Karen Potter Coaching

Karen Potter Coaching Educator and Coach | Maths and English Tutor | 1:1 and Small Group Tuition to build CONFIDENCE.

Hearing that I’ve had an impact on a student’s life never fails to put a smile on my face.I received a lovely email from...
09/06/2026

Hearing that I’ve had an impact on a student’s life never fails to put a smile on my face.

I received a lovely email from a parent yesterday, forwarding on a message from her son’s English teacher who which praised him for his improved attitude to learning and massive progress since the start of the year. If I have played just a small part in helping that student and giving a sense of relief to his parents then I’m a very happy tutor.😊

This exactly what I set out to do in my sessions:

🧡improve confidence and attitude to learning
🧡improve academic progress
🧡reduce the mental load for parents by being their ally

I will be opening up spaces for my summer booster sessions soon. If you’re interested get in touch or join my waiting list to find out more.

Do you have a teenager about to sit their GCSE mock exams?How is the revision going? Regular tutoring is a great way to ...
03/06/2026

Do you have a teenager about to sit their GCSE mock exams?

How is the revision going?

Regular tutoring is a great way to support your teenagers with this- both with gap filling and giving them consistency and discipline.

For students who might be reluctant to try tutoring, small groups are ideal - there’s less pressure on them as individuals, they benefit from exploring multiple methods and learn from each others’ mistakes - it can be so confidence boosting to see that other people find Maths hard too.

As most of my Year 11 students have now finished tutoring I have a few spaces opening up in my small GCSE Foundation Maths groups.

The groups have a maximum of 4 students and take place in person in Ampthill. They cover:

🟡Key topic revision to support work in school
🟡Exam question practice
🟡Revision and exam techniques
🟡Coping with exam stress
🟡Differentiated questions and support for each student
🟡Peer learning and support

I have two slots available:

Saturdays 11am
Wednesdays 3.45pm

📞Please get in touch to find out more and secure your space.

💬“Karen has been brilliant with my daughter who has found Maths quite challenging over the years. Karen is very patient and kind and has made maths lessons a much more positive experience for my daughter. I would highly recommend her.”
GCSE Maths Group Student

Does arguing with your teenager about revision feel more intense than the Battle of Westeros? Do you feel like you’re th...
27/05/2026

Does arguing with your teenager about revision feel more intense than the Battle of Westeros? Do you feel like you’re the one carrying the mental load?

If you have a child taking mock GCSEs after half term then read on….

How has the revision been going? If the answer is, “It’s been going nowhere!” - don’t worry.

It’s normal for students to be laissez-faire at this stage. Whilst any revision they do now will really support them for next year it’s also a good opportunity to get a bit of a reality check ahead of their year 11 mocks:

🟢How much effort do they actually need to put in for the real thing?
🟢What kind of revision works best for them?
🟢What are the barriers that will stop them from revising successfully?
🟢 Do they have any gaps in their learning they need to fill?

Group tutoring is a great way to support your teenagers with this- both with gap filling and giving them consistency and discipline with their revision.

I have a a few spaces left in my small Maths GCSE groups, starting in September. For students who might be reluctant to try tutoring, small groups are ideal - there’s less pressure on them as individuals, they benefit from exploring multiple methods and learn from each others’ mistakes - it can be so confidence boosting to see that other people find Maths hard too.

If you’re interested, please get in touch to find out more or follow the link to download your free STUDY SKILLS BOOKLET: http://subscribepage.io/yHyBDm

Understanding your comfort zone is important when you’re learning.Staying in your comfort zone feels good in the moment ...
21/05/2026

Understanding your comfort zone is important when you’re learning.

Staying in your comfort zone feels good in the moment but ultimately doesn’t lead to improvements and growth.

So how do you know when your child is in their comfort zone when learning?

🧡 The work will feel easy
🧡 They may a bit bored
🧡 They work quickly (but might still make silly mistakes because they’re not having to think very hard about what they’re doing)
🧡 They’re probably unmotivated because they can’t see any progress

How do you know when they’re in their stress zone?
❤️They are angry and frustrated
❤️ They avoid work
❤️ They’re also unmotivated because they’re stuck

My job in tutoring is to spot this and encourage them to stretch into their growth zone (without taking them too far into the stress zone).

As a parent, what can you do to help your children embrace the growth zone more?

1) Small steps - aim for 10% more than they’d usually manage and aim for consistency with this.

