As someone who went to school for 12 years and a current student in University, I’ve often observed from fellow students and from broader society that education and academic pursuits are not objects of enjoyment or enthusiasm.

This is a puzzling thing. For many centuries education was a highly restricted privilege, and the modern world offers this cumulative knowledge of thousands of years to everyone. So why is it such a chore? Perhaps homework, exams and other study requirements make it stressful and repetitive. This may be true, and it is a regrettable symptom of the education systems in today’s world.

However, I believe every effort should be made by educators to make learning as enjoyable as possible. This can be done simply by revealing the great and noble pursuit that is education to students, thereby opening their wonder, curiosity and enthusiasm about learning as much as possible.

Here at First Education, one often observes students enjoying their time with tutors and looking forward to upcoming sessions. This is because the tutors try and make the task of education a desirable and enjoyable one as its function, incorporating an ethos of comprehensive education to create well-rounded students that love learning.

Raphael Dokos

When students struggle at school it is easy to assume the problem is the content. In reality many students understand the material but are held back by something less visible. This is often referred to as the hidden curriculum. These are the unspoken expectations that students are assumed to know but are rarely taught directly.

The hidden curriculum includes skills like knowing how to study for a test, how to manage time across multiple subjects and how to interpret assessment instructions. Teachers may explain what to learn but not always how to learn it. Students who naturally pick up these skills tend to progress smoothly, while others are left confused and frustrated despite putting in effort.

Assessment tasks are a common example. Students are often given a rubric and expected to know how to use it. Many do not realise that rubrics are essentially roadmaps for success. Without guidance they may focus on the wrong areas or misunderstand what higher level responses require. Tutoring helps students unpack these expectations and learn how to turn criteria into clear action steps.

Organisation is another hidden expectation. Students are expected to track deadlines, keep notes in order and plan ahead for exams. These skills are rarely assessed but strongly influence results. When organisation slips, stress increases and performance drops. Tutors often work with students to create simple systems that make school feel more manageable.

There is also an expectation around communication. Students are assumed to know when to ask for help, how to email a teacher or how to seek clarification before a deadline. Many feel uncomfortable doing this and end up falling behind unnecessarily. In a one on one setting students can practise these skills and build confidence using them at school.

Once the hidden curriculum is made visible, students often improve quickly. They realise they were not failing because they were incapable but because no one had shown them the rules of the game. With the right support these skills can be learnt and applied across every subject.

Freddie Le Vay

With only one hour a week, there’s only so much knowledge you can impart on a student or practice questions you can critique. Sometimes the most important thing you can teach a student, especially an older student, is how to study efficiently and effectively, so that they can improve the most in the time that they have across all their subjects. Many students are not taught about study strategies at school and have never heard about concepts like active recall, and therefore often resort to writing and rewriting notes or writing them once and then not coming back to them or jump straight to practice questions before ensuring they have covered all the content.
The most important study skills concept that has helped me learn both in high school and during my university degree is active recall. There were a few strategies I used that I teach to my students. First, I used cornell notes, which involves writing questions next to your notes and testing yourself by trying to answer the questions with your notes covered. Anything I missed using that strategy I would make a flashcard about using the Anki app, which gives you spaced repetition depending on how difficult you found it to recall the content. This strategy ensured that nothing fell between the gaps and I was confident with all content before starting practice questions
Another important strategy for year 12s is to structure their notes by syllabus dotpoints. This prevents students from memorising extra or unnecessary information and also ensures that they are confident in understanding what they need to know.
Some other strategies I suggest is brain dumping, where you try to remember everything you can about a concept and write it down and then compare with your notes to check what you missed. The last option I suggest to students is forming study groups with their friends and teaching their friends a concept. All these strategies use active recall which means students are much more likely to remember information. By allocating a certain amount of time each week to their subjects and using strategies like active recall, students are more likely to remember content and perform well in exams

Maya Anderson

Many students adopt ineffective study techniques that lead to poor retention, inefficient use of time, and increased exam stress. A common approach involves passive review; rereading notes, highlighting textbooks, or listening to recordings repeatedly. These methods create a false sense of familiarity with the content, but do little to reinforce long-term memory or deepen understanding.

Research in cognitive psychology suggests that more effective learning occurs through active engagement with the material. Active recall, the process of retrieving information from memory without looking at the source, significantly strengthens memory consolidation. This can be achieved through self-testing, completing practice questions, or verbally explaining concepts.

Spaced repetition is another evidence-based strategy, involving the review of information at increasing intervals. Unlike cramming, which leads to short-term memory gains, spaced repetition promotes durable retention by reinforcing material just before it is likely to be forgotten.

Time management also plays a critical role. Many students engage in prolonged, unstructured study sessions that lead to mental fatigue and reduced concentration. Short, focused sessions, such as those based on the Pomodoro technique, which alternates 25-minute study intervals with brief breaks, help maintain cognitive performance over time.

