It is nearly time for the next batch of students to give the IGNITE and ACER/Scholarship tests and tuition enrolments have already begun as parents want to destine their child for success. Having already been through this stage, in 2023, I want to help parents grow their knowledge on different tuition and which one to send their child to. So, in this blog, read along so you can find out which tuition to send your child to.
Before we begin, I will tell you the audience a little bit of background information about me. I have a YouTube channel, called ‘Mahad Ali’ where I share basketball, ACER and IGNITE tips, do unboxing and share things that are in my interest. I did the ACER and IGNITE test in 2023 and got a 25% scholarship to Prince Alfred College (it was the only school I applied for) and got placed into the prestigious IGNITE program for Glenunga International High School. I went to two different tuitions, Pre-Uni and NorthShore, and due to my brother going to Tutors SA, I also had some experience in that tuition. Today, I will be telling you what the tuition offers, and what I personally believe about their programs.
First up is Pre-Uni. Pre-Uni having their STTC program, or Scholarship Trial Test Course, which runs through terms 1,2,3 and 4 every Saturday morning at their Bowden Campus or in the summer holidays before the test at their Franklin Street campus. In one week, Pre-Uni covers English (reading comprehension), writing, and Vocabulary Test so that the students can get a higher vocabulary. They then mark these questions and ask if there were any difficulties in answering these questions. The following week, they did math and General Ability and then followed the same routine of answering the questions and helping with any difficulty. They also have the same course except it is more advanced during the summer holidays, directly before the IGNITE and ACER test. In this STTC, it is much stricter and if anyone talks, they are sent out and they get an immediate 0 on their test. Also, you get collective feedback for writing as a group to imply in the next writing. I find this very helpful, as the teacher, who is a specialist, gets to tell you what to do and what not to do when writing. Pre-Uni also gives you a wide range of Stimuli so you can make creative writing and that is exactly what the markers in both tests are looking for. You can also schedule a meeting with the head of Pre-Uni, and s/he can tell you what your expected result is and how to improve your mark/s. This environment also is very intense and is exactly like the tests, and on top of all the pro’s, you also get to be tested on your time management. The con of this program is that it is very demanding, as it runs from 9:00-5:00 for around 10 days, and this is following the summer School program that I will explain after. Also, the Pre-Uni course is more like preparing for the Scholarship tests, as it has easier math, the General Ability is nothing like the IGNITE test and the reading comprehension has no open-ended questions. Pre-Uni also offers the summer holiday course, which is directly before the STTC course. Through 10 days, students will learn about various text types, how to identify them, how to write them and they will also be faced with multiple types of reading comprehension questions and Mathematics. There is also a writing text, as every day you must write one persuasive and one narrative on a given stimulus. I think that Pre-Uni should up their game as they only offer writing tasks with pictures, and when I gave the text, the writing topic was a sentence. I also believe that this course is a little bit easier than the IGNITE and ACER tests, which is why you may not want to send your child here, but it is also useful as you learn about different text types, which can potentially help you. All in all, I believe that this Pre-Uni course is usually meant for ACER tests as my reasons are above.
The next tuition that I will talk to you about is North Shore. North Shore has a reputation for being one of the best tuitions in Adelaide to send your child to for the IGNITE/ACER preparations. I went to the North Shore tuition during the October/Spring Holiday course. They did ICAS math in the morning and then covered an English Booklet in the afternoon. I believe that this is good for people who are applying for the IGNITE test. This is as they have open ended math questions, which are key in the IGNITE test and tell you various skills about how to tackle the test-on-test day. Majority of the people I saw in the IGNITE induction were from the North Shore. They also had 5 people in the IGNITE top 8, and overall, 62 people in the whole IGNITE program.
Therefore, in the end, your decision depends on what you are looking for your child to succeed in. If you like the Scholarship test, go to Pre-Uni but if you are looking at success with IGNITE, I would recommend you NorthShore Tuition. Thank you for reading my blog. While you are around, why don’t you look at the blog where I recapped Australia vs India World Cup 2023? Just Click Here.