Selective success

Ashmiga has enjoyed her long journey with the Swot Shop participating in our Year 4 OC program all the way through to graduating from our competitive selective program. She has a passion for netball and dreams of pursuing a future career in journalism or architecture. She has successfully accepted an offer for her first choice high school James Ruse Agricultural High School.

“At this stage, I am not absolute about my goals and dreams for the future. However, architecture and journalism do stand out to me, as someone who enjoys art and writing. While medicine and law are great pathways, they are not something I am personally interested in. My main dream for the future is to go down a career path for myself and my passion rather than expectation.

In the Selective course, my favourite memory was the weekly assessments, as it condensed topics of the selective test into smaller, more approachable exams, and required me to be more competitive. My favourite memory at The Swot Shop was Competition Day at the end of term in the Advanced English course. The activities that required not only my English knowledge, but my critical thinking as well was a great change of pace from the rest of the term. It was fun and encouraged me to be more competitive and flexible. The incorporation of games was also helpful in testing our English knowledge in a way that was different from a traditional writing or comprehension assessment.

My advice to other students is that many people will spend hours a day studying, but it is not all about how much you study. It is more about what you study and how much of that information you retain. When you study, you should first attempt to understand the topic and the methods required before you attempt it.  This will help you be more flexible when encountering similar questions in circumstances like assessments. If you feel you already understand a topic well, you should not study it for the sake of studying it. That time could be better used on refining your weaknesses, even If it is a less appealing prospect. Considering the quality of study time rather than quantity was especially crucial in the weeks leading up to the selective test. The Swot Shop approach will be helpful for this.”

Manha joined The Swot Shop in 2021 and has since then leveraged the rich learning environment provided by The Swot Shop to not only excel academically but also to cultivate a broad vision for her future, aiming for groundbreaking aspirations like neurosurgery. Manha is delighted to have been offered a place at Hornsby Girls High School.

“I have many dreams and aspirations for both the near and distant future. I have recently completed the selective test, with help from the Swot Shop Selective course, and plan to take up many roles, classes, and activities in my new school. Afterward I would love to study medicine, and I will try to work for a PhD in neurosurgery. (As you can guess I would like to be a neurosurgeon when I grow older). For the more distant future, I want to use whatever I have to help people who need it most, who no one else is willing to help for reasons that are unjust. I want to be a symbol of hope or inspiration for a young child like myself today who has dreams, just like I do.

I have many fond memories of sitting in class at The Swot Shop and listening to texts being read aloud and of answering questions in class. Teacher explanations were clear and easy to follow, and I enjoyed doing critical and creative thinking activities on my own and with partners. One of my favourite memories was when I had submitted a piece of writing homework that was about a girl who had gotten into a fight at school, and it had been read aloud to my peers, who laughed along with myself and my teacher. This incident was also a big factor in developing my confidence for other writing tasks and styles that I never knew I would enjoy. I also have many memories of teachers reading passages that the class was meant to analyse, and I always enjoyed those.

For any students who may be struggling or stressing with upcoming exams or tests or are crushing under the pressure put on you by your parents, teachers, or even yourselves, just remember there’s more to life than studying. So many students get wound up into the thinking patterns of What will I do if I fail? I know from experience that no matter how much effort you put into this tedious exam prep, it will all be over before you know it. I’m not saying don’t study, I’m saying that you should treat yourself kindly and do the best of your ability. Everything will resolve itself in the end, and some things are just out of your control.”

Pranesh is an intelligent and devoted student having journeyed with The Swot Shop from Years 3 to 6. He dreams of becoming a doctor so he can help others. He has successfully been offered his first choice selective high school Baulkham Hills High School.

“I want to be a doctor because I want to help people get better. Having been sick myself many times and dealing with sudden and constant allergies, I understand the importance of care. However, I also have a strong interest in being a scientist, as science has always fascinated me. I love the fun experiments and discoveries that lead to those “OOH, that makes so much sense” moments.

I have been attending Swot Shop since Year 3, and it has significantly helped me improve in many aspects of my academics while also providing me with fond memories. One of my favourite memories is receiving my first ribbon in The Swot Shop’s maths program.

Here are some tips I’d like to share: The amount of tutoring you receive doesn’t determine your success; rather, it’s defined by your hard work, dedication, and passion. As long as you try your best and strive for excellence, you will find yourself achieving great things”.

Saindhavi is also a shining example of dedication and progress through our programs at The Swot Shop. Having joined us in kindergarten, Saindhavi has journeyed with us, embracing every learning opportunity and challenge with enthusiasm and determination. Her experiences at The Swot Shop have not only shaped her academic prowess but have also helped her grow into a confident and curious learner. Saindhavi succeeded in securing a place at Baulkham Hills High School.

“I wish to be able to follow my dreams and have the ability to choose whatever I want to do with my life. To be able to follow the path that I want to follow.

At The Swot Shop each class was different with hands-on activities and opportunities to have fun. My favourite memory of The Swot Shop, however, was the joy of gaining ribbons and trophies for my hard work.

My advice to other students is, don’t stress about Selective, just try your best and believe in yourself. Stress is worrying about the future so instead worry about now.”

Vivaan is a bright, caring student who aspires to be a vet. He has a passion for cricket and has been at the Swot Shop since he was in Year 5. He is thrilled to be going to his selective high school of choice Girraween High School.

“My dream career would be to save injured and hurt animals as a vet. I’m also a good athlete and I aspire to a career in cricket.

My most favourite memory at The Swot Shop (and there was tough competition) will have to be the speed and accuracy tests. I found the test challenging because while the questions seemed simple, time pressure played a major part in getting answers correct.

If I could give one piece of advice to all the students (and this includes me!) it would be to take breaks between their learning. I say this, because children have very short attention spans and if we don’t take breaks between our learning we are going to make silly mistakes. Also, make sure that you check your answers before you finish. Enjoy the process and have trust in yourself”.

Thank you to Ashmiga, Manha, Pranish, Saindhavi and Vivaan for sharing their stories with us. We wish them and all the other talented Swot Shop students who are about to start high school the very best for the exciting year ahead!