Overall, effective study is not purely a function of time spent but of the techniques employed. Understanding and applying principles from learning science allows for more efficient preparation and improved academic outcomes. Rather than defaulting to intuition or routine, students benefit from adopting methods grounded in empirical evidence.

Michael Fry

One of the most beautiful things tutoring gives students is something that can’t always be measured on a test, confidence. It’s the calm feeling that comes from knowing you are prepared, not because you memorised everything but because you truly understand it.

Many students walk into classrooms feeling anxious, unsure of what they know or how they’ll perform, tutoring changes that. When students spend time practicing, asking questions and strengthening their understanding, something shifts. They stop second guessing themselves and start trusting their ability to handle whatever comes their way.

Preparation isn’t about perfection, it’s about familiarity. When a student has seen a type of problem before, written similar paragraphs or revised a concept in multiple ways, it no longer feels intimidating. That familiarity builds a quiet confidence that stays with them during exams, presentations and classroom discussions.

This confidence also affects how students approach challenges. Instead of panicking when something feels difficult, they think, “I’ve handled hard things before, I can try this”. That mindset reduces stress and increases resilience. Students become more willing to attempt questions, make educated guesses and push through moments of uncertainty.

What makes tutoring so powerful is that it provides consistent support. Each session builds on the last, reinforcing skills and understanding until students feel steady on their feet. Over time, preparation turns into belief, belief in their own effort, their learning and their potential.

Tutoring isn’t just about raising grades. It’s about helping students walk into their academic world feeling capable and confident. That confidence, the kind that comes from truly being prepared is something they carry far beyond the classroom.

Isabella Naumovski

Building strong foundational skills in primary students is less about drilling content and more about creating the right conditions for deep, confident learning. At this age, children thrive when skills are introduced through clear structure, repetition with variation, and meaningful connection to real-life contexts. The goal is not speed or perfection, but the ability to understand, apply, and transfer knowledge across situations.

A powerful starting point is diagnostic observation. Before teaching, take time to notice how a child approaches tasks: Do they guess quickly? Do they rely on memorisation? Do they avoid challenges? These insights help tutors and parents identify gaps in math problems, phonetics, or language comprehension. Once you know the “why” behind a struggle, you can tailor instruction with precision.

Next comes explicit teaching, delivered in small steps. Primary students benefit from clear modelling, guided practice, and supported independence. This gradual style builds confidence while preventing cognitive overload. Pair this with the use of movement, visuals, manipulatives, and verbal reasoning to assist in making abstract concepts concrete.

Foundational skills also grow through consistent routines. Short, predictable activities such as daily mental math sheets, phonics warm-ups, or quick recall games help students consolidate learning without pressure. Repetition becomes engaging when it’s varied, playful, and connected to progress they can see.

Finally, nurture the habits that underpin lifelong learning: curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to make mistakes. Celebrate effort, model flexible thinking, and create a space where questions are valued. When students feel safe and capable, they take intellectual risks which is where foundational skills truly take root.

Strong foundations aren’t built in a rush; they’re built through thoughtful, responsive teaching that honours how children learn best.

Sophia McLean

NAPLAN tests shouldn’t surprise Year 7 students, but they do. The pattern is consistent: students enter high school, adjust to a new environment, and suddenly face a national assessment that claims to measure literacy and numeracy. The pressure increases because parents and schools treat the result as a diagnostic verdict. The more useful approach is to deconstruct what NAPLAN actually demands and align preparation with everyday learning rather than a sprint of cramming.
For Year 7 literacy, the reading test does not assess recall. It measures a student’s ability to extract meaning from unfamiliar texts. The practical implication is that students who never read outside short classroom extracts are disadvantaged. Sustained reading develops stamina, and stamina matters because the NAPLAN paper pushes students through multiple text typee, articles, narratives, opinion pieces, with increasing complexity. The preparation strategy should focus on exposure: weekly reading that forces a student to articulate the main point, locate evidence, and identify tone. Those three skills map directly to the test questions.

Writing is more mechanical. NAPLAN rotates persuasive and narrative genres, and students often freeze because they can’t plan rapidly. Time-boxed writing drills—five minutes to outline, twenty-five to write—mirror test conditions. The constraint trains prioritisation. Marking against the NAPLAN rubric (audience, ideas, cohesion, sentence structure, vocabulary, punctuation) shows the student how assessors think. That transparency matters more than generic advice like “use descriptive language.”

Numeracy requires a different form of preparation. Many Year 7 students have learned content, but they make procedural errors under time pressure. NAPLAN rewards fluency. Short daily practice targeting common failure points—fractions, percentages, ratio, interpreting data—builds automaticity. Students should also learn to triage: identify low-effort marks first, skip time-sink problems, and return later. That is a test skill, not a mathematical insight, but it changes outcomes.

