English at Spark Academy is nothing if not varied: from persuasion to poetry, and comprehension to creative writing. You only need to see our previous Teacher Talk posts to see that – you can read all about our work on political speeches and information retrieval by looking back through Spark Ideas. At the moment our Year 6 students are…
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In this week’s Parent Perspectives post, we thought we’d look somewhere a little different than usual. Many parents have been rating and posting reviews for Spark Academy for years – it’s time we celebrated their views! Where can you rate and review? Spark’s Facebook page is a perfect place for anyone looking to give us a rating…
In this week’s Teacher Talk we asked the Maths department to give us a taste of some of the fun things they do at Christmas. One fun starter or plenary is playing Countdown – let’s have a look at how they do it. Onto the Countdown to Christmas! On behalf of the Maths department at…
It’s time to celebrate another student of the month here at Spark Academy. Our holidays mean that our lessons end this week – but that doesn’t mean that our student of the month is any less deserving. As you know we’ve already nominated two students to celebrate: Neha Patni and Shreya Kumari. You can read all about their nominations…
On behalf of everyone at Spark Academy, our Headteacher Gemma has a few words to help welcome in the New Year. With the Christmas holidays in full swing I thought I’d turn our attention to the new year ahead. The end of a year brings reflection of the past and hope for the future and…
For those of you who are looking towards your GCSE revision now, here are our Top Tips for GCSE Maths success! Getting formulas onto one page. When revising for Maths, creating a formula sheet is an effective way to kick-start your work! You should include formulas that will and will not be given to you…
As always at the end of the month, we turn to our Headteacher Gemma for some words of wisdom. At the start of the new year, a new term and the beginning of our time in our new building, she’d like to talk to us this month about making an impact. Why making an impact?…
Looking for tuition in your GCSE years can be a daunting prospect. Even at the beginning of Year 10, you might feel that you only have a short time before you will be sitting your exams. For this week’s student thoughts, we asked two of our Year 11 students to talk to us about why…
This week’s Teacher Talk is from our English teachers. Literature is an important aspect of studying English, but for many students reading something written almost 100 years ago can be a little off-putting. Our teachers share some of their ideas for bringing great novels to life in tuition. Why do we study literature at Spark? Literature…
It’s time again to celebrate our students for their hard work and perseverance over the course of the term. Our previous students of the month were Neha Patni, Shreya Kumari and Adnan Ahmad. This month our student of the month is an A-level student – our first this year! Why has this student been nominated?…
When it comes to interesting facts and fantastic blog posts, our Maths department is on fire! They even have a way to use maths in your pancakes today… What’s so special about Pancake Day? In the Christian calendar, this Tuesday is officially known as Shrove Tuesday, and is the day before Ash Wednesday, the first…
When we think of students preparing for exams, most of us think of GCSEs. We even posted about Spark’s GCSE preparation here but they aren’t the only students in an important year. Our Year 6s are in full SATs swing now and enjoying the support that Spark offers in the run up to their exams. It’s not…
March is just beginning and the year is ticking on towards exam season for many pupils at Spark. It’s time to hear what our Headteacher Gemma has to say about success and it’s role in your life! ever doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world…
Whenever it comes to tuition, it always boils down to two methods of studying: either in a group, or in a one-to-one scenario. At Spark Academy, we are all very strong advocates of group study, and this blog post will give you some of the reasons why we think group learning is the best! Year…
We are a few days into March now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still celebrate February’s Student of the Month! It’s hard for us to choose just one student each month as all of our students consistently work hard to improve in lessons. Nic, our Head of Science at Spark, nominated this month’s winner.…
This week’s Teacher Talk is all about literature – specifically thinking about our Year 7 classes, who have just finished a topic on A Christmas Carol. Why study A Christmas Carol? Charles Dickens is one of the most well-known writers in English Literature and A Christmas Carol is one of his most famous works. The novella is chosen…
Spark founder Mital is (happily) busy with business most days, but she still loves to take some time out for her science passion. And when it comes to science, sometimes weirder is better! What do you think the weirdest experiment she has found was? The history of science and its experiments can be rather daunting!…
This month’s Headteacher Talk is all about positive thinking. Now that we’re approaching exam season, it’s easy for students to become dissuaded and let negative thinking take over. Let’s have a look at what Gemma has to say about the importance of keeping positive. The power of positivity. A couple of weeks ago, a few Year…
As our parents will know, at Spark Academy we have just finished completing our Spring term assessments. Although we see progress every lesson when we see our students, we understand that it’s important for students and parents to see progress in test scores too – both at Spark and at school. We have been very…