2) Allow time and space to explore new things (tutoring is a great opportunity to do this outside of the time pressures in the classroom).

3) Check-in regularly and help your child to spot the times they HAVE stepped out of their comfort zone.

4) Praise effort not just outcome.

5) Discuss how your child feels when they’re stressed - explore what helps them to feel calm. Share what works for you (but recognise that it might not be the same for them).

6) Use the language of ‘YET’ - “I can’t do this YET,” rather than “I can’t do this.”

7) Encourage them to talk about mistakes (yours and theirs) - you WILL make mistakes if you’re in the Growth Zone.

8) Following on from point 7 - TRUST your child to do things independently where you can- don’t protect them from making mistakes or you’re teaching them that mistakes are bad and shameful.

Finally - be kind to yourself and them. Stepping out of your comfort zone isn’t easy and it isn’t a linear process.

Let me know if any of this resonated with you.

Sometimes it can really help to use objects to model new concepts and methods.In this Year 9 session we were looking at ...
18/05/2026

Sometimes it can really help to use objects to model new concepts and methods.

In this Year 9 session we were looking at percentage change, which can be tricky for many students and unlike some areas of maths in the curriculum is actually a useful skill for real life.

When was the last time it helped you to have a knowledge of percentages?

This week is the first Maths GCSE exam for most students. These would be my top tips going into the exam:🧡 If you start ...
12/05/2026

This week is the first Maths GCSE exam for most students. These would be my top tips going into the exam:

🧡 If you start to panic in the exam, remember to BREATHE. A calm brain is going to serve you much better.

🧡 Remember to use the FORMULA SHEET to support you.

🧡 Circle the numbers in a question and underline the key words that give clues to the type of question it will be.

🧡 SHOW your working - more than half the marks are method marks. Even if you don’t know how to complete the whole question, write down any calculations that you CAN (it may get you some marks)

🧡 CHECK your answers - especially on the ‘easier’ questions where lots of students lose marks for avoidable errors. Think about whether your answer sounds sensible in the context of the question.

🧡 Focus on what you CAN do on the paper rather than what you CAN’T. If you really don’t think you can answer, move on - there will be other questions you will be able to tackle and these will boost your confidence.

🧡 GCSES are important but so are many other things in life and they don’t define who you are. All anyone can ask is that you do your best.

Once it’s over you can tick it off the list and focus on the next one - small steps will get it done and then you’ll have an amazingly long summer holiday to look forward to!

If you have a child in Year 6 sitting their SATS next week, I hope that they’re feeling relaxed and not too stressed.Rem...
10/05/2026

If you have a child in Year 6 sitting their SATS next week, I hope that they’re feeling relaxed and not too stressed.

Remind them how hard they’ve worked all year. Now it’s all about proving what they CAN do - not focusing on what they can’t.

Remind them that they’re worth more than a ‘working towards’, ‘expected’ or ‘greater depth’ label.

SATS don’t measure how kind, funny, creative, thoughtful, musical or sporty a child is. They don’t tell you anything about how resilient or brave they are or whether they’re a good friend.

I am super proud of all of my Year 6 students and I know we’re all looking forward to the SATs being over so that we can simply get back to the joy of learning.

I have some rare spaces opening up in my small GCSE Foundation Maths groups for September 2026.For students who might be...
08/05/2026

I have some rare spaces opening up in my small GCSE Foundation Maths groups for September 2026.

For students who might be reluctant to try tutoring, small groups are ideal - there's less pressure on them as individuals, they benefit from exploring multiple methods and learn from each other's mistakes - it can be so confidence boosting to see that other people find Maths hard too.

The groups have a maximum of 4 students and take place in person in Ampthill. They cover:

🟡Key topic revision to support work in school
🟡Exam question practice
🟡Revision and exam techniques
🟡Coping with exam stress
🟡Differentiated questions and support for each student
🟡Peer learning and support

I have two slots available:

Saturdays 11a.m.
Wednesdays 3:45p.m.

📞Please get in touch to find out more and secure your space.

💬“Karen has been brilliant with my daughter who has found Maths quite challenging over the years. Karen is very patient and kind and has made maths lessons a much more positive experience for my daughter. I would highly recommend her.”
GCSE Maths Group Student

Address

Ampthill

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Karen Potter Coaching posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Karen Potter Coaching:

Shortcuts

Share

Category