Committed Kirsty confidently completes the Kumon Maths Programme

Kirsty, from the Kumon Teddington Study Centre, is a fantastic example of what can be achieved through a commitment to daily study. Over the past seven years, Kirsty has dedicated some time every day to her Kumon: continuously honing her skills and steadily improving her abilities in maths. Now aged 17, she is proud to have reached completion of the entire Kumon Maths Programme, alongside studying for her A-levels.

We’ve followed Kirsty’s progress since 2018 when we first spoke to her along with her younger sister, Emily, who is currently also excelling through the higher levels of the maths programme. We caught up with Kirsty to hear about her latest accomplishment and how it feels to be a Kumon Completer.

“I’m very proud of completing the Kumon Maths Programme”, she told us. “As the programme became more challenging towards the end, I found developing my algebraic skills and working with functions quite tricky. At the time, I thought I would struggle to finish it, but with a lot of dedication I’m proud that I continued to persevere and reach completion!”

The Kumon Maths Programme has helped Kirsty to acquire an in-depth understanding of mathematical concepts, and this has helped her to excel in school. Reflecting on how she’s developed her ability over time, Kirsty said,

“I always quite enjoyed maths, but I wasn’t very quick in completing my work and I found it difficult to grasp new concepts without asking for help. After receiving a low graded maths test result at school, I was very disappointed, so my mum decided to look for additional support and discovered Kumon.

I started Kumon when I was in the middle maths set in Year 5 at school, where I was struggling. Just one year later I was moved up to the top maths set and began to find the work easy. Kumon specifically helped me with my times tables to begin with, and I became top of my class in times tables tests.

Later, in secondary school, it was Kumon that got me through my Maths GCSE work. I found I was ahead of my class, specifically with algebra. Consistent Kumon practice was a form of revision. I achieved great results in my Maths GCSE and decided to pursue the subject for A-level. Again, I found I was performing above my classmates, as Kumon kept me ahead of topics in school, so I was able to feel confident going into lessons. Similarly, I started to find my maths homework from school much easier, and I could complete my work independently. Completing my Kumon in timed conditions also helped improve my timings in exams, alongside helping with other subjects that required quick responses to questions, such as physics and psychology.”

Over time, Kirsty and her Kumon Instructor, Fabienne, developed an excellent relationship with each other. Fabienne’s pride in Kirsty’s achievement is clear to see:

“'Kirsty is such a great example of how you can complete the Kumon Maths Programme with daily study and persistence. She just stuck at it and I'm so delighted and happy for her. I know that it will always stay with her as a big achievement in life and will help her manifest other great achievements!”

Equally, Kirsty advocates Fabienne’s continuous support throughout her journey.

“Fabienne and the team were amazing: they were always supportive and gave me any help that I needed but also pushed me to improve and solve problems independently when they knew I was capable. They helped a lot with my GCSEs, adapting my Kumon work to complement what I needed to revise. Once I returned to normal Kumon sets, the team were very encouraging and really wanted me to complete the programme. Thank you!”

Kirsty has reaped the benefits of daily Kumon study first hand. Now as a confident, independent learner with an advanced maths ability, she strives to ace her Maths A-Level and looks forward to her future education.

Congratulations, Kirsty!