Important Things You Need To Know About The A-Level Program
The A Level curriculum represents a pivotal stage in the educational journey of students in the Cambridge curriculum education system, marking a transition from general education to specialized academic study.
For parents, understanding this curriculum is essential not only for supporting their children but also for making informed decisions regarding their educational paths.
A Levels typically require students to select three or four subjects, which they will study over two years, culminating in examinations that determine their eligibility for higher education.
This specialization allows students to delve deeper into subjects of interest and relevance to their intended career paths or fields of study. This structured approach not only allows students to specialize but also encourages them to engage deeply with their chosen disciplines, fostering both intellectual growth and academic rigor. This specialization is particularly advantageous for students who have already identified potential career paths or fields of study.
By concentrating on specific subjects, learners can cultivate a profound understanding of the material, which is essential for success in higher education and beyond. For instance, a student aspiring to enter medical school may choose Biology, Chemistry, and Mathematics as their A Level subjects. This focused curriculum equips them with critical knowledge and skills directly applicable to their future studies and professional practice.
Moreover, the A Level framework emphasizes critical thinking and independent learning, skills that are increasingly valued in both higher education and the workforce.
Parents should recognize that these qualifications are not merely academic hurdles; they serve as foundational experiences that cultivate analytical abilities and personal responsibility. Engaging with teachers and school resources can provide parents with insights into how best to support their children through this demanding period.In an era characterized by rapid technological advancements and evolving job markets, the ability to think critically is increasingly recognized as a vital asset. The A Level curriculum encourages students to analyze information rigorously, evaluate arguments, and synthesize diverse perspectives, thereby nurturing a mindset conducive to intellectual inquiry.
Independent learning emerges as a cornerstone of the A Level experience.
Students are often required to engage with materials beyond the prescribed syllabus, promoting self-directed study habits that enhance their ability to manage time effectively and pursue knowledge autonomously. This emphasis on independence prepares learners for the demands of higher education, where self-motivation and initiative are crucial for success. Universities increasingly seek candidates who demonstrate not only academic prowess but also the capacity for independent thought and learning.
These skills resonate profoundly within the workforce context.
Employers consistently prioritize individuals who can approach problems creatively and make informed decisions based on critical analysis rather than rote memorization. As industries evolve towards more collaborative environments that require innovative solutions, graduates equipped with strong critical thinking abilities stand out in competitive job markets. Thus, the A Level framework’s focus on cultivating these essential skills positions students favorably for both academic pursuits and professional endeavors.
Additionally, understanding the grading system is crucial.
A Levels are graded from A* to E, with universities often setting specific grade requirements for admission into various courses. The role of parental involvement in this context cannot be overstated. When parents are informed about the grading criteria and university expectations, they can create a supportive environment that promotes academic success.
This understanding enables parents to guide their children effectively, helping them set realistic goals and manage their study schedules efficiently. Furthermore, by recognizing the pressures associated with achieving certain grades, parents can alleviate stress levels among students, fostering resilience and a positive attitude toward learning. An informed parental approach can mitigate performance anxiety that often accompanies high-stakes assessments like A Levels.
When parents engage in open discussions about grades and expectations without imposing undue pressure, they contribute to a healthier academic atmosphere at home.
This nurturing environment encourages students to focus on intrinsic motivation rather than external validation alone. Consequently, understanding the grading system becomes not just an individual endeavor but a collective family effort aimed at achieving educational aspirations while maintaining mental well-being. By staying informed about curricular changes and university admissions criteria, parents can effectively guide their children through this significant phase of education.
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7 Fun Learning Activities for Children to Do At Home
Family bonding at home
Educational activities facilitate personal development and informal learning for children, making the learning process enjoyable and engaging. Besides improving your child’s physiological skills, they also aid in improved mental health, communication skills, and increased physical activity. As a parent, it’s important to find ways to keep your child engaged and learning during this long summer holiday. Below are 7 fun and learning activities that you can do with your child in the comfort of your own home.
