech on the spot isn’t possible for most adults, let alone terrified teenagers in a classroom situation. Many kids also come unstuck on the KS3 English drama requirements. Here are the best ways to tackle KS3 English revision.
Read for pleasure, entertainment, learning, everything
At this level, it’s crucial your child begins pushing their reading ability to boost their vocabulary and appreciation for different styles of writing. You should encourage them to read a variety of articles in magazines, books, and journals.
Practice writing
Even excellent little readers don’t always have the innate ability to write to a KS3 English level. Find an area where your child enjoys writing (e.g. personal diary, to a relative overseas, or for the school newspaper) and push this avenue gently.
If they find they just can’t articulate what they need to say or structure pieces how they should be, consider KS3 English private tuition. A KS3 English tutor will have the expertise and practice coaching kids on writing in all styles and across formal and informal registers.
Learn the art of public speaking
Your child may be blessed with courage or simply have no fear of public speaking but this is a rarity. Ensuring your child feels comfortable expressing their ideas in a group setting is not only important to their KS3 English results but also their entire life. Encourage them to read advice online for preparing and calming the nerves, and techniques for creating and giving speeches.
You can also consider private KS3 English tutoring for them. A private KS3 English tutor will be able to guide them smoothly and provide a much-needed confidence boost so your kid relaxes into debating, presenting, etc.
KS3 English online tutoring or in-person?
The question then is do you opt for KS3 English online tutoring or in-person? Both options are great because KS3 English private tuition is all about fine-tuning your kid’s skills and enhancing their KS3 English revision methods.
Private KS3 English tutoring provides your child with one-on-one support that is tailored to their needs. However, hiring a KS3 English online tutor comes with additional benefits for you and your child and you can probably guess what they are.
A KS3 English online tutor saves time
If you hire a KS3 English online tutor, you won’t need to worry about taking your child to a KS3 English tuition academy. That saves travel and wait time. A KS3 English tutor will also save your kid extra time by polishing their KS3 English revision skills and guiding them on what, when, and how to study.
At GoStudent, our private KS3 English tutors will come up with a dedicated learning plan for your child and this will be shared with you online via our platform, along with other important details. Let’s look at what else our platform provides and what you should expect from other KS3 English online tutors too.
Get KS3 English online revision material
Great KS3 online tutoring will hold everything you need in a dedicated area and not consist of emails flying back and forwards with attachments. That would be more work for everyone involved. As an example, at GoStudent our student/parent/tutor platform holds everything you could need including:
App to schedule your next KS3 English online course tutoring session
The tailored learning plan and KS3 English online revision material set for your child
Progress updates for you to see the achievements your child is making in their KS3 English online course work with their tutor
With the right mentoring and teaching by a qualified KS3 English tutor, any child can gain more of an appreciation for the English language. Finding out their interests is key to promoting the self-development aspect and a good private KS3 English tutor can offer up many suggestions on new books and material for them to devour. A KS3 English tutor can also help with the more technical side of things and prepare your kid for anything that a KS3 English exam throws at them.