Sisters celebrating success: Shreya and Maya become Kumon English Programme Completers

Sisters, Maya and Shreya first joined the Kumon Teddington Study Centre when they were aged eight and nine. Five years on, they have now both completed the Kumon English Programme with flying colours and have developed a strong love for English.

We asked the sisters about their abilities at the point of starting the programme. Shreya, now 14 years old, told us, “When I first joined Kumon, I thought the programme would be easy, however as I started to progress through the levels it became more challenging. My English writing abilities were not great, to begin with; I would often repeat words and phrases and my style was very limited.” Younger sister Maya, now 13 years old, recalls a similar situation, telling us, “When I first joined Kumon, my English ability was limited, and I was an average student.”

Malini, Shreya and Maya’s mum, advocates that Kumon fosters a learning environment for children that helps them to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning. She told us, “I decided to enrol my daughters at Kumon as I wanted to give them a head start at school and additional support in their English study. Kumon has certainly improved their abilities. They can now confidently read and critique a wide variety of texts and their writing ability has improved, which will certainly help them with their GCSEs and further education.”

The Kumon Maths and English Study Programmes place great emphasis on developing the key study skills and life skills required to help students like Shreya and Maya to become confident, independent self-learners. The sisters have noticed a drastic improvement in their studies across many subjects at school. Maya said, “I have learnt to skim-read and pick out the key aspects from various pieces of information quickly, so I often complete my school work much quicker than I used to.” Similarly, older sister Shreya told us, “Kumon has helped me to be in the top set for English and I have applied my reading and writing skills in many of my subjects at school, like History and Religious Studies. I’m certain the study skills will assist me with my GCSEs since examiners look out for students who use a good range of vocabulary.”

At Kumon, Instructors support and encourage students to work out answers by themselves, helping them to become self-sufficient, successful learners for the future. Shreya and Maya’s Instructor, Fabienne, consistently supported the girls throughout their Kumon journey and was always there to guide them whenever they became stuck on a worksheet or level. We caught up with Fabienne to find out more about the sisters’ Kumon journeys. She said, “I'd like to start by saying what a wonderful family the Patel’s are. They came together as a team and have stayed solid throughout those five years! I really respect mum, as she has been instrumental in seeing the work is completed, marked, corrections are done, and they arrive on time to class every week.

“From the early levels, the girls were quick to understand the importance of reading the questions carefully to locate the answers. This attention to detail stood them in good stead for the higher levels, where their powers of comprehension to interpret what they were reading were really tested. I enjoyed discussing their ideas and answers to some of the more challenging passages and was often surprised by their levels of maturity. Although their Kumon journey has come to an end, I’m delighted to have them as ambassadors for the younger students coming through who have been positively influenced by these lovely girls. I wish them every success and I know they are going to make great strides in their future education and careers.”

Congratulations to sisters Maya and Shreya for completing the Kumon English Programme! We’re confident that the skills you have developed from Kumon will help you to excel in your GCSEs and beyond.