Trefoil TutorsFor the third year in a row, we continue to offer our tutors the Professional Development Programme. In the series of six seminars, tutors have the opportunity to expand their knowledge of recent ideas in pedagogy, share experience of working with students and explore new approaches to teaching their subject. In the first Professional Development Seminar this academic year, our tutors met to further their knowledge on planning well-structured and purposeful lessons that fit into a long-term teaching plan.
Trefoil Tutors got another addition to its Leadership Team this week, with Tim Backhaus joining us as Office Manager. With a background in law, Tim brings extensive experience in managing and working with youth organisations and other non-governmental organisations operating on a national and international level.
Based in our Elstree office, Tim will be the first point of contact for enquiries, manage internal and external communication and coordinate our advertising campaigns.
Tim can be contacted directly at tim@trefoiltutors.co.uk.
Our new academic year begins today!
The classrooms are ready, the teachers are prepared, the worksheets are printed and the welcome packs are assembled. We are extremely excited to welcome back our students from last year, and greet the ones joining us for the first time today.
Have a great year of learning, everyone!
Congratulations to our AS mathematicians and Further mathematicians – we are delighted to say that 13 out of 16 of our pupils achieved the top grade in their public examinations, 11 of whom scored over 90%. We’re incredibly proud of your results and would like to wish you all the best in the upcoming year!
Good luck to all of our students who are receiving their results today!
We know that many of our students have been waiting for it with great anticipation. We would like to wish you the best of luck when opening those envelopes, and hope all your hard work will bring its rewards today.
Do give us a call to share your results with us, it would be great to hear from you. If you would like any advice – we’re here to help!
he owner of a banana plantation has a camel. He wants to transport his 3000 bananas to the market, which is located after the desert. The distance between his banana plantation and the market is about 1000 km. So he decided to take his camel to carry the bananas. The camel can carry at the maximum of 1000 bananas at a time, and it eats one banana for every kilometer it travels.
What is the largest number of bananas you can bring over to your destination?
You are blindfolded and 10 coins are place in front of you on table.
You are allowed to touch the coins, but can’t tell which way up they are by feel. You are told that there are 5 coins head up, and 5 coins tails up but not which ones are which.
How do you make two piles of coins each with the same number of heads up?
At a party, everyone shook hands with everybody else. There were 66 handshakes.
How many people were at the party?
For many of our students, the exam season is starting! Remember to spend time outside and enjoy the warming weather – and at the same time, use these important final days before the exams to talk to your tutor about any topics you feel you would like to revisit, so you are ready to enter the exam hall with increased confidence, solidified knowledge and an invigorated mind. We wish you the best of luck!
This week, our creative writing resource encourages students to draw inspiration from some of the most prominent writers in literary history and analyse the opening paragraphs of their most famous works.
You have 8 balls all of the same size. 7 of them weigh the same, and one of them weighs slightly more.
How can you find the ball that is heavier by using a balance and only two weighings?
You have two ropes and a lighter. Each rope has the following property: If you light one end of the rope, it will take one hour to burn to the other end. They don’t necessarily burn at a uniform rate. How can you measure a period of 45 minutes?
In the final Professional Development Seminar this academic year, our tutors met to further their knowledge on prominent theories in educational psychology. Discussing Piaget, Bloom and the way their theories can be applied in lessons, the tutors had an opportunity to enrich their lesson preparation and teaching skills.
This week’s resource is tailored for Y5-Y6 pupils looking to work on vocabulary development. You can download the worksheet from our Resource Centre:
Using prefixes and suffixes to form new words is an important tool aid your creative writing as well as verbal reasoning skills.
The Guardian have recently published a succinct yet informative list of revision tips – do share them with your son or daughter if they are preparing to sit exams in the coming months.
https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/apr/19/students-revise-exams-revision-science
As Trefoil Tutors continues its series of Professional Development Seminars, our team of tutors met on Saturday for a seminar on Exam Preparation and Tips. Led by Milda Sabunaite, the seminar focussed on offering effective revision and exam preparation support to our tutees in preparation for the upcoming internal, GCSE and A-level exams.
