Naureen and her two daughters live in Birmingham. Her oldest daughter, Esha, is 11 and recently passed her 11 plus exam—the first in her family. She got a place at her target school, King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls. We spoke to Naureen about how Esha used Atom Home to prepare her for exam success.
“I first heard about Atom Learning a few years ago. But Esha was so little at the time, that I only searched for it and bookmarked it on my phone. Then, when she started Year 5, we knew she wanted to go to a grammar school. I contacted some academies and schools in the area, and they recommended Atom and I was reintroduced to it.”
“I’m from Pakistan, so I wasn’t very familiar with the subjects on the 11 plus exam, and the learning method is totally different from that in the UK. We are taught differently, so I had to learn new techniques with my daughter, and Atom was really helpful with this.”
"There are some amazing resources on Atom Home and it’s designed to intentionally engage children. When they're scored or set targets, I think it motivates them to do more, especially in Esha’s case.”
“My daughter really enjoyed using it. She’d turn off her phone and sit at the computer working on Atom Home. She loved seeing her scores, and whenever I received an email, I loved to encourage her by showing her all the goals she achieved. It really motivated her and helped her to continue working hard.
She also never missed an online session. She’d sit and do her work on Atom and if she got a low mark, she’d always want to try again. She kept going and didn’t give up until she got the mark she wanted. Atom also had a lot of resources that were tailored towards the King Edward's entry test which was really helpful.”
“I have a younger daughter, too and I hope she can go to a grammar school. She used to sit next to her sister when she was working on Atom Home to see what she was doing. Now, she knows how to answer English and maths questions and what verbal and non-verbal reasoning papers are because of Atom."
"My advice for other parents going through the 11+ process would be to use all the resources available to you. There are so many great ones available on Atom and they’re all centred around the child’s learning. They’re so advanced and informative. Even if your child doesn’t pass the 11 plus, they will have still learnt a lot just by using Atom.
If your child is doing well and achieving some of their targets, then the parents will feel proud, just like I did. Atom adds another level to what children learn in a classroom. It’s amazing because they can easily advance their learning at home.”