1. Cooking / Baking
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Cooking is not only a fun and educational activity but also great for bonding. Through cooking, children learn about measurements, temperature, and different ingredients used in preparation. Cooking is also a fun way to teach your child about health and nutrition. Baking gives children a sense of amazement and joy as they create something delicious from scratch.
2. Playing Games That Stimulate The Brain Processes
CA students enjoying a game of chess
Playing educational games such as charades, crosswords, puzzles, jigsaw, and scrabble is a great way to help kids learn while having fun. Choose games that match your child’s interests and ability level. Such games help improve the child’s vocabulary, and critical thinking skills and aid in the development of cognitive growth.
3. Read Together
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One of the most amazing gifts you can offer your child is the ability to read. When parents read together with their children, it not only helps children develop a love for reading but also improves vocabulary and comprehension skills. Involve your child by allowing your child to pick their book of choice which spikes their interest.
4. Try A Fun Science Experiment At Home
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Experiments are an ideal way to bring out your child’s love for science. Simple scientific activities that don’t involve much work on your side are fun ways of learning. Children love creating volcanoes using simple ingredients found at home. Make simple experiments that require readily available materials.
5. Grow A Garden
Photo from Pexels
Gardens are lessons in science, nutrition, and patience all rolled into one plot of dirt in your backyard. A garden teaches children how plants come to life. They also learn about nutrition which could encourage them to eat more vegetables. Children can keep a gardening journal, learn the names of different plants and vegetables, plant their favorite vegetables, and study what it takes for them to grow.
6. Visit A Museum
CA students at a museum
Museums are great spots for fun and educational experiences for children of all ages. There’s a lot to learn at the museum such as different cultures, the history of people, extinct animals, and so much more. Museums are excellent places for both children and adults. Depending on your child’s interest, You could go to a science or art museum.
7. Have A Fun Time With Arts And Craft
mummy and daughter painting
Art is the best way for a child to express their individuality. Besides boosting creativity, Art and crafts is a fun activity to break the monotony. Provide materials such as crayons, canvas, and paint and let the children create anything from their imagination. You could also use readily accessible materials such as cartons and play dough for building and construction.
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Cambridge Checkpoint Results For The Year 2023
8 SIMPLE WAYS TO STUDY MORE EFFECTIVELY
While there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ study technique, there are methods that one can use to ensure a better understanding of concepts and the ability to recall. What works for one person will not necessarily work for another. Through consistency and planning your study time accordingly, you are bound to achieve your full potential by developing your memory and academic excellence.
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Plan
Making a realistic schedule will help you avoid cramming and procrastination. Use a planner to keep track of deadlines, dates, and times so you do not forget anything important. Studying in small bits over time will help in remembering unlike staying up all night to cram before exams. Aim to schedule some study time each day.
2. Study In An Appropriate Environment
Pick a quiet corner in your room/ house or in the school library that is properly lit and well-ventilated away from distractions and preferably on a desk. Keep your phone away and on silent.
3. Prioritize
Start with the hardest tasks first. Incorporate flash cards if possible as they are excellent in boosting memory. Use applied learning if you are having trouble remembering. You can do this by thinking about something that applies to your subject of study in real-life situations. Find out what works best for you.
4. Take Care Of Yourself
Eat well, sleep, and exercise. Getting enough sleep is crucial for good memory. A balanced diet with lots of water helps your brain in absorbing new information, while exercise helps reduce stress. Nuts, dark chocolate, grapes, and apples are supper foods for the brain. Avoid sugar, carbs, and processed foods.
5. Break It Up
Tackling individual parts is much easier than tackling the whole. Breaking a big assignment into smaller bits will make it easier to manage and understand. Always save your least challenging tasks for the end of your study session.
6. 30-40 Minutes Per Study Session
Our brain only absorbs information from the first and last 15 minutes of studies. This means that anything studied outside that time frame will likely be forgotten. Breaks are good for your mental health. They also improve your attention span, your creativity, and your productivity.