Congratulations to all three of our Y11 pupils who sat their GCSE Mathematics early in January. We are delighted to announce that all three students were awarded an A* grade. Very well done and best of luck with the rest of your GCSEs in the summer!
This week, nine of our tutors attended a Professional Development Seminar titled “Communication skills, inspiring confidence and providing honest feedback”. Led by Milda Sabunaite, the seminar focussed on useful strategies in helping pupils engage with subject material, preparing engaging and interactive lessons, as well as ensuring that both pupils and parents receive regular and honest feedback on the lesson progress.
The monthly Seminars are a part of the Tutor Professional Development Programme at Trefoil.
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We are delighted to announce that we have updated our online Resource Centre with a multitude of past papers for 11+, GCSE and A-level pupils across a multitude of subject areas.
Visit http://trefoiltutors.co.uk/resources/ to browse across the different subjects and levels. We hope you will find this a useful resource to help your revision! 
This week, our tutors Tom, Will, Ria, Arjun, Danielle attended a Professional Development Seminar on Lesson Planning led by Vivek Gathani. Tutors had the opportunity to work with a professional teacher and learn more about pedagogical theory, as well as discuss ways to adapt this knowledge to a one-to-one tutoring setting. The tutors picked up useful ideas for new activities to be used when working with pupils, in order to make sure the lessons are engaging and interactive.
The monthly Seminars are a part of the Tutor Professional Development Programme at Trefoil.
For those looking for Mathematics tuition in the new academic year, we are happy to say there are still a few places available in the group lessons run by Vivek Gathani. Starting on the 3rd of September, the lessons will take place over weekends, with each specialised group comprising of a maximum of 6 pupils in the same age group.
Currently, we still have availability for the following groups:
Y5 11+ Preparation group, Sundays 10:00-11:30 (2 places available)
Y6 11+ Preparation group, Saturdays 9:00-10:30 (1 place available)
Y7-8 Key Stage Three group, Sundays 12:00-13:30 (2 places available)
Y8 Key Stage Three group, Mondays 17:30-19:00 (2 places available)
Y9-10 Key Stage Four group, Sundays 16:00-17:30 (1 place available)
Y11 GCSE Preparation group, Sundays 14:00-15:30 (2 places available)
For more information, please see the leaflet.
To book your place, please call 0203 565 0539 or email us at office@trefoiltutors.co.uk.
We have been busy this summer, with a newly decorated classroom, the introduction of group lessons, and now, a refreshing facelift for our newsletter. We hope you like it!
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Regular practice is key to mastering a foreign language. Therefore, this week we would like to offer you a worksheet for practising tenses in French. Aimed at capable GCSE candidates and A-level students.
Our warmest congratulations to all of our tutees for successfully finishing another academic year! We hope you had an interesting, rewarding and challenging year and are looking forward to a relaxing summer. Have a lovely break and we look forward to welcoming you back in September!
Our tutors are currently taking bookings for lessons over the summer and in September ’16. If you are looking to start tuition, or continue your lessons, please speak to your tutor, or give us a call on 0203 565 0539 to discuss times and tutor availability. We look forward to hearing from you!
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What digits should replace the letters M and A to make the equation MA + A = AM correct?
Great news for all maths students – our Mathematics tutor Vivek Gathani is now answering any maths-related queries on his new Twitter account @Trefoil_Maths. Follow Vivek’s account and get useful maths advice from a qualified teacher!
https://twitter.com/Trefoil_Maths
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When the day after tomorrow is yesterday, today will be as far from Wednesday as today was from Wednesday when the day before yesterday was tomorrow. What is the day after this day?
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This week, have a look at this GCSE Physics revision worksheet on Pendulums and try some of the typical questions on the topic.
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Mr. Green, Mr. Red, and Mr. Blue were at the Soul Ace Motel having a drink. One man was wearing a red suit; one a green suit; and the other a blue suit. “Have you noticed,” said the man in the blue suit, “that although our suits have colors corresponding to our names, not one of us is wearing a suit that matches our own names?” Mr.Red looked at the other two and said, “You’re absolutely correct.” What color suit is each man wearing?
