Tutoring Plan
Preparing James for the RGS Newcastle 7+
A confidence-first, ~18-month plan toward Year 3 entry at the Royal Grammar School.
Guiding principle
He's 5.5. The win is built on little-and-often, playful, confidence-first practice — not cramming.
Real exam-style and timed work only appears in the final ~3 months. If a session stops being fun, stop.
Protect his love of reading and writing cards; that intrinsic motivation is worth more than any workbook.
📚 Lesson & resource hub
Open hub/index.html for the lessons, exercises, games, printables, glossary and skills map that put this plan into action.
Where James is now
End of Reception, June 2026.
| Area | Now | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Reading — decoding | Phonics Level 7 (a Year 2 target) | ahead Maintain, add stamina. |
| Reading — comprehension | Answers questions about stories | Good base; deepen toward inference. |
| Writing — composition | Writes sentences & cards; spells unknown words phonically | Lovely habit; build fluency. |
| Writing — mechanics | Full stops yes; capitals misused (start of lines, not sentences); uneven letter sizing | fix Two clear targets. |
| Maths | Number bonds to 10, simple addition, 2 / 5 / 10 times tables | Solid. Needs breadth. |
| Reasoning | Loves board games; no formal reasoning yet | Easy win via the right games. |
| Non-academic | Confident, sociable, concentrates, follows instructions (per NSB) | strength Keep warm. |
The two quickest wins
Mechanics fixes to start this summer — two minutes at a time.
1 · Capitals rule
Capital letters go only at the start of a sentence and for names — not at the start of every new line. Catch it gently when he writes cards.
2 · Letter sizing
Use lined handwriting paper with a baseline + dotted midline so tall letters (l, h, k), small letters (a, e, o) and tails (g, y, p) sit consistently.
What the 7+ tests
- English: reading comprehension incl. inference, writing (composition + punctuation / grammar / spelling), and listening.
- Maths: arithmetic, times tables, problem-solving / word problems; plus fractions, measurement, money, time, geometry. Year 2 syllabus + a little Year 3 extension.
- The day itself: group activities assessing cooperation, persistence, listening, communication and conduct — and RGS reads NSB's report on him. This is graded too.
The four phases
Phase 0 — Foundations & habit
Summer 2026 · 8 free weeksEstablish a gentle daily rhythm; lock in the two mechanics wins.
~20–30 min/day, broken up, mostly disguised as play. See the week-by-week rhythm below.
Phase 1 — Breadth, low pressure
Year 1 · Sep 2026 → Jul 2027Quietly reach a comfortable Year 2 standard across the board. ~15–20 min, 3–4 days/wk.
- Reading: move to early chapter books read independently; keep bedtime read-alouds and ask 1–2 "why / how do you think?" questions (inference).
- Writing: sentences → 2–4 sentence pieces (recount, simple story). Keep capitals & sizing going; add ?, ! and "and / because".
- Maths: bonds to 20; +/− facts; place value to 100; 3 & 4 tables (then 6, 8); money; telling time; halves & quarters; simple word problems.
- Reasoning: keep it as games — no worksheets yet.
Phase 2 — Consolidate + familiarise
Autumn Year 2 · Sep → Dec 2027Fill remaining Year 2 gaps; touch Year 3 extension; begin gentle format familiarisation.
- Introduce light verbal & non-verbal reasoning workbooks, a page at a time.
- Short comprehension passages with written answers; a timed-but-relaxed "have a go" feel.
- Submit the RGS application (~early Dec 2027).
Phase 3 — Gentle exam readiness
Dec 2027 → Jan 2028Light, calm preparation for the paper and the assessment day.
- 7+ practice papers / sample questions, lightly timed, ~2×/week. Review mistakes kindly.
- Rehearse the day: being away for a day, working in a group of new children, following instructions, talking to unfamiliar adults, "keep trying when stuck." Visit RGS open days so the building feels familiar.
- Taper in the final week — arrive rested and relaxed. Confidence beats last-minute drilling.
Summer 2026 — concrete 8-week rhythm
A simple repeatable daily loop (any order, split across the day, skip days off guilt-free):
- Read (~10 min): he reads to you, or you read a chapter and ask 2 questions — at least one inference ("why / what next / how did he feel?").
- One micro-task (~5–10 min), alternating days — writing (a card / "what we did today" sentence; fix one thing only, praise the rest) or maths (games-based: bonds, a tables fact, real coins, clocks, sharing snacks into halves/quarters).