7. Join A Study Group
Forming study groups with your friends is a great way to help each other and challenge each other to better. It helps develop good study habits, teamwork and boosts confidence.
8. Reward Yourself
Reward yourself for a job well done after every study session. This in turn prevents burnout, uplifts your mood, and makes you look forward to the next study session. You could go for a walk, take a nap, indulge in your favorite snack, or hang out with your friends.
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7 Effective Classroom Management Strategies at Coast Academy
Managing a classroom requires skills. A good teacher needs to connect with kids and keep them focused on the lessons. Below are 8 habits for good classroom management to ensure that the class feels safe, comfortable, and pleasant place for everyone.
1. Build A Relationship With Each Student
Our teachers are required to get to know each student as an individual and to Identify and praise individual milestones. Days begin with a greeting and a reflection of the previous day and end with a wave of goodbye while they leave for home.
2. Establish the Rules
Each teacher has individual classroom protocols in place to handle routine issues that occur in every classroom. These involve how to raise concerns in class, how to ask for permission, and general dos and don’ts in class. All children are familiar with these rules and when a student breaks a rule, they own up to their mistakes and act accordingly. We maintain a light atmosphere where students feel free to work and thrive, to try, laugh, and learn.
3. Modeling Way Of Ideal Behavior
Our teachers act as the ideal model of what is expected of the learners. Children learn best through modeling or copying so they are most likely going to act as they see the adults close to them act. At Coast Academy, we encourage the students to:
- Maintain eye contact
- Let one another speak uninterrupted
- Raise concerns about one another’s statements in a respectful manner
4. Have A Plan
All our teachers have work plans that they share it with their students, too. A plan can be simple “You have 10 minutes to practice on your own, after which everyone will make a presentation.” Going through the day’s agenda hooks the students interest from the word go and lessens the chances of misbehavior.
5. Engaging The Learners
Good teachers are enthusiastic about the subjects they teach they encourage classroom participation by asking questions and giving them discussion topics. They walk around the class interacting with the children and offering assistance where needed.
6. Show Love and Kindness
Students are most successful when they feel liked. Our teachers show care and compassion towards the learners. A smile goes a long way. Good work is applauded and Children are allowed to make mistakes and learn from them. This in turn improves academic and behavioral performance.
7. Be Fair and Just
Favoritism is completely forbidden at Coast Academy and all children are treated equally. In cases of behavioral issues, applicable disciplinary measures are applied that do not involve public shaming.
8. Hold Parties
Our termly classroom parties act as an acknowledgment o students’ hard work throughout the entire term, motivating them to keep it up, breaking classroom monotony, and creating room for the students to mingle, share and bond and have fun.
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IS IGCSE THE EASIER OPTION? DEBUNKING THE MYTH
IGCSE exams can be easy or difficult based on the aptitude of the child.
With many parents withdrawing their children from the CBC and enrolling them into the Cambridge curriculum, the most frequently asked question is, is it going to be too basic for my child? For years, many people have believed that IGCSE is the easier option. Is this really the case?
1. The key difference is the lack of rigorous coursework in the GCSE qualification.
IGCSEs were made for international pupils and so they lack the intensive coursework that is found in other curriculums. They vary in content and mode of delivery. Cambridge is student-centered, meaning is not a one-size-fits-all. It gives a fighting chance for students of all levels as they can still complete practical and coursework elements and they gain an IGCSE grade that they would not be able to achieve under any other curriculum.
2. It requires active learning, recognition of student diversity in ability, and continuous assessments
IGCSE includes a mixture of exams, coursework, and practical assessments. Unlike in other curriculums where getting a good score requires memorization of concepts, the IGCSE exam is designed so that getting a score of 8-9 requires students to put in a lot of effort to understand the detailed knowledge content of each field. It also prepares students for a more intensive program.
Benefits of Acing the IGCSE
Have high job opportunities and expertise.
Ability to study abroad in countries with developed education.
Develop work skills to easily adapt to social life.
