Vector House Tuition centre

Maths · Science · English Years 3 to 13 Small taught groups

VectorHouse

Tuition centre · a plotted route through difficult work

Difficult subjects become navigable the moment the next step is visible. We find out exactly where a student is, mark the gap that is causing the trouble, and teach the route from there — one checkpoint at a time.

Find the right route Request a first conversation

02 — Find the route

Four routes, one map

Every student joins at a coordinate, not at a level. We read the school report, sit a short written diagnostic, and place the student where the work actually is — which is often a year or two behind where the timetable says it should be. The route below describes the teaching, not a package.

A1

Foundation

Years 3–6 · Primary

  • Number sense
  • Times tables
  • Fractions
  • Reading comprehension
  • Writing structure

The early years are where small gaps quietly set. A child who is guessing at place value will guess at everything built on top of it. Sessions stay short and concrete: we work with number lines, written methods and worked examples until the reasoning is spoken aloud, not recited. Reading work pairs a passage with the question types that decide the marks.

First stepA written diagnostic plus a ten-minute reading check, then a plain-English summary of what we found.

B2

Secondary

Years 7–9 · Key Stage 3

  • Algebra
  • Ratio & proportion
  • Geometry
  • Combined science
  • Essay paragraphs

Secondary school moves fast, and algebra is the point where confident arithmetic students often stall. We slow down the transition from numbers to letters, then rebuild speed. Science work focuses on explaining a process in sequence; English work moves from "I know what it means" to a paragraph that shows it, with evidence in the right place.

First stepA topic audit against the student's current scheme of work, marked and returned with the gaps ranked.

C3

GCSE

Years 10–11 · Foundation & Higher tier

  • Maths
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • English Language
  • English Literature

Two years of content, one set of papers. We teach to the specification the school is actually entering — tier, board and paper structure included — and we spend as much time on how a question is answered as on the topic itself. Past-paper work is marked against the real mark scheme, so a student can see where the marks went rather than only the total.

First stepA full past paper sat under timed conditions, then a session spent only on the questions that were lost.

D4

Sixth form

Years 12–13 · A-level & equivalent

  • Maths
  • Further Maths
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Biology
  • Extended writing

A-level rewards students who can hold several ideas at once and choose a method under pressure. Sessions work through long multi-step problems out loud, comparing routes to the same answer and naming why one is quicker. We also teach the unglamorous part: how to revise a subject this large without simply rereading notes.

First stepA problem-solving session on the current module, followed by an agreed revision structure for the term.

03 — The method

Diagnostic, practice, retrieval, review

Tuition fails when it becomes a second homework club. Ours runs as a closed loop: find the gap, teach into it, check it has held a week later, then decide together what happens next. The loop repeats for as long as a student is with us.

The Vector House teaching cycle A four-stage loop: diagnostic, guided practice, retrieval, review — then back to diagnostic. DIAGNOSTIC PRACTICE RETRIEVAL REVIEW ONE LOOP
Fig. 1 — the loop repeats every three to four weeks
  1. 01

    Diagnostic

    Before we teach anything, the student sits a short written assessment and talks through two or three questions aloud. Speaking is the part that matters: it shows whether an error is a slip, a missing method or a misunderstanding that goes several years back. We write down what we found in language a parent can read.

    We start at the earliest broken step, not the current topic.

  2. 02

    Guided practice

    New work is modelled first, then attempted together, then attempted alone — in that order, in the same session. Tutors work alongside a small group, so a student who stalls is picked up in seconds rather than left to copy a board. Questions increase in difficulty in small, deliberate steps so that success stays frequent enough to sustain.

    The student leaves having done the work, not watched it.

  3. 03

    Retrieval

    Understanding something once is not the same as being able to reach for it later. Every session opens with a short low-stakes recall task drawn from earlier weeks — no grade attached, no surprise. Material that is recalled cleanly moves further apart on the schedule; material that is shaky returns sooner.

    Spacing is planned, not left to chance.