- A game (~10 min): a reasoning / strategy board game (see below).
| Wk | Writing | Maths | Reasoning game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baseline: watch him write 2 sentences; note sizing / capitals | Baseline: bonds, his 3 tables; can he tell time / use money? | Guess Who (deduction) |
| 2 | Capitals rule (sentence vs new line) | Number bonds to 20 | Rush Hour Jr |
| 3 | Letter sizing on lined paper | Subtraction facts to 10 | Set / Connect 4 |
| 4 | Write a 2-sentence recount | 3× table | SmartGames logic puzzle |
| 5 | Add "and / because" | Money (coins, change to 20p) | Ticket to Ride: First Journey |
| 6 | A 3-sentence mini-story | Telling time (o'clock, half past) | Outfoxed (co-op deduction) |
| 7 | Question + exclamation marks | Halves & quarters of shapes / amounts | Katamino / tangrams |
| 8 | Free writing he chooses; review progress | Mixed quick-fire review | His summer favourite |
Keep a log
Record what you do in a running
log/ note (date, what you did, how it went). It makes the next 18 months easy to steer and gives RGS-relevant evidence of his growth.
Reasoning through board games
His love of games is the easiest win — these build the deduction, pattern-spotting and stick-at-it muscles the assessment day rewards.
Logic / spatial
Rush Hour Jr, Katamino, tangrams, SmartGames range (IQ Puzzler, Camelot Jr, Gravity Maze, Roller Coaster Challenge).
Deduction
Guess Who, Outfoxed (co-operative), Cluedo Jr.
Pattern / visual
Set, Connect 4, Othello / Reversi.
Maths-y
Sum Swamp, Sleeping Queens, Mobi, Bananagrams (also spelling).
Strategy / planning
Ticket to Ride: First Journey, draughts.
Non-academic strand
Runs throughout — RGS grades the assessment day. James already scores well here per NSB, so keep it warm rather than drill it.
- Listening: read a short passage aloud, then ask about it (no looking) — builds the listening component and day-readiness.
- Following instructions: give cheerful 2–3 step instructions and let him complete them.
- Group play & turn-taking: board games and playdates cover this naturally.
- Talking to adults: let him order in cafés, talk to relatives, answer the door politely.
- Persistence: praise effort and having-a-go when stuck, not just correct answers.
- Independence: comfort being dropped at clubs / a full day away from you.
- Keep NSB onside: his school report is part of the assessment — nurture the qualities his teachers already praise (helpful, dependable, concentrates).
Suggested resources
UK, age-appropriate.
- Maths / English workbooks: CGP Year 1 then Year 2 (Maths & English); Schofield & Sims (Mental Arithmetic, Comprehension, Spelling, Handwriting).
- Handwriting: lined paper with a midline; Schofield & Sims Handwriting — check which scheme NSB uses and mirror it.
- Reasoning (Phase 2+): Bond verbal & non-verbal reasoning, ages 6–7 then 7–8.
- Times tables: "Hit the Button" (free online); real-life counting / coins.
- 7+ practice (Phase 3 only): Exam Papers Plus / Atom Learning 7+ materials; ask RGS admissions for any sample / format guidance.
Logistics
- Free weekday slots: Tue & Fri (Mon = French, Wed = gymnastics, Thu = swimming), plus weekends and ~2 hrs of after-school energy on free days.
- Delivered by: parents primarily, nanny as backup — keep a shared
log/so whoever runs a session knows where he's up to. - Cadence: summer ~daily/light → Year 1 ~3–4×/week ×15–20 min → Year 2 building to ~4× → final run-up ~2 focused sessions + games.
Next actions
- Confirm with RGS admissions: exact 2028 assessment dates & application deadline; register as an enquirer; ask for any sample / format guidance.
- Run the Week-1 baseline (writing sample + maths check) and note it in
log/. - Pick up a couple of the reasoning games and lined handwriting paper to start the summer loop.
Files in this folder
- hub/ — the lesson & resource hub (lessons, games, printables, glossary, skills map).
- PLAN.md — the full written plan (source for this page).
- CONTENTS.md — folder map + current snapshot.
- reports/ — NSB termly reports (PDF).
- assessments/ — NSB baseline / progress booklets (photos).
- reading/status.md — reading-level note.
- notes/music.md — music progress note.