GCSEs are internationally recognized as highly-respected official high school qualifications and an entry standard for admission to further academic study in the UK and beyond.
Undergraduate courses at UK universities will specify that applicants need to meet certain requirements at the IGCSE level to receive an offer.
Many employers also require job applicants to meet their minimum requirements in Maths and English IGCSEs (or equivalent). From there, we can infer that the higher the IGCSE score, the more likely it is to succeed in life.
Read More7 Effective Classroom Management Strategies at Coast Academy
5 REASONS WHY PLAYGROUP IS IMPORTANT
First-time separation between a parent and child can be overwhelming for both but the benefits of enrolling your child in a playgroup are worth it. For most kids, it takes 2 weeks or even more to adjust and adapt to the new environment, but at Coast Academy, most children usually settle in within the first week. All children are respected and their individuality and differences are embraced. Here are 5 reasons why Playgroup is Important for your child’s overall growth.
1. DEVELOPS SOCIAL SKILLS
Statistics state that social skills development in children starts between the ages of 1-3. Most kids today spend the whole day with their nannies at home. This could slow down their growth and social skills. In playgroups, children get to socialize, which helps build life skills such as self-expression, sharing, cooperation, consideration, and mutual respect, which also add up as conflict resolution skills. Our very able and qualified team inspires the children to thrive and maximize their potential by exploring and discovering the world around them.
2. ENCOURAGES PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
While most children spend their entire day at home on screen time, playgroups offer an enabling environment for a variety of age-appropriate activities ranging from physical activities such as running, jumping, balance, and swimming to block play, painting, and molding which build the children’s gross and fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and balance.
3. DEVELOPS CREATIVITY, IMAGINATION, AND MOTOR SKILLS
90% of Brain growth happens before kindergarten. Exposing your child to a playgroup environment will trigger their creativity and imagination through dress-up, role plays with the other children, music, puppet play, and other games. Storytime aids in speech, language, vocabulary development, auditory perception, and imagination whereas visual perceptions are developed through activities such as Identifying different shapes and colors and building puzzles.
4. BUILDS CONFIDENCE AND INDEPENDENCE
The warm and loving nature of our staff helps develop the child’s confidence and resilience. Children that go to playgroup turn out to be strong and independent individuals as they learn to take care of themselves and show a sense of responsibility and a desire to be competent. They learn how to manage separation anxiety, clean up after themselves after free play, make choices throughout the day, and adapt to a new environment.
5. PLATFORM FOR BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Playgroup is hugely beneficial in building trusted relationships with each other and with their teachers and helpers. Our small class sizes help in developing close, healthy, and positive relationships. It also serves as a base for parents to meet, make friends, learn parenting tips, and network. We pride ourselves in maintaining close, healthy, and positive relationships with our parents and most importantly, vibrant and happy children.
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5 Benefits of Field Trips In A Child’s Education
Field trips offer children first-hand learning experiences. Giving equal weightage to both indoor as well as outdoor activities makes the children well-prepared for the outside world. Field trips not only expose the student to practical learning through sight, taste and smell but are undoubtedly one of the best ways to promote team spirit over several fun-filled knowledgeable activities. This term, the Coast Academy took different groups of students on different field trips applicable to their curriculum. Some of the most memorable moments in a person’s life are the field trips taken during school years. Below are 6 benefits of a field trip in a child’s education.
1. Academic growth
Students who go on field trips tend to perform better than students that are only limited to classroom learning. A child is most likely to remember something they saw rather than just sitting in class. These trips reinforce what the students learn in class which in turn makes it easier to understand better and remember.
2. Interactive Learning
In a classroom setting, engagement is usually lost through the memorization of materials. Field trips give more room for interacting with the subject of study thus making them more relevant and relatable. i.e. learning about rocks in a Geography class is not as relatable as seeing and feeling each type of rock which makes it easier for them to remember.