  4. 04

    Review

    Every three to four weeks we stop and take stock: what has stuck, what has not, and what the next block should cover. Parents receive a short written note in the same plain language as the first diagnostic. If the route needs changing — a different tier, a different subject, or a pause — we say so directly.

    The plan is revised in the open, with the student in the room.

04 — Weekly rhythm

How a week is shaped

The same structure runs every week, so students know what is coming and can settle quickly. The map below follows one session from arrival to close, then the days that carry the work forward until the next one.

Beat 01 · Arrival

Settle and recall

Books out, phones away, and a five-question recall starter from previous weeks. Marked together in two minutes.

Beat 02 · Teaching

The taught block

One idea, modelled fully on the board with worked examples the student copies and annotates in their own words.

Beat 03 · Together

Paired practice

Questions attempted side by side with the tutor circulating. Errors are caught while they are still small.

Beat 04 · Alone

Independent set

The same skill, unaided, on graded questions. This is the part that tells us whether the teaching landed.

Beat 05 · Close

Next step written down

The session ends with one line in the student's book: what was covered, and the exact task to complete before next week.

Beat 06 · Between

Spaced set at home

A short, deliberately manageable task — usually twenty to thirty minutes — mixing this week's work with one older topic.

Every third or fourth week replaces the taught block with a review session: a longer assessment, marked and discussed, and an updated plan. Exam classes swap the independent set for full past-paper sections as the papers approach.

05 — Practical answers

Questions parents ask first

Short, direct answers. If something here does not match your situation, say so in the enquiry form and we will answer it specifically rather than generally.

Q1 My child is behind. Where do you actually start?

At the earliest point where the work broke, which is rarely the topic causing trouble this week. A student struggling with simultaneous equations may be struggling with negative numbers. The diagnostic exists to find that point, and we teach forward from it even if it sits below the current year group. Progress is faster this way, not slower.

Q2 Do you follow our school's exam board?

Yes. Tell us the board and the tier at enquiry and we will teach to that specification, using its past papers and mark schemes. Where a group contains two boards, the taught content stays shared and the exam-technique work is split, because the underlying subject is the same and the question styles are not.

Q3 How large are the groups?

Small enough that a tutor can reach every student during independent practice, and grouped by working point rather than by school year. Some students work one to one for a period — usually when the gap is wide or confidence is low — and move into a group once the foundations are steady. We will tell you which we think fits after the diagnostic.

Q4 Is there homework, and how much?

Yes, and deliberately short — typically twenty to thirty minutes, longer for sixth form. It is set to be completed independently, so it is always work the student has already succeeded at in the session. A set that cannot be started at home is a set we pitched wrongly, and we would rather hear that than have it quietly skipped.

Q5 What happens if a session is missed?

The taught material and the set work are written down, so nothing is lost. The following session opens with a short catch-up on the missed idea before the group moves on. If absence runs longer — illness, a school trip, exam leave — we adjust the plan rather than racing to cover ground that was never taught.

Q6 How will we know whether it is working?

You will see the evidence directly: the marked diagnostic, the review assessment three to four weeks later, and a written note comparing the two. We do not predict grades or promise a number of levels, because no tuition centre honestly can. What we can show you is whether a specific skill that was not there in week one is there now, and what we plan to do next.

06 — First conversation

Start with a conversation

Nothing is committed at this stage. The first conversation is us listening, asking a few specific questions, and telling you plainly whether we think we are the right fit.

Useful to have to hand

  • The most recent school report or assessment result.
  • A piece of work that went badly — a marked test is ideal.
  • The exam board and tier, if the school has confirmed them.
  • Any access arrangements or additional needs we should plan around.
  • What the student says is hard — in their words, not translated.

What happens next

  1. We read the enquiry and reply with a suggested route and a time to talk.
  2. A short conversation, with the student included wherever possible.
  3. A written diagnostic, marked and returned with findings in plain language.
  4. A proposed plan for the first block of work — yours to accept, change or decline.

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