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This Algebra Test will help Y7-8 students test their skills and practise exam-style questions.
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Jill and Klara took turns driving on a round trip using the same route both ways. Ari drove the first 40 kilometers and then Charles drove the rest of the way. Ari started to drive on the return trip and the Charles drove the last 50 kilometers. Which of the two drove more kilometers and how many more did he drive?
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This resource will prove beneficial to GCSE Chemistry students revising states of matter.
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A tree doubled in height each year until it reached its maximum height over the course of ten years. How many years did it take for the tree to reach half its maximum height?
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This resource is aimed at GCSE Chemistry students revising the topic of combining atoms.
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There is a cage at the zoo that holds a variety of jungle animals and creatures. In this cage, there are 11 heads and 20 feet. There are twice as many jungle creatures with four feet as there are jungle creatures with two feet. How many creatures of each kind are in the cage?
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Our Y5-6 students starting out in their study of Chemistry will benefit from this resource on dissolving substances.
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It takes Sandy three hours to paint a fence, and it takes Claude six hours to complete the same job. How long would it take both of them working together at their normal paces to complete the same job?
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This resource on Inheritance, Exercise and Health is aimed at Biology GCSE students revising for their exams.
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There are two books standing side by side on a shelf, each consisting of exactly 100 pages. The book on the left is upside-down. If you add the page number at the extreme left-hand side of the left-hand book to the page number at the extreme right-hand side of the right-hand book, what is the total?
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This revision resource will be a useful aid for the Biology GCSE students revising bacteria and pathogens.
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When asked how old she was, Suzie replied, “In two years I will be twice as old as I was five years ago.” How old is she?
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This revision resource is focused on the topic of diet and exercise in the Biology GCSE course.
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Using one set of letters in the same order, can you fill in the blanks and make a normal sentence?
A _o_a_l_ doctor had _o _a_l_ and therefore, was _o_ a_l_ to operate. -
This revision resource on Defence Mechanisms will aid those currently revising for their GCSE exam in Biology.
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This worksheet aimed at Y5-6 students offers a useful introduction to the structure of the animal cell.
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What is the product of the following series?
(X-A) x (X-B) x (X-C) x (X-D)….(X-Z) -
This resource on reproduction in flowering plants will be useful to our Y5-6 students starting out in their study of Biology.
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This is a most unusual paragraph. How quickly can you find out what is so unusual about it? It looks so ordinary you’d think nothing was wrong with it and in fact, nothing is wrong with it. It is unusual though. Why? Study it, think about it, and you may find out. If you work at it for a bit it will dawn on you. So jump to it and try your skill at figuring it out. Good luck!
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Shakespeare can be a tricky author to study; we hope that this GCSE English resource will give a useful overview of sample questions on one of the set plays, Merchant of Venice.
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You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat?
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For those learning French grammar, this resource on revising the Imperfect Tense will prove as a useful collection of examples as well as exercises.
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There are three extremely bright men seeking the hand of Ms. Barrett. Candy loves her men smart, but cannot decide which one of the three men is the smartest. Consequently, she proposes a test. Ms. Barrett places a mark on each man’s forehead and tells them that each of them has either a blue mark or a red mark. She instructs them to raise their hand if they see a blue mark on either of the other two. The first man to determine what color his mark is, and explain how he arrived at that conclusion will have her hand in marriage. Each man raised his hand, and a few moments later, one of them had the answer. What color was the winner’s mark and how did he know?
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Our recommended resource this week is for GCSE Mathematics students revising Equations of Straight Lines. Do try this very useful selection of exercises to supplement your revision.
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There was a shipwreck at sea and Buck, Lance, and Jack were washed ashore on a small island. Upon reaching shore they promptly fell asleep from exhaustion. A short time later, Buck awoke and saw that a box of bananas had been washed ashore. Buck ate one third of the bananas and went back to sleep. Lance soon awoke and upon seeing the box of bananas, ate on third of what was left and then fell asleep. Jack woke next and assumed that the other two hadn’t eaten any bananas, so he ate one third of what remained. When Jack finished, there were 8 bananas left over. How many bananas were in the box originally?