With the summer holidays feeling like a distant memory, we are pleased to have our pupils back and rearing to go at Spark Academy! There is certainly a buzz around our new and improved academic programme as well as the wonderful new additions to our team. WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM SPARK THIS YEAR? We’ve…
MATHS IS EVERYWHERE! Whether you hope to study biology, economics, sociology, psychology, physics or many other subjects, Mathematics is used all the time. You will need to solve numerous Maths problems, as part of your studies. SHOPPING Maths is all around you the minute you step into your local supermarket! You will pass through automatic…
WHY IS READING SO IMPORTANT? It is a known fact and evidence backs this idea up that children who read for pleasure everyday do better in reading tests, have a wider range of vocabulary, increased knowledge of different cultures and better general knowledge. An enjoyment in reading is important to allow this to come to…
Imagine you have a job and that job was to eat frogs every day, how would you go about it? Which type of frog would you eat first? The smallest frog or the biggest frog? Mark Twain famously wrote: “IF IT’S YOUR JOB TO EAT A FROG, IT’S BEST TO DO THIS FIRST THING IN…
WHAT IS FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT? 25 February – 10 March 2019 This event happens every year to celebrate the people who grow our food. These are the people who live in the poorest countries of the world and are often exploited and poorly paid. This year the big focus is on the people especially the women. These are…
COMPANY VALUES – RESPECT RESPECT AND DIGNITY – VALUE EVERY PERSON Respect is something that we all expect. This is the same whether it is from our work colleagues, students, or our family and friends. However, time and time again it seems that respect is forgotten by those around us. It could be as simple…
WHAT IS BRITISH SCIENCE WEEK? British Science Week is run by the British Science Association. It is a 10 day celebration of science starting on 8th March – 17th March. Every year there is a theme, with the theme this year being ‘Journeys’. Journey into Space This year, on 20th July, we will mark 30 years since the first moon landings. This is probably still…
“Spark Academy is an organisation with a strong social and moral conscious. We care about people, embrace growth, and learning is in our DNA. We are incredibly passionate about our work and always believe in generously giving back to local and wider communities through charitable work. It is our mission to open schools in countries where child slavery…
Here is some important information about the Year 6 SAT’s. They will be starting on 13th of May 2019 until Thursday 16th of May 2019. Below is the timetable of when your child will be sitting each SAT. There are no tests on the Friday of that week. Monday The children will need to complete the Grammar, Punctuation and Vocabulary Test. It includes…
At Spark Academy, we are passionate about understanding new research and developments in the world of education. One area that is coming to the forefront is known as the ‘Science of learning.’ Science of learning is a relatively new field of research. It brings together research from neuroscience, psychology, education and other research disciplines to…
Draw up a list Before you start revising, get all your notes sorted. Draw up a list of all the topics you need to cover before you begin. Plan your revision Plan exactly when you are going to revise, and be strict with yourself. Don’t revise all day. Revise in small chunks and take regular…
Tutoring should start from ages as young as 7 years old, be it on weekends or weekdays after school. After school tutoring has several benefits for your child and it is more than just homework help. 1. AFTER SCHOOL HOURS ARE PRODUCTIVE Once the school bell rings and all children run out their school doors,…
Is it too early to prepare for exams? Of course not. In fact, the earlier you start, the more time you have to focus on things that concern you by asking for extra help to iron out those creases. If you are a little pressed for time, no worries. What matters is that you are…
Since our establishment, we have had parents pop us a few direct messages on our social media channels and schools emailing us a few testimonials, expressing children’s overall improvement. “My child seems more confident since joining the Academy”. “She is always eager to ask questions now”. Childhood development within an educational space should go beyond just…
Firstly, can we agree that any form of help is great? The problem is halved and as the saying goes, two heads are better than one. Even beyond the years of your primary school career, you may find that you need a maths tutor to help you with your current schoolwork. University or A-level students…
The year 2020 means setting new intentions for the new decade, including exploring opportunities for your little one. Tutoring services are nothing new. In fact, they have evolved. At Spark Academy, we focus on holistic development elements in addition to improving grades for maths, English and science. If you agree with any of the below, your child…
What are the factors that contribute to a child’s educational test results? At the most basic level, most of us are well aware of the importance of imparting the right knowledge in the right setting. However, this right setting is more than just cramming information within surrounding walls. In fact, for most of the students, actually…
If someone tells you that they know how to train your brain to learn, they are simply lying. Let us explain. Even though scientific progress has been seen with a better understanding of most parts of our body, our understanding of the human brain, in general, is at quite a preliminary level. To put it into…
Hi, my name is Anjani, I am currently studying Economics (BA) and this is my Spark Academy story. WHERE IT ALL STARTED – LOOKING FOR TUITION IN LEICESTER During my time in college, I studied Economics, Biology, and Chemistry at A level. I joined Spark Academy halfway through my first year at college, and this…