3. Feel of Real-world experience
This is especially when students visit historical sites that show the history of a people. Museums and Forts make the students gain historical empathy as they are taken around and get to see the way of life of the people of the past, rooms where freedom fighters were locked and the equipment used in historical wars. This in turn brings the history lessons to life. Students also get to see how class lessons are applied in real life.
4. Breaks Classroom monotony
Taking the students out on a field trip is an excellent way of breaking the daily classroom monotony. Lessons become more lively towards a trip as the students look forward to the “break”. They often serve as a powerful motivator for students.
5. Access to Different Environments
Going out on a field trip is an excellent exposure to a new environment different from the one at home. Taking children who have been born and raised in the city to the farm exposes them to an entirely different setup from what they have been accustomed to. Sometimes state exams include questions that do not bridge the gap between rural and urban students and fieldwork is a great way to build the bridge.
6. Social Interactions
Field trips create an opportunity for students to interact with fellow learners from different classes. They get to exchange ideas, learn from each other and make new friends. A timid child is also more likely to be more cheerful in such a setting than in the contained classroom setting.
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IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATING THE GIRL CHILD
Half of the girls in Kenya are getting little to no education. One in 2 girls in Kenya is married at the tender age of 19. It is a fundamental right of the girl child to receive a quality education. All learning centers should ensure that they provide a friendly, safe, and conducive environment for the safety of the girl child. Educating the girl child is like educating the entire community. Below are 5 reasons for educating the girl child.
1. Increase in literacy level
When girls are educated, they Acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in the labor market. This gives them the will and confidence needed to join the employment task force.
2. Ability to Make Smart Decisions
Educated women make better decisions when it comes down to healthcare, and marriage and are less likely to endure domestic abuse. Social skills, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills are also impacted and in turn, can help in settling disputes in the community.
3. Reduction of Child Marriages.
If all girls went to school and proceeded to finish secondary, it would have a great impact on the number of early marriages in school-going girls.
4. Reduction in Child Mortality Rates
According to the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative, children of educated mothers are twice as likely to survive past the age of five. This is because they are more aware of the importance of good health care and would ensure that their children get all necessary vaccines required.
5. Continuation of Cycle
Education equips one with the socio-emotional and life skills necessary to adapt to the changing world. A girl that is educated will definitely want the same for her daughter’s education. They will beat all odds to ensure that their daughter gets quality education.
6. Economic Growth
Women invest their salaries into their families and their community at large. This in turn helps in poverty eradication. Educating the girl child will mean having more women in the workforce thus increasing the labor force needed for the country’s economic growth.
7. Self-Reliance
An educated woman is able to be self-sufficient. She is capable of taking care of her own needs without being dependent on either her husband or any other relative for survival.
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5 BACK TO SCHOOL TIPS
Starting a new school year is exciting and can also be filled with anxiety for others, especially those joining a new school. Below are tips to curb the anxiety and prepare your child mentally, emotionally and physically for the new school year.
1. Get Back to Normal School Routine
Resume the normal school schedule a few days before school starts. This will help switch off the holiday mode and activate school mode. It involves going to bed early and getting up early to shower and have breakfast in time for school.
2. Purchase Required School Supply
Take a trip to the stationery supply stores and purchase the required tools such as crayons, story books, geometry sets, etc. Allowing your child to tag along, can make the back to school feel exciting as they get to pick their favorite pens, backpack, or supplementary book. This prepares them mentally.
3. Set Everything Ready
Organize books and stationeries, make sure the uniforms are pressed and school shoes polished. Make the necessary physical preparations i.e. visit the salon or barber to avoid last minute rush. Make the necessary arrangements for transport to and from school.
4. Acquire a Positive Attitude and Mindset.
The right attitude will greatly impact your child’s performance at school. Encourage them to Set a SMART target that will keep them focused even on those subjects that seem to be a challenge. Start the term on a high note and keep going.
5. Do a Pre-Visit to the School
If you are starting a new school, take the child for a pre-visit of the school to familiarize with the premises and if possible, get to meet the new teacher. This will ease the anxiety and help with the transition.
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