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This week, have a look at this GCSE Physics revision worksheet on Pendulums and try some of the typical questions on the topic.
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Picture three boxes containing fruit. The first box is marked CHERRIES, the second box is marked BANANAS, and the third box is marked CHERRIES AND BANANAS. Each of the boxes is labelled incorrectly. How could you label each box correctly if you were allowed to select only one fruit from one of the boxes?
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For those preparing for the GCSE Literature exam, this revision resource on the Relationships section in the AQA Poetry Anthology will undoubtedly prove useful.
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Add one cut (or draw one line), which doesn’t need to be straight, that can divide this shape into two identical parts:
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Between January 2nd and 10th, we will be hosting Winter Master Classes in Mathematics. Run by Vivek Gathani, teacher of mathematics and director of Trefoil Tutors, Master Classes are two-hour-long group study sessions on specific topics in mathematics. In each two-hour session, the tutor will work with a group of 2-4 pupils. The cost of one two-hour session is £40.
More information about the Master Classes and booking your place can be found here. We look forward to hearing from you!
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This worksheet on Cubic and Reciprocal Graphs is aimed at GCSE candidates looking to revise their Algebra course: http://trefoiltutors.co.uk/resources/mathematics-gcse/
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Our A-level Chemistry students will find this worksheet to be a useful opportunity to practise their calculation skills: Chemistry A-level Resources
We continue our series of Professional Development Seminars (PDS) designed to help our team of tutors stay up-to-date with the most recent developments in pedagogy and education. This month, the seminar was focused on designing appropriate and engaging homework.
All too often, a homework task becomes just another worksheet for forthe pupil to complete. That is why together with our tutors Nina, Milda, Vivek, Shaheel and Nickesh we discussed how a tutor can take a more creative approach towards homework and how we can ensure that the learning process does not stop at the end of the lesson.
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This worksheet has been created for pupils up to Year 3, who are familiarising themselves with the phonetics of the English language and building links between pronunciation and spelling. The worksheet can be found here: English Y1-3 Resources
What is the four-digit number in which the first digit is one-third the second, the third is the sum of the first and the second, and the last is three times the second?
Check our Facebook page for the answer!
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This week, we’re offering our Biology GCSE students a chance to put their knowledge of base pairing to the test by completing DNA molecules. The exercise can be found here: Biology GCSE Resources
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Our 11+ English Resources section has been extended with a new Comprehension exercise! We hope you will find it useful in your revision. The resource can be accessed here: 11+ English Resources
This week, our tutors took the opportunity to further develop their pedagogical skills by attending a Professional Development Seminar focused on structuring effective lessons. Sharing experience and learning from experienced professional teachers, our tutors exchanged ideas about using creative and interactive teaching techniques in order to further enhance the effectiveness of their one-to-one lessons.
The monthly Seminars are a part of the Professional Development strategy at Trefoil Tutors, which helps ensure that the quality of our lessons is consistently high, as well as provide our tutors with ample opportunity to develop their pedagogical skills.
Mr. and Mrs. Payload were walking home from the shopping mall with their purchases when Mr. Payload began to complain that his load was too heavy.
Mrs. Payload turned to her husband and said, “I don’t know what you’re complaining about because if you gave me one of your parcels, I would have twice as many as you, and if I gave you just one of mine, we would have equal loads.”
How many parcels were each carrying?
Our warmest congratulations go to those of our tutees who have received their GCSE and A-level results this summer!
We are very proud to see so many of our tutees rewarded for their hard work with excellent results. In particular, we would like to wish the best of luck to those starting university studies in October – we hope you will enjoy every moment of this new chapter!
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Three brothers and their respective wives were traveling through the country when they came to a river. Their only means of crossing was in a small canoe which would only carry 2 people at a time. The three men were very jealous of each other. Not one of the brothers would leave his wife alone in the boat, or on the shore with another brother, unless that brother’s wife was also present. How many crossings were necessary to get the happy clan across the river and? Give an example of how they would cross.
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We just updated the content in our Mathematics section, Years 1-3! Try it here:
http://preview.trefoiltutors.co.uk/resources/mathematics-year-1-3/
