Wyandra State School, QLD
Paul Harper Green
School Principal
Why did you decide to try MathsClub?
I first encountered MathsClub during the Covid lockdown, I was getting offers for lots of maths programs all of which required time to get my head around how they worked. MathsClub stood out because of the fact that it was one-on-one tutoring and it was within our budget.
How would you describe how MathsClub works?
Students log on, have their 1-to-1 tutorials, and MathsClub provides me with the reports and all the data I need around that. I can wander around and peer over their shoulders and see what they’re having difficulty with. So when i’m doing my own maths in class, if there’s a commonality there, I can go “hey, let’s go back and revisit this!”
I think it’s pretty simple, pretty straightforward, they just log on and have a session with their tutor.
How did you select which students to take part?
Coming from a secondary school background where I saw the gaps in learning coming up through the system, I felt it needed to go to the older kids to help fill those gaps. We’ve got to find ways of addressing these learning gaps and I see MathsClub as one of those.
What’s been the reaction of the students?
They’ve embraced it, they love it. I think they were a bit confronted at the start because they’re used to being able to hide amongst a number of students, so being one-on-one it was good.
Also, when we’re covering something in class, they will go “ oh this is what we did with MathsClub” and they’ll name their tutor. So they’re remembering what they’ve done before and bringing it to their current lesson which is really positive.
How have they responded to being taught by someone from outside of their community?
They’re very curious and really excited about the fact that they are actually speaking to people not necessarily in Brisbane or somewhere nearby, for many it is a first.
What about the customer support from MathsClub?
Their support is fantastic, if there’s any problem at all, they’re always available to sort it.
They’ve been so accommodating with the disruption of the lockdown there were a few students that turned up one day and not the next. We also had a couple of students enrolled with MathsClub who left suddenly but as we already had those time slots, I was able to just send an email saying “hey this has happened” and increase the number of sessions the existing students were having.
Is MathsClub good value for money?
Yes very much so, with the time constraints that we have at school, being able to have quality online 1-to-1 interaction is fantastic. So yes, well worth it!
Would you have any hesitation in recommending MathsClub to schools similar to Wyandra State School?
Absolutely not, I think it’s really good and will help all schools unless you’re one of those maths experts who has no trouble with time and feeding kids exactly what they need.