Instructions: Consider the news item below and then identify the topic and focus of the study by

completing the table below. (10 points)

Private tutoring is abhorrent says private school head

By James Connington, 20 June 2015

Parents are making children act like “performing animals” by putting them through extensive
private tutoring to gain places at leading independent schools, headteachers have warned.

Being tutored in an attempt to make children appear brighter than they really are in interviews
and entrance exams is “abhorrent”, according to Andrew Halls, the headmaster of fee-paying
King’s College School, Wimbledon.

“It is really important parents choose a school where their child will be valued for the sort of boy
or girl they are, not crippled by the idea that they have not lived up to your ambitions,” said Mr
Halls.

“What sort of childhood is that and what sort of basis for adulthood? The preparation to do for an
interview is to be interested, it is not to be taught how to look interested.”

'Pressure to get into top schools has reached a crisis point'

After-school tutoring 'is like child abuse', says top head

Mr Halls is one of a number of independent school heads to speak out against parents who try to
push children into school places through excessive tutoring and admissions interview
preparation.

Dr Andrew Mayfield, director of admissions at St Paul’s School, in Barnes, West London, said
children can be “crushed” by getting in to schools that are not appropriate for them.

“If you’re trying to tutor them to get them in, then that’s probably not the best school for them.
You’re probably trying to overcook them,” he said. “A child’s happiness, well-being and
development are more important than the reputation of a school.” The right school is one where a
child can “flourish without external support”, he added.

 
Currently a whole industry thrives around school admissions, with some companies charging
more than £50 an hour for tutoring and interview preparation.

Hilary French, headmistress of Newcastle High School for Girls, said: “They are preying on
parental anxiety, offering an unnecessary service and cannot really know what schools want.

“Of course teach [children] good manners, but don’t train them in certain conventions that
somebody has put on the internet. They’re not performing animals, they’re children.

“We all need to learn to accept who we are and not pretend to be someone different; self-esteem
is key to future success, built in childhood and very easily knocked, so parents should try to
celebrate their child and his or her achievements as they are, not as they would wish them to be.

“When children are 9, 10 or 11, things usually work out for the best, and when your child hasn’t
got in to what you perceive to be the best school, that may not actually be the best school for
them.”

Mrs French said children who have been prepped often do worse during the admissions process
because they “think along pre-determined, learnt lines rather than thinking through things; they
tend to be more ‘wooden’ than natural”.

Dr Ralph Townsend, the headmaster of Winchester College, said the private tutoring industry
was “both unfortunate and unnecessary”.

Identified Focus of the Study

Identified Topic or Trend
(5 pts)
 Parents are making children act like
“performing animals” by putting them
through extensive private tutoring to gain
places at leading independent schools,
headteachers have warned.
(Affected areas by the trend)
(5 pts)
Dr Andrew Mayfield, director of admissions at
St Paul’s School, in Barnes, West London,
said children can be “crushed” by getting in to
schools that are not appropriate for them.

Being tutored in an attempt to make children
appear brighter than they really are in
interviews and entrance exams is
“abhorrent”, according to Andrew Halls, the
headmaster of fee-paying King’s College
School, Wimbledon.
“If you’re trying to tutor them to get them in,
then that’s probably not the best school for
them. You’re probably trying to overcook
them,” he said. “A child’s happiness, well-
being and development are more important
than the reputation of a school.” The right
school is one where a child can “flourish
without external support”, he added.
 “Of course teach [children] good manners, but
don’t train them in certain conventions that
somebody has put on the internet. They’re not
performing animals, they’re children.
 “We all need to learn to accept who we are
and not pretend to be someone different; self-
esteem is key to future success, built in
childhood and very easily knocked, so parents
should try to celebrate their child and his or
her achievements as they are, not as they
would wish them to be.
“When children are 9, 10 or 11, things usually
work out for the best, and when your child
hasn’t got in to what you perceive to be the
best school, that may not actually be the best
school for them.”
  Mrs French said children who have been
prepped often do worse during the admissions
process because they “think along pre-
determined, learnt lines rather than thinking
through things; they tend to be more ‘wooden’
than natural”.