Tips for the new academic year from King’s InterHigh parents

Our inaugural King’s InterHigh Voices webinar series went live just last week, on the 31st of July, and it was a very special Parent Edition. For the first-ever episode, we decided to invite three fabulous parents of King’s InterHigh students and ask them all about how they supported their child through school transition, experiences they would like to share, and tips and tricks to prepare for the new academic year.

Esther Clark, our Executive Director of Marketing, led this very insightful conversation with Jo, Theresa, and Ellen. Jo’s daughter is Georgia, and she just finished Year 7. Theresa’s son is Alexander and just finished his Year 9, though he’s also studied some subjects on Year 10. Last but not least, Ellen’s daughter, Elizabeth, finished her GCSEs (Year 11), and is about to study A Levels in September.

We compiled some of the key tips from our lovely parents in this blog. If you missed the roundtable, you can also watch it on-demand here. Make sure to keep an eye on our social media for more King’s InterHigh Voices events and explore our open events for a taster of how learning with King’s InterHigh looks like.

How to support your child for a successful school start 

1. Sign up early

Jo’s daughter, Georgia, started school last September, but she admits it was a bit of a whirlwind at the start because they signed up quite late. She highly recommends anyone that is joining King’s InterHigh – or any other new school – to sign up earlier rather than later.   

“From my experience, the sign up and the platform is so, so easy to use. The King’s InterHigh staff were incredibly helpful with all the technical aspects,” said Jo. Overall, it was a very easy transition for Georgia. Though she is currently enjoying the summer holidays, she is excited to go straight back into school and see her friends again.  

2. Stay calm  

“You can plan and plan and plan, but there’s going to be something that you’re not going to have planned for. So, I think you just have to be flexible in your approach,” Theresa shares. There will always be things that are out of your control. Think of a technical issue, for instance, or learning how to work with a new platform.  

“You really can’t pick it up all in one go. It took us probably almost a whole term to get comfortable with the whole situation.” So, Theresa’s first piece of advice is to try and stay calm. “Don’t panic, because that panics our kids as well.” 

3. Ask (lots of) questions  

Every new academic year is a learning process, but you are not alone. There is an extensive network of parents and staff to reach out to. Theresa advises you to make sure to know the right email addresses to contact so you can get the support you need quickly.  

 “I made the mistake of, at the very beginning, not asking enough questions, thinking, ‘oh, I should know this, or I should be doing this’,” Theresa confessed. Her biggest piece of advice is to ask lots of questions and be curious. “Please don’t feel silly to just keep asking lots and lots of questions and get help from different sources. WhatsApp groups for your child’s year can be really helpful.”  

4. Be organised 

Online schooling requires you to think not just about what stationery your child needs, but where are they going to be logging in from and what their workspace looks like. “Sometimes it’s good to get them out of their one room so that they actually have a little bit of variety,” said Ellen.  

Ellen also suggests that you make sure the timetable is clear, and that you have picked the right subjects. “Elizabeth picked the A levels she thought she wanted but she wants to change one now, so we are currently working with the school, who are very helpful in sorting this out.” 

How to ensure your child is motivated 

“Alexander is actually an athlete,” shares Theresa, “so we brought a program together that fits with the King’s InterHigh timetable because of the flexibility. In between having lessons, whether they’re recorded or live, he can go off and do what he really enjoys. And I find that that really motivates him.” 

Because King’s InterHigh offers class recordings that are accessible 24/7, each student can tailor their timetable in a way that works for them and their other commitments. “With my child, we mix and match it throughout the day. If sometimes he’s just not feeling it, we can take a day out.” Having the possibility to simply have some time off if your child needs a break, is also incredibly motivational.  

To keep Elizabeth motivated, Ellen tends to link her studies to her future plans. “Giving them the aspiration to want something really lovely in their life and linking that to education is really important.” Plus, Ellen suggests keeping an eye on your child’s tasks to make sure they are in control of their schoolwork.   

Jo also shared that, for Georgia, having the autonomy to pick the subjects she wanted to study helped keep her motivated. “She took creative media last year, which she absolutely loved.” Because there aren’t lessons eight hours a day, Georgia also has the freedom to do what she loves outside of school and take breaks. “She has a break over a couple of hours where we’ll go to the golf course, and she can practice her sport.” If Georgia is behind on something, InspiredAI can support her to catch up or consolidate lessons.  

Moving to online education 

As a tennis player, Elizabeth was required to travel a lot for training, which was taking a toll in the family’s quality of life. After coming across King’s InterHigh in an event, Ellen decided to try it and found that it allowed Elizabeth to excel academically and athletically. “It’s just been fantastic. It’s delivered the right solution that allows Elizabeth to really do well in her studies, as well as in her sport. The results have been better than we could ever have imagined,” shared Ellen.   

Jo shared a different experience: her daughter, Georgia, never enjoyed traditional school but thrived with online learning during COVID-19. After returning to school post-Covid, Georgia preferred homeschooling, leading them to consider online education as a permanent solution. Now, she has full control of her schedule and lessons. She often studies in various locations, such as coffee shops or while traveling. If she needs to miss a lesson, she catches up via the library lessons.  

Theresa and her son were based in the UAE when they made the move to homeschooling. However, Theresa was quite self-aware that she wasn’t capable of homeschooling past early years. “I’m an early years’ educator myself, so I was perfectly fine until about age six. Then after that, it kind of goes out of my zone.” When her husband took a job in a remote location, they explored King’s InterHigh. Alexander enrolled in King’s InterHigh in November 2019, just a few months before Covid hit.  

“We were really, really glad that we’d actually already made that stride into online school.”  Since COVID, the family moved back into their old area, and Alexander had the choice of going back to a bricks and mortar school or continue with King’s InterHigh. He chose King’s InterHigh for the flexibility, which is particularly helpful to him as an athlete juggling tight schedules.   

If you’re interested in enrolling your child with King’s InterHigh or have any questions about our school, book a call with our Admissions team.