Ten-year-old Tomiwa continues to excel through remote Kumon learning

When Tomiwa faced school entrance exams for a new school, his parents were surprised to find that he had struggled in some areas of the tests. He was already studying with a local learning centre however, Tomiwa’s mother felt that it wasn’t having the results she had been expecting. After speaking with her local Kumon Milton Keynes, Giffard Park Study Centre, she decided to move Tomiwa to study Kumon with Instructor, Anjana Ganguly. A few years on, Tomiwa and his family have moved away and now live in Canada, and yet Tomiwa has continued to study remotely with his Instructor in the UK!
 
Ten-year-old Tomiwa, has recently completed the entire Kumon English Programme and is excelling through the maths programme too! This is a wonderful achievement for a child who hasn’t even started secondary school. Tomiwa is quite rightly feeling proud of what he has achieved, and we asked him to reflect on the start of his Kumon journey. He told us,

“I actually found English particularly difficult when I first joined Kumon; I had received below-average scores in my new school entrance exams and my abilities weren’t good. Although it wasn’t always easy to do my Kumon, over time and with daily study, my understanding improved. I started to enjoy the comprehension aspect of the English programme and found the stories about the different wars and soccer, interesting. Additionally, I love how the worksheets are structured. When I became stuck on a particular question, I would refer back to the example and slowly figure out the method to reach the correct answer.” 
 
Tomiwa’s mother, Tope, is impressed with the structure of the Kumon programmes, and the discipline of a small amount of daily study has suited her family’s study ethic. They came to better understand and appreciate the Kumon values of independent learning and were able to encourage their son to take responsibility for his own study.

“Kumon has helped Tomiwa excel in his abilities. It has helped with his speed in maths, so he’s able to answer questions quickly while keeping his train of thought. He has become strong in mental maths and that has certainly been noted by all his maths teachers. There was a time at school when he was moved up to take maths classes with children in the year above. The maths programme is thorough and covers a lot of ground. Tomiwa enjoys the challenge since he enjoys maths and this has helped him to gain a better topic understanding and ultimately, find his schoolwork easier.

“The English programme is very helpful: it’s helped to improve his grammar and vocabulary, which has supported Tomiwa with essay writing. I like the variety of book excerpts and stories that students get to read from Kumon’s recommended reading list as it gives them a broader view of the world.” 
 
Daily study has helped Tomiwa develop his ability and take ownership of his learning, which has helped him to excel in all his school subjects. He said, “Kumon has made school easier for me. I find my school work easier in all subjects, not just my maths and English, because of the study skills that I have gained from Kumon such as dissecting a question, managing my time well and working independently. I find my tests easier too, especially if I have already studied certain topics in Kumon first.” 

The family relocated to Canada in 2020, and because of his dedication and their established relationship, Tomiwa’s Kumon Instructor, Anjana, agreed to carry on supporting him to complete the English programme, remotely. They continue to meet weekly in classes over Zoom! Tomiwa said, “Anjana has been great. When I thought certain questions were too difficult, Anjana continued to encourage me to keep on trying. I’ve learned perseverance - I always get there in the end!”

Tope added, “Anjana and Tomiwa have a good relationship. Anjana actively supports him when he is stuck with a particular topic or question and they pick it up from there. She has also been helpful with remote learning and we appreciate her continued support after we moved away to Canada.” 
 
Equally, Anjana cannot praise Tomiwa enough:
 
“Tomiwa is a very enthusiastic learner and follows directions well. He’s done a great job facing and overcoming big challenges while relocating to a new country and adapting to a new learning environment and has remained consistent with his study habits. Tomiwa attends online class once a week and has shown steady progress. He works independently, takes ownership of his work and readily grasps new concepts and ideas with confidence. 
  
“I am very proud of Tomiwa; with his perseverance he has completed his English programme and is currently studying maths work three years above his age. This has been possible due to his consistent study habits and discipline, and ability to take ownership and persevere when he finds a question or topic challenging.” 
 
Tomiwa seeks to apply the lifelong study skills he continues to learn from Kumon in all future endeavours, especially when he starts secondary school next year. 
 
Keep up the great work Tomiwa, and congratulations on completing the Kumon English Programme!