The broader point: preparing for NAPLAN should integrate into regular learning, not disrupt it. The test is predictable once broken into components—reading stamina, rubric-aware writing, and numeracy fluency. Treating it this way reduces anxiety and shifts attention from “performing” to demonstrating skills already in progress.

Anthea Preketes

Mistakes are often stigmatised as something to avoid in learning. Many students worry about getting the “wrong” answer, fearing judgement or disappointment. In a tutoring environment, however, mistakes are not setbacks; they are powerful learning opportunities. At First Education, one-on-one sessions create a safe space where students can take risks without pressure. When a student makes a mistake, it gives tutors valuable insight into how that student is thinking. Rather than simply correcting the answer, tutors can explore the reasoning behind it, identify misconceptions and guide students towards deeper understanding. This helps learning become more meaningful and is a process that I have grown familiar with whilst studying to be a primary school teacher.

Mistakes also play a key role in building confidence. When students realise that making an error does not lead to failure or criticism, they become more willing to try. This shift in mindset encourages persistence, curiosity and resilience, which are all essential skills for long-term academic success. Over time, students learn that mistakes are a natural part of learning, not something to fear. In Maths and English, mistakes are particularly valuable. A maths error might highlight a gap in understanding a concept, while a writing mistake can open discussion about sentence structure, spelling patterns or vocabulary choices. I strongly believe that each mistake becomes a teaching moment tailored to the individual learner’s needs.

Tutors should be modelling positive attitudes towards mistakes. By normalising them and responding calmly and constructively, tutors show students that learning is a process. This approach helps students develop a growth mindset, adopting the belief that their abilities can improve with consistent effort and practice.

Ultimately, progress does not come from getting everything right the first time. It comes from reflecting, adjusting one’s understanding and trying again. In a supportive tutoring environment, mistakes are framed as stepping stones. When students learn to embrace mistakes, they gain not only academic skills, but confidence in their ability to learn, problem solve and grow.

Kaelyn Tan

In a world where students are constantly compared through grades, rankings and timelines, it’s easy for learning to feel like a race. One of the most powerful messages tutoring can offer is this, progress doesn’t have to be fast to be meaningful. Every student learns at their own pace and that pace is valid.

Tutoring creates a rare space where students are allowed to slow down. Concepts can be revisited, questions can be asked without fear and understanding can take priority over speed. For many students, this is where confidence begins to grow. When the pressure to “keep up” is removed, learning becomes less about anxiety and more about clarity.

I often remind students that mastery isn’t measured by how quickly they understand something but by how deeply they understand it. A student who takes longer to grasp a concept but truly understands it is just a successful if not more so than someone who rushes ahead without a strong foundation.

Embracing individual pace also teaches patient and self compassion. Students learn to recognise their own progress rather than comparing themselves to others. Over time, this mindset helps reduce frustration, build resilience and encourage persistence even when learning feels challenging.

What makes tutoring so impactful is its ability to meet students exactly where they are. By honouring individual pace, tutors help students build sustainable skills, confidence and independence. Learning becomes a journey rather than a competition and students discover that their path, no matter how winding, its worth taking.

Isabella Naumovski

My favourite tutoring memory of 2025 starts with one of my Year 10 maths students, Oscar. Specifically, a topic we conquered that used to completely shut him down; index laws. In his half yearly exam he completely stuffed them up, and knew it. Every time they came up, you could feel the hesitation. He would second guess himself, rush, and almost expect to be wrong before he even started. It was easily his weakest area, and more than that, it was something he had quietly decided he was just not good at.

So, we slowed everything down and changed the way we worked on it. We took the pressure off getting the answer right and focused just on the process. We isolated index laws and stayed there, rather than jumping between different topics. He talked me through every step out loud, and I corrected his misunderstandings in real time. I made him explain his reasoning back to me so that he could start trusting his own thinking. We also completed very intentional homework and targeted questions; everything had a purpose. With that level of focused work, it would have actually been really difficult for index laws to not become his strongest suit.

Week by week we could see the changes; fewer silly mistakes, more willingness to have a go and less fear when exponents appeared on the page. The improvements were quiet but consistent, and his confidence grew naturally alongside his skills.

By the time his yearly exam came around, index laws were no longer a problem. In fact, they were his best area!! He did better in them than in anything else and by the end, watching him move through those questions calmly and confidently was one of those moments that really stuck with me. Not because of the mark, but because of the belief shift I watched happen inside him, in real time.

He started trusting himself, he spoke with more certainty and began backing his answers more instead of apologising for them. That confidence didn’t just stay in his maths, either. It showed up in how he carried himself into our lessons and in how he spoke to me.

Honestly, it’s the best part about tutoring. Yes, we help our students do better in their exams but ultimately, we’re really helping them change how they see themselves. When our students turn their weakest points into their strongest, the academic growth is legit, but the personal growth is even more powerful.

Thomas Koutavas